Arcane season 2 review: “Stunning animation and a bigger scope reaches thrilling new heights”

When The Last of Us premiered in January 2023, it was heralded as proof that the so-called ‘video game curse’ had finally been broken. But HBO’s adaptation was actually just one of many shows and films that had already defied this ‘curse’, including Castlevania, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, and even Sonic the Hedgehog on the big screen. However, arguably the strongest case arrived in the form of Arcane, a Netflix animated series set in Riot Games’ League of Legends universe.

Upon its arrival in late 2021, Arcane blew up with fans of League of Legends and newbies alike thanks to its faithful yet bold new approach to fan faves such as Vi and Jinx. No preexisting knowledge was required for this prequel that explored what happened to these sisters after their lives literally blew up with an explosion that changed everything, setting them on very different, opposing paths.

This time around, preexisting knowledge is very much required, and not just because it’s been three whole years since we last visited the world of Arcane.

Hitting the ground running

Unrest between the gilded paradise of Piltover and Zaun, the seedy oppressed underbelly that struggles below, reached a head at the end of season 1 when Jinx fired a stolen Hextech gemstone at the Piltover council. Season 2 hits the ground running in the immediate aftermath, escalating the conflict tenfold with a more expansive world that still finds time to hone in on the bad blood between Violet and Jinx.

Everyone has been irrevocably changed by the attack, whether they were physically caught in the explosion or are later impacted by the political ramifications of what happened. There’s more tension than ever, tangibly etched into every frame, every expression you see on screen. And with this being the final season, it really feels like anything could happen, so those raised stakes couldn’t have come at a better time.

In the first season of Arcane, notable characters like Silco and Marcus snuffed it, and it seems that loss is on the cards this time around too. We haven’t been granted access to the final three episodes of season two, so that isn’t a spoiler from our side, but showrunner Christian Linke teased as much during a recent chat with Black Girl Nerds where he said: “We definitely always wanted our world and stories to feel like they have consequences, and death is the most severe consequence.”

Achingly beautiful

Yet as dangerous as this world can be, it’s still achingly beautiful. Even as we move through rubble at the start of season 2 – picking up immediately from where last season’s explosion left off – Arcane wastes no time in reminding us just how stunning this show looks in every respect.

French animation studio Fortiche Production has somehow outdone themselves, expanding on their signature mix of 2D and 3D elements with even more intricate detail, bold coloring, and dynamic movement that will have you screaming “hang it in the Louvre” at any given point throughout.

One scene early on juxtaposes that beauty — a thousand spinning purple petals in this case — with the line, “I want to tear that laugh from her throat forever,” which sums up so much of what makes Arcane work as well as it does.

These unexpected contrasts are key to the worldbuilding, making these fantastical environments infinitely more real than you’d expect from a video game property this stylized. The animation always serves the story, not the other way round, which can sometimes be the case unfortunately with a show that looks like Arcane.

Season 2 experiments with this in key scenes, such as a funeral procession where the drawn lines are blurred by grief and color is drained from the edges. Another scene later on, this time shot from the perspective of a monstrous, rabid creature, heightens our fear with a skewed, animalistic vision that evokes video games without foregoing the cinematic tone of the show.

There’s still beauty to be found in moments like this or even the grisly fights where every punch to the face or slice of a limb flows with mercurial precision. The scale of each confrontation is matched only by the music, often accompanied by large choirs singing, which is somewhat heavy-handed yet still fitting for a show like Arcane where everything is dialed up to 100.

Bigger scope

Even the weapons have so much character to them, and that’s true of the world-renowned character design as well. New characters, including a young companion for Jinx, effortlessly slot into this world while the voice cast from last season continue to perform stellar work across the board. Katie Leung is a particular standout as Caitlyn Kiramman, the enforcer who’s now forced herself to make even harder choices this time around.

But the success of Arcane ultimately hinges on the central relationship between Vi and Jinx, and once again, Hailee Steinfeld and Ella Purnell ground that push-and-pull they share with emotional clarity and so much warmth, even when they’re fuelled by hate or bitterness. Neither is entirely good nor evil, and it’s in this blurring where their humanity can be found, which in turns speaks to how impressive the writing is in this show.

What will become of Vi and Jinx remains to be seen though as the final three episodes weren’t made available to us ahead of season 2’s release. Without knowing the pay-off, what we can confirm now is that Arcane has expanded its scope to admirable effect here (although, with there being so much to juggle, this final run does risk being too hectic at points).

Let’s see if the ending can live up to the promise of these first six episodes and be remembered as one of the greatest video game adaptations of all time.

Act 1 of Arcane season 2 is available to stream on Netflix now, with Act 2 following next week. Don’t miss an episode with our Arcane season 2 release schedule.

And for more, check out our picks for the best shows on Netflix.