Okay the hype for this show is spot on. This show is amazing. I went in only knowing that it’s about two sisters who end up fighting on opposite sides of a conflict and I’m happy I went in with limited knowledge because it didn’t play out at all how I expected. When I first started watching the show I thought that Vi was the one who was gonna be radicalized against the topsiders but once the end of episode two hit and episode three played out it completely flipped that thought on its head and I realized I was dead wrong.
Vi is such a fantastic character and is my favorite character in the series. That’s not a disservice to any of the other fantastic characters instead it is a testament to how well written Vi is. I think Vi’s character and arc are summed up in what Vander told her in episode three “You’ve got a good heart. Don’t lose it. No matter how the world tries to break you.”. Vi is a good person who has been hardened through hardships just like many residents from the undercity. Vi has every reason in the world to be bitter and she has every reason in the world to just give up but she keeps getting back up. Her struggle made me legitimately emotional. This show really gets oldest child syndrome. I am also the oldest child in my family and I’ve felt what Vi felt when it came to Powder and I’ve felt what she felt when she was forced to watch Powder become Jinx. I think she’s a fantastic deuteragonist of Arcane. (Also Vi is just a complete badass.)
Powder’s descent into Jinx is also masterfully done. I don’t know if I’ve seen an animated show tackle how untreated trauma and mental illness can radically change a person and lead to their descent even half as well as arcane did with Jinx. Powder is by nature a kind and caring person but the world succeeded at breaking who she was and creating a much more cruel person in her place. This is kind of a fine line to tread because you could villainize mental illness but I think arcane makes it clear that it wasn’t only the mental illness that lead to Jinx but the negative influences in her life. Silco legitimately cares for Jinx but he projects his own problems onto her however unintentionally and neglects to actually treat her by regurgitating the belief that suffering has made her a stronger person. I think this is more of a warning for these toxic lines of thought that make it so that people have trouble asking for help and stew until a breaking point is reached. It’s a very fascinating take on the character and I am so excited to see where the show takes her.
I also wasn’t expecting Ekko to be the leader of the firelights but I loved the reveal. Ekko’s fight with Jinx was also fantastic. Having the show switch between the past Ekko and Powder and the present Ekko and Jinx was a fantastic divide to draw for the audience. The excitement and innocence in the past was perfectly contrasted between the brutality and tragedy of the present. And when Ekko hesitated you understood why. Just like Vi he can’t let go of the Powder that he knew despite how much he liked to claim the contrary. (The fights in this show were fantastic. I also loved Vi vs Sevika.)
The one part I thought was iffy was Jayce’s part of the story. Too often I found he was the least interesting character in his own story. Viktor far outshone him, in my opinion, with his arc and struggles. I often found that I much prefered when Jayce was playing off of someone than when he was alone. Viktor, Caitlyn, and Mel all had more presence to them and more interesting stories. I think this is because he isn’t really his own driving force when it comes to motivation. He is manipulated or convinced by just about everyone around him about what he is going to do next. Viktor was the one who fixed his research and pushed him to continue working on the crystals which kicked off hextech, Mel was the one who made him a councilor, Heimerdinger was the one who gave him the progress day speech, Vi was the one who convinced him to go after Silco, etc. I found myself wishing that we could cut down his screen time to show more of Viktor, Mel, and Caitlyn. This is my opinion so if you liked him all the better for you. I always like when people can enjoy things that I couldn’t (media wise).
I have a lot more thoughts but these are the ones I’d like to get out for now. There is so much to this show that I am definitely going to rewatch it as soon as I can and most likely write more about it.
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