Arcane Season 1 vs Season 2: Which Was Better?

Riot and Netflix’s animated series Arcane is one of the best game adaptations of the year if not of all time. Both of the show’s seasons were well-received and set a new standard for animated storytelling thanks to a stunning visual style and intricate plot that evolved over both Seasons 1 and 2 of Arcane.

Arcane is based on Riot’s popular League of Legends online multiplayer game which takes place in the fantasy world of Runeterra. After a solid first season, many were surprised to learn that Arcane would be ending after just two seasons. Co-creator Christian Linke made it clear that Arcane ended in the way that they had planned, despite there being speculation the series was ending early due to budget concerns. Looking back at the two seasons of Arcane they both performed highly, with each receiving 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and landing a place in Netflix’s Top 10 charts. This makes it difficult to discern if one season of Arcane can be considered better than the other, but each has its own pros and cons.

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Arcane Season 1 Set a High Bar

Arcane’s first season was memorable for several reasons. The season was an introduction to the world of League of Legends for so many, and it also set the bar high for what Riot was hoping to achieve in its TV series adaptation. One of the standouts of Arcane’s first season was its visual aesthetic, which was unique, detailed, and unlike anything else on TV thanks in large part to the years of work from the animators at Fortiche. The series utilized a combination of 2D and 3D animation styles and paired this with intricate character animations, facial details, and stellar voice performances to bring its characters to life.

The visual style of Arcane was enough to set the bar high, but it was raised even further by the series’ storytelling choices. Arcane introduced many League of Legends playable champions to the story, but how the series expanded upon their backstories and gave them complex motivations and choices was to an exceptional standard. The series was mostly focused on the sibling relationship between Jinx and Vi, but also expanded to include stories about Jayce and Viktor and their developments with Hextech, Vi and Caitlyn’s unlikely relationship, and the efforts of Silco to establish the undercity as an independent nation. All of these storylines were gripping in their own right and revolved around themes of classism, duality, and love. Despite Season 1 ending on a brutal cliffhanger, Arcane was incredibly economical with its storytelling and managed to develop each of its characters to a point that its finale both resolved a lot of arcs and paved the way for them to continue in Season 2.

Season 1 of Arcane was met with critical acclaim and much love from League of Legends fans. It was also successful in drawing in an audience outside the game’s player base and was eventually rewarded at award ceremonies like the Emmys and Annies. The season was intentional in everything it did and set a very high bar for Season 2 to try and surpass.

Arcane Season 2 Was More Creative

When Arcane Season 2 arrived, with the news that it would be the series’ last, expectations were already high, but there was nervousness as well as fans wondered whether the series could pay off everything it had set up in just one last season. As it turned out, Arcane was even more ambitious in its second season.

The rivalry established between Jinx and Vi at the end of Season 1 was resolved in the first three episodes of Season 2, before it evolved again in Act 2, and then came to a resolution in Act 3. Jayce and Viktor were two characters who saw immense change in Season 2 of Arcane, with Viktor going from an ambitious scientist in Season 1 to the world-domineering antagonist in Season 2. The second season also introduced complex new plot elements like the Black Rose and an alternate dimension arcane anomaly that needed to be solved in the back half. There’s no doubt that Arcane went larger with its storytelling in its second season. It took more risks that may or may not have paid off depending on who you ask. While it did manage to pay off each of the stories it set up, it came at the cost of the measured pace of Season 1, leaving some to call Season 2’s pace rushed.

After establishing a baseline in Season 1, it was clear the creatives had no intention of just maintaining that bar in Arcane Season 2 and instead went bigger in every way, particularly in the music and animation departments. Arcane’s second season incorporated new and unique animation aesthetics in almost every episode. Episode 1 featured a grayscale pencil-sketch style, Episode 3 opened with a graphic-novel-style montage, and Episode 6 featured memories playing out in watercolor paint. Every episode of Arcane Season 2 allowed the animators to test out something new, all while continuing its standard animation style that made the series a standout in Season 1. The soundtrack was also almost double the size, with original tracks from a wide variety of artists, including Twenty One Pilots, King Princess, and d4vd, that were paired perfectly with the action and themes occurring on-screen. Arcane could have easily dropped the ball with expectations being so high for its second season, but it did anything but.

Which Season Was Better?

Both of Arcane’s seasons have their positives and negatives. The first season established a memorable visual style and set up a narrative with few flaws. Season 2 was more creative with its aesthetic and went bigger in all aspects of production, but it took more risks with its story and thus received more criticism. Ultimately, both seasons of Arcane were successful in what they set out to achieve and were well-received by fans. The fact that it’s so difficult to determine which season is “better” is a testament to the quality of Arcane overall. In the end, both seasons are better in different ways, and choosing a winner will likely come down to an individual’s personal preference.

Arcane Seasons 1 and 2 are streaming 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

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