As the most anticipated animated series of the year, the excitement for "Arcane Season 2" was unprecedented before its premiere.
"Arcane Season 2" Poster
Game adaptations in animation have often been a mixed bag, with countless classic games being poorly translated into animated versions. However, backed by the super game IP "League of Legends," the first season of "Arcane," which debuted in 2021, dazzled audiences worldwide. Its visuals, music, storyboarding, and narrative raised the bar for the industry, revolutionizing perceptions of animation.
The first season garnered nine Annie Awards and four Emmy nominations, making it the undisputed animated series of 2021. The Chinese theme song "The Lone Warrior," sung by Eason Chan, sparked a wave of popularity in the domestic market.
Three years later, "Arcane Season 2" has finally returned, and everyone is eager to see what kind of audiovisual spectacle the second season will deliver, as well as how the fierce conflict between Piltover and Zaun will come to a close.
"Arcane Season 2" Poster
From a production standpoint, the second season remains an absolute benchmark in animated series, presenting a complete downgrade to other animations.
Season 2 continues the visual style of the first season, utilizing a combination of 3D modeling, painterly rendering, and 2D backgrounds. In comparison to other heavily CG animated series, the hand-painted aesthetic of "Arcane" stands out with richer details and a more pronounced character presence, creating a wonderfully dynamic illustration feel.
This season has taken things further, showcasing almost dazzling details in its visuals. For instance, in the first episode, a close-up of Caitlyn during her mother's funeral captures a mix of sorrow, repression, confusion, and determination, with such intricate detail that it leaves viewers in awe.
"Arcane Season 2" Still
The production team has also put significant effort into the opening animation, with subtle adjustments in every episode reflecting the content of the episodes, packed with various entertaining Easter eggs.
"Arcane Season 2" Screenshot
In Season 2, the climax of each episode also features shifts in artistic style, employing sketching, gouache, graffiti, and other animation forms to convey emotions. Coupled with the high-quality music that continues from the first season, the auditory and visual experience of the series is extraordinarily smooth, a true art piece in animation.
"Arcane Season 2" Screenshot
Despite such high production quality, the reception of Season 2 declined sharply after its conclusion. Season 1 received a score of 9.0 from 200,000 users on Douban, while Season 2 started with a score of 9.3 but plummeted to 8.8 by the end, after garnering only 50,000 ratings. If the rating count were to match Season 1, it would likely fall below 8.5.
The reason is simple: the second half of Season 2 faced significant controversy regarding its plot. Many online comparisons have been made between Season 2 and the final season of "Game of Thrones." While objectively the disparity isn’t as drastic, it does reflect the viewers' disappointment. A quick glance at any forum discussing Season 2 reveals an abundance of criticism and dissatisfaction.
The main point of contention among viewers was the hasty handling of the conflict between Piltover and Zaun. The characters and storyline in the first season revolved around the class struggles between the two cities, and with the missile strike by Jinx that destroyed the council hall in the season finale, everyone expected a tumultuous continuation in Season 2. What would the ultimate fallout be when the rift between Piltover and Zaun was finally laid bare?
Instead, Season 2 opted for an overly simplistic and disappointing solution: introducing a third-party adversary (Ambeis and Viktor), prompting Piltover and Zaun to unite against the external threat, wiping their previous conflicts and hatreds aside, and returning to a stage of peaceful coexistence.
"Arcane Season 2" Still
This plot point is rife with issues and fails to persuade the audience. The Under City had suffered oppression from the Upper City for years, especially following the Jinx missile incident, where the Upper City conducted numerous armed offensives against the Under City, even collaborating with Ambeis. To the residents of the Under City, Ambeis and the Upper City were seen as complicit oppressors, and the fight could very well be likened to dogs fighting against each other.
Moreover, Ambeis’s goal was to wield the Hextech technology of the Upper City to bolster his own military power, which had nothing to do with the Under City. Even if Ambeis were to win, life for the Under City residents wouldn’t necessarily become worse; in fact, it might even break the class supremacy of the Upper City. So, what reason did the Under City have to assist the Upper City against Ambeis?
The apparent peaceful coexistence at the end, where both cities seem restored, is clearly a façade. Other than granting the Under City a seat in the council, nothing else has changed, and the council operates on the principle of majority rule, rendering that one seat ineffective in benefiting the Under City. As long as the Upper City continues to discharge pollutants into the Under City, refuses to share economic and technological benefits, and does not grant autonomy to the Under City, the conflict between the two cities is bound to resurface.
The core conflict of the entire series was thus carelessly swept aside, leading the audience to naturally reject it.
Besides the rushed ending, another major complaint is the abrupt changes in character arcs. Take Viktor, the final antagonist of this season, for instance. In the first season and the first half of Season 2, he was portrayed as the conscience of the city, always contemplating how to utilize Hextech to benefit the residents of the Under City.
"Arcane Season 2" Screenshot
So why would Viktor choose the extreme “Glorious Evolution” plan, uploading everyone's consciousness into a runic space (akin to the Matrix in "The Matrix"), causing them to lose their individuality? The animation addresses this with just a few lines of dialogue: "Those guiding us toward the ultimate good also create our greatest evil."
While it is understandable that Viktor was overly obsessed with perfection to the extent of wanting to erase the diversity of humanity, this transformation still feels abrupt; prior to this, there was little indication that Viktor had such an intense fixation on perfection. It feels as though the limited screen time forced the writers to hastily propel Viktor into becoming a villain.
Jinx's situation mirrors this; the chaotic character introduced at the end of the first season suddenly becomes a caring individual at the start of the second season, helping Sevika repair a mechanical arm and adopting the orphan, Isha. Initially, it seemed Jinx would become a representative of the Under City to battle against the Upper City, but ultimately she is somewhat sidelined in the main storyline, primarily focused on mending her relationship with Vi, then stepping in at the last minute during the climactic battle.
"Arcane Season 2" Screenshot
In Season 2, Jayce, who is intricately tied to the main storyline and ultimately confronts Viktor, also has his share of issues. When Jayce is absorbed by the Wild Rune and returns, he displays a cosseted exterior that seems profoundly changed and scarred. This transformation spurs many conjectures among viewers: Has he traversed time and witnessed countless battles and the destruction of worlds?
"Arcane Season 2" Screenshot
Eventually, the truth is revealed, and it’s quite disappointing: Jayce had merely fallen and broken his leg while traversing, and ended up stuck in a cave for several weeks. This segment, except for the last few minutes of impactful content, is otherwise a drawn-out depiction of wilderness survival, leaving viewers puzzled as to its necessity in such a tightly woven storyline.
Jayce’s subsequent behavior adds to the confusion. Knowing that Viktor's actions will lead to disaster, by standard logic he should either reason with Viktor to abandon his “Glorious Evolution” plan or eliminate him directly. Instead, he does neither, confronting Viktor with a laser cannon out of the blue and then running away without confirming Viktor’s fate, indirectly facilitating Viktor’s extreme transformation.
In the finale, during the climactic battle, Jayce resorts to a blend of dialogue therapy and allowing Viktor to access his memories to witness the future outcome, ultimately persuading Viktor to abandon the “Glorious Evolution” and joining forces to seal the Arcane. Viewers are left with a multitude of questions: Where was he all this time? If he had done what he accomplished in the last episode earlier, wouldn’t everything have been resolved? What was the purpose of the laser cannon introduction?
"Arcane Season 2" Still
Overall, the storyline in Season 2 appears to set reason aside, emphasizing suspense and conflict where possible. While each segment is undeniably captivating individually, when combined, they lack seamless transitions, leading to a choppy narrative that falls far short of the smooth, cohesive, and focused storytelling presented in Season 1.
Why did the quality of the plot in Season 2 decline? Based on fans' analysis of the production team roster, there were significant changes; Ash Brannon, who played a core role in outlining the first season, was absent in Season 2, and several new faces who had not participated in Season 1 were added to the writing team.
Additionally, as a derivative work of "League of Legends," the primary task for "Arcane" is to promote the game. Therefore, to showcase the new game characters Mel and Ambeis and lay groundwork for upcoming series, Season 2 included a substantial amount of content about these two characters, while resulting in other characters receiving significantly less screen time.
With the completion of Season 2, the story of "Arcane" has come to a definitive end. While it’s easy to point out many flaws, reflecting on it, the overall quality of "Arcane" remains stunningly high, filled with moments of praise and astonishment. However, compared to the first season, which could achieve a perfect rating in various aspects,
