Arcane Maintains its Magic In a Spellbinding Second Season

The first season of Arcane was often downright mesmerizing, so much so that it helped definitively move us past the era where videogame adaptations were always bad to the new status quo where videogame adaptations are now only sometimes bad. Showrunners Christian Linke and Alex Yee accomplished the difficult task of adapting League of Legends, a multiplayer game most known for making people hate their teammates and themselves, into a story full of compelling, complicated characters, while Fortiche Production’s painstakingly rendered animation brought this steampunk fantasy world to life. And at least through the first six episodes (out of nine) we were provided for review, this second season both reinforces the series’ place as one of the most visually impressive things on television and delivers a flurry of narrative blows that will leave you gasping for air.

The story picks up immediately where things left off; Jinx (Ella Purnell) just sent a magic missile through the window of a Piltover council room, killing several of the city’s leaders and leaving the upper crust more enthused than ever to viciously oppress the undercity of Zaun. Both sides gear up for war as a backroom manipulator attempts to squash any hope of peace. Meanwhile, Vi (Hailee Steinfeld) and Cait (Katie Leung) struggle to live with the guilt of allowing this attack to happen, leading them to do things they will both regret. And if all that wasn’t complicated enough, as tensions escalate, the power of the experimental arcane technologies implemented throughout Piltover continues to destabilize, setting the stage for a whole bunch of psychedelic, reality-tearing detours and the birth of an unlikely messianic figure. Considering this is the last season, you would have thought the plot would start winding down, but there’s a lot going on across the board from the jump.

While the series’ compelling storytelling put the first season in rarefied company, its eye-catching animation is what caught a lot of initial attention, and this element is just as, if not more, impressive here. I don’t know what Faustian bargain Fortiche struck, but they continue to realize a punchy style that blends 3D CG and traditional 2D art to utilize the strengths of both, seamlessly animating complicated character designs while maintaining the scrappiness and personality of hand-drawn sketches. We simply don’t see much animation of this caliber on television due to budget and time constraints, and perhaps it’s only possible in this case because of Riot Games’ deep pockets (this is reportedly the most expensive animated series ever produced) combined with a very talented crew of animators. Whatever makes this unlikely confluence possible, it’s a sight to behold.

But more than just being technically impressive, the latest season doubles down on over-the-top artistic flourishes, effectively switching visual styles, mediums, and color grading—splashes of watercolor or pastels accompany heartbreaking flashbacks, while frenetic bursts of scratchy lineart depict dissidents raging against the machine. There are so many standout sequences that it’s hard to pick just a few: at one point, an inspired cold open condenses Raging Bull into a 60-second punk rock montage, culminating in a wonderfully maximalist wardrobe change, while in another, we’re transported into a kaleidoscopic nether realm where the fabric of reality is tenuous. The series looks good in every mode, especially when it’s time for fisticuffs, as the action is just as punchy and well-choreographed as ever. Meanwhile, the editing seamlessly transitions between these tones with a snappy cadence brought together by Pascal Charrue and Arnaud Delord’s strong direction. And even when it isn’t swinging for the fences, the show’s beautifully realized world remains a delight— the sight of these Art Deco, retro-futuristic backdrops, and this techno-Victorian fashion never gets old.

If I have one audiovisual complaint, though, it’s that heavy usage of insert songs doesn’t always land, and while they sometimes achieve the intended effect of amping up an exchange, in certain scenes, it comes across like when a great party is broken up by someone with questionable music taste getting their hands on the aux cord (I’m sorry, but no matter how mindblowing the animation is, nothing can get me on board with Imagine Dragons). Still, there’s a very short list of TV shows with as much aesthetic identity as this one, and even if some of the off-kilter needle drops don’t quite work, this isn’t nearly enough to spoil the fun.

One of the main accomplishments of this largely successful visual presentation is that it places us in the headspace of characters in increasingly fraught circumstances. Here, more than ever, the series isn’t afraid to take its protagonists to some dark places. I regret to inform you that your favorite character will probably commit a war crime. But what keeps things from coming across as overly cynical is that the inverse is true of the “bad” guys, a descriptor that is less useful than ever for many (but not all) of them. In particular, I’m extremely impressed by how this run of episodes handles Jinx. Last season, her path toward Joker-ification felt a little cartoonish, but here, she’s confronted with dilemmas that grant her nuance and compelling choices. That isn’t to say there aren’t clear antagonists, like Mel’s badass, master-manipulating mom Ambessa (Ellen Thomas), who remains as imposing as ever, and it’s not to suggest that most of Piltover’s residents aren’t still classist dirtbags. But those who previously seemed like saviors go to some dark places, while those who appeared to be past the point of no return get shots at redemption.

It all leads to tragic duels, heartfelt attempts at reconciliation, and shattering flashbacks that land with as much impact as Vi’s gauntlets—seriously, I wasn’t expecting to be so thoroughly undone by these unfulfilled dreams of change and familial reunions, which are consistently elevated by Fortiche’s deft visual craft. The show’s creatives have cited anime as an influence in the past, and this season taps into a similar emotional wavelength through powerful cuts of animation.

All that said, if I have one narrative nitpick that carries over from last season, it’s that while this cast of characters is excellent, and their many competing goals are well-conveyed, the series’ overarching ethos remains a bit more elusive than you’d like, especially considering its constant political subtext. On the one hand, the intent behind a lot of the imagery comes across plainly: it’s apparent what’s being implied when we see Piltover riot cops herding Zaun civilians through military checkpoints and beating people with billy clubs. Just like last season, the top side is violently oppressing those below them on the ladder, which is what causes retaliatory attacks from Zaun. That said, it’s still unclear if the series has anything resembling a thematically satisfying resolution in mind or if it will settle into a sludge of morally gray soup while shrugging its shoulders and vaguely suggesting that incorrigible “human nature” is the problem instead of the systems of oppression the narrative has routinely highlighted.

Another element that is ambiguous through these first two acts (this season is coming out in three batches of three episodes each, and we haven’t gotten access to the final one) is whether the show will tie up its many loose ends. Given that this story is theoretically coming to a denouement, I expected this stretch to be a bit more focused, but things have spiraled in even more directions, and I’m curious if they will be able to bring everything together in the final trio of episodes in a way that doesn’t feel cramped and undercooked. It’s possible that some of these elements could be handled in a spin-off series or something, but as it stands, it may be difficult for the last act to wrap everything up.

But setting aside the significant caveat that we don’t know if the climax will land, this latest batch of episodes marks the return of everything great about Arcane’s first season. It continues to be a visual tour de force that elevates its characters’ journeys through awesome displays of animation firepower. And as this second season pinballs between stylish action sequences, bittersweet tragedy, and messianic imagery, it balances these tones through snappy editing and a general panache. While we’re still waiting on the last three episodes to see if everything coalesces, at least so far, this series hasn’t lost an ounce of its magic.

Elijah Gonzalez is an assistant Games and TV Editor for Paste Magazine. In addition to playing and watching the latest on the small screen, he also loves film, creating large lists of media he’ll probably never actually get to, and dreaming of the day he finally gets through all the Like a Dragon games. You can follow him on Twitter @eli_gonzalez11 and on Bluesky @elijahgonzalez.bsky.social.

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