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By John Serba
Published Nov. 17, 2024, 2:00 p.m. ET
Netflix hit Arcane reaches the middle section of its three-act finale, and nobody with a single functioning brain cell will be surprised to learn that the drama’s getting rather intense. As it did with the first in 2021, Netflix cut up the second – and final! – season into a trio of three-episode chunks released on consecutive Saturdays, so plan accordingly, whether you prefer to binge the series or relish being held in suspense for a week or so. Without further blabbityblab and other adieu, let’s get into it.
ARCANE: SEASON 2, ACT II: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
Opening Shot: The first of a series of black-and-white still shots splashed with Jinx’s signature blue, illustrating how her reputation has spurred a growing underground revolution that’s spilling into Piltover.
The Gist: First, a dollop of Act 1 ketchup (and if you don’t want to be privy to a spoiler or two, look away now!): Jinx (Ella Purnell) is in hiding, and pairs with Sevika (Amirah Vann) after helping her repair her gigantic robot arm. Vi (Hailee Steinfeld) joined Caitlyn (Katie Leung) to lead a military task force to find Jinx; Vi and Caitlyn smooch; the duo finds Jinx and participates in round one of the Big Sisterly Showdown, which results in Jinx getting her finger shot off, and escaping after Vi stops Caitlyn from gunning down Jinx’s street-waif child-pal Isha. Revived from near-death (if not death itself!) by Hextech, Viktor wanders the streets, experimenting with some crazy, terrifying new powers. Ambessa (Ellen Thomas) convinces Salo (Josh Keaton) to assemble all the powerful faction heads so they can join forces and declare martial law in Piltover, in an attempt to flush out Jinx and quash the Zaun rebellion – and Caitlyn is to be the general leading the charge. Oh, and Singed (Brett Tucker) vies for the status of True Chaos Agent of this story by experimenting on – ulp – some scary-ass wolves.
I think that covers it? It probably doesn’t. This is dense stuff. So: Act II. Some time has passed since Act I. Vi-and-Caitlyn-sitting-in-a-tree ’shippers will be bummed to learn that Caitlyn is sleeping with her underling Maddie (Katy Townsend) – but Caitlyn’s body language tells us she isn’t really into it. The kiss from Act I must’ve stuck like crazy glue. Anyone wondering where Vi is these days, well, she doesn’t appear in episode four, I assume because A) they did the same thing with Jinx in Act I to build a little suspense, and/or B) there’s too damn many characters to cram into 40-minute episodes so some inevitably have to ride the bench for a stretch.
Anyway, Piltover is all soldiers in the streets and lengthy queues at checkpoints, hoping to flush out Jinx. She occasionally stages little symbolic displays, but mostly stays in hiding, brooding and hanging with Isha – who she considers a little sister – and listening to Sevika gripe about how she’s not DOING anything to help Zaun topple Piltover. Sevika stages a rally for blue-haired Jinx supporters, which is busted up by Ambessa’s top goon, Rictus (Stewart Scudamore), who rounds up all the perps and tosses them in the clink. Jinx finally gets off her tuckus and stages a prison break for her supporters, but has to suffer through insults about her pants, which is just mean. Oh, and one of those perps? Singed, thank yer deities, since we’ve been teased for a few episodes now about what he has cooking, which I’ll sum up thusly: Steampunk nu-metal robo-frankenwerewolf!
Photo: COURTESY OF NETFLIXWhat Shows Will It Remind You Of? All the many, many shows with steampunk nu-metal robo-frankenwerewolves in them, of course. But also some other things, e.g. revolutionary animated films like Spider-Verse (I know, that’s not an original observation, but it’s true) and, also on the video-game-adaptation trip, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within.
Our Take: It took two episodes for Season 2 of Arcane to truly find its footing and establish the core conflicts and character dynamics. And I know I’m trimming away a lot of its political and interpersonal complexities, but the series is building toward two mighty clashes: The big-picture Zaun-vs.-Piltover battle, a classic status quo-vs.-the-rebels/haves-vs.-have-nots showdown boasting enough fraught ethical wrestling to make you wonder if either side is particularly noble. And within that is the sister-vs.-sister clash, where we, and Vi, hope Jinx isn’t so morally compromised that her former self, Powder, is long gone – see “most pilot-y line” below for a hint as to where that arc might possibly land, although if I was a betting man, I’d wager more on tragedy than a happy ending.
Without giving away too much about episode four: The endless teasing of Singed’s secret project results in a rousing action-packed reveal. Jinx’s screentime results in more comedy peppered into all the slightly overbaked melodrama, which tends to push me away – until the expertly staged action (thrilling in spite of its somewhat hectic quick-cut anime-inspired M.O.) and rich visuals remind me that this series really pushes to innovate within the realm of TV animation. And our eyeballs should be grateful for that.
Sex and Skin: Nothing notable so far.
Parting Shot: A closeup of the steampunk nu-metal robo-frankenwerewolf’s eyes as it growls, “Powder?”
Sleeper Star: Steampunk nu-metal robo-frankenwolf has far too much steampunk, nu-metal and robo-frankenlike qualities to qualify as a “sleeper,” so let’s go with Vann, who gives serious angry gravitas to Sevika.
Most Pilot-y Line: Chatting to Isha – who’s mute, by the way – Jinx reflects on her past, and inner turmoil: “I had a different name back then. Powder. Thought I was rid of her for good, but you kinda remind me of her.”
Our Call: Arcane is building, building, building. Act III promises to be a real brainsqueezer of a finale. STREAM IT.
John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
English (US)