Tag: Kevin Alejandro

Arcane Season Two, Episode Nine, The Dirt Under Your Nails Review: An Ambiguous End.

Before starting the final episode of Arcane, I was excited but also nervous.
I am sure we have all had instances where there is a show we are really enjoying but then the ending drops the ball.
While I mostly doubted this would happen, I was still concerned the conclusion would be a little rushed because it felt like some things were glossed over in previous episodes, most notably the Piltover and Zaun conflict.
Thankfully, Episode Nine, “The Dirt Under Your Nails” is a great ending for Arcane, which opens the door for more stories set in this world.
Sure, I do think the finale would have benefitted from having more scenes but, overall, it is still a more than satisfactory conclusion.
“The Dirt Under Your Nails” begins by showing the disturbing direction of Jinx’s “break the cycle” comment from the previous episode.
She cuts her hair, burns down the Last Drop and then attempts suicide by triggering one of her bombs.
We can only watch in horror as the explosion begins to eat away at Jinx in slow motion, until that motion thankfully rewinds with the arrival of Ekko and his Z-Drive.
I remember screaming, “Ekko, you bloody legend!” when this happened.
What follows is a thoroughly depressing sequence of Ekko continuously trying to talk Jinx out of killing herself, only to rewind every time he fails.
With every attempt, he is more injured from the explosions and Jinx heartbreakingly notices this so attempts jumping at one point, so she won’t hurt him.
Ekko is finally able to get through to Jinx, talking to her vaguely about his time with the alternate universe Powder.
“No matter what happened in the past, it’s never too late to build something new. Someone worth building it for.”
The depressing scene ends on a thankfully hopeful note with Jinx considering Ekko’s words.
This scene was honestly one of the hardest to watch in all of Arcane.
Watching Jinx attempt suicide over and while Ekko kept desperately trying to save her delivered gut punch after gut punch.
And to think Ekko would have probably never been there to save Jinx had it not been for the alternate version of Powder teaching him to not give up on her.
Following the final opening of the show, we see Vi, Caitlyn, Jayce and Mel planning for the final battle in Piltover.
The plan is to hold the Noxians off, thus buying enough time for Jayce to disable the Hexgates before Viktor reaches them.
This proves difficult when fighting an experienced warrior such as Ambessa, especially when she is aided by Rictus’ magical runes.
However, she does provide a target for Piltover’s forces, as a Noxian corrupted with Shimmer brings out Viktor’s cocoon to bring him to the Hexgates.
Loris tries to shoot the egg, but he is quickly killed when the Noxians break through their defenses.
Speaking of Loris, I have to ask what exactly the point of him and the rest of Caitlyn’s squad were?
With the exception of Maddie, they’re all pointless, especially Loris who just acts as Vi’s friend for a few episodes before dying.
Getting back to the fight, Caitlyn uses the Grey to provide cover, giving her team the chance to blow up Viktor’s cocoon.
However, the bomb has been sabotaged by Maddie who is a Noxian spy, as predicted by many.
“I did appreciate your warmth,” she says, as she is about to put a bullet in Caitlyn’s head.
Damn, that’s cold.
It also makes it incredibly satisfying when Mel deflects the bullet using her magic, killing Maddie.
What’s even more impressive is that Mel did this behind a closed door before making her dramatic entrance.
Her dramatic entrance has nothing on Jinx’s though, who arrives with brand-new drip.
She also flies a hot air balloon constructed from her old hideout and even has a soundtrack to hype up her and Ekko’s arrival, with “Come Play” acting as their hype train.
Jinx’s smoke bombs act as cover for Sevika and the other Zaunites (who Jinx and Ekko convinced to help off screen), and they ambush the Noxians.
This gives the Piltover/Zaunite team enough time to blow up Viktor’s cocoon… only to learn he has long since left it, proving this attack to be a diversion.
At the Hexgates, Jayce is confronted by a full transformed Viktor.
His design is especially intimidating, with his messiah-like cloak, runes floating around his head and, of course, his mask now being his actual face, with the remains of the old one still being visible.
At the same time, Viktor’s avatars arrive on the battlefield, turning the tide again, as they infect most of the Piltovan and Zaunite forces, including Sevika.
This leaves Caitlyn and Mel to face off against Ambessa.
She proves to be unstoppable with the runes she has, so Caitlyn removes them at the cost of her eye.
This allows Mel to send Ambessa to the world of the Black Rose, where she is immediately captured by the mysterious sorceress who inflicts a fatal injury.
However, Mel intervenes, rebelling against the Black Rose’s control.
The sorceress seems surprised by this but, honestly, I don’t know what she expected.
She admitted to killing Mel’s brother and even murdered her friend right in front of her.
In what world would she ever trust them?
If they wanted to recruit her, they should have gone about it in a way that made them seem much less insidious.
After rescuing Ambessa from the Black Rose, she passes in Mel’s arms, her dying words being, “You are the wolf.”
And so Ambessa dies, defeated yet content in her daughter’s strength.
It also seems that Ambessa’s forces become loyal to Mel after her death, which is interesting in its implications about Noxian culture.
Did Ambessa leave orders for them to follow her daughter in the event of her death, or do they follow her simply because she had the strength to defeat Ambessa which Noxus values?
The Noxians may be out of the fight, but Viktor and his avatars remain.
This, sadly, includes Warwick, who has had all humanity stolen from him.
It is truly tragic to see Vander, nothing more than an animalistic shell of his former self, fighting his own daughters.
Their fight, leads to Jinx crashing her balloon, knocking Ekko unconscious.
As Jinx and Vi prepare to fight Warwick, Jinx tells her sister, “I’m always with you, even when we’re worlds apart.”
Meanwhile, Viktor harnesses the power of the Wild Rune, and levitates himself to the top of the Hexgates, passing Jinx and Vi.
He then uses it to begin his “glorious evolution” of connecting everyone, whether they want it or not.
This includes Ambessa’s forces, proving she really was out of her depth when dealing with Viktor.
Vi, Jinx, Jayce, Caitlyn, Mel, Sevika, they are all being absorbed into the glorious evolution and no one can stop it… except for the Boy Saviour.
Ekko rushes in on his hover board, wielding a broken piece of clockwork.
Quite fitting, given his time travel ability.
It is an ability he uses to its full potential here, using the Z-Drive to avoid the attacks of Viktor’s avatars.
That is until Ekko is stuck in a situation where four seconds is not enough.
Left with no other choice, he pushes the Z-Drive to its limit, going even further back in time to throw the device in Viktor’s face, where the Wild Rune explodes outwards.
In doing so, Ekko allows Jayce enough time to convince Viktor to stop, saving everyone.
Ekko definitely lived up to the title Jinx gave him of “Boy Saviour,” not only saving Jinx from suicide, but also saving pretty much everyone else in the world as well.
He is absolutely my favorite character of Act Three, which is a massive step up since he barely featured in the season’s first two Acts.
Inside the dimension Viktor resides, Jayce shows Viktor the horrible outcome of his glorious evolution by embracing him.
Through this, we also see the identity of the mysterious figure who rescued Jayce as a child: Viktor himself.
“There is no prize to perfection” the future Viktor tells Jayce. “Only an end to pursuit.”
Yet another fantastic line in this fantastic story.
I had heard the theory of Viktor being the one who rescued Jayce and to see it confirmed was great.
Usually, whenever time-travel and alternate universes get thrown into the mix of a story, it gets messy, but Arcane uses it perfectly.
The rules of Ekko’s time travel and the buildup to Viktor’s reveal allowed the story to flow without breaking any suspension of disbelief.
It is through Jayce wanting his partner back, Viktor learning what the consequences of his own actions will be, and seeing the ingenuity Ekko developed without the glorious evolution that convinces Viktor to stop.
However, this is not an act he has to do alone, for now that Jayce has his partner back, he is not letting go.
In a brilliant, dazzling sequence of animation, Jayce and Viktor finish their work together, putting an end to the glorious evolution.
The two vanish, their physical forms being sucked into a vortex, leaving their fates unknown.
Personally, I feel like this is a fitting end for both characters.
It is not the only ending for a character we get in this finale though because next, much to my dread, was Jinx’s conclusion.
Back when the season got leaked, I was spoiled about Jinx and Viktor dying, so I spent much of the episode praying it would not happen.
But, when I saw Vi standing over a fallen Warwick, and remembered a shot from the trailer which showed her screaming in grief as someone fell, I knew where this was heading.
Sure enough, Warwick wakes up and attacks Vi, only for Jinx to save her and then be left dangling over a ledge.
Warwick is pulling her down, and only Vi’s gauntlets are keeping them from falling.
Jinx realizes their weight will cause the construction to fall, killing Vi as well, so chooses to sacrifice herself.
“Always with you, sis,” she reminds Vi, before pulling the Hex Crystal out of the gauntlet, and falling with Warwick.
Before they hit the ground, Jinx activates one of her bombs, supposedly killing them both.
I say supposedly because I don’t think Jinx is dead.
This is not just blind hope though because there is some evidence to back it up.
For starters, when Jinx triggers the bomb, we don’t see her consumed by the explosion, like we did during her suicide attempt.
What we do see, although briefly, is a purple shimmer blip before the explosion, suggesting that Jinx used her shimmer abilities to get out of the way.
Later, we see Caitlyn inspecting the remains of Jinx’s bomb, while looking over air duct schematics.
This implies they never found Jinx’s body, and Caitlyn is researching if it is possible for her to have escaped through their air ducts.
Then there is the final shot of Arcane, which is of an airship flying away.
At the beginning of the story, Jinx said she would fly in an airship one day.
Along with this, the following “The End” title is in the glitches Jinx sees whenever she hallucinates.
To me, this is all hinting to Jinx surviving the explosion, and then leaving Zaun and Piltover, taking her hallucination of Silco’s advice.
The hallucination told her, “Jinx, I think the cycle only ends when you find the will to walk away.”
Well, now Jinx is walking away, or flying away, I guess.
It also works with her earlier statement to Vi, “I’m always with you, even when we’re worlds apart.”
This is all circumstantial evidence, but it’s what I choose to believe.
To be honest, I would be pretty disappointed if Jinx died right after Ekko convinced her to live.
So, yeah, my headcanon is that Jinx survived, and it will stay that way unless her death is confirmed in a subsequent show.
But what about the other characters’ endings?
Well, as I said, Jayce and Viktor’s sendoff is fitting.
Vi and Caitlyn’s final scene shows them together, which is nice.
Ekko’s ending is sad, since he is mourning Jinx.
Mel looks to be heading back to Noxus, with a mysterious multiple-eyed crow following her.
This seems to be suggesting a Noxus storyline will be the next show set in the Arcane universe, which is something to look forward to.
We see that Singed has successfully resurrected his daughter.
I find it hilarious that Singed, the character responsible for at least 90% of the tragedy and conflict in this show, got the happiest ending out of every character.
Finally, there is Sevika, who we now see has a seat on the council as a representative of Zaun.
This, I have issues with.
I do believe it is a good ending for Sevika, but the issue is we got almost no buildup to it.
Sevika had absolutely zero lines in Act Three, and this makes me wonder if she had a storyline that was cut for time.
As a result, there are multiple questions surrounding her ascension to the council.
How was she chosen?
What do Vi and Caitlyn think about it since they fought her numerous times?
Does this mean Zaun has independence now and, if so, how did that happen?
That last question points to the extreme lack of screen time the Zaun and Piltover conflict got in Act Three.
This is my biggest issue with Season Two.
Season One was all about the conflict between the two cities but that fell to the wayside with the threat of the Noxians and Viktor in Season Two.
I understand why but, as someone who was invested in that part of the story, I wanted a better resolution for it.
This is not the only thing I believe was cut for time with the ending.
We do not see Mel’s reaction to Jayce’s death, and Vi and Ekko do not share a single word the entire season.
It just feels like a lot was cut out from the season and it is this that makes me prefer Season One.
That being said, Season Two is still great.
The character work is excellent, the animation is groundbreaking, and I once again teared up at multiple points.
As for “The Dirt Under Your Nails,” it is an excellent finale, even if it feels like it could have used more scenes.
Overall, Arcane has been a terrific experience, and I cannot wait to see the next show in its universe, even if I have to wait years for it again.
To celebrate Arcane, I will be rewatching the show in its entirety.
Once I have done that, I will put out a Top Ten Characters and Episodes List, so be on the lookout for that.
Arcane is an excellent show, and I am so thankful to have experienced it.
Once it got under my nails, I just couldn’t clean it out.

Arcane Season Two, Episode Eight, Killing Is a Cycle Review: In a Prison Cell?

The penultimate episode of Arcane, “Killing Is a Cycle” begins by continuing Mel’s storyline from the fantastic Episode Five.
After exposing the Black Rose’s disguise of her brother, she is chained up, only to escape using her mysterious power, which reveals her as a mage.
It turns out her captor referring to her as “sister” was meant in terms of a sisterhood, rather than a familial sense.
This captor, a sorceress in her own right, attempts to convince Mel to join her, tasking her with stopping her mother.
Kind of unnecessary, considering Mel was planning on doing that anyway, but her magical powers certainly make that task easier.
Unfortunately, this is all we really get in regards to the Black Rose.
The identity of the sorceress is never revealed, and neither is the overall goal of her and the Black Rose.
It feels like the storyline in Season Two was mainly buildup for another show set in the Arcane universe.
Don’t get me wrong, I would certainly watch such a show, given how great Arcane is, but I would have liked a little more answers.
My only other option is to either wait years for the explanation or look up the League lore.
Following the intro, we fittingly cut from Mel to Ambessa, who has given Singed the task of reviving Viktor.
He succeeds and, like Episode Six showed, Viktor’s mindset has changed to wanting to evolve others beyond humanity in what he calls, “the glorious evolution.”
Ambessa makes a deal to get him to the Hexgates if he will empower her own soldiers.
I have heard some argue that Ambessa’s decision to help Viktor does not make sense, what with how obviously shady and powerful he is, but I guess it just goes to show how desperate she is to find a way to defeat the Black Rose.
Meanwhile, Vi awakens in Piltover to learn that Jinx has been imprisoned.
She and Caitlyn get into an argument about it, with Vi stating, “You can’t trust her enough not to shove her in a box.”
Well, it’s kind of hard to trust someone when they kill your mother, Vi.
I’m surprised Caitlyn didn’t bring that up, to be honest.
She does reveal that Jinx surrendered on her own, though, and Vi’s pleas do convince her to talk to Jinx.
Traveling to the bunker cells below, Caitlyn meets with Jinx, who is understandably in a pretty bad state after Isha’s tragic death in Episode Six.
Her braids are undone, she is not eating, and she is self-harming.
She ends the conversation by admitting she did not know Caitlyn’s mother was there when she fired the rocket, not that it would have made a difference.
Seeing Jinx in this state ultimately convinces Caitlyn to give Vi the chance to free her.
Before that, however, Jinx hallucinates Silco, seeing his scarred eye as a Hex Crystal.
Silco talks about the cycle of killing stating, “Jinx, I think the cycle only ends when you find the will to walk away.”
This line has multiple implications, both disturbing and hopeful, as shown in the next episode.
For now, it is at this moment when Vi shows up to free Jinx, only for her to lock Vi in the cell to stop her from following.
Jinx tragically declares there is no good version of her, which we know is not true.
Not only did we see a good alternate version of her in the last episode but Jinx herself has also done plenty of good as well as bad.
She gave Isha a family and inspired countless Zaunites.
After Jinx’s departure, Caitlyn comes to free Vi and reveals her part in allowing Vi to free her sister.
Vi throws herself at Caitlyn and what follows is a pretty explicit sex scene, which I found kind of funny because of how much the shippers were demanding one.
The writers certainly knew how to play with their feelings.
First, they had the two kiss and then immediately break up in Episode Three.
Second, they had Caitlyn rebound with a barely established character, crushing the shippers’ spirits.
Now, they rebuild those spirits with this sex scene in a dank prison cell.
That being said, the scene has also received some criticism, as a few viewers have said Vi should be rushing to stop Jinx’s suicide attempt, not have sex with Caitlyn in the exact same prison cell.
However, to be fair to Vi, I think her statement of, “I really believed she’d help” makes it pretty clear she did not think her sister planned to kill herself.
If she did know this, she would have run to save her the moment Caitlyn freed her.
Vi and Caitlyn’s storyline this episode ends with their intimate moment, but they are not the only couple featured in “Killing Is a Cycle” because we earlier see Jayce and Mel reunite.
Both have been through a lot and their relationship is clearly strained, with Jayce realizing it was Mel’s mage powers which saved them from Jinx’s attack.
Any separation or reconciliation between them is halted with the arrival of Viktor, using a transformed Huck’s body as an avatar.
He tries to convince Jayce to let him reach the Hexgates peacefully, but Jayce has seen what will transpire if Viktor is allowed to do so.
A fight ensues, in which Viktor’s avatar is only defeated because he is distracted by something, which I think is Ekko returning from the alternate dimension.
Following their fight with Viktor, Jayce holds a meeting with the Piltovan and Zaunite leaders, including Sevika, to propose they join together to stop Viktor and Ambessa.
It is here where my big issue with Act Three comes into play.
While Sevika and some of the Piltovan elites do not agree to join Jayce, many others do, and I don’t really think there was enough justification for this.
For starters, not only did none of the Piltovans see the fight with Viktor, but why are so many of them okay with fighting Noxus?
They were allies just a few episodes ago.
Yes, Caitlyn betrayed them, but she did that on her own.
I feel like the Piltovans either should have learned about Ambessa orchestrating the attack on the memorial, or we should have seen them also suffering under the Noxian martial law, maybe both.
As for the Zaunites, their reasoning for joining the fight also does not make much sense.
Piltover has been oppressing them for years so why do they suddenly believe them when they announce the threat Viktor poses?
If I were them, I would assume this was a ploy to arrest more Zaunites and put them in Stillwater.
Again, this could have been explained away if the Zaunites saw the threat of Viktor’s glorious evolution.
His sanctuary was in Zaun so maybe a few residents could be attacked by his avatars, which proves to the Zaunites that they need to help.
I think Act Three really needed more scenes to help explain these things and, unfortunately, this issue does persist into the final episode.
Going back to Episode Eight, though, its final scene sees Mel visiting her mother in a final attempt to convince her to back off.
Ambessa’s resolve is firm, however, for Viktor has already created his army of metal avatars.
We see this process in a flashback, where Viktor doing so results in the sacrifice of Sky.
Was she real, a hallucination, or a facade created by the Hexcore to manipulate Viktor?
I still have no idea.
Whatever the answer is, Sky as a character felt pretty underdeveloped.
Using Warwick, Singed fully revives Viktor, resulting in the tragic erasure of all his memories, killing Vander forever.
The episode then ends with Viktor fully transforming inside his cocoon, his face splitting open to reveal an ominous, shadowed face, revealing the big threat for the final episode.
Overall, I would still say “Killing Is a Cycle” is a good episode, despite its issues.
It reconnects certain characters and sets up the main threat for the finale well.
I just wish there was more time to explore the wider Zaun and Piltover conflict, which was the main overall conflict for Season One.

Arcane Season Two, Episode Seven, Pretend Like It’s the First Time Review: The Boy Saviour Who Leapt Through Time.

Although I have been enjoying Season Two of Arcane, I will admit that it is not without its issues.
One of the bigger issues I have had is the way some characters have been used, primarily Ekko.
Going into the season, he was one of the characters I was most excited to see.
Unfortunately, he was only in a couple of scenes in Act One, before disappearing for the entirety of Act Two.
I knew he would be back for Act Three, given that there was trailer footage of him we had not seen yet, but I was afraid he would not have enough time to shine.
Well, Episode Seven, “Pretend It’s Like the First Time” proves me wrong by gifting us with an entire episode focusing on him, Jayce and Heimerdinger, explaining what happened to them after they were abducted by the Wild Rune.
“Pretend Like It’s the First Time” begins as all Arcane episodes do, with a record that has “A Netflix Series” written on it being played.
However, this time, it is different.
Rather than showing Vi and Jinx on the record, it instead shows Ekko and Powder, foreshadowing the events of the episode.
It is revealed that, following his experience with the Wild Rune, Ekko was transported to an alternate universe where things have mostly turned out well for everyone.
This becomes apparent very quickly with the arrival of Powder who appears less pale and skinny than the one we know.
The contrast is immediately made apparent because, when Powder first speaks, we see Jinx’s reflection in the glass she is standing beside.
This is not only a wonderful piece of animation, but it also does a great job showing off Ekko’s mentality.
There was a lot of bad blood between him and his universe’s Powder, so it makes sense he would instantly see her as a threat, despite appearing different.
It is only the arrival of Benzo that snaps Ekko completely out of fight or flight mode, making for quite the emotional moment when he is reunited with his father figure.
He is even reunited with Vander, Mylo and Claggor.
Those last two I was especially surprised to see alive, and this episode makes their deaths even more tragic because it reveals that if they had survived, they could have helped purify Zaun’s air.
Ekko is clearly suffering from the effects of travelling dimensions but thankfully Heimerdinger appears to help him out, having arrived in the dimension much earlier.
Sadly for Ekko, Hextech was not created in this world, meaning there is no way home for them.
The reason for this become tragically apparent when Powder asks Ekko if he wants to visit Vi.
Instead of taking him to meet an alternate version of her sister, Powder takes Ekko to her memorial.
In this dimension, when Jayce’s workshop blew up, the explosion killed Vi, most likely convincing Piltover’s elites not to get involved with Hextech.
This also somehow appears to have led to peace between Piltover and Zaun, although I’m not quite sure how that happened.
Ekko’s knowledge about the workshop explosion does allow him to retrieve fragments of the Hex Crystals though, meaning that he can use them to potentially find a way home.
Heimerdinger agrees to help him, acknowledging he feels guilt for forsaking Jayce at the beginning of the story.
In the meantime, Ekko seeks to make amends with this universe’s Powder, creating a mural for Vi just like he did all of his fallen friends from his universe.
He paints Vi as he knew her, unknowingly gifting Powder with what her sister would have looked like today had she lived.
Through this, we can see how Vi’s death shaped Powder.
Rather than use her genius like Jinx does in Ekko’s universe, she instead focuses on living a normal life, no doubt feeling guilt for the explosion which killed Vi.
So, despite things being mostly better for everyone in this universe, there is still inescapable tragedy through Vi’s death and its effect on Powder.
Ekko strives to help Powder move forward, and the two of them work with Heimerdinger to eventually making their own miniature Wild Rune.
This results in Ekko creating a time loop, from which he can go four seconds back in time.
To go any further back could prove disastrous, as proved by Heimerdinger exploding, which Ekko quickly resets.
For a moment, I was afraid Powder would want to go back to save Vi, driving her down the path of Jinx in a different way, but the story thankfully did not go that direction.
Knowing that this will most likely be his last night in this reality, Ekko tells Benzo how much he means to him at the party.
He also sees that Silco made up with Vander in this universe, meaning he found the letter Vander left for him.
Ekko mentions Vander trying to kill Silco, but he responds, “Greatest thing we can do in life is find the power to forgive.”
While it is great to see Silco again, and his words do hold weight, this moment did make me wonder how exactly Ekko knew about Vander’s attempt to kill Silco?
As far as we know, he was never told this.
That is only a minor issue though.
It is not long before Powder arrives at the party, and the shot of her boots is exactly the same as Jinx’s entrance in Episode Four of Season One.
She and Ekko dance in a moving, four frames per second sequence that really hits you in the feels when you think about how easily things could have been different.
After their dance, they meet in the same place Vi and Powder used to as kids.
Ekko tells her he “used to dream the Undercity could be like this. But somewhere, I got consumed by all the ways it wasn’t. I gave up on it. Gave up on you.”
This shows the impact Ekko’s brief time with Powder in this universe has had on him.
Going back, he will no longer give up on Jinx, which results in something big in the final episode.
Getting back to this episode, the tender scene between Ekko and Powder leads to a kiss, confirming the Timebomb ship.
To be honest, going into the episode, I was not sure how to feel about the ship.
I had heard rumors about it becoming canon, but I thought it would be difficult to pull off since Ekko and Jinx had a lot of bad blood between them.
That being said, the writers found the perfect way to pull it off by having Ekko connect with an alternate version of Jinx, which convinces him not to give up on the one from his reality.
Whether Ekko and Jinx become a couple in his universe, or this remains a tragic what could have been, their scenes together are beautiful.
Returning to Heimerdinger, the two prepare to travel back using Ekko’s Z-Drive, only for Heimerdinger to sacrifice himself to accomplish this.
Or, at least, it seems like he sacrifices himself.
He was either blasted out of existence or transported elsewhere.
It’s kind of hard to tell.
If Heimerdinger really is dead, though, I would say his death is kind of abrupt.
Still, it is not enough to take away from the emotion of Powder appearing and realizing Ekko was from another universe before he disappears.
For a moment, I was scared the writers were going to have her get hurt or killed but, thankfully, they seemed to realize there was enough tragedy with Episode Six.
Following Ekko’s departure, we see Powder for the last time, placing a trinket Ekko gifted her inside a cabinet, which also holds the Hextech Crystals, items which hold meaning to her but will never be used in her universe.
With that, the episode comes to an end, but it is not the only storyline this episode.
I have yet to mention Jayce’s arc, which sees him transported to a universe the complete opposite of the one Ekko and Heimerdinger were taken to.
Whereas they landed in a universe where there was peace between Piltover and Zaun, Jayce landed in a universe where both were destroyed because of Hextech.
Traveling through the ruins, we see him sustain injuries, and be brought to the edge of madness, before encountering the hooded mage who saved him and his mother at the beginning of the series.
Realizing the danger his creation holds, Jayce tells the mage to send him back to save his universe, swearing that he will not fail.
This makes Jayce’s brutal actions upon his return a lot more understandable, since he is literally trying to prevent the apocalypse.
His story this episode was a grim one, but it is balanced nicely with the mostly happy Ekko storyline, which sees him reconnect with Powder.
Overall, I would say that “Pretend Like It’s the First Time” is another fantastic Arcane episode.
Yes, I did think some things about the peaceful timeline could have been better explained and Heimerdinger’s death(?) felt a little abrupt, but it was still an emotionally moving episode which gave Ekko the screen time he sorely needed and deserved.
It is for these reasons that “Pretend Like It’s the First Time” is my favorite episode of Act Three, and probably my third favorite episode of the season.

Arcane Season Two, Episode Six, The Message Hidden Within the Pattern Review: The Final, Glorious Evolution.

After the greatness that was Episode Five, Episode Six of Arcane Season Two closes the second act with a bang, along with a whole lot of mysteries still unsolved.
“The Message Hidden Within the Pattern” begins, not with a music video scene, like every previous episode this season, but with a cold open depicting Viktor’s perspective on Jayce killing Salo.
We see that his power allows him to astrally project himself to see what those he has healed see.
Curiously, he comments, “That isn’t Jayce. But there is another will at work within him.”
What this means, I have no idea, but the questions we all have about him will hopefully be answered in Act Three.
We also see that Sky is still a part of Viktor and is helping him with studies of the Arcane.
I am still of the belief that she is actually the Hexcore attempting to influence him but, if so, that is also not revealed this episode.
The main plot instead focuses on Vi and Jinx trying to receive help from Viktor in curing Vander.
They arrive at his community, which has grown exponentially over the time-skip, and we see that multiple sick and injured people have traveled to be healed by “the Herald.”
Although, heal may not be the right word considering how creepy and cult-like Viktor’s followers are.
I mean, the metallic imprint of Viktor’s fingerprints are literally covering all of their faces, and Jayce did say in Act One that Wild Runes are the Arcane’s fingerprints.
Vi and Jinx do not know any of this though and, after a tense reunion with Huck, enter the community without their weapons.
Huck takes them to see Viktor, who has had quite the glow-up and also seems to live in a structure which looks suspiciously like a Wild Rune.
He attempts to heal Vander but is forced back by Warwick’s presence.
Still, Viktor does seem to have some effect on Vander because his fingerprint marks can be seen on his face, if slightly.
And, even if Viktor is being manipulated by the Hexcore in his body, he still clearly has good intentions about helping Vander, stating, “He is worth the risk.”
Jinx is also skeptical about Viktor, until he calls her Powder, proving his capabilities.
It is great to see Viktor finally meeting and interacting with the sisters, even if it is brief.
This scene also gives us a good look at how Vi and Jinx’s relationship is being mended, as Vi cares to ask her opinion, which shocks Jinx.
We next get a montage of Viktor trying to help Vander, journeying through his psyche, eventually resulting in seeing his memories through watercolor-like paintings.
The emotional sequence eventually transfers to Vi’s memories of those times, before transitioning to the present as Vi and Jinx hang around what little remains of their old house.
It is striking to see the change from Season One, where the area was dark and desolate but now, under Viktor’s guardianship, it has become green and plentiful.
Just as Vi suggests staying together to help the community out, the writers, of course, send a wave of misery towards them.
Singed has tracked Vander to the community and lead Caitlyn, Ambessa and her Noxian forces there.
Singed convinces Ambessa to let him speak with Viktor before marching in, most likely saving many lives, although this is certainly not why Singed suggested it.
No, he clearly has his own goals in mind, as he meets his former pupil for the first time since Season One.
It is revealed that Viktor’s condition is declining through every use of his power, making his attempts to save Vander even more noble.
Singed, naturally, attempts to twist this, telling Viktor he could stabilize himself if he took Vander’s healing abilities for himself.
Viktor is unwilling to do so, while also learning about Singed’s motivations, seeing a memory of Singed reading to his daughter when he touches him.
The story Singed is reading perfectly reflects his own dark turn and, depending on how Viktor’s story goes, could also reflect him.
After all, Viktor does say that evolution’s goal is to supersede nature.
“The final, glorious evolution,” he calls it, which is a line he has in League.
Viktor tells Singed to leave but receives a warning that if he dies, his community will also fall, a grim bit of foreshadowing for what is to come.
After Singed leaves, he is followed by Vi, who is quickly intercepted and taken down by Caitlyn, using a move Ambessa showed her earlier in the episode.
And, just like that, the writers have the excuse to tease the Cait and Vi shippers with all of the gooey stuff we saw of them in Season One.
Caitlyn tells Vi she looks like “an angry oil slick,” calling back to the oil and water speech Vi gave way back in Episode Eight, and Vi once again calls her cupcake.
It was this scene which made the whole bit where Caitlyn pretended to have captured Vi pretty obvious.
Although, I am not sure if the writers wanted us to buy into the idea of Caitlyn betraying Vi, or if it was supposed to be obvious that it was an act.
Either way, it fools Ambessa, giving Vi the chance to subdue her with Caitlyn’s electrified net.
Back in the community, we can see that Jinx is watching over Vander from afar, when Isha arrives, having stolen back Jinx’s gun.
It is at this point that Jinx decides to tell Isha just how much she means to her.
It felt like the writers were planting death flags right around the child’s feet.
Down by Vander, Singed sneaks in to inject him with a serum that will ruin Viktor’s efforts to save him.
He is ambushed by Caitlyn but then she is ironically ambushed by Rictus.
But who should save Caitlyn other than the woman she most despises, Jinx?
The following fight between her and Rictus is great at showing off Jinx’s cheeky ingenuity, but her hair nearly gets her killed when Rictus grabs it.
It is at that moment when Vander steps in for the save, blocking Rictus’ attack and telling him, “Don’t touch my daughter!”
The gravity of that voice would have anyone apologizing and pleading for mercy.
After Rictus’ defeat, Caitlyn regains her senses and is understandably none too pleased about Jinx’s presence.
Still, with Vi’s arrival, there was always the potential of things to calm down and end happily.
I say “was” because, at that moment, Jayce reaches Viktor and blasts him with his Hextech Hammer, supposedly killing him.
As Singed predicted, this causes the end of Viktor’s community, with all of his followers releasing a ghoulish scream before collapsing dead.
To make matters worse, Vander then loses himself completely to Warwick, either because of Viktor’s death or Signed awakening to inject him with the serum.
Personally, I am going with Singed doing the deed because Vander was still able to resist Warwick’s bloodlust without Viktor because of Jinx and Vi.
Rictus is the first victim of Warwick’s rage, and he is brutally beaten to death.
Vi and Caitlyn attempt to fight off Ambessa’s charging forces, while Jinx tries to bring Vander back but is slammed back onto the ground by him.
It is then, both predictably and tragically, that we get Isha’s sacrifice.
The kid had massive death flags ever since she showed up, and I expected her to die at some point during Act Two, but the death still hit me like a ton of bricks.
Loading Jinx’s gun with multiple Hextech crystals, Isha runs onto the battlefield, her colorful memories with Jinx playing to crush the viewer’s soul.
She flashes past Jinx, as if she were strengthened by her own adopted sister’s power, and the Loose Canon has to be held back by Vi.
Positioning herself under Warwick, Isha says her goodbye to Jinx with a final shooting gesture, and then fires, supposedly ending both her and Warwick.
The episode then ends on an ominous note with Viktor’s dying narration, “That which inspires us to our greatest good is also the cause of our greatest evil.”
So, Jayce just screwed everything up, right?
He murdered Viktor, resulting in Vander’s full transformation into Warwick, leading to his and Isha’s deaths.
Well, I think things are a little more complicated than that.
We still do not know what Jayce saw when he was trapped with Ekko and Heimerdinger by the Wild Rune.
Hell, we still don’t even know what happened to Ekko and Heimerdinger.
However, we do get a hint about what Jayce knows because he keeps seeing members of Viktor’s community as purple monsters.
Given this, and the multitude of other red flags regarding Viktor and his community, I think it is safe to say that Jayce was trying to prevent something terrible from happening.
Whether he achieved this or not is another matter entirely.
I do not believe this is the end for Viktor yet, and his final narration does suggest him going down a darker path, with him stating “humanity” to be the reason for his failures.
So, if Viktor is revived, he may strive to purge that humanity from people.
As for Warwick, I am unsure if he is truly dead, for reasons I will get into in my Act Three Predictions section below.
And Isha?
Well, unfortunately, she is definitely gone.
It will be interesting to see how this shapes Jinx, though.
Hopefully, she will not completely sink into nihilism without her adopted sister, although I think it may start out that way.
As for Episode Six itself, it is another really good one that ended Act Two well.
There were a lot of emotional moments, and some good action set pieces.
That being said, I think I will have to wait for Act Three before I know where I would rank it among the other episodes.
I need context for what Jayce knows and what is really going on with Viktor.
I hope to get the answers tonight with Act Three.

Act Three Predictions:
The teaser for Act Three absolutely confirms Viktor’s survival.
Caitlyn mentions him, we see him in what looks like a cocoon, and Singed is shown experimenting on Warwick.
He is probably using his body to power Viktor, like he suggested doing earlier.
It is not clear if Warwick is alive or dead at the point of Singed’s experimentation.
Either way, Singed will also strengthen Ambessa’s forces using Shimmer.
We see Vi fighting one of these Shimmer soldiers in the teaser.
Caitlyn is shown fighting Ambessa, and we also see Mel at the table with Jayce, Vi and Caitlyn, so she managed to escape the Black Rose.
But the most interesting part of the teaser is Jinx.
Vi is heard telling her, “If you come, use all that explosive potential of yours for good, maybe we could rewrite your story.”
In one shot of Ambessa, we also see a colorful balloon shooting out pink smoke in the background.
This is most likely piloted by Jinx, with a new outfit, designed to honor Isha and also remove the issue of her braids getting caught.
But what will convince Jinx to return?
Ekko.
I would not be surprised if his statement from the trailer, “Sometimes taking a leap forward means leaving a few things behind,” was being said to Jinx.
Maybe after he and Heimerdinger return to the story, he will run into Jinx, learn about Isha, and convince her to help.
It seems like a role Ekko could be given, and he sorely needs a role because of how little he has been used this season.
He only appeared in a few scenes before disappearing entirely.
Well, we are about to find out what role he will play in the ending tonight, along with the fate of every other character.
Going into Act Three, I am curious to see if the spoiler I regretfully saw is true or not.
Whatever the case, I hope the writers can stick the landing with this ending.
If I know Arcane though, it will most likely be tragic.
Fingers crossed that some hope can be injected in there.
Onto Act Three!

Arcane Season Two, Episode Five, Blisters and Bedrock Review: Best Episode of Act Two?

Usually, the best episode of every Arcane Act is the last one.
Well, this trend changed with Episode Five “Blisters and Bedrock”, which is not only the best episode of Act Two but also the best episode of Season Two so far.
It begins with the same pit fighter Vi tease we got before Act One released.
In this scene, we see Vi at her lowest.
She has lost Caitlyn and now spends her nights fighting for money, wasting that money on getting blackout drunk, pushing away any friends she has, until she even starts losing fights.
It is at rock bottom where Jinx finds her, returning to tell her about Vander’s return.
Naturally, Vi does not take too kindly to seeing her sister after their last, violent interaction.
Still, seeing her start to strangle Jinx was pretty uncomfortable, and the following shot of Vi’s face in the cracked mirror shows just how far she has fallen.
It is a good thing that the episode works towards bringing the sisters together.
But, since this is the best storyline of the episode, I will save talking about it for later.
First, I will talk about Ambessa recruiting Singed.
I had a feeling she would, given how desperate she is for a weapon to combat the Black Rose.
Her recruiting him also lead to quite a few revelations about Singed.
We learn from Caitlyn that his name used to be Reveck, a once respected doctor in Piltover who was banished for a crime that was buried, most likely by Heimerdinger.
Singed tells Caitlyn he committed many unspeakable acts “for love” and then reveals his daughter to her and Ambessa.
Like Mr Freeze, he has sealed his loved one away, all in the hope of eventually curing death itself, only to become more of a monster with each passing day.
Because, as Silco said back in Season One, “Is there anything so undoing as a daughter?”
Singed is not the only character we receive a few revelations about this episode because we also see what has happened to Mel after being kidnapped by the Black Rose at the end of Episode Three.
She is locked up in an Oculorum, a chamber used to seal away false prophets.
Or, as Mel’s fellow prisoner calls it, “the fancy pits peacock princes like to toss their friends into.”
This line causes Mel to realize that the man is her brother, Kino, thought dead by their mother.
Sadly, it turns out that Kino most likely is dead because the brother Mel is seeing is later revealed to be a hallucination made by the Black Rose to try and get whatever power Mel has.
The Black Rose, disguised as Kino, tells Mel that what she inherited, “is of terrible interest to our captors.”
When the disguise is broken, whoever is holding Mel captive also calls her “sister”, but it is unclear if this person is her actual sibling or just referencing Mel as Kino’s sister.
Either way, there are a lot of mysteries to unpack her, and we will have to wait until Act Three to have them answered because this is the last time we see Mel in Act Two.
At least we have one answer, which is how she and Jayce survived Jinx’s rocket at the beginning of the season.
When she is held by the Black Rose’s chains, Mel’s eyes start to glow, and her golden armor shines before releasing a wave of power which frees her.
This pretty much confirms this power is what saved her and Jayce, and I am very interested to see what it is and why the Black Rose want it.
With Singed and Mel’s storylines out of the way, I can now get to discussing the main storyline of Jinx and Vi searching for Vander.
Traveling down into the mines below Zaun, the two sisters quickly begin to bicker.
In my opinion, Jinx easily wins the comeback duel, hilariously referring to Vi’s gauntlets as “bitch mittens” before proving she can last one second in a fight against her.
Isha quickly gets involved in the fight on the side of Jinx, and Vi hits her, resulting in a bloody nose.
I cannot help but wonder if that brought Vi back to the night when she slapped Powder.
Jinx references that night, saying she recruited Vi to help Vander so things would end differently this time.
“Besides,” she says. “He’s your father too.”
This was a great scene between the sisters, and the use of mushrooms which glow whenever someone claps or lands a punch was a nice touch.
Eventually, the trio find out why Vander fled into the mines.
This place used to be a hideout for him and Silco, and we see a letter Vander addressed to him, apologizing for his betrayal and telling Silco he knows where to find him, meaning the Last Drop.
The letter makes me think Vander attacked Silco after the Bridge fight which orphaned Vi and Powder.
Seeing the deaths his revolution had caused, Vander decided to live a peaceful life.
The only problem with that was Silco wanted to keep fighting, leading to Vander attempting to drown him so the peace he was attempting to forge could be maintained.
He only realized the enormity of what he had done after it was over and left the letter to Silco in the hopes of patching things up.
Unfortunately, Silco never went back to those mines so never read the letter.
If he had, as Jinx says, “everything might have been different.”
During this moment, we see the first sign of the bridging rift between the sisters when Vi almost puts a comforting hand on Jinx’s shoulder but stops herself.
They leave the hideout, but the three are quickly confronted by Vander, who was drawn in by Isha’s blood.
Vi understandably does not recognize Vander under the bloody visage of Warwick, and fights him off, only for Jinx’s pleading to convince her to reach out to him.
In an imposing shot, Vi faces off against Vander, shouting his name, which draws us into a flashback before Vi and Powder’s births.
We see that both Vander and Silco were close with the girls’ mother, Felicia.
As she dances to “Our Love” from Season One, she tells the two of her pregnancy, putting them on the hook to look out for her kids.
She tells them, “You two are gonna figure this Zaun thing out. I don’t care if you have to carve it out of the bedrock, covered in blisters. You’re not allowed to fail anymore. For her. For me.”
Along with delivering the title for this episode, Felicia’s lines also add another layer of tragedy because Vander and Silco did fail.
Their fallout led to the tragedy that separated Vi and Jinx, a separation which is only now just beginning to heal.
Although, the flashback does end on a hopeful note, by revealing that Vander was the one to name Vi.
The scene then cuts back to the present day with Jinx and Isha alone in the darkness, unsure of the fates of Vi and Vander.
They walk through the dark, until they find the two in an embrace.
Vi reaches a hand out to Jinx.
“What are you waiting for,” she says, paying off Jinx’s earlier statement. “He’s your dad too.”
And, with that, the water works officially started.
Yeah, I was a mess during this scene.
Seeing the sisters reunite and embrace their father after so much tragedy just broke me.
But this is Arcane so, of course, something bad is on the horizon.
We see Salo, who has been cured of his paralysis thanks to Viktor, attempting to take something from the Hexgate’s failsafe.
This coincides with the return of Jayce from whatever alternate dimension he, Ekko and Heimerdinger were trapped in at the end of Episode Three.
Jayce has clearly had it rough, what with his grizzled appearance, beard, and even his arcane crystal infused into his hand.
As for Salo, he is oddly upbeat, a complete turnaround from his prior personality.
You could say that he is just happy to have the use of his legs back but, as some Arcane fans have pointed out, Salo is not breathing.
We have seen the breath of every character in this room, whether it be Jayce, Ekko or Heimerdinger.
Salo is the only character whose breath we do not see, suggesting a much more sinister nature to Viktor’s cures.
Backing this up is Viktor’s creepy takeover of Salo’s body to talk with Jayce.
Through this, we can see how the two’s perspectives have flipped.
Viktor originally wanted the Hexcore destroyed, but now he uses it to help others, or at least that is how he sees it.
Jayce used the Hexcore to save Viktor but, through whatever traumatic experience he has had, now realizes the danger of all Hextech, wanting to destroy it.
The episode ends with him killing Salo, another showcase of his development.
Back in Season One, he told Vi he could not allow her to leave with the gauntlets but, in the end, relented.
Jayce does no such thing now, killing Salo without hesitation and, on that grim note, the episode ends.
Overall, I would say that “Blisters and Bedrock” is the best episode of the season so far.
Mel’s storyline deepens the mystery of the Black Rose.
Singed’s storyline perfectly falls into Arcane‘s theme about the lengths fathers will go to for their daughters.
Speaking of, Vi and Jinx reuniting with their adopted father got the tears flowing.
To top it all off, the episode ends on the dark return of Jayce, building to his and Viktor’s meeting in the next episode.
“Blisters and Bedrock” is not only a fantastic Arcane episode, but the first one that was the best of its Act without being the final episode.

Arcane Season Two, Episode Three, Finally Got the Name Right Review: A Tragic Fight.

In Season One of Arcane, they always saved the best episode of every act for last.
It seems Season Two will be no different because Episode Three, “Finally Got the Name Right” is definitely the best episode of the three, setting up a lot of ominous events and having a spectacular and tragic fight scene.
The episode begins with, you guessed it, a music video scene, just like the past two.
This one explains how Caitlyn’s strike team is controlling the Grey.
It turns out her mother had ventilation systems constructed in the Undercity to stop the factories’ fumes because, “The people of the underground deserve to breathe.”
Well, Caitlyn takes her mother’s good intentioned act and corrupts it, weaponizing the Grey as chemical warfare.
She and her squad flood areas with this dangerous gas to incapacitate the Zaunites and then move in to make arrests and get information.
Now, you could argue the people they are using the Grey on are gangsters but, even then, the montage makes the horrible effects the Grey can have on the body quite clear.
It is also easy to imagine civilians getting caught up in the crossfire, so I would argue Caitlyn is definitely not in the right here.
Vi picks up on the way Caitlyn is changing for the worse and talks with her alone, begging her not to change.
This leads to their first kiss, an emotional moment which I knew would not end well because of the teaser showing Vi as a cage fighter.
While Vi and Caitlyn go to confront Jinx, Ambessa is having troubles of her own.
She meets with Amara, who you may remember as the merchant Jayce made a deal with way back in Act Two of Season One.
In a truly unexpected moment, Amara reveals herself to be some kind of witch associated with the Black Rose, a mysterious group which killed Ambessa’s son.
Ambessa is able to eventually gain the upper hand and kill Amara, but this is far from the end of the Black Rose Threat.
Mel is one step behind her mother, investigating her actions through an informant but, before she can do anything with what she knows, it is revealed that her own assistant Elora is either part of the Black Rose, or been possessed by them.
She is consumed and Mel is kidnapped to who knows where.
So, whoever the Black Rose are, they now have a stranglehold on Ambessa since they hold her daughter hostage.
Maybe Ambessa distancing herself from Mel would have kept her safer, if she had not told Amara how much family meant to her.
Along with the mystery of the Blase Rose, there is also the mystery of what is going on with the Arcane.
We see Jayce explain the concept of Wild Runes to Ekko and thus us as the audience.
Wild Runes act as fingerprints of the Arcane, but in a wild and unpredictable manner.
These fingerprints are then seen underground by Heimerdinger when he, Ekko and Jayce travel to the Hextech’s failsafe.
Before Heimerdinger can warn the two about the fingerprint on the ground, it transports the three of them right to a Wild Rune just as Vi and Caitlyn are confronting Jinx.
Vi calls her sister by her new name, while Jinx calls Vi out for using the Grey on Zaunites.
While Jinx is certainly no saint, it is hard to argue with a lot of her points about Vi’s actions.
Both sisters are walking down dark paths.
Jinx is a terrorist and Vi has engaged in chemical warfare.
Now both are prepared to fight to the death.
Neither is alone, however, with Sevika and Caitlyn also duking it out, all the while Jayce, Ekko and Heimerdinger are affected by the afflictions of the Wild Rune.
What follows is an intense fight sequence, with Woodkid’s “Ashes and Blood” playing in the background.
This is already one of my favorite Arcane OSTs and I have listened to it multiple times since watching the episode.
Its vocalist’s deep voice and the wild orchestral chanting works incredibly well with the tragedy of the fight, as we literally see Jinx and Vi smash through graffiti of their childhood innocence.
At the same time, Jayce’s interactions with the Wild Rune cause the Hextech to go crazy, influencing the fight and giving Caitlyn the chance to defeat Sevika.
The interference ends when Jayce strikes the Wild Rune with his hammer, leaving his, Ekko and Heimerdinger’s fates unknown.
Caitlyn overcoming Sevika allows her to take a shot at Jinx, shooting off her middle finger.
Vi tackles Jinx down onto the alter and prepares to deliver the final blow, to which Jinx says, “I’m glad it’s you. Had to be you.”
So, when Jinx said in Episode Two that she was planning “to finish what’s left of my family” was she referring to herself?
Well, thankfully, it does not end here for Jinx because, at that moment, Isha jumps in to save her, putting a gun between her and Vi.
I am not sure if Jinx’s following “No!” is because Isha is interfering with her suicide attempt, out of concern for her, or a plea for her not shoot Vi.
Probably a mixture of all three.
Isha’s interference snaps Vi out of it and she steps in Caitlyn’s way when she attempts to shoot Jinx, despite Isha still being in the way.
This gives Sevika enough time to activate Jinx’s plan, sending the Grey up to Piltover in colorful fumes which pollute the city.
The force of the fumes blows Vi and Caitlyn away and we expectedly get the big break up scene.
Caitlyn is angered that Vi stopped her from killing Jinx, but Vi calls out Caitlyn’s own actions, which results in Caitlyn hitting Vi in the gut with her rifle.
She then leaves a crying Vi behind in a moment that is extremely reminiscent of Vi leaving Powder.
The big difference there is that Vi only left Powder to cool off before she was kidnapped.
Caitlyn does not come back for Vi, showing how far she has fallen since the death of her mother.
And, if the ending of the episode is any indication, Caitlyn’s morality is only going to grow greyer (if you will excuse the pun).
Following the Grey being unleashed upon Piltover, Ambessa suggests naming a general to lead their forces against Zaun and nominates Caitlyn.
Councillor Salo is shocked at this, clearly having expected himself to be chosen, but it is no surprise that Ambessa chose Caitlyn when you look back at how Salo himself described her.
“She’s gotten no closer to Jinx. But that doesn’t seem to steal the stars from anyone’s eyes… it’s not the girl. It’s the name (Kiramman). It bewitches people.”
Ambessa’s face shows intrigue during this scene, revealing exactly why she chose Caitlyn.
Her actions against Zaun and important family name have made her a symbol for Piltover.
Ambessa also believes she can control Caitlyn, literally calling her a child.
Whether Caitlyn will remain childlike under Ambessa’s thumb or if she will break free we do not yet know.
What we do know now is what the symbolism in the opening means.
We see Vi and Caitlyn getting closer, foreshadowing their kiss, before Caitlyn shoves her away, representing their breakup.
The next visual shows Caitlyn cradling her face in despair, while her shadow makes it look like she is wearing a crown.
This symbolizes her rise to becoming Piltover’s general and essentially a dictator, which is going to naturally haunt her.
Caitlyn is not the only character in the opening Episode Three gives symbolic understanding, because Ambessa holding a black rose and Mel being surrounded by shadowy hands represents the kidnapping plotline.
As for Ambessa herself, it is also revealed this episode that she really was behind the memorial attack.
She will do anything so long as it benefits her family but, again, she will probably be locked in a stranglehold with Mel’s kidnapping.
Episode Three then ends with a final Singed tease in which we see what he was doing with the body of the two-headed wolf he killed.
It is revealed he is using it to create a giant werewolf monster.
I will discuss the implications of this in an Act Two prediction section, which you will find below.
In conclusion, “Finally Got the Name Right” is definitely the best episode of Season Two’s Act One.
The final fight is excellent with its tragedy, incredible animation and score.
As for character arcs, Caitlyn is on the fast-track to being a puppet dictator and I am personally enjoying this dark turn for her character.
I hope she can pull herself out of it.
Finally, the third episode also does an excellent job of raising plenty of mysteries for the following acts to resolve, namely the ones surrounding the Black Rose and the Wild Rune.
I would call “Finally Got the Name Right” a top five Arcane episode, and I am eager to see if any episodes in Acts Two or Three can surpass it.

Act Two Predictions:
So, let’s start with talking about the massive werewolf Singed is creating.
This wolf is clearly Warwick, whose lore I looked up before watching Season Two.
In all likelihood, he will turn out to be a resurrected Vander.
Ordinarily, this would ruin the impact of Vander’s sacrifice, but Warwick looks to be a completely different character, making his resurrection tragic.
This tragedy will be amplified when Jinx and Vi have to fight him, as seen in the Act Two teaser.
We see Jinx shooting at Warwick in one shot, and Vi facing off against him in another.
The Vi shot is ironic, considering the back of her jacket has a two-headed wolf on it, the same creature Singed used to create Warwick.
There is also the matter of the predicted time skip where Vi becomes a cage fighter.
Originally, I thought this time skip was going to be right at the beginning of Act Two but, given how we have yet to see Jinx become a symbol, it will probably be Episode Five or Six when it happens.
When we do get the time skip, I expect that Ekko will be presumed dead by the Firelights.
I believe this because you can see his face on the mural with other dead characters.
This probably means that whatever happened with the Wild Rune caused Ekko, Jayce and Heimerdinger to be trapped in some alternate dimension.
The shot of Jayce in the teaser looking grizzled and with a beard supports my theory.
What I am less sure about is what will happen to Mel.
We see her attempting to escape the Black Rose, only to be pulled back by its red tentacle-like force.
There are so many mysteries for the rest of the season to unpack and I, for one, cannot wait for Act Two.

Arcane Season Two, Episode Two, Watch It All Burn Review: The Zaunite Perspective.

After Episode One’s great start to Season Two of Arcane, Episode Two, “Watch It All Burn” proves to be even better.
Focusing on the Zaunite plotlines this time around, the episode begins with a Zaunite funeral, parallelling the Piltovan one we saw last episode.
This time, we see Jinx laying Silco to rest in the waters of Zaun, a fitting resting place for him, considering it is where he was reborn in a sense when Vander tried to drown him.
After letting Silco go, Jinx watches his body sink from view and then hears his voice in her head, “Have you had enough?”
This line is from Silco’s narration at the beginning of Season One, Episode Three, and its placement here makes me wonder if Silco told Jinx this at some point.
Jinx’s response, to scream into the water, shows that, for now at least, she has not “had enough” and intends to keep fighting.
Following the opening, we get a music video scene, much like in the first episode.
This one is less somber, though, and used to illustrate the chaos that has emerged following Silco’s death, and the lone path Jinx is currently treading.
This sequence is temporarily interrupted by a kid who the subtitles name Isha.
They are being chased by some of the Chem-Barons’ goons until they literally fall on Jinx.
She protects the kid, killing the goons with ease and earning herself a follower.
While this is happening, the Chem-Baron turf war is continuing but there are issues, as we see the Yordle Chem-Baron Smeech find one of Margot’s stashes overcome with a mysterious fog known as the Grey.
Smeech later meets with the other Chem-Barons, where Sevika, is proposing they unite rather than fight.
Smeech instead proposes handing over Jinx to appease Piltover.
He insults Sevika when she shows her reluctance stating, “Bird without a wing is just a funny-looking rat,” in reference to Sevika’s missing arm.
It speaks to the strength of Sevika’s convictions, when she is unwilling to hand someone over, even when that person took her arm and killed the man she followed.
About the latter point, though, I don’t think Sevika knows that Jinx was the one to kill Silco.
She knows Silco is dead, but she never acts accusatory towards Jinx in their following interaction.
The two meet at the Last Drop where, despite their mutual disdain, they connect through their memories of Silco, ending with Jinx leaving to fix Sevika’s prosthetic arm.
This leads to her almost being tracked down by Vi, Caitlyn and the rest of their squad who it is revealed are using the Grey to storm parts of the Undercity.
Here, Vi retrieves Claggor’s goggles, and Jinx realizes Vi has joined the Enforcers, but she manages to slip through the cracks.
It is also here that we see how brutal Caitlyn is becoming, as she fires off a shot in frustration at not catching Jinx, which does not bode well for her future morality.
Caitlyn using the Grey to attack Zaunites also explains why Smeech was so eager to hand Jinx over to the Enforcers, because he knew they could not withstand such attacks.
He attempts to capture Jinx after her run in with Caitlyn’s squad, taking advantage of her poor mental state from seeing Vi, and poor physical condition from being affected by the Grey.
He attempts to intimidate her, but this has the opposite effect, resulting in her intimidating him when she tells him she killed Silco.
Smeech’s shock is another reason I think Sevika does not know it was Jinx who did the deed.
Good thing because, if she did, she probably would not have saved Jinx.
The fight between Sevika and Smeech is top notch in terms of animation and soundtrack, as she battles him with the new arm Jinx constructed.
Only Jinx could build a prosthetic arm with weapons based on the outcome of a slot machine.
It makes for a fun and very satisfying fight.
Sevika even gets to throw Smeech’s insult back at him by asking, “Who’s a funny-looking rat now?”
With the fight over, Sevika notices a look in Jinx’s eye and comments on it, to which Jinx ominously responds that she is planning “to finish what’s left of my family.”
This brings Jinx’s storyline this episode to an end, but her storyline is far from the only one.
First there is Ekko and Heimerdinger’s story where they notice that the Firelights’ tree has become infected by what looks like Hexcore corruption.
I like Ekko and Heimerdinger’s interactions, but I think it’s weird that Ekko does not blame him for any of Zaun’s suffering.
There should at least have been a scene of them addressing Heimerdinger’s involvement.
Well, at least he is helping out now.
To find out what is happening, the two sneak into Jayce’s lab, only to be confronted by the Man of Progress himself.
As for Jayce, his storyline this episode began with Viktor’s emergence from the strange cocoon formed when he was merged with the Hexcore to save his life.
His body now primarily made of Hextech, Viktor breaks his partnership with Jayce after he sees the Hextech weapons Jayce is designing.
He also clearly feels betrayed by Jayce not destroying the Hexcore as he asked.
My one criticism of this scene is that Viktor revealing Sky’s death is glossed over pretty quickly by Jayce but, otherwise, his and Viktor’s separation is emotional.
From here, Viktor travels into the Undercity, going down to its depths where he is confronted by Huck and the other Shimmer addicts, hoping to rob and kill him to fuel their addiction.
Instead of fighting Huck, Viktor helps him, using the power of the Hexcore to heal his addiction, replacing and augmenting his Shimmer infected parts with metal.
Viktor tells a healed Huck and the rest of the Shimmer addicts, “You need not suffer anymore.”
And so, Viktor emerges as a messiah-like figure with his own band of followers.
He even hallucinates Sky, which seems to tell Viktor that he is doing the right thing.
However, I would argue that things are going to turn out to be more sinister than they appear.
Huck’s appearance is identical to the floating figures from the trailer.
Along with this, the place where Viktor heals him is clearly a decayed version of the technologically advanced place also seen in the trailer.
This makes me think the Hexcore inside Viktor is probably using Sky’s image to convince Viktor he is helping these people when, in reality, he is actually contributing to some kind of nefarious goal.
We will have to wait for Act Two to learn more of what Viktor’s plans are though.
The episode then ends with another Singed teaser, showing he is experimenting with blood cells and keeping the heart of the two-headed wolf beating.
What he is using this for is shown in the next episode but, for now, it adds to the intrigue.
“Watch It All Burn” is a better episode than the first, with ominous development for Viktor, and an alliance forming between Jinx and Sevika, along with a great fight to boot.
But, in typical Arcane fashion, they saved the best episode of the Act for last.

Arcane Season Two, Episode One, Heavy is the Crown Review: Greatness Returns.

Arcane had the best first season of any show I have had the pleasure of watching.
The characters and story were fantastic, the animation was stunning, and I still listen to the soundtrack years later.
After watching it, I immediately knew I was willing to wait however long it took to get a second season of the same quality.
Well, the first act of that season has finally aired.
Personally, I have had a pretty miserable week (and I will leave it at that), so having Arcane back certainly improved my mood.
The three episodes of Act One all blend together well, with the first episode covering the Piltovan plotlines.
Episode One, “Heavy is the Crown”, picks up by instantly resolving the epic cliffhanger of Season One.
Jinx’s attack expectedly results in the death of Caitlyn’s mother, Cassandra, along with Councilors Bolbok and Hoskel.
In contrast, Councilors Salo and Shoola are alive but injured, with Salo being paralyzed from the waist down.
The real interesting detail though is Mel and Jayce, who are both unharmed, despite being right in the missile’s path.
The reason for this is not shown yet, but I think it will eventually be revealed that Mel’s mysterious golden armor saved them.
It was not enough to save Viktor, though, who is on death’s door from the blast, until Jayce merges the Hexcore with his body; a decision I think he will soon come to regret.
Following the resolution of who survived the Season One cliffhanger, we get the new Season Two opening.
Imagine Dragons’ “Enemy” is still the song for the intro, but the visuals are entirely different with a lot of symbolic meaning, although that meaning is not clear until Episode Three.
After the opening, we get our first of quite a few music video moments, but this one is solemn, as we see Caitlyn at her mother’s funeral.
The somber, grey coloring of the funeral makes the vibrancy of Vi and Caitlyn stand out, perfectly reflecting Caitlyn’s grief and Vi’s guilt.
In the aftermath of the attack, Ambessa quickly gets Salo in her pocket, leveraging his need for revenge, which only Mel is able to combat, if slightly.
In the meantime, Vi and Caitlyn go through their own issues, with Caitlyn struggling with her own desire for vengeance against Jinx, while Vi spurns her offer to become an Enforcer because, well, the Enforcers killed her parents.
This eventually leads to Vi meeting the future members of her and Caitlyn’s squad.
There is a man who resembles Vander and seems to be struggling in similar ways to Vi, a fish man, and a young woman named Maddie Nolen.
Maddie’s is the only name of the three we know at the moment, which I think was a bit neglectful on the writers’ part.
I mean, if we are going to care about these characters’ survival, we need to know their names, right?
In any case, Maddie makes an interesting comment that Caitlyn said, “If every Enforcer had a heart like yours, we could take on Noxus itself.”
Funny she should say that because it is made very clear by the end of Act One that Ambessa’s Noxian forces definitely do not have Piltover’s best interests at heart.
For the time being, “Heavy is the Crown” makes the Zaunites out to be the big threat for Piltover, with them attacking a memorial for the Councilors.
This attack is headed by Renni, the Chem-Baron whose son was killed by Jayce last season.
Out for revenge, like many of the other characters in this series, she makes a play for Jayce’s life and would have succeeded had it not been for Vi, who then teams up with him, while Caitlyn and her squad attempt to fight Renni’s Chem-Tanks.
The whole fight is extremely well-animated and tense, ending with the arrival of Ambessa and her Noxians, who kill all of the Zaunite attackers, including Renni.
The attack, and a last message from her mother, convinces Caitlyn to lead her new strike team into Zaun, all to the tune of “Heavy is the Crown”, which the episode is named after.
It is during this moment that it is revealed someone helped the Zaunites attack the memorial.
I am sure the immediate cut to Ambessa’s face after this is said is entirely coincidental… no, I’m not being sarcastic, why do you ask?
Vi also makes her choice, joining the Enforcers to help end the violence between Piltover and Zaun, appearing to walk in Vander’s footsteps.
Although the following episodes prove she is going about it in a darker way.
Speaking of the Hound of the Underground, the final scene of the episode shows a two-headed hound being hunted by Singed for reasons unknown, a tease which will be shown at the end of every episode in Act One.
Overall, “Heavy is the Crown” is a great start to the season.
It shows off Piltover’s perspective perfectly, which flows nicely into Episode Two, where we get the Zaunite perspective.
My only major criticism is that we do not get the names of some new characters we are introduced to.
Hopefully, we will find out their names in Act Two.
Otherwise, “Heavy is the Crown” starts the season well, and Act One only gets better from here.

Arcane Review: Watch. This. Show.

I remember when I first watched the trailer for Netflix’s Arcane and was instantly intrigued by the quality of the animation I was seeing.
However, then I noticed the show was based off League of Legends.
I have never played this game but I know of it because of its reputation as having one of the most toxic fandoms out there.
This was not what made me hesitant to watch it though because you can’t judge a product off the actions of its fans alone.
No, the reason for my hesitation was that, since I had never played League, I would have no idea what was happening in Arcane‘s story.
So, despite liking what I saw in the trailer, I decided to give it a skip.
But then, I kept hearing the nonstop praise about Arcane being a masterpiece and I finally caved, deciding to give it a chance.
After all, I watched Squid Game because of the acclaim it was receiving and I had no regrets about that.
Although, after finishing Arcane, I did have one regret… that I did not watch this absolute masterpiece of a show sooner.
All of the praise this series has received since it was released in three acts on Netflix is accurate. 

Arcane was released in three acts, each with three episodes, over three weeks. I watched one act per day and each one is incredible.

Created by Christian Linke and Alex Yee, Arcane tells the story of many different characters in the city of Piltover and its undercity of Zaun.
Zaun is a gang ridden, posion aired place, where sisters Vi (Hailee Steinfeld) and Powder (Ella Purnell) struggle to find their place in the world while under the guardianship of their father figure Vander (JB Blanc). 
Meanwhile, in the rich and ever technologically progressing city of Piltover, scientist Jayce (Kevin Alejandro) and his newfound friend Viktor (Harry Loyd) begin to experiment with creating magic through science. 
The story then follows these different groups of characters, their paths occasionally intersecting, as tragic events push Piltover and Zaun to the edge of outright war.
What makes the potential for this conflict so suspenseful is how amazingly well written each character in this show is.
The way the relationship between Vi and Powder plays out, and what they go on to become by the end of the season, is highly engaging.

Powder and Vi’s tragic journeys made for plenty of compelling development.

Another thing that really struck me was how even the minor characters felt like real people.
Take the corrupt enforcer Marcus (Remy Hill), for example.
It would have been incredibly easy for the writers to just make him a stereotypically evil corrupt cop but they didn’t.
They gave Marcus a lot of depth and characterization to the point that I actually sympathized with him, while knowing he was a terrible person.
Speaking of someone being a terrible person while also being a fantastic character, my favourite character in this entire show is definitely the main antagonist, Silco (Jason Spisak).
Much like Marcus, I thought he was going to turn out to be a stereotypical villain when we were first introduced to him but, as the show went on, he became incredibly complex.
I remember watching Episode Three, “The Base Violence Necessary for Change” and seeing him display some emotion and wondering if it was genuine.
The show then goes on to expand on this emotion for his character, making a part of himself so sympathetic that the way his storyline for the season concluded during the final episode “The Monster You Created” actually made me tear up.

I did not expect to cry for Silco when we met him, yet the final episode made me do just that.

Notice how I mentioned both Episodes Three and Nine there? 
These two are the best episodes of Arcane, both being masterpieces in their own right, with so much tragedy in them.
The tragedy of this story is backed up by the fantastic voice acting, score and animation.
It was this animation that made me initially interested in the show in the first place, as I said when talking about the trailer, and seeing this animation actually play out in the series did not disappoint. 
It reminded me a lot of the animation from Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse, creating absolutely amazing action set pieces, the best of which comes in Episode Seven “The Boy Saviour.”   

The action sequence in this scene between Jinx and another character was excellent, having me glued to the screen.

As for the score, I have already put multiple songs from this show on my Spotify, including the opening by Imagine Dragons and JID, “Enemy,” so that alone should tell you how much I loved Arcane’s music.
As for the voice acting, there was not a weak member of the cast.
I was especially impressed with the voice acting of Mia Sinclair Jenessa who plays the young Powder, showing off some excellent range in Episode Three.
All of this combines with the amazing writing from Linke and Yee, creating fascinating lines like “in the pursuit of great, we failed to do good,” and “is there anything so undoing as a daughter.”

There are plenty of amazing instances of dialogue in Arcane.

How certain lines and events from the beginning are paralleled right up to the final episode also quite impressed me, with the story of Arcane essentially boiling down to one tragic cycle. 
This is a cycle that I look forward to seeing continue when we eventually get Season Two, which has been announced.
We do not know when this season will be released but it has been confirmed that we will not be getting it in 2022, to which I say, “good.” 
Arcane is clearly a labour of love from its creators and they deserve to continue this labour with all the care and attention they used to craft the masterpiece that is this first season: one of the greatest opening seasons I have ever seen.
Season one of Arcane is a masterpiece and, if Season Two is at the very least just as good, then it may end up being one of my favourite shows of all time.   
If you have not watched this show yet because of League of Legend’s reputation, or because you fear you won’t understand what’s happening like I feared, then take my advice and watch it.
You will understand what’s happening and it will most likely blow your mind.