So Arcane as we know it had wrapped up with its series finale and oh boy, I have a lot to say. Don’t get me wrong, this was a phenomenal season and series finale but it did leave a lot of burning unanswered questions. However, there’s hope as they’re already working on other projects within the Arcane universe, but this story has been completed.
Beware of spoilers of the entire show in this review!
First of all, the music got better with each act that dropped, with some of my absolute favorites coming out in act 3. Namely, “The Line” by Twenty One Pilots, which shows our beloved Vander losing who he is as a person to become Warwick, a killing monster. There’s also “Wasteland” by Royal & the Serpent, a beautifully haunting song during Jinx’s saddest moments in act 3, including her ‘death’. (I totally believe she faked it out and is the one on that ship sailing away at the very end.)
And of course, the song everyone is obsessed with, “Ma Meilleure Ennemie” by Stromae and Pomme. It’s a beautiful song sung in French over our Ekko and alternative universe Jinx, who is called Powder, dancing together in a much happier version of their world. It’s gut-wrenching watching what could’ve been between two beloved characters, and our Ekko could’ve chosen to stay there, but once he, Powder, and our Heimerdinger figured out how to send him back, Ekko leaves, because he still has a duty to save everyone he loves. Plus, it’s only fair as he was inhabiting Alt Ekko and taking over his body when he went to another universe and he should be allowed to live his own life too.
Speaking of which, episode seven, “Pretend Like It’s The First Time” is easily my favorite of this season. We finally see what happened to Jayce, Ekko and Heimerdinger after being absent for all of act 2 and it’s a bittersweet time for Ekko as he sees what life could’ve been like if some things were different. Like if Vi unfortunately died in the explosion at Jayce’s house all the way in episode one. Powder was still Powder, but clearly still heartbroken over losing her sister. While we don’t see or understand what all changed if Vi dies, it’s clear to us that her death was a chain-reaction to avoiding the civil war between Piltover and Zaun, and having unity instead.
In this act, Heimerdinger ends up disappearing to send Ekko back. It’s unclear what his fate really was, but I hear that in the League of Legends lore, his kind doesn’t die, so Heimerdinger simply went elsewhere, which is a nice ending for him as he was stuck in this alt universe three years before Ekko shows up and he isn’t as complacent as he was in season one in order to enact change. He set to help make things right and at least in that world, he succeeded.
Now we’ll go back a step to act 2 because the family reunion of Vander/Warwick, Jinx, and Vi was the one moment in this entire season that left me to tears. It’s finally a moment of happiness and relief and for a moment, we believe maybe Vander could be restored, only for that hope to be ripped away in the next episode. And poor Isha, a little girl Jinx took under her wing and treated her like a little sister, paid the price of Noxian soldiers and Singed turning Vander into a monster who can’t recognize Jinx anymore. Isha sacrifices herself to save everyone and Jinx’s utter dismay at her loss is what breaks her in the final part.
Jayce’s arc was very interesting this season too. Episode 7 has the juxtaposition of the happier alt universe, and Jayce is in absolute hell as he sees what another future could happen: a world where Victor successfully took over everyone’s minds and everyone is dead, and Jayce even finds his body as he tried to stop Victor. It’s an amazing callback when we reach the final episode and we almost see that universe come to reality, before Ekko shows up to save the day. In the end, Jayce and Victor, who were at odds all season, reach an understanding and put an end to what Victor started, leaving both presumably dead or somewhere else.
Despite all my praises, I do have some complaints about this season. Namely, I felt like the pacing was a bit off. This idea has a lot of people divided surprisingly, but I think there’s some flaws there that season one didn’t have. The creators have since come out to say that the finale was supposed to be twice as long, with mostly Jinx and Ekko content that got cut completely from the final script. I really wish that stayed in because we have the two finally actually talking for probably the first time we’ve seen since they were children, and we only get an intro of it and nothing more until they show up to help in the final fight.
Also, sometimes it felt as though they were trying to fit in too many ideas. For example, the season started as an all out civil war and the hunt to get Jinx for killing half the council. Somewhere along the way, it takes a hard pivot to being Piltover and Zaun against Ambessa and her soldiers and a magical god (Victor). And somehow, Piltover and Zaun quickly agree to work together against them, despite being at odds for the entirety of this show. It felt a little disjointed there and I wish they were able to put that together more cohesively.
In general, I just wasn’t a fan of Ambessa or even Mel this season. Mel gets even cooler than she was, acquiring powers due to being an affair baby to someone else. Her newfound abilities not only came out of nowhere, but she learned to wield them very quickly, which felt unnatural for the pacing of the show. Ambessa honestly could’ve done with less screen time because she was just never a compelling villain for me, but that’s just my opinion.
Overall, I adored this season and this show as a whole and I may rewatch season 2 just to experience it again and also see if I can pick up on foreshadowing or details I missed the first time. I know damn well too that Jinx is alive because there’s multiple hints showing that she makes it out before the explosions went off. Perhaps she’s off to figure out who she really is and “break the cycle” as she put it, and not through suicide, but through removing herself from her current life and rediscovering who she is. I do hope she comes back in future projects because I don’t think her story is over yet.
Now if you’ll excuse me while I go binge the entire series again to cope with the finale.
