Often undervalued and ignored even more than their film counterparts, animated shows have always been a television staple. But the confines of both the kids’ and adult animation subgroups have often unfortunately homogenized these series. After all, for those that turn their noses up at animation, how is the crude humor of Family Guy any different from the slapstick comedy of The Simpsons? How does Rebecca Sugar’s impactful Steven Universe stand apart from the equally moving She-Ra and the Princesses of Power or The Owl House? But when Arcane debuted in 2021, with the confident audacity to be released in a three-week “act” structure on the typically binge-or-bust Netflix, animated television’s magnum opus dared audiences to try to look away.
But, for Netflix, going all in on Arcane was a no-brainer, having a long history of creative, risk-taking animation projects under its belt (and Riot Games footing a lot of the bill, comparatively). However, the important difference between Arcane and the series that have come both before and since is that Netflix actually let creators Christian Linke and Alex Yee tell the story they set out to tell in its entirety, with little concession. While Netflix has undeniably had its fair share of animated hits over the years (Bojack Horseman and Big Mouth immediately spring to mind), its animation offerings beyond those standouts are, frankly, scattershot, resulting in a proverbial graveyard of creative animated triumphs and misses that all ultimately failed to stake a strong foothold in the overcrowded catalog of the world’s biggest streamer.
Much like everything on Netflix, its animation offerings are mostly a mishmash of “content” thrown at the wall to see what will stick, produced solely to drive subscriptions. The second a series fails to bring new eyes to the service, it becomes expendable. Blue Eye Samurai might be a bona fide hit for now, but it will only become less valuable to the growth-driven streamer over time, likely to result in an untimely cancellation. But unlike abandoned projects like The Midnight Gospel and under-promoted masterpieces like Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, Netflix (uncharacteristically — again, likely with a strong push from collaborator Riot Games) believed in Arcane, enough to propel the series to a number of Emmy wins, consistent viewership from season 1 to season 2, and a stunningly executed story from beginning to end.
And, truly, the tale Arcane spins across those paltry 18 episodes is nothing short of brilliant. Following the tragedy of two doomed sisters, Vi (Hailee Steinfeld) and Jinx (Ella Purnell), this series takes the lore of League and transforms it into a moving examination of the basest human emotions contrasted against the most bastardizing, hellish abominations. Where anger and lust and love and grief take center stage, those beacons of mankind battle against greed, warmongering, fear, and artificial homogenization, morphing into a meticulously animated love letter to the messiness and beauty of humanity in a stunning package. The series’ first season opened with heartache and tragedy, and the anguish these central characters endure never truly stops until the credits roll on season 2. But Arcane admirably never becomes wholly masochistic, with the final act of the season allotting as much time to the poignant, moving connections between these complex characters as it does for bloodshed and battle.
In the first of Arcane’s three-episode finale, titled “Pretend Like It’s the First Time,” Ekko (Reed Shannon) and Heimerdinger (Mick Wingert) find themselves trapped in an alternate reality where Vi died during the sisters’ ill-conceived heist, preventing the deaths of their father and their friends, as well as ensuring Powder never morphed into Jinx. What follows is a beautiful dance between Ekko and Powder, as they flirt and bicker within the confines of their working relationship and this odd predicament Ekko has found himself in. The episode as a whole acts as a reprieve, contrasting this pulsating, heartwarming expression of connection and love against Jayce’s (Kevin Alejandro) trek through a hell of his own creation. Arcane has always been about the mystifying power of the Arcane and the larger whims and machinations of war, separation, and greed, but more than that, this series’ voracious commitment to these quiet, humanizing moments between its central players brings this beautifully untouchable world within tangible reach.
Like Caitlyn (Katie Leung) states in her final monologue in the aftermath of their hard-fought battle, “With every loss, we found some light, some good worth fighting for.” And it’s Arcane’s hope and belief in the power of humanity and connection that bleeds into the art that lights up the screen. Much like Ekko and Powder’s endearing dance, Vi and Caitlyn are allowed their own electric moment, once again contrasted against the act’s brutality and nervous anticipation. War-torn tension is replaced by teasing banter as these two are finally able to shed their armor and simply be with one another after outside forces kept them apart. While it may seem like blatant fanservice to toss a sex scene in the middle of the preparation for all-out war, the scene’s meticulous intimacy provides yet another example of what all this bloodshed, heartache, and war is truly for — what’s the point of risking life and limb to protect the sanctity of human connection and emotion if you don’t get to tug on those threads with someone you love?
While some dubbed this season “self-indulgent,” throwing digs at the music video-esque moments and the languid pacing of this unavoidable, bloody conflict, Arcane’s penchant for transforming universal emotions into large, bombastic sequences or heart-wrenching slow-motion tributes is exactly why this series is as captivating as it is. Episode 4’s “Paint the Town Blue” sequence is the distillation of hatred, rebellion, hope, and fear, communicating so much through splashes of blue spray paint and riotous stylization. Caitlyn transforms into a revenge-fueled leader; Isha fans the flames of hope in a newly invigorated people; Jinx becomes a larger-than-life figurehead of a rebellion she never expected — all communicated with no dialogue and a barrage of black-and-white images. And two episodes later, when Isha sacrifices herself to save her newly formed family, the watercolor fluidity of her short life with Jinx backdropped by the aptly titled “Isha’s Song” captures the fleeting beauty of life’s most precious moments.
Image: Fortiche, Riot Games/Netflix
Image: Fortiche, Riot Games/Netflix
Arcane allots time for these breaks and pauses in its propelling story because they are the series’ most important. Sure, it’s interesting and fun to learn more about the mysterious Arcane, to dive deeper into Zaunian politics or watch as Piltover crumbles to violent regimes. But Arcane’s insistence on making its audience sit with its characters’ innermost emotions splashed with color and illustrated to perfection showcases this series’ commitment to humanity more than any moving bit of dialogue or lore dump ever could. For every painstakingly animated twitch at the corner of every mouth that graces the screen, for every eyeball that flickers with emotion beneath the painterly, captivating style that has become synonymous with this series, Arcane posits that art itself is humanity, and emphasizes that through the clear love injected into every animated frame.
While the three years between seasons 1 and 2 were nothing short of tortuous, the end result is too stunning and too moving to argue with. From the brutality of battle to the tearjerking weight of empathy and sacrifice, Arcane’s beauty, success, and perseverance — both within its fictional world and beyond — is nothing short of a miracle, delivering unto us blessed viewers a tale combatting the increasing threat of AI and callousness, reminding us all that humanity and kindness is just around every bend for those with keen eyes to see.
From beginning to end, Arcane utilized its animated prowess to tell a comparatively small, human story about two sisters who band together and fall apart while trying to make the world a better place, and its artful commitment to its characters, its style, its substance, and its heart transformed it into a singular miracle unmatched by anything else on TV. No matter what comes next for Netflix’s collaboration with Riot Games and the League of Legends lore, Arcane has cemented its place as a genre-defining project, changing animation on television for the better by daring to dream in vibrant, resounding colors.
