Arcane star Hailee Steinfeld has opened up on the Netflix series’ complicated “family dynamics” – and her character Vi’s guilt over the creation of Jinx.
“We go on a journey with her as an audience to try and understand how she’s trying to come to that realization [of creating Jinx, the monster],” Steinfeld said on Netflix’s Arcane Afterglow.
Steinfeld continued, “It’s a question that she’s also asking herself. She’s willing to go as far as she can to save her people and any moment where we’re questioning how far she’s willing to go, the tiniest glimpse of Powder can come through in Jinx and that’s what stops her. The family dynamics in all of this, just the complexity of it… encouraging her younger sister to keep up with herself…”
Just the most recent episode alone showcased Vi’s own conflicted inner monologue and the continued fallout from the first season’s pre-time skip deaths and Powder’s subsequent abandonment by Vi . The elder sibling, then, clearly wants to put a definitive end to Jinx – who no longer resembles her sister.
But when the moment came, Vi choked. Caitlyn tried to put a bullet in Jinx, but the Zaunite anarchist ultimately escaped, a decision that seemingly led to Vi and Caitlyn being on the outs, and the latter donning the cape as commander of Piltover.
Arcane co-creator Christian Linke also dug deep into what makes Vi tick on Netflix’s aftershow, which is currently streaming on the platform, with new episodes to follow.
“It makes it worse because she is the one who said, ‘there is always hope’. ‘You can prove your worth’, and then people die as a consequence of her always telling everybody, ‘No, she can be saved.'” Linke said.
“So I think there’s a level of guilt that Vi is so lost in. She just tried to do the right thing and protect her sister but in the end, it also created all this tragedy. Where do you draw the line? How far would you go for your siblings? I think the answer is really, really far.”
Whatever comes next, it’s clear the show’s creatives have had the final scene between Jinx and Vi locked for a very long time – six years. That, when coupled with the fact that Arcane’s final line took Linke 27 hours to crack means that a lot of time have been poured into the Netflix series’ final act – and all the fireworks that will inevitably follow.
For more, check out the Arcane season 2 release schedule and our picks for the best shows on Netflix.