Arcane Season 2 Episode 7 Review

Warning! This article contains spoilers for Season 2 of Arcane.

Arcane: League of Legends starts the series’ final act by going in an unexpected direction, with the seventh episode bringing its share of joyful, harrowing, and bittersweet moments.

Arcane Season 2 Episode 7 is titled “Pretend Like It’s The First Time” and in any other series, its bottle-episode format might seem like a stall in momentum in an otherwise lightning-fast-paced plot. Instead, in the hands of the capable Arcane team this episode almost acts like a reward for viewers who gain valuable developments in the characters they’ve invested in, all lovingly animated by the team at Fortiche.

Related

Arcane Star Defends Jinx From People Calling Her a Villain

One of the Arcane stars shared their personal take on Jinx, whom many consider a villain.

Arcane Goes Into the Multiverse

The first thing Episode 7 does is answer where Ekko has been since he disappeared into the mysterious anomaly. Ekko finds himself in an alternate reality in which Hextech was never invented, meaning characters like Benzo, Silco, Mylo, Claggor, and Vander are still alive, and the undercity and topside live together in harmony. Some of the other characters weren’t so lucky, however, including Vi who is revealed to have died in the explosion at Jayce’s Piltover apartment, which the group robbed back in the very first episode of Arcane. In this timeline, Powder never becomes Jinx and instead is a charming and level-headed teenager. When Ekko comes across Heimerdinger, he learns his friend was sent into the same reality by the anomaly, but arrived years earlier.

Together, the two concoct a plan to create a new anomaly that can transport them home. They do this by harvesting the shards of the magic crystal from the explosion that killed Vi. After growing closer with Powder, Ekko enlists her help and the three of them create a machine that is capable of rewinding time for a maximum of four seconds (aka the Z-Drive from League of Legends). Heimerdinger works on upgrading the device to send them home. Meanwhile, Ekko decides to enjoy the time he has left in this reality. A stunning animated dance sequence between Ekko and Powder is a highlight, allowing the two characters to be carefree, lovestruck teenagers, even if only for a moment. Another heart-to-heart moment allows Powder and Ekko to admit their feelings for each other, providing Ekko with renewed hope for the Jinx back in his reality.

Heimerdinger Makes The Ultimate Sacrifice

When Ekko returns to Heimerdinger it’s to find the scientist has made significant advancements to their machine, which is ready to send them home. The two are ready to leave together, but at the last moment, Heimerdinger stays behind to operate the machine. When the anomaly activates, it successfully transports Ekko out of this reality, but seemingly at the dispense of Heimerdinger. Episode 7 introduces two very complex ideas into the world of Arcane, time travel and the multiverse, which could both easily be weighed down by convoluted lore. It’s a testament to the writing of the series that this episode manages to neatly establish both concepts and explore them in a way that also has meaning to its characters.

Jayce Goes Through Hell

Jayce returned as a very different version of himself in Episode 6 of Season 2, and in Episode 7 it’s finally explained why. Jayce wakes up in a post-apocalyptic Piltover that has been destroyed by the arcane. All that’s left are humanoid husks and multicolored corruption that coats everything which, thanks to Fortiche’s brilliant animation, makes Piltover appear both beautiful and terrifying. When Jayce falls down a crevasse and breaks his leg, the madness of the place begins to set in. A chilling montage shows Jayce painstakingly putting together a device that can brace his leg, all the while the days pass, his appearance gets more haggard, the creepy humanoid figures get closer, and he’s haunted by the deeds of his past. Eventually, Jayce climbs his way out of the pit and makes his way through the dystopian city toward the remnants of the Hexgate, where he finds the remnants of a person kneeling with a hammer.

Jayce realizes that this horrible future has come about because of Hextech. Speaking to the cloaked mage from his childhood, Jayce asks if there’s a chance of reversing this, all he needs is a chance. In the next scene, he’s being sent back to his timeline, aligning him with the version of Jayce audiences meet in Episode 5. While Ekko’s time in the alternate universe returns him to the present with a renewed sense of hope, Jayce’s experience does the opposite. His experience instills him with a determination to destroy his life’s work, which will hopefully stop this hell from ever becoming his reality.

Arcane Deepens the World of the Game

This seventh episode of Season 2 sees Arcane play with parallels, providing some rare optimism in Ekko’s storyline, but offsetting it with the creepy, horror tone of Jayce’s reality. The introduction of Ekko’s Z-Drive is yet another example of the series masterfully incorporating its source material and expanding the game in a new way, which is just a further reminder that Arcane is doing a masterful job of adapting its source material.

Arcane Season 2 is available to stream on Netflix.

Arcane is an animated series developed by Alex Yee and Christian Linke that follows a the story of Piltover and Zaun, two pivotal locations in the League of Legends universe. The first season follows the stories of Jynx and Vi, as well as Jayce and Viktor.

Release Date

November 6, 2021

Cast

Hailee Steinfeld , Ella Purnell , Kevin Alejandro , Katie Leung , jason spisak , Toks Olagundoye , Harry Lloyd , JB Blanc , Reed Shannon , Mick Wingert

Seasons

2

Writers

Christian Linke , Alex Yee

Franchise(s)

League of Legends

Directors

Pascal Charrue , Arnaud Delord

Showrunner

Christian Linke , Alex Yee

Expand

More

Fallout and Arcane Face-Off At The 2024 Game Awards

Five 2024 TV series have been named nominees for Best Adaptation at The Game Awards.