Review of the second season of Arcane: a revolutionary powder keg

The first season of Netflix and Riot Arcane Animated series designed different parts of it League of Legends Tradition in a beautiful, devastating story about a society on the brink of collapse. The show gave each of its characters a depth and complexity that was unlike anything Riot had done elsewhere in the long-running series. And his commitment to telling his own story made it remarkably easy for new fans to dive in.

There's a density to it Arcaneis the second season that reflects the series' creative team working to bring this massive story to a satisfying conclusion in just nine short episodes. Especially since it's been three years since Season 1, you might need a refresher on how things got so bad for the citizens of Piltover and Zaun. But while the new season throws you right back into the chaos in a somewhat confusing way, it does an excellent job of weaving the many different threads together Arcaneis the powerful legend.

ArcaneThe first season of Piltover ended with a literal bang – an explosive attack by Jinx (Ella Purnell) on Piltover's elite council members just as they were about to sign a peace treaty that would have ended their war against the impoverished population of Piltover. Although Jinx's attack stemmed from years of personal psychological torment and growing up as part of Zaun's abused, disenfranchised underclass, it was a moment that made her sister Vi (Hailee Steinfeld) truly perceive her as a terrorist monster. It wasn't clear who would ultimately emerge from the smoking rubble, but there was no question how much harder Piltover would hit back with his dangerous hextech weapons.

ArcaneThe second season picks up immediately after the attack and underscores the sheer scale of destruction caused by Jinx in her crusade to make Piltover atone for his history of injustice. With so many of Piltover's political leaders dead, the city's priorities and balance of power must shift in ways that Vi and other survivors like enforcer Caitlyn Kiramman (Katie Leung) find necessary. But while the new season takes some time to make you realize the magnitude of Piltover's loss, it pushes this act forward Arcanesets the story in motion by examining how oppressive societies create the monsters they ultimately hate and fear.

Everyone suffers like that Arcane places its characters in a new phase of conflict, but the series uses Vi and Jinx in particular to illustrate how profoundly war can strip people of their sense of self. It's easier for the sisters to let each other go than to see each other's faces. And when given the chance to put their feelings into action, it rarely occurs to them that fighting just to hurt the other side is guaranteed to cause self-inflicted wounds.

Arcane repeats this idea repeatedly as he briskly shifts the focus to the rest of his cast and brings the devastating threat of Hextech into focus. Inventor Jayce Talis (Kevin Alejandro) and politician Mel Medarda (Toks Olagundoye) can understand the gravity of the escalation that their Warhawk mother Ambessa (Ellen Thomas) craves. But this foresight can only go so far in keeping calls for a full-scale invasion of Zaun at bay.

ArcaneThe second season of “Hextech” uses the increasing tension and Jayce's fears of what he has created to delve deeper into the magical secrets of Hextech, with a subplot that zooms far into new areas of Hextech League of Legends Universe. In this way, the series reinforces its ideas about actions having consequences that aren't immediately apparent up close. And in some of ArcaneThrough the characters it becomes clear how high the price the planet can pay if humanity wages war.

Hextech also plays a large role in most of this season's more visually impressive set pieces, which again are truly the series' greatest strength. While the show as a whole is still absolutely great, the action seems even more brutal this time around. Occasionally the “cool” needle drops appear a little numb due to their openness Arcane In his depiction, he tries to portray a society that is tearing itself apart. But it has always been that way ArcaneThe atmosphere and the season really focused on it will likely appeal to hardcore fans.

Because there is even more at stake ArcaneWith players now fully engaged in the war, the first three episodes of this season often feel narratively denser and seem to move at a much faster pace. This might be more stressful if the season were canceled all at once, but Netflix has wisely decided to split it into three separate acts that will premiere by the end of the month. We won't know how until the end of November ArcaneThe creators of 's intend to bring this story to a close and see if it could set the stage for whatever comes next for the franchise. But this first act is a strong start to Arcaneis the last chapter.