Right from Season One of Arcane, I was impressed with the depth of its characters, from the minor ones to the big players.
So, with Season Two over and these characters’ stories over, I figured it was time to list the ten characters I believe are the best of the best.
Of course, I could not list every character I wanted, so honorable mentions go to Mel and Ambessa Medarda, and Heimerdinger.
All three are great characters, but they had certain issue that kept me from putting them in the top ten.
With that out of the way, let’s get this list started. 

10. Sevika.

If I had to describe Sevika with a single word it would be loyal.
This may seem strange, considering her first act in the story is to betray Vander for Silco, but Sevika’s loyalty is not to a single person but to a nation: Zaun.
We see this through what she sacrifices and how she puts aside her grievances for the betterment of her cause.
She pushes Silco out of the way of the cannery explosion Jinx caused, losing her arm in the process, and then later encourages Jinx to become Zaun’s hero, despite previously hating her guts.
Both of these actions were done because she believed Silco and Jinx were best for Zaun at the time.
But the moment that most encapsulates Sevika’s mindset is when she sides with Silco over Finn in the Season One finale.
After she kills Finn, Silco asks her, “were you tempted?”
Sevika responds, “Not for a worm like him. But he won’t be the last.”
In saying this, Sevika readily admits that she would betray Silco if the person overthrowing him was the better option for Zaun, which Finn was not.
Along with Sevika’s interesting motivations, she also has some of the best one on one fights in the series, whether it be her two fights against Vi in Season One, or her fight against Smeech in Season Two, the latter of which incorporates her gambling habit into her fighting style.
As for why she is not higher on the list, well, she pretty much stops existing as a character after the fourth episode of Season Two.
Yes, she comes back for the final fight, and we see she becomes Zaun’s voice on the council at the end, but she has zero dialogue or development building up to this.
My biggest criticism of the ending is that it felt like it pushed the conflict between Zaun and Piltover to the side.
With Sevika getting a seat on the council at the end, I feel like she could have been the perfect character to pursue this storyline.
Unfortunately, her character was left behind just like that conflict.
Still, Sevika is one of Arcane’s best side characters to me, having an interesting concept of loyalty and some of the best fights in the series. 

9. Singed.

I did not think much of Singed when we first met him in Season One.
He just seemed like a random mad scientist, created just to explain who made Shimmer.
So, imagine my surprise when it was revealed he not only survived Jinx’s explosion, although severely maimed, but he also knew Viktor and motivates his descent into becoming the Machine Herald.
From here, Singed emerged as the character responsible for pretty much 90% of the problems our characters experienced, with most of them being none the wiser to his behind-the-scenes involvement. 
He created Shimmer, motivated Viktor, experiment on Jinx, resurrected Vander as a mechanical werewolf, also resurrected Viktor leading up to the final battle, and probably a hundred other things.
And you know what’s funny?
After all those horrible things he did, he won.
It is revealed in “Blisters and Bedrock” that everything he has done has been to revive his daughter Orianna, another League champion.
In the end, he succeeds, facing absolutely no repercussions for his horrible deeds.
And just because Singed’s ultimate goal is a sympathetic one does not mean he finds no enjoyment in the brutal things he does.
Quite the contrary, actually.
We see him take sadistic pleasure in experimenting on Jinx, even though he showed mercy to Silco earlier by drugging him unconscious so he would not have to see his adopted daughter tortured.
“I too once had a daughter.”
My only criticism of Singed is that I think we could have just a little more exploration of his backstory.
He is revealed to have been a Piltovan alchemist named Corin Revick, so that works, but he also reveals a connection to Heimerdinger which is never explored.
Despite that, Singed is still a very compelling side character.
He has a sympathetic motive but also finds joy in the horrible experiments he commits.

8. Viktor.

After Season One, Viktor was in my top five favourite characters of the series.
His journey and the beginning of his descent was engaging to watch.
Starting out as judgemental of Jayce’s Hextech experiments, he eventually joins his side after realizing its potential.
He also proves himself to be a funny character with the, “Wait a minute. This isn’t my bedroom” joke.
After Hextech becomes mainstream in Piltover with the creation of the Hexgates, Viktor takes a back seat in public compared to Jayce, obviously more focused on his deteriorating health, which leads him to create the Hexcore and, later, go back to Singed for help.
His experimentation on himself results in one of Season One’s most moving scenes, where he finally manages to run, passing a boat, which he was not able to do as a child.
However, because the Arcane writers do not like it when their characters are happy, this joyous moment turns into one of horror, when Viktor’s next experiment results in the death of Sky.
Sky was not focused on all that much before this moment, but her death does motivate Viktor to tell Jayce to destroy the Hexcore, no matter what happens to him.
Unfortunately, he does not get a say in the matter, because he is mortally wounded in Jinx’s attack, forcing Jayce to merge him with the Hexcore to save his life.
Upon awakening in a new form, Viktor is guided underground by a mysterious vision of Sky, which leads to him creating a cult in the fissures based on helping people.
However, there are signs that what Viktor is doing to these people is not exactly help, as we see in numerous scenes that they do not actually breath after Viktor has changed them.
Viktor’s motives remain pure, however, as he refuses to sacrifice Vander to save himself.
At least, he refuses until Jayce attacks him, leading Viktor to believe he needs to take all individuality away from people in the Glorious Evolution, becoming the series’ main threat.
His final confrontation with Jayce is tragic, given how they started, yet also hopeful in how Viktor abandons his goal.
The reveal that an alternate version of Viktor saved Jayce was excellently handled, and the two of them sacrificing themselves to put an end to the Glorious Evolution was a fitting end.
Viktor also has some of the best lines in the series from, “In the pursuit of great, we failed to do good.” And, “There is no prize to perfection. Only an end to pursuit.”
But, if he has the best lines and he used to be in my top five, why is he now at number eight?
Well, unfortunately, I think Viktor suffered a bit from Season Two’s breakneck pace.
The places his character went made sense, but I think we needed a few bridging scenes to better explain them.
The prime example of this is his strange connection with Sky, which is never explained.
Was she a hallucination, a manipulation by the Hexcore, or was she actually there?
We don’t know and it feels pretty underdeveloped.
That being said, Viktor is still a great character, with some excellent quotes backing him up.

7. Caitlyn Kiramman.

Only having a minor role in Season One’s first act, Caitlyn stepped up in Act Two with the showcase of her brilliant detective skills.
She became instantly sympathetic, as the sole Enforcer with the skill and drive to dig for the truth, even though she was inexperienced and dealing with the corrupt Sherrif Marcus.
This leads to her meeting Vi at Stillwater, and the two of them have excellent chemistry right from the start, with Episode Five showing this off particularly well.
They grow closer over the course of their adventure in Zaun, learning about one another while being chased by Silco’s goons, having a tense encounter with Jinx, and then being kidnapped by the Firelights.
Eventually making their way back to Piltover, Vi leaves Caitlyn after the Council refuses to listen to her, which is an emotional moment in of itself.
Caitlyn certainly thinks about it a lot in the aftermath; however, this immediately leads into her being kidnapped by Jinx and then being unable to stop her from firing the rocket which kills her mother.
The guilt of having the shot on Jinx and not taking it follows Caitlyn into Season Two, as we see her grief drive her to take drastic measures, most notable of all being using the Grey as chemical warfare against Zaunites.
This culminates in the third episode, where she abandons Vi and falls under Ambessa’s thrall.
We see her acting as Piltover’s general for the next two episodes.
Up until this point, Caitlyn’s character development has been great, going from a driven rookie detective to a vengeful general.
Her next bit of development is a little rocky though.
As soon as Vi comes back into her life, she betrays Ambessa for her, with there being not much of a showcase for why she would do so.
Still, her character development gets back on track in the next act, as she finally lets go of her hatred for Jinx, allowing Vi to free her sister.
She and Vi then have a long sex scene, pleasing many a CatVi fan.
In the final episode, we see Caitlyn take on her former mentor, fittingly using Ambessa’s ideal of sacrifice to defeat her at the cost of her eye.
Caitlyn’s final scene shows her and Vi happy together, a more than deserving ending for a character who had quite the journey in Arcane. 
Caitlyn truly earns the title of Piltover’s Finest. 

6. Jayce Talis.

The founder of Hextech, and later the advocate for its destruction, Jayce first appears in the series as an ambitious scientist who wants to use magic to improve the lives of Piltover’s citizens.
Unfortunately for him, Vi and the gang rob his apartment, leading to an explosion which shows just how dangerous the magic he is dealing with is.
This nearly gets him banished from the very city he wanted to improve.
Fortunately for him, Viktor and Mel see the potential of his dream.
With his new partner Viktor at his side, Jayce succeeds in creating Hextech, which propels progress in Piltover to new heights with Mel’s backing.
Jayce is met with the consequences of this right from Act Two when Jinx steals the Hexgem, resulting in him gaining a Council seat to watch over Hextech related matters.
But, as Caitlyn would later show in Season Two, it is easy to fall from grace while in power, and Jayce has to work with corruption, all the while trying to save the ailing Viktor.
This eventually drives him to lead a coup against Heimerdinger, forcibly retiring him from the Council.
He falls further when Vi recruits him to take out one of Silco’s Shimmer factories, which results in him accidentally killing a child.
It is from this tragedy that Jayce’s goodness shines through, as he offers Zaun independence to try and stop the bloodshed.
Sadly, his efforts are in vain, due to Jinx’s attack and, right after, he is again faced with the consequences of his actions, nearly being killed by the vengeful Renni, the mother of the boy he accidentally killed.
This leads to Jayce finally building Hextech weapons, which drives Viktor away when he recovers from his merging with the Hexcore.
Now alone, Jayce seems to be in a state of limbo until the arrival of Heimerdinger and Ekko, leading to the discovery of the Wild Rune, and Jayce’s transportation to the alternate universe where Hextech destroyed Piltover.
Over many months Jayce suffers in this universe until he finally meets a future version of Viktor, which tasks him with stopping his other self.
Now aware of the dangers of Hextech, Jayce accepts this mission and immediately shows his dark growth by murdering Salo.
Jayce is clearly a very different man from the one who let Vi leave with the gauntlets back in Season One.
He further proves this when he attempts to kill Viktor as soon as he reunites with him.
Later facing his old partner in the final battle, Jayce instead reasons with him, showing Viktor the truth of what he saw in the alternate universe to save the world.
This does raise the question of why Jayce did not just show Viktor this in the first place, instead of trying to kill him, but he had been through a lot of traumatic stuff so I will let it slide.
And so, Jayce’s story ends with his sacrifice.
It is a story of redemption, as he ends his creation with his partner, saving both Piltover and Zaun from the Glorious Evolution he inadvertently started with the creation of Hextech.
Flawed yet always with good intentions, Jayce is a relatable character with a lot of growth. 

5. Vander.

Vander’s primary moment of character development comes in the very first scene of Arcane.
The show begins with Vi and Powder finding their dead parents, who were killed during the revolution Vander lead across the bridge.
Vander sees this and realizes he can no longer take the burden of the dead, releasing his gauntlets and taking in Vi and Powder as their new father.
We next see Vander years later, watching over the people in the Lanes who need help, like Huck.
He also serves as a mentor to the children he now raises, Vi most of all.
“You say light a fire, they show up with oil,” he tells her, teaching her the responsibilities of leadership
However, Vander also has his weaknesses, as shown by Sevika calling him out on it and later betraying him for Silco.
As the leader of the Lanes, Vander had to defend his people, yet was willing to let the Enforcers walk over them to protect his kids and prevent bloodshed.
This ultimately leads to Silco taking advantage of the situation, manipulating Marcus into getting his hands on Vander and killing Benzo.
Yet, when his kids are in danger, the gauntlets get put back on.
In the aftermath of Jinx’s explosion, with Mylo and Claggor dead, and Vi in danger, Vander marches to her defence, taking on the Shimmer enhanced Dekard, even though he is still badly injured.
His final moment in Season One is one of sacrifice, as he takes Shimmer to save Vi, his last words to her being, “Take care of Powder.”
This shows that Vander was, above all else, a father, which makes his eventual fate in Season Two probably the most tragic of any character.
He is resurrected as a mechanical werewolf by Singed, and slaughters numerous Enforcers inside Stillwater to get to him, only to regain some of his former self when he reunites with Jinx.
Later tracked down by her and Vi in the mines where he once worked with Silco, Vi calls out to him, leading into a flashback where we see just how close he used to be with both Silco and Vi’s mother.
The following scene of him embracing Vi, Jinx and Isha is the emotional scene in all of Arcane for me.
But because the writers love our suffering, Vander meets an unfortunate end.
It seems hopeful at first, with the sisters taking him to Viktor to be healed.
However, because the connection between him and Viktor is broken by Jayce’s attack, the wolf resurfaces.
Incapacitated by Isha’s sacrifice, Vander is then transformed in Viktor’s Glorious Evolution, completely destroying Vander’s identity.
His final scene is incredibly tragic, as the husk of Vander’s body attempts to kill his two adopted daughters, potentially leading to the death of Jinx herself.
Vander’s story is one of tragedy.
He turned away from violence at the beginning of the story, only for this to lead to his death and eventual resurrection, with his body being used to further someone else’s agenda. 
However, I say that Vander should be remembered as, above all else, a father.  

4. Ekko. 

When I started watching Arcane, I had no knowledge of League lore, so I did not know of Ekko’s importance during Act One.
Despite this, I was still able to guess that he would be the mysterious masked leader of the Firelights, given that he was the only living named character from that first act we had not seen yet.
Unmasking himself in the episode named after him, “The Boy Savior” Ekko makes an immediate impression, being cautious to protect his people, while also being willing to listen to new ideas, which Caitlyn presents him.
Going with her and Vi to Piltover, Ekko is nearly killed by the corrupt Marcus and must then fight Jinx to give Vi and Caitlyn time to escape.
We did not see much of Ekko and Powder’s friendship in Act One but their fight scene more than makes up for it with the tragic visuals of their playtime as children intermixed with their current deadly fight.
However, despite all of his statements about Powder being gone, Ekko still sees her in Jinx so hesitates, giving Jinx enough time to attempt suicide with one of her bombs.
For a moment, his fate is left unknown, until he is found by Heimerdinger.
I do find it a bit strange that he never blames Heimerdinger for Zaun’s suffering, given that he was literally a Councilor, but their mentor and pupil bond is still endearing.
This is where Ekko’s story ends in Season One and I was very excited to see where his character would go in Season Two.
Imagine my disappointment when Ekko barely got anything to do in the first two acts.
He investigates the pollution of his tree by Hextech with Heimerdinger and Jayce, and then the three of them are transported away by the Wild Rune.
That’s it.
With his minimal screen time in Act One and zero screen time in Act Two, I honestly doubted Act Three could give him enough significance to standout.
Well, I am happy to say that I ate my words because, in my opinion, Ekko was without a doubt Act Three’s best character.
First, there is Episode Seven, where he is the main focus.
We see his time in a happier, alternate universe where he and Powder are together.
I knew about the Timebomb ship, but I honestly could not see it working since Ekko and Jinx had so much bad blood between them.
Well, the writers found the perfect way to make it work, by having it be an alternate version of her Ekko connects with, teaching him that Jinx is not beyond saving.
Thank god he was taught this because his first scene in the final episode is using his Z-Drive to save Jinx from suicide multiple times.
I literally screamed, “Ekko you bloody legend!” during this moment.
His entrance with Jinx in the final battle is likewise epic, although not as epic as his last stand against Viktor, pushing his Z-Drive past its limits to save the world.
Boy Savior could not be a truer title for Ekko.
He literally abandoned an almost perfect world to save the friends of his corrupted one. 
I love Ekko’s character, despite his brief screen time in the first two acts of Season Two.
I mean, just imagine how much higher he would be on this list if he actually had more time to shine. 

3. Vi.

Vi is a protector.
This trait of hers is established right from the beginning, as she guides her little sister through the aftermath of the battle which killed their parents.
Leader is another word used to describe Vi, as we next see her lead Powder, Mylo, and Claggor on a job in Piltover, resulting in the explosion which kicks off the series.
From here, Vi struggles with her role as protector and leader of the group with Vander’s guidance, eventually deciding to turn herself in to save her family.
Unfortunately, Silco has other ideas, leading to the kidnapping of Vander, and Powder accidentally killing their entire family.
Vi lashing out at Powder for her tragic mistake could have resulted in me turning against her but it is a testament to the writing that I understood her grief.
Not wanting to hurt Powder any further, Vi steps away to calm down, only to be kidnapped by Marcus and locked away in Stilwater for years.
It is here where Caitlyn finds her in Act Two, and Vi sets out to find and save her sister, unaware of who she has become.
We also see her connection with Caitlyn flourish and get a great look at her fighting skills in a brawl with Sevika.
All of this builds to her emotional reunion with Jinx before the two are cruelly separated again.
Now having an idea of what Powder has become, Vi makes her way to Piltover with Caitlyn to try and find a way to stop Silco, only for Vi to ally with Jayce and gain her Gauntlets from the game.
The following battle with the Chem-Tanks is a great showcase of her abilities, but it all builds to her being kidnapped by Jinx and taken to the cannery where the tragedy started.
There, Vi tries to bring Powder back by reminding her of their past, not realizing how this is tormenting her sister.
This misunderstanding, and Silco’s death leads to Jinx embracing herself, forcing Vi to come to terms with Powder being gone, which we see her struggle with in Season Two.
She eventually joins the Enforcers to stop her sister, ironic considering she once so hated them.
The following fight between the sisters is tragic, with them literally crashing through graffiti of their childhood.
But, in the end, Vi is still able to see Powder inside Jinx when Isha saves her, leading to her stopping Caitlyn from taking the shot again.
Caitlyn then abandons Vi, leaving her at rock bottom to become a drunken pit fighter.
And who should come to her aid but Jinx, dragging Vi from the brink to save a resurrected Vander, which results in one of the most emotional scenes of the series when the family embrace. 
It is one of the last moments of happiness they all together, but it also leads to Vi reconnecting with Caitlyn and then joining her in the defense of Piltover.
If I had any criticisms of Vi, it would be how little she gets in the final episode character wise.
I believe she only has three lines of dialogue, which feels weird for a character so pivotal.
We could have used more time detailing her grief over Jinx’s supposed death.
A leader, a protecter, and a sister, Vi is an excellent character.   

2. Jinx.

I feel like most people would rank Jinx as their number one Arcane character and deservedly so.
She is an incredible and tragic character with an ambigious ending.
When we first meet Jinx, then known as Powder, she is an intelligent but insecure kid.
She wants to help but her inventions keep failing.
This seems like it will change when she uses the stolen Hex Crystals as a bomb to save her family.
However, in one of the most tragic scenes in television history, her attempted rescue results in the deaths of the very people she was trying to save, all except for her sister who slaps her and then calls her the one thing she always feared she was: A Jinx.
Believing that Vi abandoned her, Jinx is taken under the crime boss Silco’s wing, becoming like a daughter to him, and a severely traumatized one at that.
Her need for validation is still apparent, as it drives her to launch a terrorist attack on Piltover to steal the Hexgem.
Then, just as Silco pushes her to let Powder die, Vi comes back, throwing Jinx’s newfound state of identity into chaos.
The moment she lights up the flare to call Vi, while being haunted by hallucinations of Mylo and Claggor, is both beautiful and a gut punch.
The sisters reunite but Caitlyn’s arrival causes Jinx’s paranoia to surface, which continues up to the brilliant bridge fight with Ekko where she attempts suicide.
Found by Silco, she is rushed to Singed where, in a brutal scene, she is experimented upon, being infused with Shimmer to save her life.
This further decays her already fragile metal state.
The next time we see her is almost like a horror movie, as she abducts Caitlyn from her bathroom, and then also kidnaps Vi and Silco.
She takes them to the cannery where Jinx was born to decide who she is, as both Vi and Silco fight for her.
When Silco attempts to kill Vi, Jinx’s sisterly instincts kick in and she shoots him.
His final words drive her to fully embrace her identity as Jinx.
In true jinx fashion, she then attacks Piltover just as they were agreeing to allow Zaun’s independence.
In Season Two, Jinx is lost without Silco, but she unexpectedly finds companionship in a young mute orphan named Isha.
Following her fight with Vi, we see her resisting her hero status in Zaun, wanting a simpler life with Isha as her little sister.
The choice is taken away from her, however, when Isha is captured and taken to Stilwater.
Rescuing her and the other Zaunites, Jinx finally realizes how she has become a symbol of hope in Zaun, only to be immediately reunited with a resurrected Vander. 
This leads to her attempting to mend the bridge between her and Vi, taking her into the mines to save Vander.
By Episode Six, Jinx has it all.
She has a new little sister and has reunited with her older one and adopted father.
Of course, the writers had to absolutely destroy this happiness with Isha’s sacrifice.
Following the loss, Jinx gives up on life, allowing herself to be arrested, before leaving to commit suicide when Vi frees her.
“There’s no good version of me,” she says, but we know this is not true.
Not only has she done good by providing hope to Zaunites and giving Isha a good life before her death, but we also saw the alternate version of her doing good as well.
Speaking of, it is this alternate version of her that convinces Ekko to save Jinx.
The scene of him doing so is particularly hard to watch, due to how many times Jinx attempts to take her life.
Thankfully, Ekko convinces her that life is worth living, and she joins the final battle.
Her story ends when she seems to sacrifice herself to save Vi, but I personally refuse to believe she is dead.
We see a purple Shimmer streak before the explosion, Caitlyn is shown investigating the air ducts, and the last shot of the show is an airship flying away, which Jinx said she wanted to fly in Episode One.
At the very least her ending is ambiguous, and maybe it is better that way.
However you view Jinx, as a hero to Zaun, a terrorist, or as a girl traumatized by the cruel world she inhabits, she is undoubtedly one of Arcane’s best characters.
There is one I consider to be better though. 

1. Silco. 

Much like Singed, when we were first introduced to Silco, I did not expect to like his character very much.
With his scarred face, way of manipulating people, and scheme to obtain power, I expected him to be a cliche villain with no redeeming qualities.
Oh, how wrong I was.
My first indication of this was in Episode Three, which begins with a flashback hinting at him and Vander’s shared past.
Through their later conversations, I understood that Silco was driven by feelings of betrayal and a desire to see his nation independent.
And then came the pivotal moment where he met Jinx.
At first, he clearly intends to kill her, but then she jumps into his arms, revealing how Vi left her.
Silco looks up at Vander’s dead body and clearly associates Jinx’s abandonment with Vander betraying him.
He wraps his arms around the weeping, traumatized girl and tells her, “It’s okay. We’ll show them. We will show them all.”
My first reaction when watching this was to question if Silco was being genuine.
He sounded so sincere to me and, sure enough, in Act Two we see how much he has come to love Jinx as a father.
He accepts failure from her where he would not from others, couches her through her trauma, and is desperate to make sure she stays with him when Vi returns.
Is all of this to say that Silco is a good father?
Oh, absolutely not.
No, his love for her is clearly toxic, as he tasks her with killing his enemies, projects his own trauma onto her, and manipulates her into believing Vi is only there for the gemstone so she will not leave him.
Despite all of that, his bond with Jinx is fascinating to watch play out through how it conflicts with his desire to make Zaun a nation.
This culminates in the final episode, where he is forced to choose between the two with Jayce’s ultimatum: “Get me Jinx and I’ll give you your nation of Zaun.”
The conflict in Silco over this decision leads him to Vander’s statue, where he reveals he finally understands how Vander could put aside his dream for the safety of his children, stating, “Is there anything so undoing as a daughter?”
This is my favorite line in Arcane because it is a broad statement on one of the series’ main themes.
So many characters are undone by their love for their daughters, from Vander, to Singed, to Marcus, to Ambessa and, of course, Silco himself.
And so, when Silco tells Jinx he never would have given her to Piltover after she has shot him, I believe him entirely.
His final words to her, “Don’t cry. You’re perfect.” brought a tear to my eye, and I never expected to cry for Silco.
He was a drug lord who brought misery to so many people and yet his love for his daughter was so compelling despite its unhealthy nature that I could not help but care for him.
Silco’s legacy lives on in Season Two, as Jinx gives him a fitting burial in the waters where he was reborn after Vander’s betrayal.
We also see a younger version of him in a flashback, with hairstyle similar to Jinx’s, making many believe that he himself styled it for her.
Finally, he appears to her as a hallucination, advising her, “I think the cycle only ends when you find the will to walk away.”
If you subscribe to the theory that Jinx lived and walked away, like I do, then Silco’s influence on her ending cannot be overlooked.
And so, in a cast full of amazingly complex characters, Silco stands out as the best to me.
A monster to most but a father to Jinx, Silco is not only my favorite Arcane character but one of my favorite antagonists in all of fiction.