Well then. I absolutely loved [[Arcane: Season 1]]. I still loved Season 2… but I think they may have reached just a bit too far.

The art style is still amazing. We still have the same main steampunk/magitech/brightly colored visuals (Jink’s chaotic spraypunk style in particular), but there are also more scenes this time, with different styles matching the feel. Chaotic black slashes when a monster hunts, childhood crayon feeling drawings for memories, and SPACE for… well, spoilers. And oh, the glitching. Weird, but quite the style.

The characters… I think at it’s heart, this show is about Vi and Jinx and man do they go through a lot in this season. I already felt for Jinx–even if I wasn’t sure she could ever be redeemed in season 1–and they just turn it up. On top of that, you have Jayce/Viktor, which… man that one hurt this season. Plus Vi/Cait (go them!), and Mel/her mother (this one didn’t get nearly as much time as it needed), and Ekko (this could have been a whole season… or left out entirely).

Mostly, I think this was the biggest problem with this season. It’s only 9 episodes, mostly short of 45 minutes. That is not enough time to fit everything that they tried to put in this show. I could have easily watched an entire season focussing on any one of those plots above… and they tried to fit it all in. We get some resolutions… but so much is left undone.

Apparently there won’t be an Arcane Season 3; instead, we’ll get one or more spinoff shows in the same universe but with other stories/settings/characters. This is absolutely for the best.

Speaking of feel, the first season did a good job of feeling real/grounded. It was a story of class warfare and the introduction of magic into a steampunk world. It all ‘fit’. Here, we get quite a bit more of the more ‘cosmic’ side of what’s apparently also kicking around in this world. I liked it, don’t get me wrong, but it felt so much bigger and weirder than the first season that they didn’t quite fit together…

Overall? I still quite enjoyed Season 2. It is absolutely worth watching Season 1 and once you have… well, you have to go on, right? I’ll totally check out any spin-offs that we get.

Onward!

Thoughts episode by episode (spoilers!).

1. Heavy is the Crown

Last season ended with a bang.

This season begins with a funeral.

And then we get the Big Bang / establishing moment. Go Caitlyn. Go Vi. Go new girl (Maddie) and fish guy and shield guy! I expect they have names?

I’m sure their mission will go perfectly.

2. Burn it all Down

So there’s Jinx. She seems to be coping well.

As does the rest of Piltover it seems.

Man. Viktor is back… and still a mess. That one is going to be complicated.

Everything is going to be complicated.

3. Finally Got the Name Right

Complicated. No kidding.

Caitlyn and Vi, fulfilling their mission in the underground. We all knew this was going to be complicated… but man that was a fight scene. And emotional.

Ekko and Jayce. Doing science(ish) and figuring things out. Also complicated. And trippy.

Ambessa. Causing chaos in a whole new land now. In ways I don’t think anyone but her expected.

And all the on a backdrop of … a bit more cosmic of a threat that no one is ready for.

This is a wacky season.

4. Paint the Town Blue

Into the belly of the beast.

And man. The beast is intense. Playing with different styles through this show is quite something to see.

5. Blisters and Bedrock

Man… what was that intro season? I feel so lost.

(I think I forgot Vi wasn’t much in last episode so the timing works)

And then we have Mel… somewhere and blood beasts and all sorts of chaos.

The plotline with Jynx and Vi et all is still the heart of the show… and everything else is making very little sense. I fear that they can’t possibly pull everything together in the latter half of the season… but we shall see.

6. The Message Hidden Within the Pattern

Man. Viktor has quite the place going on.

Caitlyn and Vi. Oh that’s a reunion.

And then Jayce. Oh Jayce. What in the world happened to him…

7. Pretend Like it’s the First Time

Huh. So. Ekko.

Jayce.

Parallel realities.

Time travel.

There… is so very much going on in this season.

8. Killing is a Cycle

Back to Mel!

Who is glowing now. And managed to blow up all her clothes expect for the important bits.

And Viktor!

Who is either stuck in a chrysalis again… or one with the universe? It’s unclear.

Also Cait and Vi and Jinx. It’s complicated…

9. The Dirt Under Your Nails

And so it ends. A big battle! Magic! Loss!

This… has been a very strange season. I think they wrapped up more than I expected… I particularly liked that we got solid arcs with both Vi/Jinx and Vi/Cait. I could have used more Ekko.

And I still have no real idea what was going on with several of those threads.

Man this show got weird.