6 days Ago
Arcane Arcane is doing this highly unusual “arc” structure, where they have talked Netflix into releasing three episodes a weekend for three weekends in a row. Now, we have just gotten access to the middle three, part 2 of season 2, and while parts of it may lack the impact of the first three, that certainly cannot be said of the ending. Spoilers follow.
The thrust of this middle part of Arcane season 2 is the reunion of sisters Jinx and Vi, who have been sparring most of the series, but now must come together to attempt to rescue their father, Vander, whose consciousness is trapped in the beast known as Warwick. The method to do this is to bring him to Viktor, who now has magic, Arcane-based healing powers which has created a utopian community. The problems are twofold.
First, Ambessa and Singed are tracking Warwick to capture him and use him in weapon production. Second, a demented version of Jayce has re-emerged from the Arcane plane, and he’s actually the one who kicks off the chaos that follows. He uses his now Arcane-warped hammer to blast a hole straight through Viktor, who dies, and then takes his entire community with him, his healing abilities evaporating with him.
This also includes all the progress he’s made with Warwick, who loses his Vander pieces entirely and turns into a molten monster attempting to murder everything in its path. Perhaps a nice nod to League’s Firefang Warwick skin, but disastrous for our story here. Arcane I remember when we first glimpsed Jinx’s new little sidekick, the mute Isha (I briefly thought this was going to be a Teemo adaptation, but no), everyone believed that this felt like a character that was introduced to eventually die in a tragic way.
Google’s Gmail Decision—Why You Need A New Email Address Gmail Alert—Leak Reveals New Email Addresses Coming For 2.5 Billion Users Trump’s Cabinet And Key Roles: Ex-Uber Exec Emil Michael Could Lead Transportation, Chris Wright Picked For Energy Welp. Yes, that is in fact what happened, but that did not make Isha’s final moments any less heart-wrenching.
Seeing that molten Warwick is going to kill Jinx and probably everyone else, Isha jams all the Hextech she can into Jinx’s gun, and slides under Warwick, unloading what appears to be nuclear shot that definitely kills her and probably kills him too, ending the carnage. This moment happens with flashbacks to Isha’s time with Jinx, and in real time, Jinx twisting her face in the most convincing looks of grief and horror I’ve ever seen in an animated series. It's a horrible, brilliant scene.
While Arcane has always worked on an emotional level, the rapid-fire deaths of Viktor at the hands of Jayce, Isha trying to save Jinx and Warwick right after his daughters had just (almost) gotten him back is like nothing the series has given us so far. It is no great surprise that Arcane season 2 has kept up its perfect critic reviews and sky-high audience scores, and it’s hard to imagine the final three episodes of the season, the series finale, won’t deliver next weekend. Follow me on Twitter , YouTube , Bluesky and Instagram .
Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy ..
