Arcane: Season 2 - Acts 1 & 2

It's easy to forget just how lucky we are to have a show like Arcane. This project debuted at a time when there was still a stigma regarding turning video games into TV and film, a stigma that often proved true thanks to countless just awful adaptations. But no, in Arcane, Netflix and Riot combined to produce something that seemed near-impossible. They managed to take the rich and expansive lore of League of Legends and its countless champions to create a diverse, emotional, and complex story about love and loss, the rich and poor, good and evil, and yet all while continuing to present it in such a way that even the most dedicated of fans and the greenest of newbies can enjoy in tandem. Arcane's first season was a near-masterpiece for a multitude of reasons and it's because of this that we've been eager for the second season but also probably a little sceptical about it too.

Maintaining the level of quality that Arcane exudes for a full second season is a task that few projects manage to succeed at, regardless of whether they are a video game adaptation or not. So, does Season 2 live up to the Arcane standard? Simply put... it does. Or at least it has so far. As it stands I have only been privy to the first two Acts, with the conclusive and ambitious third Act still being a mystery to me. This means that this review will exist with a big caveat: can Riot stick the landing and tie this expanding story up in a neat little bow in just three remaining episodes? The answer to that question will remain for a few weeks until Act 3 arrives in late November, but as for Acts 1 and 2, let's get into why they continue to bewilder, inspire, and stun.

First of all, Arcane: Season 2 picks up after the events of Season 1 where Jinx decides to blow up a meeting of Piltover's elite. This act has led to the relationship between Piltover and Zaun being the most fragile it has ever been and the recent arrival of the sly Noxian warlord Ambessa just continues to stoke these fires. Vi and Jinx have never been so distant, the underworld has never been so leaderless, Heimerdinger's suspicions of Hextech has never been so strong, and all of this means that the champions of this story are faced with insurmountable problems.

While you may worry that Arcane will look to breach these topics too quickly in an effort to reach a conclusion by the end of Season 2, you'll be glad to know that the pacing remains one of the show's strongest elements. Act 1 begins with a bang, delivering exciting action and hugely influential scenes and moments that make your jaw drop all while balancing these out with steadier periods where necessary character development is allowed to flourish, further breathing life and energy into this increasingly twisted and dark world. Act 2 further proves Arcane's brilliance at mastering specifically this, as while the opening episodes come across as almost too steady it means the payoff and conclusion to end this chapter of the story hits like a truck and leaves you speechless and with a tear in your eye. The ability to convey emotion stands out and never misses a beat.

In these episodes, Arcane also manages to bring many of its most ridiculous or crazed characters back down to earth so that the viewer can develop a human connection with them. They manage to overcome Jinx's rise to insanity by introducing an unexpected new character that makes this already popular champion the real star of this series, above and beyond what Vi can deliver. It's not that Hailee Steinfeld's Vi disappoints in any sense, it's just that Ella Purnell presents an amazing performance as Jinx this season.

So yes, the narrative structure, the script and dialogue, the performances, and pacing is all top quality. You'll never want to take a breather when watching this series, you'll want to watch as many episodes are available at a time in one swift swoop, it's just that compelling and engaging from minute one until the credits roll. And I do think this is in part thanks to the fantastic animation technique used for the show, which steps away from the increasingly overused cartoon-anime style that we see in Dragon's Dogma, Tekken: Bloodlines, and even Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft, as examples. In Arcane: Season 2, the art style matches vibrant colours and fantastical set pieces to create so many amazing environments and moments that you could pause this show countless times and find a new desktop or phone wallpaper. This is on top of the new animation techniques that they dot in between to keep you on your toes, with punk-like or emotional watercolour montages. It's refreshing and beautiful and still feels one-of-a-kind.

There are cracks forming in the impeccable armour of Arcane however, as with the show continuously introducing new characters and storylines you can see that the weight of all this narrative expansion is taking its toll and causing some threads to feel underutilised or forgotten. It's because of this that I have marginal concerns that the remaining three episodes will have what it takes to conclude this story. I truly hope it will manage this feat with the same class and excellence that not just Season 1 exudes but both Acts 1 and 2 of Season 2 as well, because if it does, Arcane will undoubtedly be the greatest video game adaptation we have ever seen, and may ever see, and also a firm contender for one of the greatest TV series of all-time.