Arcane

Act I: A treat for every League of Legends player

Act II: Whirlwind of emotions, understanding

Act III: Gobsmacking finale

This article contains spoilers. Read at your own risk.

URGH. That’s the last screech I let out in front of my Samsung The Serif TV when I was hooked watching Arcane’s Act II. It was the sound of frustration from someone who wanted more.

The second act progresses the series with world-building scenes, side stories, and the foundation for that one big finale. Instead of scattered introduction from the first act, Arcane gets to expand the lore for every champion and significant character in the story.

We got glimpses of the characters’ lives and what they’ve become after the time jump. But I’m not going to spoil you with the fun that you can discover while watching Arcane. Instead, let me share with you all the emotions felt.

Processing deaths and loss

The element of grief is prevalent in the story’s major characters. They say time heals everything, but not with grief — or at least for those who didn’t process them well.

For Powder, Marcus, Vi, and even Caitlyn — losing people can take a toll on your mental health. Similar to our waking reality.

The pandemic has taken the lives of some of my friends. Even parents and families of colleagues and loved ones. And I would admit: I haven’t even processed my emotions fully. I barely gave myself time to cry and surrender to the void I’ve felt.

Arcane presented the reality of grief and mourning. Even though you seem fine on the outside, and even if you look like you’ve already moved forward, the void is still there until you ought to address it properly.

Marcus and Caitlyn remembered Grayson, the enforcer killed in Act I. While Marcus sees Grayson as a good woman, he continued her path but became severely corrupted in the process.

Caitlyn, on the other hand, remembers fond memories with Grayson and how the enforcer helped her believe in herself and her skills as an excellent marksman even at a young age.

For Powder and Violet, the circumstances are different. Powder became a madwoman in the streets of Zaun, working for Silco as Jinx. But she’s a harrowing account of trauma and broken inner child.

Everywhere she looks, she gets haunted by her memories: Accidentally killing her friends, hurting her family, blaming herself for being abandoned.

She became unstable caused by her guilt. And she badly needs a therapist. But I’m sure she’s going to shoot and bomb anyone who’ll try to get her treated.

Vi spent years in a locked cell, treated like a dangerous criminal that needs to be isolated. After being released and traveling back to Zaun, her memories started haunting her. However, Vi is embattled with repressed emotions, and sometimes, it gets the best of her.

Arcane presented how loss and grief manifest differently in those who were left in the living.

Relationships are tricky

Arcane magnified relationships — business, platonic, romantic, and sexual connections — throughout the second act. Jayce, who’s stepping up to be the next shiny thing in Piltover due to the progress he’s making in the city, realizes he has to be careful.

Being in the public eye and the brain behind the innovation, everyone can be his enemy or an ally.

This is true even in waking life, where we need to play our cards right. When gaining status and power, depending on how you deliver and present yourself, you can choose your friends and foes.

With the help of Councilor Mel Medarda, Jayce got investors to back his Hextech research and even gain the favor of other Councilors. This helped him establish dominance in the Council and got support when he pushed for Heimerdinger’s retirement.

Concurrently, Jayce and Mel Medarda are knocking boots. After a vulnerable moment was shared, the two ended up kissing and having sex — sharing a passionate night while Viktor collapsed due to his illness while working on the Hextech.

Though Jayce slightly felt torn between his friend and his girl, Mel Medarda asked Jayce to spend time with Viktor and to put him first. The lady knows the code: bros before hoes.

Not all reunions are worth celebrating

Vi and Powder got a tearjerker reunion. Though I got real emotional, the reunion was cut short when they were attacked by the Firelighters — a gang that Jinx ambushed earlier in the second act.

If Taylor Swift could sing in Arcane right now, it would’ve been “All Too Well”. Especially that line “you called me up again just to break me like a promise” because that’s how Powder probably felt. Once more, Vi is leaving her again.

On another note, Vi saw how much Powder has changed. Years of being in survival mode had turned Powder into Jinx the madwoman. Or in the game’s data, “The Loose Cannon.”

There were no exchanges shared regarding how much they’ve changed, but their eyes and facial expression have shown the disconnect between the two sisters. Separated by fate, ripped by strife, torn by the events that changed their life.

Arcane Act III will premiere on November 20, 2021.