Arcane Season 2 Has One Major Flaw That Can Ruin the Whole Experience
Maybe two seasons is not enough?
Netflix 's animated project based on League of Legends dropped the first part of its final three-episode season on fans' heads.
Arcane 's second season hits unprepared viewers in the first few minutes. It's useless to sit down and watch the new chapter without knowing what happened in the first season.
What Is Season 2 About?
The half-mad criminal Jinx destroys the Council Chamber, along with some of the Council members gathered inside, destroying any chance to end the feud between underground Zaun and prosperous Piltover.
Meanwhile, in the depths of Zaun, a battle rages between factions orphaned by the death of criminal kingpin Silco as former allies attempt to occupy the vacant throne and seize control of the city.
Jinx's sister Vi and a small detachment of guards descend on Zaun to track down and eliminate the remaining crime bosses, and to engage in a decisive battle with the insane sister.
Season 2's Pace Is Too Fast
The first season clearly explained the basic rules of the universe even to people who have never played League of Legends, and given that Arcane was decided to end quickly, it would be sacrilege to waste time repeating it.
The first problem with the series' big finale is precisely the compressed time frame. Trying to wrap up the extensive network of storylines in just nine episodes could result in what is, without exaggeration, one of the best animated series of our time descending to the level of an incomprehensible clip montage.
Meanwhile, the first three episodes lay the groundwork for much bigger things to come. How the creators of Arcane will get out of the man-made vortex will be revealed on November 23rd, when the final episodes are released.
The Lack of Time Turns the Series Into a Liveless Montage of Beautiful Frames
The second problem with Arcane follows naturally from the first: time works against the script. From time to time, the series literally turns into a slideshow: events are compressed into a beautifully animated series of images, a short retelling.
This simplification does not interfere with perception, but it does give the impression of a mechanical approach. Just like the whole structure of the released episodes. The new season lacks the liveliness that made Arcane so popular in the first place.
With a certain amount of skill, you can predict what will happen next: a dramatic scene is followed by a comedic interlude, which, like clockwork, gives way to crazy action.
The Second Season Took Animation to a New Level
If you close your eyes to the crazy pacing and clip structure, the same Arcane appears before you: bright, incredibly expensive and dynamic.
The quality of the animation has even increased compared to the beginning of the story. The artists of the Fortiche studio did a great job. You will want to spend hours looking at the backgrounds, and the amount of detail is off the charts.
The clever stylization adds to the effect – Arcane flirts with textures and imitation of different lenses, bringing the entire visual arsenal into play at important moments for the plot.
After watching three exposition episodes, it is still difficult to say how the story of Jinx, Vi, and a dozen other characters no less important to the Arcane universe will end.
The ending definitely promises to be extremely dramatic and bloody, even if it comes much sooner than expected.