Television Arcane - Netflix (League of Legends show)

I loved the endings showing Singed and what looks like could be two headed Warwick. Ambessa is a cool character too. They timed her champion release to coincide with the season 2 premiere.
 
Semper Fudge said:
If only someone had posted recap videos a few posts ago!
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I watched the recap but I don’t think they’re a good substitute for freshly watching the first season. There’s still lots I don’t remember! That said I’m far too impatient to actually rewatch the first season. I’m still enjoying it a lot, I can remember most story beats, it’s more like the interactions with specific characters who I guess know each other well from season 1 but I can’t remember why.
 
No wonder it's only getting two seasons. It cost $250 million to make and I'd believe it, it's a spectacular looking show. Some of the best animation I've ever seen. Everything about it is dripping in style.

It's a shame though because I could watch another 10 seasons of this. It's absolutely brilliant.
 
Shane88 said:
No wonder it's only getting two seasons. It cost $250 million to make and I'd believe it, it's a spectacular looking show. Some of the best animation I've ever seen. Everything about it is dripping in style.

It's a shame though because I could watch another 10 seasons of this. It's absolutely brilliant.
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Rumours of a spin-off (same “world”, some similar characters but not Vi/Jinx)
 
Well that hit me like a freight train.
 
Wow just finished S2 Act 2. This show has everything. I don't see how they even finish all this in the next Act. I mean some of it can be for future projects spinoffs. But there are entire separate nations they can explore with their own intrigues etc. for spinoffs. Granted these are expensive 2 seasons, still the quality is amazing in every aspect.

The Mel storyline with Black Rose I am very invested in. So close to maybe a glimpse of my main when I played League years ago
 
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It’s one of those shows I completely forgot about the second I finished S1.

Watched the catch up and tried to get back into this but it just doesn’t grip me for whatever reason. The animation is great but the world I can take or leave, like I’m not really fussed what happens. Gave up during the first ep of S2. Sounds like it’s just a me thing though.
 
Season 2 has been very good so far

Although I really hope episode 6 didn't actually end the way it looks like it did :(
 
Overall an excellent series. But, the final act was disjointed and messy. 7 was arguably the weakest episode of the whole series for me. And I love Echo. They should have done that in a different way. It killed the momentum they had from an excellent Act 2. They had too many plot threads to tie up to waste an entire episode on
Multiverse out of nowhere.

Ambessa and the final battle was also kind of weak imo. What was she doing? They never really got to what she actually wanted. Hextech for what? Her ambitions were just not strong enough here compared to the quality of writing the rest of the show had. They needed to more completely tie up the connection with the Black Rose. Why she was hiding Mel. Better connecting the dots on what she was ultimately after would have made a stronger end. We needed a real connection with her end goal like take over Hextech and what did she think she would be a partner with uber Victor? Why would she agree to Victors puppet master deal? Its completely uncharacteristic of her she is always talking about her family and being strong. But she tosses all that aside to be the tool in Victor's powerplay even letting him take over her daughter too? It's just too unclear and that's weak writing compared to the rest of the shows top tier writing.

I get that can easily spin off into other characters and other series but it was messy, and it robbed this show of getting a fully realized character in Ambessa.

They dripped in other Legends characters at the end for like no reason.
We got Oriana finally with daddy Singed. But there really wasn't much purpose and I wouldn't want a spinoff of her.
LeBlanc and Vlad they could do interesting things with them and Mel now in a spinoff with the intro here. And Mel seemingly going back to Noxxus?

One thing I can say is they seemed to fix the nobody dies for good in this show. There was a pretty large main character body count.
 
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It honestly did feel like there were different writers for the final act. I thought even the music was weaker. In all the rest of the series the art and music choices were top tier along with the writing.
 
A bit shocked by how much they dropped the ball after a season and a half of near perfection.
 
Bobski said:
A bit shocked by how much they dropped the ball after a season and a half of near perfection.
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It's left me feeling a bit sad about the whole show, which is a shame.

Needed three seasons if they wanted to cram all of that in.
 
Disappointing end to it all. Looked like writers trying to cram too much in a much shorter time. Which is what it was.

The pacing was initially so good, but it derailed so fast. I don't really know why they locked themselves into two seasons like that, cause it clearly hurt the writing and pacing of it all.

Then again, as is synonymous with their video games, Riot is always doing strange things.
 
Semper Fudge said:
It's left me feeling a bit sad about the whole show, which is a shame.

Needed three seasons if they wanted to cram all of that in.
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Yes, They had something truly special there with the art design, quality of animation but with a bit of perspective it really peaked with the Silco at the Vander statue moment in the first season.

Still think it is an exceptional show overall but, but, but...
 
The ending arc was a little bit of a let down but I wouldn't say it ruined the show or anything like that. I'd still go back and watch it.

As beautiful as the art and animation is, they could've done with being reigned in a bit with showing it all off in their fancy music video style sequences and focus on more story/dialogue.

The internet seems convinced Jinx is alive but I thought it seemed like a conclusive death, no?
 
From Reddit

I just rewinded a bit. Caitlyn is looking at the hexgate in her kiramen diary. She has the top of the bomb that Jinx set off to kill Vander. However that implies that the bomb should leave a trace.

The implication being that there was no trace of a body for Jinx. After the little top of the monkey bomb? A zoom of a air duct (that the firelights used to travel before) to escape the tower.

And If I am not misremembering, Powder said something about wanting to leave piltover in a airship or something (might have been Milo). I'm going to watch the first episode of season 1 to find out.

But I think your theory holds water.

Powder in episode one says "one day i'm going to ride on of those" And it's the exact same model as the one at the end of season 2.



[
Ekko saved Jinx

He's not at the top after the explosion despite causing it

He only burns one paper: Heimer’s

The boat at the end glitches back in time + "the end" with Jinx's typo

They're leaving together (and Cait spotted that but won't tell Vi)
/SPOILER]
 
Other countries have some ridiculous, hilarious attempts at censorship.

Vi and Cait are just good buds in China.



And Iran photoshop black clothes on to any exposed female skin that might be too risqué, like *gasp* shoulders.

dtf8a4phc93e1.jpeg
 
Firstly it was again amazing animation, although and it might just be me - but when they did the low fps for
Vanderbeast hunting blood
and I think it was a scene with
Kaitlyn and Violet dancing?
I felt it cheapened this. Still this was like 3 or 4 scenes in the entire show, so overall it was outstanding.

Story wise...
A lot happened to change characters and for me personally that was a really good thing. After I think it was the 2nd episode of season 2 I was feeling like I was over the main characters - Vi, Jinx, Kaitlyn etc. After taking a break for few days and giving the 3rd episode onwards a chance, even those characters that were feeling stale had enough change going on with them that it didnt detract from my enjoyment.

Personally I wish we'd had final form/league Viktor since halfway through the 2nd season or something. Just having him for the final episode was lame. He's obviously quite the copy of Dr. Doom and it felt like how Doom had been done badly in the Fantastic 4 movies where either his design is different and worse in the newest one and spends 90% of the movie showing the actor's face in the one before.

Jayce sucked from the beginning to end. Worst character.

I liked that Vander was back but hated what was done to him, I liked Ekko's episode but didnt like that he along with Heimer and Viktor were missing for a bunch of episodes. A Vander rehab and Ekko not going missing so long would have done a lot for the male side of the cast who, other than Viktor felt secondary to the characters at the forefront of the story being a bunch of females fighting and then aligning, then fighting again, treading a lot of the same ground.

The pop music coming in during several of the heavier moments in the animation took me out of it a couple of times

10/10 animation, 5/10 music, 7/10 story for me
 
A lot to digest, watched the final 4 episodes yesterday evening. Jinx clearly escaped though, they made it pretty obvious in the show. Oddly, I found Episode 7 really interesting, I liked that dynamic of the three essentially in a paradise version while you've got Jayce suffering through the nightmare version. I mean its not a new troupe by any means, but it made you appreciate how young Jinx/Powder actually is along with Ekko. It actually worked really well given the previous episode drama, to see a happy Powder knowing that Jinx in our world is clearly going to be borderline suicidal again.

That's what I enjoyed about the show, the characters generally kept evolving and changing after trauma and they certainly went through a lot of trauma. The last episode felt a bit rushed though and wasn't madly keen on Ambessa's character. I didn't totally understand her motivations through the final act. She clearly came over to Piltover to obtain weaponary to beat the Black Rose? But we never totally understood the reasoning afaik on why her and the Black Rose ever had a feud? She chased wild and more dangerous weaponary as the show went on, siding eventually with a man/God that could form almost invulnerable robots. The reasoning for Viktor to side with her didn't seem to totally work either. I dunno, felt a bit forced.

That's the only minor quibble I have with the story. The end of Episode 6 felt like i'd been stabbed in the gut several times. feck.

Also, did anyone else notice some of the shots used with the robots felt like it came directly from the film I-Robot? It felt pretty similar at times in the final battle. Anyway, the level of detail in the animations in particular the facial animations was just astounding. Just so fecking good.
 
Actually the more I think about this show the better it actually gets unlike other TV Shows that feel like they get worse after you digest them for a few days. I also like the ending of having Jinx alive and well but keeping it vague enough that there is still some doubt. But the clues leading up to the finale made it pretty obvious that she's alive and well. Perhaps it helped that I remembered about the airship detail as i'd binged the 1st season prior to the 2nd. But even the dialogue leading up to that moment made it pretty clear that Jinx was going to need to leave to snap out of her loop. Breaking the cycle for herself, her sister and others that got enveloped in that clusterfeck.

The character arcs make a lot of sense combined with the emotional heart driving the story. I know some of you didn't like the multiverse episode but it's actually pretty vital to the story as well as character developments of the key players. It gives Ekko renewed energy to fight for Powder and Zaun. In turn he helped remotivate Jinx and shake her out of her suicide spiral, who was the key figure in having Zaun turn up to help save the day in the final fight. Would they have turned up without Jinx who was basically their leader? No, I think they clearly wouldnt have. The obvious explanation was needed for Jayce's weird reaction in Episode 5. Which becomes far more reasonable after seeing what remained had Viktor won, also explains why he gave up his own life to ensure that it could never happen. It was a refreshing change to see two characters embrace death like that and be there for each other where most shows would allow the 'villain' to sacrifice themselves for the good of everyone else.

Jinx's whole character is actually a deeply tragic story. When you think she was named Jinx by her peers and yet you could actually argue that it was Vi herself that was the Jinx. There's so many interesting ideas in S2, far more than in S1 which was a fairly conventional story. The trauma of these kids having seen their adopted father die three times. No wonder Vi at the end couldn't move, it was just too much, she froze, it happens. Grief does strange things to people. Vi may not have had a big final battle (she technically did with Vander at the end), but she showed herself to be the leader that many people knew her to be. She was the one leading everyone while Caitlyne was the one hunting down Ambessa, a strategy clearly discussed about prior to the battle. This was Vi's moment to shine, leading both Piltover and those that volunteered from Zaun. I'd say that's pretty fecking great character development tbf. It's been clear for a while that Jinx was the real hero anyway.

The only part of the story that didn't work for me was the Mel and Ambessa arc. But that might become a bit clearer with a rewatch. I'm no fan of League (never played the game), nor of Anime but what an incredible ride this show was. Top 5 for me, when they got it right it genuinely felt like one of Vi's metal fists to the gut. Very few shows do that to me.
 
RedSky said:
Actually the more I think about this show the better it actually gets unlike other TV Shows that feel like they get worse after you digest them for a few days. I also like the ending of having Jinx alive and well but keeping it vague enough that there is still some doubt. But the clues leading up to the finale made it pretty obvious that she's alive and well. Perhaps it helped that I remembered about the airship detail as i'd binged the 1st season prior to the 2nd. But even the dialogue leading up to that moment made it pretty clear that Jinx was going to need to leave to snap out of her loop. Breaking the cycle for herself, her sister and others that got enveloped in that clusterfeck.

The character arcs make a lot of sense combined with the emotional heart driving the story. I know some of you didn't like the multiverse episode but it's actually pretty vital to the story as well as character developments of the key players. It gives Ekko renewed energy to fight for Powder and Zaun. In turn he helped remotivate Jinx and shake her out of her suicide spiral, who was the key figure in having Zaun turn up to help save the day in the final fight. Would they have turned up without Jinx who was basically their leader? No, I think they clearly wouldnt have. The obvious explanation was needed for Jayce's weird reaction in Episode 5. Which becomes far more reasonable after seeing what remained had Viktor won, also explains why he gave up his own life to ensure that it could never happen. It was a refreshing change to see two characters embrace death like that and be there for each other where most shows would allow the 'villain' to sacrifice themselves for the good of everyone else.

Jinx's whole character is actually a deeply tragic story. When you think she was named Jinx by her peers and yet you could actually argue that it was Vi herself that was the Jinx. There's so many interesting ideas in S2, far more than in S1 which was a fairly conventional story. The trauma of these kids having seen their adopted father die three times. No wonder Vi at the end couldn't move, it was just too much, she froze, it happens. Grief does strange things to people. Vi may not have had a big final battle (she technically did with Vander at the end), but she showed herself to be the leader that many people knew her to be. She was the one leading everyone while Caitlyne was the one hunting down Ambessa, a strategy clearly discussed about prior to the battle. This was Vi's moment to shine, leading both Piltover and those that volunteered from Zaun. I'd say that's pretty fecking great character development tbf. It's been clear for a while that Jinx was the real hero anyway.

The only part of the story that didn't work for me was the Mel and Ambessa arc. But that might become a bit clearer with a rewatch. I'm no fan of League (never played the game), nor of Anime but what an incredible ride this show was. Top 5 for me, when they got it right it genuinely felt like one of Vi's metal fists to the gut. Very few shows do that to me.
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Yes, the Mel/Ambessa/Black Rose storyline should have been its own season, really.

Noxus is fascinating though. You look at it from the outside and it looks like any other generic backstabbing society you see in media, but it's actually one of the best portrayals of a meritocracy that I think I've seen. Everyone has a chance there, no matter who you are, and if you're skilled enough in anything then people will respect you. I'd love a spin-off set around it!

And yeah, Jinx is one of the best characters in anything, I think.
 
That was a pretty meh ending, but they were always going to struggle to cramp that much into it. Spectacular show though.
 
Been a week now since I watched it and been thinking about it today. It’s still a very good series even if the ending maybe fell short of expectations.

The whole Ekko, Jinx thing was surprisingly brilliant and very touching. Like many have said probably tried to cram too much in that last 3 episodes that it felt forced and rushed.
 
Andersons Dietician said:
Been a week now since I watched it and been thinking about it today. It’s still a very good series even if the ending maybe fell short of expectations.

The whole Ekko, Jinx thing was surprisingly brilliant and very touching. Like many have said probably tried to cram too much in that last 3 episodes that it felt forced and rushed.
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I'm going to give it a rewatch in a week or so. But having watched the two seasons back to back, I can say that S1 was also very fast paced and personally I felt that S2 was a much better show, whether that holds up on a 2nd viewing i'm not sure. In the same token, I think it'd be interesting knowing the story and what happens to fully rewatch S1 again, I picked up on a few moments like the Airship in S1. But i'm sure there's a lot of subtle hints. It's a very carefully crafted show though, i've flicked through a few reddit posts and the attention to detail they put in to each scene is mind blowing.

Ultimately the ending was bitter sweet as Jinx survived but at the same time seperated from Vi and her friends. But what else were people expecting from a show like Arcane? That was ultimately the only way Jinx was going to survive, that's her way of healing. I find it fascinating for example that it's pretty clear that Isha was deaf as well as mute. A character trait that was never implied but the animations and hints are clear. It makes everything she does and her interactions with Jinx that much sweater and yet also more tragic.

It's weird, I don't think i've watched a TV Show before where a final season has had that much of an impact on me (in a good way, not like GoT). :lol:
 
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