Stream It Or Skip It?
When Arcane debuted on Netflix in 2021, it quickly became a popular and critical success, lodging itself in the Netflix Top 10 and earning rave reviews. Fueled by its dense storytelling, detailed animation, gripping action and a talented voice cast led by Hailee Steinfeld, the adaptation of hit video game League of Legends even made history, becoming the first animated series from a streaming service to win the Primetime Emmy in the animation category (some even praised Arcane’s visual style as the TV equivalent of groundbreaking animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse). But the series will come to a close with season two, which Netflix will roll out in three-episode “acts,” on Nov. 9, 16 and 23 – this despite rumors that the series would last for five seasons, which creators Christian Linke and Alex Yee debunked. Also, the two seasons, 18 episodes in total, reportedly tallied $250 million in budgetary expenses, which, I dunno, seems a bit untenable? But I have to say, you can pretty much see all that money up on the screen.
Opening Shot: A bleary eye flickers open as embers and ash float by.
The Gist: The first season, if you recall, concludes with everything going to hell, because, well, DRAMA. You just can’t ever end things with a hug and a good night’s sleep. Anyway: It’s the immediate aftermath of Jinx’s (Ella Purnell) attack on the Piltover Council. The sound is muted and the camera wobbles and the images are blurry from the smoke, flames and destruction. Jayce (Kevin Alejandro) hauls Viktor’s body inside and tries to revive him using a Hextech crystal, but for now, the body remains in stasis. While Caitlyn (Katie Leung) mourns the loss of her councilwoman mother, councilor Mel (Toks Olagundoye) and what remains of the Piltover braintrust convenes to determine if, when and how they’ll retaliate. Are they at war with Zaun? Sure seems like it.
Meanwhile, Caitlyn offers Vi (Steinfeld) a badge, and she responds by getting hammered and passing out on the street. Could she ever be a cop? Clenched-teeth emoji. The next day, Mel leads a public memorial for the murdered officials and as she gives her speech Vi spots a suspicious character in a police uniform and before you know it there’s another attack, led by Singed (Brett Tucker), who wields what’s best described as an all-caps necessary NUCLEAR CHAINSAW. Mech-bots descend. Vi rescues Caitlyn from the melee and then arms herself with what’s best described as an all-caps GIANT HAMMER CANNON. Caitlyn grabs a rifle and begins sniping, sniping, sniping. The Piltover forces stave off the assault and here we are, in the episode’s second aftermath-of-destruction scene. War? For sure. And by the way, where’s Jinx?
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Arcane and The Last of Us may be proof that adapting video games to TV or film is not, finally, after decades of misfires, a lost cause.
Our Take: Arcane’s crossover appeal is its greatest asset. You don’t have to have logged a million-zillion hours in League of Legends to appreciate it – but it might help if you’re at least acclimated to the uberdramatic tone and aesthetic of anime, and the hallmarks of this type of storytelling, e.g., some dense lore and an inevitable barrage of Sci-Fi Proper Nouns. In other words, this isn’t a casual watch; you kinda have to lean in and pay attention in order to comprehend the nuance of the narrative’s well-considered blend of politics and character, which came to a head at the conclusion of the first season, and considerably intensifies at the onset of the second. Active viewing! Never a bad thing!
And Arcane is worth leaning into. It’s bolstered by its writing, rendering it a cut, maybe a cut-and-a-half, above other stuff in the genre. But: Even for those of us who could take or leave the overwrought melodrama of the narrative – so frequently punctuated by weighty pop-music interludes, and the moderately constipated Imagine Dragons theme song is absolutely emblematic of that – the series offers some truly bracing action sequences, which are superbly directed and choreographed, and supported by the story’s bold sense of life-or-death stakes. That’s where all that money is, in the slick and detailed animation, and the inspired character and background design (a blend of cyberpunk and ornate anime a la Knights of the Zodiac or Castlevania), which is a gorgeous dangling bauble luring us in to watch further.
Sex and Skin: None so far in season two, but some PG-13-level sex scenes have popped up in the series previously.
Parting Shot: A battered Singed, making his way through a snowy forest, approaches a den of snarling wolves and cracks open a rather sinister canister of green gas.
Sleeper Star: The true sleeper star here is our anticipation for the return of series superstar Jinx, who gets exactly zero seconds of screen time in the season two debut.
Most Pilot-y Line: Don’t you dare decontextualize Vi’s statement about loss and turn it into something naughty: “The hole gets smaller,” she says, “but you never fill it.”
Our Call: Arcane continues its considerable dramatic momentum from the first season. Just keep on rollin’ and STREAM IT.
John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
