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 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 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 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.