The first two parts of “Arcane” Season Two were probably the funniest, most worrying set of “Arcane” episodes yet. I binged all six episodes with high hopes and was immediately rewarded with a joy only a sadist could understand. The rest of the story was just more of the good I’ve come to expect, but with some concerns.

Since its release in 2021, “Arcane” has historically always been incredibly well paced. But Season 2’s first two acts mark the first time where the story felt as if it was just rushing and scrambling to get all of its characters to be what they are in the game League of Legends, where the original characters came from. I never thought I would have to criticize the pacing for this show, as while Act 2 featured incredible storytelling and world-building, some choices made for the pacing lessened the value of S2. Overall, the first two acts were pretty great, but they further emphasize the importance of Act three doing well as the finale.

First, the pacing of this season was going a bit too fast. I do think its breakneck speed actually worked for the most in S2 Act 1, as it fluidly connected the epilogue of S1 and morphed it into complete chaos to show the domino effect of Jinx’s actions. The instant events of VI joining the enforcers after one episode work as it defines her character: Vi didn’t join because they were the group that killed her parents; she joined them to help Caitlyn put down Jinx. While Act 1 highlighted the significant interwoven nature of characters and factions, I might have liked the three episodes to spend just a little bit more time on the defining moments.

The story could do what it really wanted in Acts 2 and 3 if it just slowed its pace in the first act. However, I won’t deny that Act 2 feels like there’s enough material here to have been its own season. “Arcane” presented the quest to save Vander, the sisters reuniting and semi-settling their beef, Little Isha filling the void in Jinx’s life (only to die in the span of a few weeks), Jinx becoming the symbol of the Revolution, Mel forcefully interrogated by the Black Rose, and then whatever custody, high-tension romantic battle Jason and Victor are having right now—there is so much stuff here that it is honestly a miracle that it plays as well as it does in three episodes. 

However, I can never shake the feeling that while “Arcane” had moments to breathe, the story is secretly running itself ragged to get to the plot points that it needs to for episodes five and six. Episode four is good as it sets up the new status quo and arcs for each of the characters. Yet the process felt more like rushing forward to getting put on the back burner or being held off for a flashback.

In Act 3, the biggest victim of this will be Caitlyn, who went from S2 Act 1 looking like she’s about to have her hot dictator summer in Act 1 only for Act 2 to start with her expressing doubts about the occupation and oppression with those doubts about Ambessa and her own thirst for revenge. Act 1 just did too good of a job putting Caitlyn in this dark place, built up in an arc where we might see her do extreme things to get Jinx and fulfill her revenge, only for that amazing moment to just be used to explain what happened during the timeskip, and she just joins the good guys in her mother’s murder at the story’s earliest convenience. Taking a backseat to Ambessa in Singe’s storyline of hunting down Warwick rendering the Arc that feels like Caitlyn was set up to have to not really happen. This act feels less like it’s running and more like it’s speed skating over points that “Arcane” S1 wouldn’t have just moved past or have to like double back later to justify and explain it or call her out for all those actions which were never seen.

The amazing setup of Caitlyn in Act 1 felt like the story was leading us to a crazy good plot point, only for the story to pump the brakes with the narrative trying to highlight the fact that these characters were supposedly good people or they had time to process their next action, in Caitlyn’s case. Personally, I don’t think a story can have moments that make me ready to support women’s wrongs only for the story to flip. I’m okay with them not doing terrible things, but I think “Arcane” should have shown us the internal journey of Caitlyn’s apprehension versus keeping it under wraps in a timeskip so that it could be a twist reveal. 

How “Arcane” S2 deals with how the characters react is another concern. Previously, “Arcane” has been an absolute master at showing us just why every character does the things that they do when something happens. It’s shocking, not because they do it but because of the way the events played out. The instant consequences of how one wrong interaction led to a reaction that triggered massive unintended consequences, a thing that was so consistently impressive about “Arcane” S1. “Arcane” never just took the easy way out of just relying on miscommunication to create drama: they don’t just have Jinx and VI never talk to create beef between them; Jinx may have overheard the wrong thing without finishing that sentence, but then they clarify the situation. When things still go wrong after that, the story feels more emotional as it hurts so much more because it adds so much complexity and depth to the characters and their issues, showing how just one talk can’t create an instant fix. 

 This is why, in Act 2, making the choice to write Jace going to gun down Victor with no explanation felt a little unnatural to me. The sudden shift from the Act 1 interactions of naked man-on-man hugging and declarations of love to Act 2 with Jace showing up, no explanation of where he’s been or what happened only flashes of how he sees Victor’s converts, leading to a murder. I’m confident that this will be explained, but this moment does feel like a departure from the usual writing style that I’ve come to expect from “Arcane”, as it is a use of shock value to progress the story forward or elicit a reaction from the audience. This has been played out multiple times in this act: Caitlyn’s reservations about Ambessa show up like twice in the first episode. For her to follow the general around, still thirsting for Jinx’s head, and then switch to Vi and Jinx’s side within a few moments. There was an amazing bond built between Ambessa and Caitlyn over a time period that wasn’t seen again in true testament to the writing. 

In the end, I still think both of “Arcane’s” S2 Acts work immaculately; Caitlyn and Vi working together, the action-packed Jinx and Vi reunion, etc. However, for everything to go so calamitously wrong in Act 2, and for everyone based on the actions of one character without explanation in S2, the final season, does lead to a sense that “Arcane” is rushing past story ideas that were originally planned to have a little bit more time to breathe now just to cut off all these comments, which I’m sure have already appeared. 

All interactions between characters were handled pretty well, especially buffed with an amazing soundtrack and spectacular animation. But I can’t shake the feeling that all these character arcs and journeys needed a few more episodes, even with the stunning execution. Act 2 has just been the one act where the story is making leaps to get where it needs to go, which is something I never once thought about any of the prior ones, even compared to season one with its relatively brisk pacing. I’m expecting Act 3 to be great, but as the finale, it’s got a lot riding on its shoulders. With its release on the 23rd of this month, I’m interested to see how the excellent show of “Arcane” ends and if it meets and hopefully exceeds my expectations.

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