Arcane Season 2 Episode 1 Review

Warning! This article contains spoilers from Arcane Season 2, Episode 1.

Key Takeaways

• Arcane’s first Season 2 episode answers questions left by Season 1 cliffhanger.
• Emotional scenes showcase Fortiche’s innovative animation style.
• The plot escalates tensions and sets up reversals for the main characters.

After three years, Riot Games’ League of Legends animated series Arcane is back, and it does not skip a beat. Season 1 set the bar high for video game adaptations and animated series alike, but somehow Arcane Season 2 manages to not only meet that standard but raise it further.

The first episode in Arcane Season 2, titled “Heavy is the Crown,” is directed by Etienne Mattera and Barth Maunoury and is written by Amanda Overton, who penned Arcane Season 1’s fifth episode and has also contributed to shows including Severance and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. The season premiere was released as part of Act 1 of Arcane Season 2, and it set up the action of Arcane’s second and final season in glorious style.

The Piltover Council: Who Lives and Who Dies?

The most pressing question lingering from Arcane Season 1 was which council members would survive the missile that Jinx fired in the final moments. The opening of Season 2 doesn’t delay the answer. Straight away it’s revealed that Jayce and Mel are alive and unharmed, but those around them are not so lucky. Salo and Shoola have both been injured by the blast, as has Viktor who Jayce quickly takes back to the lab and uses the mutated Hexcore to try and heal his friend. Hoskel and Bolbok weren’t so lucky, both perishing in the explosion, but perhaps the most tragic death is that of Cassandra Kiramman.

Set to the raw and soulful tune of Freya Ridings’ “I Can’t Hear it Now”, a funeral plays out in flickering, sketchy greyscale, using color sparingly to highlight characters, like Caitlyn, who is swimming in a sea of grief. Fortiche has already pioneered its own unique animation style with Arcane, but that hasn’t stopped the studio from innovating and experimenting, resulting in new visual styles that are used to portray complex emotions in a visually gorgeous manner. The animation that depicts Cassandra’s funeral is just another reminder that Arcane operates on another level.

How Does Piltover React?

As always, Arcane is economic in its storytelling, and the plot moves quickly as Piltover decides how to react to Jinx’s attack. The remaining council members argue they must invade Zaun, aided by some suggestion from Mel’s mother Ambessa Medarda, who is still hanging around. Mel eventually concedes but draws the line at using Hextech weapons, knowing that, Jayce would never endorse it.

“Hextech may keep us alive, Jayce, but it’s not what will save us.”

In her grief, getting revenge on Jinx is all that Caitlyn can see. Vi wants to help. She has come to terms with the fact Jinx is no longer her sister, but when Caitlyn offers her a way via joining the enforcers, she can’t escape the fact they murdered her parents. Vi’s tune starts to change, however, when an enforcer named Maddie Nolen approaches her on the street and admits that Vi is something of a legend among their group. Arcane has always been clever in the way it sets up social divides through its characters and in the Season 2 premiere, it begins to flip these expectations on their heads. Where Vi has traditionally been a representation of the undercity, it’s clear how her time topside, and her relationship with Caitlyn, are starting to blur those lines.

Zaun Strikes Again

Zaun’s Second Attack is the Turning Point For Many Characters

Things come to a head at a memorial ceremony for the fallen council members. At a time when Piltover is trying to bring its people together, the Zaunites manage to tear it apart. Thanks to two infiltrators, one of whom is the mother of the young boy that Jayce killed in Season 1, the memorial becomes a battleground. An airship of Shimmer-fulled warriors, aka Turbo Chemtanks, drops into the scene, and it’s here that Arcane gets to flex its action muscles, something it consistently excels at.

Jayce is pursued by the vengeful mother, who injures him with a wicked chainsaw weapon. The enforcers, including Caitlyn and Vi, are outmanned and hopelessly outgunned against the Chemtanks. Salvation comes when Vi thinks to bring Jayce’s Hextech hammer to the fight, which obliterates the enemy instantly.

The Next Chapter of Hextech

The whole ordeal leaves the Piltover elite in shambles. They are in disbelief at how the Zaunites could get so close, raising the question of whether there may be a spy in their ranks.

The whole purpose of “Heavy is the Crown” is to push the characters to accept new limits. Caitlyn initially shunned her responsibilities as head of House Kiramman, but by the end of the episode she’s unlocked the secrets of the Kiramman key and approaches the council with a new sense of pride in her position and a new plan: she will infiltrate Zaun with a strike team, neutralize Shimmer operations, and find Jinx. Vi joins in her quest, overcoming her prejudice toward the enforcers to put on the badge. Jayce accepts that Hextech weapons are essential for Piltover to stand a chance and steps up to forge new items for Caitlyn’s team. Now it’s time for them to level the playing field.

There are very few weaknesses to pick at in Arcane’s Season 2 premiere. Some characters, like new enforcers Maddie, Sheb, and Loris, get left behind in Arcane’s quick pacing, but other than that, this is a welcome return to everything the series does best and sets up a final season full of potential.

Arcane Season 2 Episodes 1-3 are now streaming on Netflix.