Hi!! I'm really happy this video has resonated with a lot of people!! But also, I've had it pointed out by a few people now that there's no racism in this show, so why did I mention it in the intro? Well, I only mention it in the content warnings and the sentence: "There's no actual racism in this show, but it sure fuckin feels like it" because there is none. It's just not in the show. The show is all about class, which is what I do analyse. But the warning is there because racism comes together with class a LOT of the time in our world. And if you're sensitive to one of either classism or racism and the content warning meant you didn't want to engage with this right now, there's a high chance the same would apply to the other, especially because one of the most major ways classism is enforced in the show is with police violence. Whether you're from Piltover or Zaun, if you're intruding into the wrong half of the city, that's painting a target on your back. Especially if you're from Zaun because a lot of the people in Piltover consider you lesser and will assume you are suspicious. This is why I mentioned that the situation has a lot of parallels to the Irish Troubles because, even though there's no religious element here, if you're caught on the wrong side of the territory by someone who hates your group, you're in very real danger. And Ireland was a singular nation only 100 years ago, with more bombings happening last year thanks to complications of independence from Brexit! I'm from the UK and I've seen a lot of racism here from the English directed at the Irish in particular, even though both groups are white. Far less time has passed than people would like to think between now and the days when "no Irish" signs were in the windows of shops and Bed and Breakfast places in England, and you can probably guess by my accent that I am English. When I lived in Wales, going into a local pub accidentally if you were English could be dangerous. And the English don't care about the Welsh; we're still taking most of their water and electricity from Welsh dams whilst insisting their language is dead (it's not) and not worth saving (it was only declining because Welsh kids were beaten for speaking it thanks to the English) and infamously flooding areas where people live for more dams. It's really hard to untangle things like class, race and violence in real life and so while I'm glad the show could examine class more closely without having to account for racism, and I think the messages might not have been as focused if they'd had to add more factors, it is something that I felt prudent to warn for.
Hi there, Just wanted to add that while season 1 hadn't discussed racial issues all that much, the league universe has indeed many instances where discrimination based on race, ethnicity or relegion is brought up, especially in places like Targon and Demacia that I hope we will see portrayed in future seasons. In fact (and this could be a potential minor spoiler in the future?), in the original lore, the city of Piltover itself was no Racial paradise. the people there were extremely racist towards non humans, even yordles such as Heimerdinger had to use gadgets that disguses them as humans so they could live peacefully in the city. that was actually highlighted as one of the key differences between the 2 cities as Zaun would accept anyone from anywhere, even in the show you could notice much more diversity in Zaun's streets. we don't yet know whether that part was retckoned or it simply didn't happen yet given that Arcane is a sort of a prequel to the entire lore, but yeah... there's that.
Hi, just started to watch your essay of my favourite new show(and one of my favourites ever) and at the 3 minutes mark enters the hollow knight soundtrack(one of my favourite games and soundtracks also ever). You've earned my subscription and i adore you
That's actually really interesting!! It might only be left to other areas of the world or if we get more information on Piltover's founding maybe we'll see how things changed over time, or maybe it's just not gonna be in the show at all. I'm not super sure where Arcane stands regarding League but it seems to be an alternate universe or a separate canon but I'm glad it's giving Riot a chance to tell a straight well thought out story without wibbling around years of lore being added from all directions as new champions got added etc.
Yeah! He adores her but he's absolutely terrible for her. In some ways he's great! He trusts her completely, he let's her have space when she's upset, he's physically affectionate, he encourages her passion for invention and lets her draw all over everything (I also love that she still has the same doodled on cup down in the bar that she had with Vander) but at the same time... He sets very few boundaries with her so she can pretty much do whatever she wants with in the name of her having freedom. She gets officers Silco made deals with killed. She's clearly unstable, hearing voices that are causing her visible distress and working herself up into a rage in her workshop, and is super sensitive to rejection. She lashes out at others immediately regardless of who it is, like hanging Sevika from the ceiling or jabbing Silco in the face with that needle. And she can do that because there's no consequences. Silco doesn't stop her, doesn't try to talk to her about how she's feeling and why she's doing what she's doing or help her find healthier outlets. I think it's partially because he doesn't know himself and is so lost in his own damage that he sees Jinx as someone who's allowed to act on all those feelings where he can't. Like he's seeing her almost as an extension of himself at times, especially as they've has some similar traumatic experiences. When Jinx is curled up in the rafters saying she can't crack hextech and that he should just give it to Singed because she "keeps seeing them, that day." Silco responds with, "Fear haunts us all child." Like, I'm glad you understand what she's going through to some degree bud but you've got to actually help her here!
@@HoneyBat The problem really is that with Silco it's fully the Blind leading the Blind. If he had any inkling of how to actually help her he would have in a heart beat. Instead all he can do is give her the lessons He has learned.
@@HoneyBat He technically can't help her much just get her comfortable and also it seems she is not able to kill topsiders unless it's for a reason even then that's a nope don't do that.. but if we look at it, she did actually get them what they wanted but Vi snitched on jinx in the end so jayce asked for her by name. Snitching on blood Vi? Good one. Anyway. Silco can't really help jinx at the moment Vi Can't really help jinx. At the moment, what can you do in zaun? Lol not much so what do you have to do? Try to keep em as stable as possible which he does most the time. But as we see a little bit of thinking she is weak and she HERSELF will go into a frenzy. He says the right things right like let your past go, be strong, ect ect. But you can't do it alone silco you also need jinx and she is well... at the moment a bit unhelping she will listen for a moment but meh. And when silco says fear haunts us all he brought her to the water. And then she did the mission so. Guessing it worked for that situation. But ultimately jinx is the failure here how ironic. She doesn't fully trust anything. She won't allow it, always looking for a sign your telling a lie. Ect ect. It is like people say, you can bring a horse to water, can't force it to drink. Jinx is holding herself back. Let's think about it, if jinx had listened to silco and faced her fears what would she be right now? Probably one of the dangerous bitches on silco crew. She is already a planner. A good shoot. Good social skills. To get what she wants. Set traps. Gadgets don't fail. She improved alot. But in the end I HAD IT ALL DUHDNADIH ALL FOR NOTHING. she is the one trapped in her head. And as we know, silco kinda has a bigger job to do right. Yet we do see him with jinx and sometimes ya got to use manipulation. To reset jinx. But he probably believe everything he says.
Oh definitely!! He doesn't have much better coping skills or I'm certain he'd help her. What I mean is that he often sees Jinx's upset and circles back to his own problems; he doesn't necessarily mean to but he gets so caught up in his own trauma and the aspects he shares with her that he doesn't actually listen properly. He doesn't know how. He can only view her problems through himself so when he says things like "fear haunts us all" it's both an acknowledgement of her fear but also a shutting down of the conversation. He's trying but like you said, blind leading the blind. I think that's why he wants to give her so much freedom to express herself, so she won't get caught up with the systems that nearly killed him. He wants her to be able to exist outside them while he works on getting Zaun it's independence but at the same time, that does make her an outsider. He does understand her abandonment issues better than most because they have some similar experiences but everyone experiences events and processes emotions differently and he can't quite distance himself enough to help her with that. Which isn't a fault either. He loves her and it's practically impossible to be objective to someone you're so close to, that's why we have therapists that are trained for this sort of thing. But like, I doubt Zaun has a system of trained mental health professionals. They both need so much therapy >.
i think the best thing i heard was "When the Undercity became Zhaun, Powder became Jinx" I never thought of that. i also really enjoyed the performances of the plushies
@@HoneyBat yeah your argument of the parallel of piltover and zhaun to vi and jinx is amazing especially when you add the zhaun is no longer a child and could strive in its own the parallel perfect
I love their relationship! It's a mess but Silco loves her to pieces and where Vi ends up as Vander's protogee, Silco found his in Jinx. I have no idea what she's going to do now that he's gone and Zaun is independent but...I have a feeling that Noxus is going to be looking to spread out and absorb some unstable territory though.
Great watch, just a small correction: The firelights aren’t attacking Piltover, they’re after Silco’s shimmer transports and get framed by Silco so Piltover doesn’t find out about Jinx’s attacks.
Oop, yeah for some reason I thought they were also doing attacks on Piltover but no they're being *framed* for attacks on Piltover. Guess there's no way to hide Jinx's attacks but they can be pinned on someone else easily
I love how jayce after being told that his friends is using his position to further her investigation, he take a breath and cover her, not even questioning her afterwards.
This video has a criminally low number number views. Also, small thing but I don't agree with Pwoder's freakout being a tantrum. She clearly shows attachment and self esteem issues beforehand even when she was a kid. Vi telling her she's not ready validated those feelings hence the breakdown. Tantrums occur when a person is trying to get something they want which is why sometimes crying kids stop to see if anyone is looking at them but in Powder's case she's completely alone. She also breaks her own toys during the sequence and hits her head which in my experience usually happens with feelings of guilt and general self loathing.
You're completely right! Poor word choice on my part, this is definitely an outward expression of pain and overwhelm/overload, not to get anyone's attention or sympathy. I mean, there's no one in the house for a start. She doesn't know how to process those emotions yet but they have to be dealt with somehow, and Vi's word choice calling back to the earlier heist where bringing Powder along and telling her she's ready, then being blamed for losing their haul, can't have helped. She's always told that she's different but that's a good thing, that she's stronger than she thinks but when it comes down to the line... They leave her behind. Plus adding in the fear of potentially losing the rest of her family and you've got TOO MANY.
What makes Arcane so haunting is that it's real. Perhaps not in a literal sense, but we're watching it happen right now. All over the world, countless Zauns and Piltovers. So many leaders like Heimerdinger, who can't see the corruption. So many people like Silco and Sevika, desperate people driven to desperate measures, who only want to free their home but end up damaging it in the end. So many children like Vi and Jinx, chewed up by the system and spat out. Arcane has way too much realism for anything made in a fucking fantasy universe.
Yeahhhh it's so painful because we all know there's so much of this kind of suffering all over the world and it often feels that there's so little we can do about it. Not on an individual level anyways, and activist burnout is definitely a thing. We're all so connected now that we all know about so many more problems than we could ever solve and that's draining af. I love that in this show you can always understand why the characters are doing what they're doing even when they end up hurting themselves or other people. Like you know they're wrong but they can't see any other way. And that's the reality for so many people in our world at so many different social levels too. And everyone's hurting in some way. Everything's so broken but we're all still moving forward, and I think there can be hope somewhere in that too. I think all we can do is engage with empathy to the people around us, and hope they do the same to us.
Not really when it comes to Heimerdinger. It's more like there are plenty of people in power willing to turn a blind eye to the suffering without power all the name of profit... Notice how everyone on the council has no problem doing just that, including out voting Heimerdinger when the time comes.
25:45 to 28:39 The Jinx section is probably my favorite. Every character feels so detailed and meticulous with their own tics and patterns that it makes you want to try Pixar's 'Elevator Test' with each of them and see what happens. You could literally put 2 of Arcane's characters in any environment or situation and the story would practically write itself.
I absolutely adore the character design in this show! Everyone moves differently and it gives them so much personality!! Jinx is definitely my favourite but I think Viktor/Vi come in as close seconds. Ooh, I didn't know about the Elevator test but YES every character in this show would have a unique response to being stuck in an elevator, but any two stuck *together* would always be interesting. Honestly it's such a testament to the writing that there's not a single character I don't care about.
i am so happy someone finally pointed out Vi looking at her bloody knuckles after having punched Jinx and remembering what Vander said about it. that that path only causes more problems and his whole speech about how the other kids look up to her and that whatever happens to them, as the leader, it'll be on her. yep, even Powder's downfall. Vi's leadership caused the birth of Jinx, just like Jinx herself said in the last episode. Silco didn't make Jinx; Vi did. i've watched so many reactions, reviews, and video essays who have noticed so many great details, but i've yet to see anyone point the bloody knuckle thing out. until you. ✨ kudos!
Thanks!! I really like that Vander can see the strength of Vi, even when she's young, and tries to set her up to be conscious of how the others look up to her and to be careful. Like whether she wants it or not, as the oldest, best fighter and most confident the other kids are gonna copy what she does so she may as well be aware of it. And he doesn't want it to end up hurting her as he's seen enough of his own people destroyed by their earnest desire for change. And I know I didn't talk about it in the video but that fight with Sevika when Vander appears and tells her that, "she still needs you"? Just, ow. She still feels so responsible for her little sister that even though they've been separated for years that she just can't let her go without trying to appeal to the last scraps of Powder over and over. Like she's spent years with only the faint hope of seeing her sister again to keep her going through horrible isolation and beatings. And now she just can't mesh that image of Powder with Jinx at all and it kills Vi the same way it kills Jinx and damn they can't live with or without each other.
Silco is such a painful character. I know he is the "villain" but his love for Jinx is so strong and pure. Even when given all the justification in the world to say that she is a problem, not worth the effort, or to Lash out at her physically he refuses to hurt her. He comforts her, he restrains his violent urges he doesn't, he can't, do anything to hurt her. He is a ruthless, violent, drug lord but he is being the best father he can. And that is so painful and heartbreaking to watch but so well done.
I complex villains!! Every character in this has complicated motivations whether they're on the whole considered "good" or "bad", but that's always clearest in the villains. Like you can see in his face when he looks at Jinx when she's hurt or reaching out to her how just unfathomable losing her is to him. There is sheer terror. He adores her; he could never knowingly hurt her. He's not always good for her but damn he loves her and tries his best with the tools he has and I love that. He's not a good person but he wants to be good to his daughter.
I...did not say that. He does use manipulation as a tool, but NOT to help Jinx. A tool can be used to help or harm. The tools he uses to help her is using his own experiences to understand hers with empathy and compassion, giving her unconditional love, trust and acceptance and the freedom to experiment with her talents. Where he falls down is that he projects his own damage onto her and can't quite view her as her own person, more an extension of himself, and that's wrapped up in his own trauma and fear or betrayal. He doesn't set firm boundaries or consequences for her actions so she can cause damage to other people *and* herself. He puts her in danger often, and encourages her to give in to her violent impulses in the name of freedom. So he manipulates her, and he's a bad person because of that. He loves Jinx but in some ways he's absolutely awful for her. Love doesn't excuse that.
"you have to live with each other and that's a lot harder than one emotion-fueled reconciliation ... fantasizing about that perfect moment of reunion only means you're setting up your future with that person to be hollow"
The greatest show I have ever seen. This is not hyperbole. I spent weeks sandbagging before coming to the realization that it is literally in my opinion; The greatest show I have ever seen. Pretty sure this show exposes every mental issue I have completely, all the issues I hide from everyone, I find and feel within this show. No one I know has seen the show though. I guess I'm still safe, but I want to talk to someone that feels what I feel. This show is the only show that made me even consider this.
I'm really glad you found a show that makes you feel so seen and understood! Fiction's a good way to explore those sorts of vulnerabilities, especially as a lot of people that struggle are encouraged to hide their problems
I feel this a lot, Arcane really pulled out all my ✨sister issues✨ and jinx was ALREADY a favourite character of mine from league alone. Her arcane version? 👌👌👌👌👌EVERYTHING
I hope things go well for you. Arcane really HAS emotion, hasnt it? Damn.. I would talk with you about it, but i dont really identify that deep with the series (seeing their problems as my on). Keep on, you'll find somebody that understands you, there's has to have someone
I feel the exact same way. All the daddy issues, mommy issues, sister issues, abandonment issues, self esteem issues - all checked off. Thank, Riot. 🥲Jinx and Silco's relationship (and to a lesser extent Mel and her mom's) kept me _hooked_ .
The only thing that’s stopping me from agreeing with you is that it’s not complete yet-since it’s complete that spot still goes to Black Sails, but this show can overtake it EASY. The story work is truly and honestly unmatched in Arcane.
Hahahaha the commentary is still completely serious as I didn't know it'd get claimed, so if someone's watching this in the background they're not gonna notice a thing, stealth bats XD
Okay but I looked through enough of the arcane tumblr tag that I genuinely thought Piltover's Finest was the name of season 2 when it got announced but no, its Caitlyn and Vi's ship name 😂
I am a heterosexual male. I've been alive for 43 years. I've never cared about any form of a kissing scene in my entire life. Until Vi and Caitlyn. This relationship is the purest relationship I have witnessed in all of media. I don't know how this happened, it did. I love it and it hurts. (no kiss occurred, that means even more)
@@Thulgore Have you already seen 'Life is Strange'? The first one i mean, from 2015. Cait and Vi really resembles me Max and Chloe, which i'm just SO emotionally attached (just like i'm becoming emotionally attached to Vi, since her damn first scene. If there was only more screen time 😭😭). So, if you want to see some more of this type of nice relationship, i re a lly recommend go check the game. Seriously, give it a try. ;) (Watch a gameplay or play it yourself, dunno). Although I LOVE them relationship (them 4, but Max and Chloe morecough) i really dont like to see it as romantic (and I dont see it like that at all). To me its just... a freaking pure and deep friendship and damn, I love it. Well, that's me. aand i've talked too much opss
@@uma-piba Aw man Max and Chloe from Life Is Strange were straight up how I found out I was gay! I got so invested in the romantic options and trying to get them to kiss in the last cutscene, I didn't actually come out until years later but it should've been obvious lol
I love that while your essay is mostly within the confines of Arcane, you clearly research Runeterra Lore. Everytime you use a term that doesn't appear in the show it makes me smile
Thanks! I have a passing familiarity with LoL thanks to my circle of friends but I really don't care about playing the game, not my cup of tea, BUT I ended up looking into a bunch of the lore and champions for this and I now adore Fiddlesticks and Kindred ❤️ I didn't have anywhere to put it in this video but Fiddlesticks says the worst fear of whatever champion he encounters and to Jinx he says "Jinx! All your fault! All your fault!" which... When you look at the show is just... Ow
@@HoneyBat Kindred is one of my favorite characters, and i really recommend looking into the Legends of Runeterra card interactions for them and Their followers. if you haven't seen him yet swain is the Noxian grand general. He is possessed by the demon of secrets. Just like Fiddlesticks he says a secret of the champion when he hits them with his w ability. For Jinx he says "Faces fading in the flames. It was all her fault."
I'm so tempted to get into Legends of Runeterra tbh. I suck at card games but Inscryption has sunk it's hooks in me so here we are (and now I've finally gotten the hang of mana based card systems). Oh noooooo, poor Jinx >.< Demon of secrets sounds like life goals though
@@HoneyBat Fiddlesticks is amazing. Also... he's associated with crows due to being a scarecrow... *Peers at the constant presence of crows in Piltover and Zaun and the fact that Jinx shoots one*
Damn that's a good analysis. Genuinely moving. Also, I wanna see the entire thing acted out with plushies. One thing to add that I think you missed regarding the relationship between Piltover and Zaun, its not just the threat from Zaun that Piltover fears. Its much deeper and more fundamental. Piltover **needs** Zaun. it needs the workers, it needs the consumers, it needs the reasources they destroy their lives to mine. Its an important fundamental to class struggle that the working class arent kept around as some benevolence of the wealthy. its that the wealth is created by the working class, both through Marxian Labour Theory of Value and (more importantly) through the Economic Demand which can only exist with a large population. The rich need lots of people to work and to provide resources but mainly, they need lots of people to buy the shit that makes them money.
Thank you so much!! Ran out of bat plushies in the end, had to branch out hahaha And definitely! The whole worker economy is barely talked about but Jayce says in his speech on Progress Day that hextech will "bring an end to your hardships. Whether you're the scion of our high houses, or an honest labourer from the underground." Even though he clearly means it in earnest, the implicit divide is right there with the "our" high houses, and the underground associated with labour and toil. Piltover is so concerned with their businesses and financial status that they must know where all their labourers come from but....again they don't want to look, or have to consider them as people really, so they just don't talk about it. They only see the end product. It's probably also why they're so scared of Zaun wanting independence but nobody wants to acknowledge the elephant in the room. They're outraged that it'll be bad for their endeavours and that they have procedures to follow (that they made up) but they don't say why it'll be bad for commerce, even though they all know. If there wasn't some raw nerve being hit there then the councillors probably wouldn't have reacted as viscerally as they did. The only workers I remember seeing are the shimmer factories but those are obviously Silco's operations, but even so, those people there are the ones that *need* the money.
@@HoneyBat Agree with that but there's also an extra dimension to Jayce's misplaced desire to "help". His idea of help isn't actually to offer people less burden and less work. Its to make the work more productive (if potentially a little less physically demanding). His Hextech isn't removing the wage slavery, its making it more profitable.
Yeahhhhh, his gauntlets are designed to make mining easier, but...it's not to stop people going down the mines, is it? If anything it means more people are going to be sent down there until it's all hollowed out. It's the whole automation making work easier but not actually reducing working hours thing again, with companies reaping all the rewards of a more efficient (and exhausted) work force. I don't think he realises yet but hooo boy that's gonna do some damage >.
Yeah!! Honestly went in with pretty low expectations but it blew me away. I love how everyone and every situation is nuanced and complex, like there's not simple or easy solution for problems because there's different factors to every situation- the writing is so good! Even if you don't agree with someone's decisions, you can see exactly where they're coming from. I waaaaas kinda worried about how political this video is but... The show is saturated in it so whatever. There's a lot to pick at but it's all so well done that you could just get absorbed in the world without even thinking about it
The actual origin of Zaun and it's separation from Piltover is pretty interesting and it's a bit different from your interpretation from watching Arcane. Zaun was created when the original city of Zaun was trying to create a canal and so they bombed some piece of land. That created a sink hole and made Zaun the undercity it now is. The rich people from Zaun were able to make a new city on what was left of it on the surface and named it Piltover as it was constructed on the river Pilt
That's really cool that Zaun started as a canal that made living there viable in the first place as a water source, then gets life behind when people expand up rather than down like I thought! That kind of makes it sadder
@@HoneyBatAdditionally, due to the bombing, gasses from the fissures got into the undercity. It isn't said in Arcane but I can imagine it still is true because of the air pollution in the undercity. Although the gas in the mines is definitely even worse considering the chembarons were breaking down having to breathe that gas again.
Amazing essay. So fun to watch/listen too. :)c One note on something that is very 'blink or you miss it': The Pink Haired girl dies after Jinx shoots her thinking it's Vi. You can see her in the process of being added to the Mural by another Firelight when Echo shows it to Vi. Chilling, and gives real depth the Echo's deep rooted hatred of what Jinx has become.
Thank you!! And ohhhhhh shit I thought Ekko did his time rewind thing and saved her, I'm sure I saw a shot of his watch but I may be misremembering or maybe he didn't have the opportunity, but damn them painting her into the mural is such a wonderful little detail!! I love the world building in this show and yeah that'll definitely really cement Ekko's hatred of Jinx
@@HoneyBat It seems to me that Echo doesn’t have the ability to ‘rewind’ like in the game. The ability is hinted at with all the close-up shots of his watch and the flashbacks he experiences during the jinx fight. Maybe season 2?
@@HoneyBat Ekko to this point doesn't have his ability to rewind time yet. He'd only just gotten a glimpse at the hextech gemstone which could be capable of it before the bridge fight where jinx ultimately retains it. I suspect The Heimerdinger Ekko relationship might culminate in his ability for s2.
Using Madness Returns music for the segment where you talk about Jinx was genius. That game’s representation of insanity might be as accurate to real life as the average bat man villain but it’s maybe the oldest story I can think of that is always 100% on the side of it’s mentally ill characters and frames the people who dehumanise them for their inability to conform as selfish, unreasonable and cruel. It’s a nice tribute to connect it to Arcane, another story that asks you to see more in it’s mentally ill protagonist then just her illness.
i really hope jinx gets a redemption arc. not reverting back to powder but healing from everything she’s gone through and becoming whoever she is after that because it makes me hysterically sob seeing her like this (i’m not even exaggerating)
I just want her to be happy!! I didn't know much about LoL before Arcane but I vaguely knew what Jinx's character was like so seeing Powder in the first arc was a huge, oh no, what's going to happen to you?? I hope she finds some peace in season 2, some other people that can help her
26:50 I think she does not understand people decisions so she observes them to just get everything she CAN see at the moment. It's fascinating to see people react and respond when you do not fully comprehend what is really driving them. Jinx is driven by her fears so it's hard to know others when they are so different. It's also hard for her to notice it's fear when It's rationalized by Silco.
Caitlyn's greatest strength is that she is aware of her lack of knowledge and her willingness to address that. She doesn't want to see the rest of the world, or the bad side of town, just "the real world". She doesn't call Vi a liar when she says she's been abused, though it goes against her current knowledge and world view. When she comments on the last drop she acknowledges and considers Vi's reaction.
Yeah!! It would have been so easy for her to double and down and say that it's not like that or that Vi's lying to manipulate her, but she doesn't. I think the closest she comes to it is when she's talking to Ekko about Silco and tells him that he's wrong but Vi gets between them and is like hey, look, Cait's not your enemy and wants to help you and Cait you are working off faulty information here, shut up and listen to Ekko. And Cait continues trying to look at things from new perspectives for the rest of the show. I love that little bit in front of The Last Drop too because, while Vi doesn't say anything directly to imply it's important to her, Caitlyn looks at her body language and is like oop, okay, bad topic.
@@HoneyBat and then when she gave up her gun without a second thought. The most valuable thing, not just in terms of being expensive, but to her personally. She had been shooting since a child, and excelled, it was also the tool of an enforcer, and she gave it up in service to another - like Grayson instilled in her.
On the "staring at a person so intensely it feels like she's staring through them point"... That's a response to abandonment issues in some people, at least with me. It's trying to gauge how much you can be yourself, and how much you need to pretend. And then studying what type of pretending makes them happy, because everything is always about making people stay, even at the cost of your own happiness. It's a defense mechanism, because we hate things being out of our control, we force everything onto our shoulders even if the straps weren't made for the weight. Jinx specifically seems to be doing a distant study, like she's trying to get a grip on a person externally, not to make them stay perse, but to find out what makes them tick, just in case she needs the information for later. It's very consistent with her character: using her trauma and their defence mechanisms to suit her everyday life. She got really good at reading peoples reactions because it's what her abandonment issues demanded of her, but now she uses them to be a warlord.
That makes complete sense! She's always trying to figure out where she stands with people and that really comes to a head after she's hurt on the bridge and went through the horrible drugging. The way she sets up the dinner table scene is all very calculated and it seems she wants to find out where she stands with both Vi and Silco. Like I don't think she's necessarily doing this to hurt or torment Vi, but to understand how Vi sees her and how much she really wants to be with her and how much is lip service. Even when she forces Vi to choose between her and Caitlyn and Vi won't shoot Cait, Jinx aims at her anyway just to see her reaction. And having a gun be within Silco's grasp but with some difficulty also feels like it was in testing territory. I really wonder how that scene would have played out if Jinx hadn't had an episode, because she planned out every detail and until that moment she was in complete control of the situation. But yeah, even before then she's always studying people like you said. Even if she can't use that information right now, it could be useful later. I've tended towards the avoidant side of things, but... the picking people apart is familiar >.
@@HoneyBat exactly! That dining table scene was a perfect example of how she thinks, it's always about how people react to her, and whether she will actually be accepted. I think when vi flinched in horror, it was ultimately the moment powder died, because jinx realised that vi only saw her as a monster with something good trapped inside of her, and the subsequent tests were just her running through the motions she'd set up until she had her episode and it all derailed. It's really good character building!
I loved this video! It made me understand Jinx a lot more and even made her more likeable to me. I had trouble understanding why she jumped in the arms of Silco in episode 3 and I guess, like Vi, I didn't understand how the years changed her. I'm subscribing :D
That makes me so happy that you've found something new in the show!! Jinx was definitely my favourite, and her relationship with Silco is so interesting to watch. He loves her so much and would do anything for her, but at the same time he's awful for her. He only sees the damage they have in common and can't support her properly because he's so consumed by his own trauma. I loved how there was stuff she'd doodled all over on his desk too, he keeps all the things she's scribbled on and encourages her to make things, trusts her completely but at the same time he won't ever draw a line with how far Jinx is allowed to go because he wants her to be a tool of chaos. Even if it causes her to self destruct. Like he doesn't save her from the river he nearly drowned in, he gently encourages her under and that's fucked up! I love Vi a lot too, she has so much love in her and she's never given up hope despite the years in jail for literally no reason. She's tough as hell and jaded af but still soft to people she cares about, she's got a good heart ❤️
Mm, I tried to use the plot as a through line to analyse the characters through their actions but also think I might have been a little too plot heavy. I find it a tricky balance when I also want people who haven't seen a thing to be able to follow haha, I'll get there! Thanks for the feedback ^.^
I was blown away with how well all the reactions of the show are in-character, the scale of their reactions is always justified. Im particularly amazed at the writing of Silco. His character was so well done. He is a horrible villain, so so evil and a class act manipulator. He is intelligent and loyal, so its makes sense his cause is to make Zaun independent. Genuinely it is the most intelligent solution for Piltover and his people in Zaun but he has become the worst person to run it, justifying his abuses as a drug lord and gang leader of child labour as a means to the end of his greater cause. Through intelligence and insistence on loyalty, he manipulates people to favour his plans, maybe sometimes without meaning to as he constantly reminds Jinx of her insecurities and reinforces them to deepen her attachment to him, and find common ground through the hurt of betrayal. He genuinely loves her, but is the worst possible person for her to trust. In a media landscape where many villains are written as manipulative, i often find these characters flat and hollow, only as complex as giving sweets to a kid if they do their homework. But Silco actually feels like a real life manipulator, and it felt validating to see onscreen, where his dangerousness is shown fully and feels natural as he dangles exactly what the people around him want as individuals over their heads, rather than giving generic promises of power. It was also validating to see his genuine feelings of love and care, and have the show still recognise how dangerous and unstable his manipulation makes the lives of the people he loves regardless.
I just...I love how everyone's love for Powder and and fear of Jinx made everyone examine their biases, revel in the disgust, and finally improve Zaun...just to save Jinx from Jinx
I’m impressed by the quality and depth you go into. Your channel deserves to be much bigger than it currently is. - the use of bats to escape copyright got a laugh out of me too.
Speaking of the flare... I see Jinx's Tattoos as the blue smoke of the flare in this new version of her tattoos. It's a permanent cry for help for her sister.
46:27 This!! I think one of my favorite scenes in Arcane is when Sevika is telling Silco, "She's a problem. We all know she's a problem" and Silco responds by saying, "We? Who's we?" It really enforces that he loves her so deeply that he is willing to look past every glaringly obvious flaw that Jinx has to make her feel loved and welcome with him. He genuinely believes that she is perfect the way she is and lashes out towards anyone that states otherwise and if that's not the epitome of fatherly love, I don't know what is. Their dynamic was my absolute favorite thing about the show and while the relationship is built in an unhealthy way, there is an insane amount of true love and acceptance on both their parts that makes it feel so raw and heart-wrenchingly real.
Yeahhhh!! I love their relationship so much, he just loves his daughter. I've seen a couple of people saying that his decision to place Jinx over Zaun's independence that he's worked for his whole life isn't the logical choice and I'm like ye exactly! If anything it demonstrates just how much he cares about her! There's a lot of unhealthy elements mixed up in there too, but it's just nice to see someone purely accepting Jinx for who she is. He just wants her to be happy! I love that even though Sevika hates Jinx, she respects how much she means to Silco as well, like when she gives Silco advice to give Jinx time when she's upset. I'm really interested to see what Sevika is gonna get up to next season because she's the one who makes things happen. Silco has the vision, can see all the moving pieces and can direct people. He's the strategist and does the politicking with Marcus, but Sevika is the one on the ground with all the contacts and the respect of other gangs, even when they're losing faith in Silco. I wonder if she's going to be gunning for Jinx, blaming her for Silco's death, or whether she'll be unable to kill her in respect of Silco's memory.
@Honey Bat Ahhh! You're bring up so many possibilities I haven't even thought about yet! I'm so excited to see how everything plays out next season (though I'm absolutely distraught that my second favorite character is dead now, I hope he shows up as a positive hallucination for her because I don't think I could handle seeing him be mean to her in any capacity. I'd also love to see them together in flashbacks during her childhood)
!! I really want to see a small Jinx growing up with Silco!! I'm so happy we're getting a season 2, I can't wait to see how everyone changes and adapts ^.^
Just finding this essay now but man this is so well made (Im about to watch Arcane for the 8thish time to its full length dragging my friends along the ride as well). Im so hyped
Cried alot in this video.. well done! I don't remember ever connecting to a piece of fiction quite like I have with Arcane. I can't seem to get through these videos without uncontrollably sobbing. Send help...
Thank you! And I'm (mostly) sorry XD Currently rewatching the show with a friend who hasn't seen it yet and damn it's good, the end of ep 3 makes me cry every damned time
@@HoneyBat haha don't be! I learned that really emotionally investing yourself into a well written piece of media is the best way to enjoy it, even if it means having a hard time brushing tears off your face. I've watched Base Violence a bunch of times too and it never fails to get me. Ur really sweet ❤️ Earned a sub :)
"it made me care about league of legends" honestly the lore and stories of league have for the past few years been clearly the best parts of the universe of the games
Yeah! My partner plays LoL and has done for years and she's tried to get me into it but I absolutely hate the gameplay haha, but looking up some of the characters and their promo videos and alternate universes was really enjoyable! (I love Fiddlesticks and Annie) I'm definitely looking forward to season 2 of Arcane, I just hope it doesn't get forcibly rushed through production because this season clearly had so much love put into it
Another thing I'd like to add; In his spare moments, it's clear that Silco's been listening to Jinx' concerns about her own visions and how they make her feel like a screwup. So when Vi calls back those memories, Silco more than anyone knows that she's ignorantly tormenting Jinx and he violently wants to make her stop. And in his last moments, he knows reflexively that Jinx is going to blame his death on herself, as part of her curse of being a perpetual f*ckup. He only has moments to spare in which he wants to tell her that, _"Your reactions to your trauma are valid and they are a part of you. Don't be ashamed of them. It's OK to act out and lash out against the world. You were never a screwup to me."_ But instead he tells her, _"Don't cry, you're perfect"._ And, despite how he doesn't say the rest of it, it's clear that Jinx understand his sentiment and it calms her down. To me, the scene doesn't read as her being pushed over the edge, but rather her being centered again. Lashing out against the world is OK. There's a monster inside all of us. We'll show them. We'll show them all.
YEAH!! While Silco can't help her in all the ways she needs, he loves Jinx so much. He genuinely would have done anything for her and I'm not sure Jinx fully internalises that until he's gone. She knows he loves her but there's that constant fear that one day she'll push it too far and be declared a useless fuck up yet again. You can know something is true but still not truly Feel that it is and Silco knows that about her I think, even in his final moments he's still looking out for her and that hurts. When she's going to take out the council, yes she's upset, but she's definitely not reacting wildly or randomly lashing out at everything. She takes one slow, deliberate and measured shot. I love that, it gives her actions so much power. This is her choice.
Hahahaha, thanks! Most fun I've ever had with technical issues XD I had no idea if it was going to get claimed or which bits so allll the narration just got played straight. Also I know a lot of people like listening to video essays in the background so some people are never gonna know about the bats and that really tickles me, secret plushies 🦇
I think a big part of why Vi is desperate to change jinx and bring powder back, is because she cares about Caitlyn now too, and she doesn't want to lose her either. While being pulled apart on both sides by an enforcer and a homicidal terrorist, one of them is gonna have to change. The logical choice will always be the one who's actually breaking laws, being immoral and unjust. But if she didn't have that attachment to an officer of the law, maybe she would've been willing to turn a Rebel and fight Piltover together with her sister, even if she's a little too ruthless. However, in the end, to save Caitlyns life, she still decides she's willing to leave her for Jinx. Not to rebel, but just to leave.
Yeah, I think Vi isn't entirely sure what she wants concretely but she loves both Cait and Jinx and doesn't want to lose either. When she can't get through to Jinx and Jinx isn't responding in the ways that she hopes, then being forced to choose between the two, Cait is clearly the more currently stable option that clearly wants to be with her too. I think she'd have had a much better chance at connecting with Jinx if she didn't have Caitlyn with her because *that's* the thing that breaks them apart during their initial reunion. Jinx takes it as a betrayal instantly. I find the parallel of Ekko and Jinx reactions to Vi and Cait really cool too! Like, both Jinx and Ekko lost their frends and family on the same night, and both as adults are rebelling. Ekko is cagey as hell but eventually accepts Vi and embraces her and he extends that trust to Caitlyn, even if he is still very wary. But Jinx? She immediately embraces Vi but then sees Cait and takes her distrust of this stranger and extends it to Vi. They both just want their friend/sister back and ow.
I never thought of any of this...love it. It's like a love triangle (not in a weird way) with Jinx and Cait, Vi in the middle. Torn between her two loves.
"Jinx clings to people she loves, even if theres not many of them. - She needs someone, anyone to be there for her. Its the same for Vi" I am SO glad you pointed this out🌈💞 almsot every CaitVi scene they're touching each other in some way...even when they claim to "hate" each other. Even when its not necessary for them to be touching.
True but Vi at first didn't accept that gentle touch. When Caitlyn wants to wipe Vi's face, she swats her hand away. Compare that to when Caitlyn caresses Vi's cheek and Vi takes her hand before she pulls it away. Vi was touch-starved but had huge walls around her due to Caitlyn being from Piltover and an enforcer. And just generally because I'd argue Vi has trust issues. Where Vi used to be a team leader in her childhood and teenage years, she developed into a loner over the years as she "realized" she brings people to ruin.
One of the most important moments that frequently fly over people's heads is in episode 4. Jayce is in the lab complaining to Viktor that they've spend the *insert amount of years that the timeskip took here* years working on council's projects and he's itching to finally be able to start doing what he and Viktor have originally set out to do, "it's time they let us decide how we want to use hextech." So the council (and most likely Heimerdinger with his alarmist mindset) have been actively stopping them from helping Zaun in any way during that entire timeskip. And then shit hits the fan. Other than Mel (who arguably has selfish motivations for doing so, at least initially), none of the council members has been enabling their active attempts to acknowledge and include Zaun in their striving for progress. I wonder how this is going to translate into the second season now that those who have been stalling action are out of the picture (meaning more direct action can finally be taken), but both cities are on the brink of war and distrusting of each other due to Jinx's and Silco's terrorist acts and under threat of foreign invasion.
Definitely! It's not clear entirely how long the time skip is but being blocked from using your tech for that amount of time, then being told to add another TEN YEARS for seemingly no reason has gotta be a blow. Especially with the undercity deteriorating with shimmer use being rampant and money getting tighter and tighter. I mean, safety measures on new tech are essential but also, Heimerdinger doesn't ask what precautions they've already taken. He just says, hm, it's new and uses magic, stall it. The fallout of the, ahem, removal of the council is gonna be so interesting!! Though I do wonder if Mel is okay? Her armor did a strange glowy thing as the missile was about to hit that meant she looked around first. I'm hoping it's something protective and she'll still be alive. I don't like her as a person but as a character, she's fascinating.
@@HoneyBat That's my main gripe with Heimerdinger. He never gives any constructive feedback or offers an effective alternative solution. He's a technical genius in his own right, but doesn't make any effort to help Jayce and Viktor to develop the safeguards. Hopefully his time with Ekko will serve as a much needed wake-up call. Hoping Mel survives as well, she has so much more to bring to the story than just being more trauma fodder for Jayce. Unpopular opinion, but I also really enjoy their relationship dynamic. He's helping her channel the qualities her mother wanted her to suppress and be more emotionally expressive, and she's helping him to be less of a doormat and reign in his impulsivity (which doesn't always work *cough* special shoutout to Vi being a huge enabler here 😂). But the writers have been good at subverting these cliches so far (other than Sky's death perhaps) so I have faith.
Jinx doesn't flip out because of some sort of "Vi is only for me" thing; she flips out because Caitlyn is an enforcer, she's one of the oppressors who have made the people of Zaun's lives hell; the murderers who killed her parents; the ones that have been hunting her since she was a child.
That's very true! Most of the the through line of the show feels more focused around the replacement idea to me but that is DEFINTIELY an extra painful factor for Jinx. Her initial encounter with Vi is like a massive trainline of shocks. It's Vi! She's back! She's with an ENFORCER!? Sevika *wasn't* lying? Oh, she's sided with them. Her being an enforcer adds major insult to injury, like, wow...she really picked a rich Piltie enforcer over me? The people that murdered our parents and have kept us in the dirt ever since? Was I really *that* bad? After she's had some time she seems to be jealous of Caitlin from a replacement standpoint, like staring at them hugging on the bridge, hearing voices that tell her that Vi was there for Cait not her, hallucinating Cait in her place when being drugged and saying she "paid your girlfriend a visit" during the dinner table scene. But like, that would apply to anyone I think. I know Vi is an enforcer in League and she's with Caitlin at the end of Arcane so is likely going to join up but...I kind of don't like that. Doesn't sit right. I'm hoping they won't make her a willing and enthusiastic enforcer in season 2 because I don't think she can write off everything she's and everyone around her have been forced to endure just for one person. Even when she does get to appeal to the council she goes around their decision and persuades Jayce to attack the shimmer facility on her own terms; I doubt she'd come to heel for the enforcer program but I know that's her in game canon...
The inclusion of the plushies really took the video to the next level. By far (seriously) the best of the Arcane essays I've watched. You talk about something that I've noticed a lot of people struggle with, that this idea that just Jinx and Vi being together for a moment would make everything better between them or that killing Silco would bring 'Powder' back and maybe that's how it would work in a lot of fiction but Arcane isn't a lot of fiction. The name Powder at this point represents a time in her life, rather than who she really is, she 'really is' Jinx, she's changed, evolved, grown-up. I appreciate that you used the term deadnaming, I'd thought about using it before but I wasn't completely sure it was the right term but I've been unable to find a better one. "Everyone's constantly seeking connection, everyone wants to belong, to have somebody to love." Got me right in my heart and is very, very accurate. This show is tragically human.
Thank you!! I love the characterisation in Arcane, everyone feels so human and alive and complex, you can really feel the love the creators put into the show. I couldn't think of a better word than deadnaming, it's close but not quiiiiiite right so I went with it, but the feeling is similar in that she wants to be acknowledged for who she is now. I wish Vi and Jinx had had more time together because I really think they could have adapted over time, but every time they're interrupted or at a distance or it's just the wrong moment and they're just confronted with guilt or abandonment pain and that's all part of the sweet sweet tragedy. The ideas they've built up of each other in absence is all wrong but they never lost hope in each other and I love that so much. I can't wait for season 2!! And thank you so much for watching and commenting ^.^
This is great content and analysis, thank you! Also, I think the picture in Jayce's old notes was a picture of him in a cape and with a hammer! (the one he built)
Thank you! Ahh, I always thought it was the mage but that's really cool that he gets to make the hammer with the runes exactly like he wanted to when he was a kid, he's become a superhero!
@@HoneyBat but there in too lies the problem, the ego and the fantasy temptation of greatness. He is blinded by his drive and his weaknesses in his charcter get exploited by others, most notably Mel, and he constantly find him fighting between the choices to satisfy his fantasy and his inner child morality saying that is wrong. Guilt over what you want most is what we see played out over and over again. Vi wants to be just ike the tough vander she loves, but Vander doesnt want to see her go down the same path, everytime she throws a punch she goes against the will of her father. Powder wants to be accepted for what she can do....but what she can do hurts the ones she wants to be accepted by, each explosion from her is a constant reminder of her first success and the punchline thats its all gotta be some big joke that only she gets and drives her further into madness. We can go character by character here and they just to such a bang up job making all these characters living. It really is something else, that thing love can do when allowed to just do its thing. We get stuff like this. Or incredibly precise and detailed temples and artwork that lasts for centuries and millenia even. Arcane shows the lie in progress by science rather than the human heart which should always proceed any advancement. Thoth was right.
@@HoneyBat It is the 2020s. Capitalism is destroying the planet and crushing people Charles Dickens' style. I think younger generations can afford some room for class analysis.
Thank you so much!! There's so much complexity to every problem that there's a lot that I had to skim over but yeah there's so much to unpack here; I love this show so much!
@@HoneyBat It's so interesting to see how a show with only nine episodes manages to generate so much reviews, analysis and discussions. It speaks for it strength in how it tells its story and develops its characters. Keep going. Looking forward towards the second season.
Definitely! Whilst I absolutely can't wait for season 2, I do hope the team is given enough time to make sure it's as tight as season 1. Because we've seen what they can do and DAMN!!
Another aspect of the minigun; Despite being an expert marksman that could go into Piltover as a lone gunman with an enforcer's rifle like Caitlyn's, she deliberately chooses the minigun and names it after Powder. Why? Because mini-guns cause collateral damage to their environment, no matter what you aim them at. It is a way for Jinx to reclaim her past; All of her past jinxes. It's not that she accepts her past mistakes, but rather that she's going to make it everyone else's problem.
I’ve seen many Arcane video essays but this is definitely my favorite.Your observations are unique and you really grasped the essence of the show.This deserves more views:3
yeahhhh she's just so into everything, I love that about her, like she doesn't do anything by halves and is always looking for something interesting to poke at and for people to connect to
I loved this, the way you're pondering about what jinx might think and feel is so real, she's the character (w viktor) i was the most touched by because of the rawness of her emotions. This was great, thank you!! and the plushies lol they were so cute.
Thank you!! I always find characters the easiest way into a story and Jinx and Viktor are my absolute favourites! Though that's closely followed by Vi ^.^
This was properly lovely and I loved all of it... though one problem. You completely left out Mel and her pretty vital part in the entire dynamic. That of an upper class person who genuinely wants to do good... but is as much part of the cycle of corruption and damage because of the very things she's been taught in her upbringing.
Yeah I ended up focusing mainly on Jinx and Vi for time's sake. If I'd gone into as much with Jayce, Viktor and Mel's side of things I'd probably have added another hour to the video XD I wanted to give her her own small section but it always read as kind of tacked on? So I ended up cutting it >.< But if I can share my thoughts here? I honestly think she's a bit of a hypocrite. She does want peace and to prevent the same problems occurring here that happened in Noxus. She knows how damaging war is, but the way she goes about fixing things is largely to play with Piltovan politics without really considering Zaun, except for avoiding fighting with them. I think she gets caught up in her own head a lot with how she feels like an outsider and I think she does genuinely find love and belonging with Jayce but she actively wants the status quo to remain the same. She wants Jayce to keep up the under the table deals going and she wants to be on the side with the most cutting edge developments but in my opinion she doesn't actually want to solve many problems. She wants to be a part of the elite without the brutality, like she saw back in Noxus, but this means she doesn't acknowledge the brutality in her new home. Maybe because there's less actual outright slaughter and a lot of the damage she does see is political rather than war? But she knows the ramifications of political instability too. I think she believes a peaceful solution is the only way forward but... She doesn't do anything to help really. She's always investing in the now but she's always half lost in her own identity as an exile, and it's a rough place to be stuck but something has to give. And she does want to belong like everyone else! She does want to see her city grow, to gain standing, to make art!! She's creative and wants to encourage other creators around her like Jayce, because she sees potential in everything but she's often so busy planning the game that she misses her turn
@@HoneyBat Often So busy Planning the game that she Misses her turn is a pretty much perfect encapsulation of her arc. The thing is I don't see her as a hypocrite so much as similar to Caitlyn in a way. All at once she's in a position of power... and Sheltered by that power. Yes she doesn't see the ugly things because she essentially ran away from them. And Piltover is the place where she settled... but I don't think it's because she's actively turning her fact away so much as she has seen so much uglier that it doesn't actually REGISTER to her how bad the divide truly is. Her upbringing in multiple ways, both the brutality of her mother and the Upper class training she clearly had, has not prepared her to tackle issues in any manner that isn't inherently based on political and economic power... which has predisposed her to seeking those out and hanging on to them in order to keep her world orderly and peaceful... but also to embrace new things which can enhance that world. But she won't look in the gutters because that very outlook and combination of upbringing aspects kinda blinds her to the place of production rather than the place where the products are turned into profit.
Yeahhhh definitely! I think you're right, she really doesn't register how bad the divide between the two cities is at all. I hadn't thought of it like that. It's a completely different kind of divide to the one she's seen earlier in her life, and far less overtly bloody. When she pictures conflict, the image of that girl her mother executed is probably one of the first images to spring to mind. So sending police to investigate crimes probably isn't ringing any alarm bells. That's what they're for. Like, if you don't *know* there's a problem, why would you investigate it? What irked me about Mel was that she was often a catalyst, and meant to be so, but didn't ever want to appear to be the first to move. She'd always set things up behind the scenes, like letting Jayce and Viktor into Heimerdinger's office or at the opera with her pulling strings to get around all of the new safety blockades that had been set up for the richest, but she would never fully own anything? Like, most of the things she puts into place do work and are effective, but she wants someone else to be the face of the idea so she can back out and leave them with the mess if the rest of the council don't agree. It's a smart strategy and I can definitely see why she does it, it's probably ensured her place in Piltover and allowed her to climb so high. It feels disingenuous to me, but also... that's politics in a nutshell. Definitely a necessary evil if she wants to get anything done.
@@HoneyBat Precisely. She sets things up, then steps back to keep from getting dirty if the fallout is too great. But it's also clear that she utterly underestimated Jayce's drive to 'Take Charge' and 'Fix everything'... without knowing the intricacies of the things he's trying to 'fix'. She sought to be a guiding hand... but didn't realize that her hands off approach would be completely spiral out of control with him.
Thank you!! Really happy more people seem to be finding this one, I tend to cover older games mostly haha but once I watched Arcane I knew I HAD to write something on it ^.^
@@HoneyBat And we're all glad you did ^^. I hope this video finds to even more people like me. Or the people find the video... You know what I mean lol.
Omg the details in this show. I just realized the Pink haired firelight that Jinx killed is being painted on the wall when Ekko is showing the Firelight base to Vi. Amazing.
In Piltover science and progress are more akin to prayer and religion, scientists and doctors, their clergymen and kings; because in a world where magic and gods do exist, the pursuit of knowledge beyond their power is simply irrational.
I'm pretty much only going off what's in the show but I would LOVE there to be more of an exploration of what magic means (or doesn't mean) to people in the next season! It's definitely got a legacy and science is way more of a focus but the combination of the two is what Viktor and Jayce are working on so the magic is just sort of...there, because for them it's not their aim I suppose. Reminds me of that Terry Pratchett quote: "“Most witches don’t believe in gods. They know that the gods exist, of course. They even deal with them occasionally. But they don’t believe in them. They know them too well. It would be like believing in the postman.”
I really love this series so much! It took years to develop and it shows. It's so incredibly detailed, and every single character has their nuances and characteristics; I genuinely believe there isn't a single "flat" character in Arcane. In fact, even in this very well researched and put together essay, there were so many other things that were left out! Mel and her family struggles weren't even mentioned; Heimerdinger only had a small segment; or even Singed (the doctor) mentioning the fact that he also had (has?) a daughter and can sympathize with Silco. Even the background characters! Like the man that first appears in the Undercity brothel scene wearing a Kindred mask, is also the "local cuisine" that Ambessa, Mel's mom, presumably sleeps with. Or that one bat boy with Ekko and the firelights, who is shown to be big and brute, is later shown caring for a baby, probably his sibling. There's just so much character detail, it's really insane. Loved your video and hope to see more like it in the future!
Yeahh!! It's so rare to find a story where every character feels alive with their own motivations! There was just so much in the show that I couldn't fit everything in without everything feeling like bitty tangents so a lot got cut >.< I ended up focusing on Vi and Jinx's storyline because they're kinda the heart of the show, but I could easily have added another hour talking about Jayce, Viktor and Mel. I hope Mel survived at the end, her armour did a glowy thing just before Fishbones struck the room so I'm really hoping she lives and we get to see how she handles the removal of the council. I don't really like her as a person but I adore her as a character, she's the classic spider kind of character, pulling strings everywhere behind the scenes but rather than being the typical cold mastermind she feels like a genuine person with a good heart. I'm guessing now that Piltover has been destabilised, Noxus is probably going to try and add it to their empire and that's gonna really mess with Mel who's been trying to hard to prove herself as an independent leader her whole life. And like, she's GOOD at it. She's an excellent politician but she often spends so long planning the game that she misses her turn. But she's also so creative and expressive in her art, and she finds genuine connection in Jayce and I love that. Also YES I'm really happy someone else noticed the baby bat!! I know they're only on screen for a couple seconds but her happily biting the older bat's fingers was sooooo cute. But obviously I'm a sucker for any bat character haha
Hahaha I REALLY wanted that final Silco and Jinx scene to pass the copyright filter because it's such an important one but no matter how many filters or bits of text I added youtube was having none of it. On the flip side, my love posted a photo of Silco bat tied up on my bed on twitter and Silco's voice actor commented a bat emoji so he has witnessed my nonsense now XD
Something i noticed is that the hex tech inventions to improve the lives of the Zaunians, were only focused on increasing the speed of production. Not on reducing the pollution or improving the health. The goal was still to help enrich the people of Piltover on the backs of the laborers in the mines
You're absolutely right!! The gauntlets Vi gets are designed to make mining more efficient and produce more product faster but er, I bet you anything that's not going to reduce the shift times in the mines or help protect the workers against the gasses. If anything, people will probably be encouraged to work more because the work is technically easier now so you can definitely put in a longer shift, right? And it's safer from a tools perspective so be grateful. I wonder if in season 2 we're going to get more of a focus on the workers application of hextech or on different nations approaches to tech given Noxxus probably wants to expand into Piltover/Zaun now they're so unstable.
I've just discovered this channel and... like, omg, diction and enunciation and pronunciation I caaaan't When I'm working on something, especially if I'm drawing, I like to have something in the background - usually streams or long video essays; something I can have come in and out of focus as I'm working. I love it when I find a new content creator with such clear diction and pleasant vocabulary, so I'm super excited I've discovered this channel
@@HoneyBat Glad to hear it ^^ oh also the content is really good. I just realized I forgot to mention and it ended up sounding like I didn't even pay attention to the content, but I love the analysis
It’s always nice to see a small channel pop up in the recommended that actually deserves it. Great job you have a very pleasant way of speaking. Hope to see more soon!
Silco is the best dad ever !,he gave Jinx competences ,trials ,connections,confidence and love and finally turned her into a person feared by the the world for what she s capable of and there isnt a more beautiful gift from a parent to their kids than this !
I love their relationship! Silco gives Jinx exactly what she needs: complete and utter acceptance. He encourages her creativity and passion for invention, he doesn't judge her for any of her strange approaches to situations and can empathise with a lot of her problems and experiences. He wants to raise her to be strong enough to take on the world that hurt him. In other ways he's so bad for her, encouraging her unhealthy coping mechanisms and driving her towards violence and wanting her to make weapons for his cause. Ooh, one thing I've noticed though is Silco's face seemed more damaged in the early episodes and I thought maybe it healed or faded a bit during the timeskip but no at the end of ep 5 he's applying makeup? I wonder if he started doing that when he took Powder in to make her feel more comfortable around him and now it's habit.
Can we all put in to get Sevika a nice holiday somewhere away from the sisters? Somewhere where she’s not a punching bag. After all the pummelling she’s taken, poor woman deserves a break.
She deserves the world!! I'm really curious as to what she's going to do next season. She has plenty of contacts and the respect of all the other gangs around Zaun and she gets shit DONE but...it was Silco's vision. He was the one with the overarching goal and I wonder if she's going to adopt his place as a leader or form her own gang or just walk away and have a fresh start in an independent city. She had so much love and respect for Silco, even lost an arm for him pushing him out of a blast, and I do wonder how she's going to react if she crosses paths with Jinx again. She's never liked her but she's put up with her for Silco's sake and she even gives him good advice regarding her when she's upset and Sevika tells him that Jinx will come back when she's ready. She stuck by him no matter who try to sway her, and now I wonder if she'll leave Jinx be out of respect for Silco or whether she'll want revenge for Jinx killing him and paying her back for every screw up and incident she's had to let slide before. Like she could easily take the bitter path or she could totally thrive in a new position. Or even join Jinx in an uncomfortable alliance. Either way, I'm so ready!
Probably the best part of this video: the plushie reenactments. Not to say the rest was bad. It was awesome. Definitely one of my favourite video essays on Arcane ( aside from the SLIGHT Silco slander >:( )
hahaha definitely a more fun way to avoid auto-copyright claims than the millions of filters I tried! If it happens again with something else I make, well, I've got my bats on standby. I can't believe I spent boxing day afternoon tying up a plushie bat in honour of Silco but here we are XD
Thank you so much for this...I only discovered your channel this morning and now at 8:15 pm I still can't stop listening. This video in particular is awesome because I couldn't watch Arcane since the art gave me a migraine but I wanted to know about it.
You brought up so many new perspectives on this phenomenal show - I appreciate its complexity and writing even more now and I feel like there is still something hidden in the themes to be found. Thank you so much!
Thank you so much ^.^ there's so much detail in this show, it's amazing! Loads of people in the comments have pointed out extra things I missed too, I love how everyone notices different things!
@@HoneyBat Definitely agree with you, reading the comments has been a blast. I consider you severely underrated and will for sure be tuned for whatever you release next!
Stellar video, you brought up some points I haven't thought of, even if I've been watching and thinking about this show a LOT. But I would disagree wich why Silco tries to shoot Vi in the end (you said it was bc he wanted keep Vi from hurting her): He doesn't want to share Jinx, he wants all of her to himself, he doesn't need Vi's influence. His love is a narcissistic one imo, because he took Powder in in the first place because he saw something akin to his own story in her and basically turned her, or tried to turn her into a copy of himself, instilling the same values and beliefs in her, validating unhinged behaviour, and drilling into her that basically no one but him will ever love her (which is toxic af). Vi's influence could topple all of that, her love for Powder being a direct contradiction to what he taught her, that's why he's so adamant to insist it's not real. Jinx could be led astray from her Jinx persona he helped her mould, that would mean a turn-away from him, and he can't have that. That's why he's insisting on her name being Jinx (basically saying. She's mine now!) These are also the main issues I have with the notion that he's a good father. Just because he feels love for her does not make him (or anyone) a good parent. A good parent would have encouraged the reunion with Vi and not fed her the toxic lies of "it's just us against the world and nothing else".
Definitely! I think in the moment it was partially because he didn't like seeing her in pain but also he DEFINITELY is terrified of losing her, and he really doesn't want Vi in the picture because he does want to keep Jinx to himself. He sees her as an extension of himself, I think, which is a huge part of why he can't help her even though he really wants to and genuinely loves her. He can't consider her as her own person. He doesn't help her out of the river, he gently pushes her under and that's fucked up!! I guess he's not had to make any contingency for Vi's presence because he thought she was dead until she showed up in the Lanes again. Once she's back he's gotta double down on the whole, "everyone else betrays us" and that Vi wouldn't want Jinx now anyway. And the painful thing is he's kinda proven right? Vi wants Powder, not Jinx. Maybe given time, she could reconcile who her sister is now with the kid she was but Silco actively tries to kill Vi before she can even meet up with Jinx again. Both Silco and Vi have skewed views of Jinx. Vi can't stop seeing her as a corrupted Powder, and Silco can't stop seeing her as part of himself and... can this girl catch a break??
@@HoneyBat Yeah, you're totally right! I agree with him seeing her as an extention of himself, and I agree that Vi can't come to terms with what Powder has turned into. I thought this insight was spot-on in your video. And tbh, I understand that, too. Vi ist still very young, and she was kept alive all these years by the hope to see Powder again, she was bound to develop a crooked image of her and their relationship. I probably would have, too. All in all, a terrible situation for everybody, and yeah, poor Jinx or rather, the young woman Powder has become, deserves a fucking break.
Fantastic video essay. Came here as the show made me ~feel things~ with the broken but beautiful father-daughter juxtaposition between Vi/Vander and Jinx/Silco. I enjoyed your exploration of the class differences, reliance on one another, and the relationships between each character. Looking forward to your future videos!
Hahahaha I didn't know which bits youtube was gonna potentially claim so the commentary is still deadly serious, some people are gonna miss it completely if they're tabbed out and that's hilarious to me
22:27 when Powder said that her monkey bomb finally worked, Vi taught that Powder is the reason behind Vander's death but it was actually Silco and one of his mosters he made.
Yeahhhh it was all the info she had >.< I wonder if we're going to see more of Vander/Warwick next season? Vander's surname in the credits is Warwick and I know he's a champion in LoL, and there's a wolfy creature that looked like him in the background of Singed's lab
Yes, yes, yes! Finally, who expressed my thoughts? Vai just wanted Powder back, her little sister. Partly because it's all that Vai has left of her past life. But Vai did not understand at all and did not want to understand Jinx. By her actions, Vai only caused even more pain to her sister and eventually contributed to the fact that Jinx's new life was destroyed again. Remembering Silko's words, thoughts also come to my mind. Even if Vai hadn't left Powder, would they have been able to live together after everything that happened? Well, I will add that I am a little offended that, in fact, politics and economics have been pushed into the background, highlighting personal relationships. There is something to think about. Let's imagine that Ekko didn't stop Vi and Jinx from talking, and what's next? Will Jinx give Caitlin the hextek stone? I doubt it very much. Then will Vai leave Caitlin for Jinx and Silko? I doubt it too. That is, the clash of interests here has already been predetermined. The only question was how it would be resolved.
Yeah, I'm not sure how things would have gone if Vi and Powder hadn't been separated. Because both of them would still be hurting really badly after losing their family again. I think Powder would have probably become much more dependent and clingy to Vi for a while whilst Vi would have wanted space and distance which would have been...difficult. I think Vi would have probably ended up with far more resentment towards her sister because she'd be confronted with Powder every day whilst she was still trying to process the accident. Like even when you *know* something wasn't intended and that action hurt the other person too, it's hard not to *feel* like it's their fault, especially when you're grieving. Also Powder's trust in Vi would likely be all wonky after she lashed out at her and left her behind to go after Vander so she'd probably cling harder in desperation, not wanting to be alone. I love in tragedies when the tragedy occurs because of who the characters are. Like, the events are avoidable but they're always going to happen this way because of who these characters are and the choices they personally would make. It may not be the most logical series of events, but because of what they value, it makes perfect sense and feels inevitable.
Amazing video thank you! I've seen people complain about miscommunication mixing badly with drama. I think it works in this case when Jinx overhears Silko and assumes the worst. Her story is about who she can trust, who's real and who's going to show up. Questioning Silko has to be a part of that
Yeah!! This is one of the only stories I've seen where this trope actually worked really well ^.^ It's perfect for Jinx's arc and her trust issues, choosing who she is and who her family is. I think her putting that (possibly, I can't tell from the footage very easily) unloaded gun in front of Silco at the dinner table was going to be another form of test for him as well as handing a gun to Vi too. She's testing everyone, wanting to know exactly where she stands with all of them and it's so interesting. Especially after she'll have seen all of Silco's insecurities with and emphasis on loyalty growing up. She's gonna have internalised a lot of shit with him framing Vander as a terrible traitor and that Silco is the only one she can trust, her real family.
when did Vi intentional leave, feels more like she continued to treat Jinx as a split personality till it was too late that resulted in Silco death which would obviously be extremely trauma to her sister. Anyways besides that great Video Essay.
Yeah, I think in the ending Vi's just like, whether that is Powder or Jinx, this is too much and I have no idea how to fix the situation. With Jinx's line "I thought that you could love me like you used to, even though I'm...different," I think she's giving up on Vi too. Like, she knows this is a doomed reunion and that she's gone too far in trying to force them back together as well but, she didn't know any better way and that's cost her everyone she loved AGAIN and ow
A detail I like: The tech in both piltover and the undercity are coloured purple and blue. Different colours, but they’re both part of the same group, being cold colours. I like to think that it shows how both cities might be different places, but they’re still similar at their core. On colour palettes, purple and blue are right next to eachother. I’m probably reading into it too much, but I like the thought of it showing that despite being different places, there’s no denying that at their core, they’re similar, something that can’t be denied because of how close they are.
Ooh I never noticed that!! Intentional or not, it's another good link between the two cities. They're both developing rapidly alongside each other, just with a different tech base! One thing I've only picked up on after making this is that everyone from Zaun has stripes somewhere in their outfit too, there's so much detail! ^.^
Excellent analysis. I'm amazed at the wealth of material that can be mined from this show, how every time I reexamine it through someone else's eyes they manage to unearth layers and perspective that never occurred to me before.
Thank you so much!! I love when media is dense enough that everyone gets different things out of it. I'm always going to miss things but then I get to discover them from someone else and see the show in a new light ^.^
The amount of detail in this is staggering honestly!! I never noticed the mask, it's such a wonderful touch, already looking through his future self's eyes when he's uncovering corruption in the system, I love it ^.^
To be fair to the Kirramans, they dropped Jayce before 'coz he was using their money for unsanctioned/illegal experiments which might get them in trouble as Cassandra Kirraman is a councilor, also he could've had their kid killed because of that explosion. I for one would've dropped him as well.
Yeahhh Jayce was trying his best but er, his best was not great. I love that about all the cast honestly, everyone's motives are true to character but they're complicated and intersect in so many ways. Jayce doesn't really see the further reaching impact of what he's doing until it's too late a lot of the time
I love your video essay on this. I don’t like League of Legends but this show is a masterpiece and deserves all the love it’s getting. I truly hope it paves the way for future animated shows for adults. Because this is the bar now.
Also people have started saying that Jinx is the Joker for women which I disagree. I think she’s been taken that way by a lot but the overall creation of arcane has made Jinx more realistic than Joker. All of her mental struggles come directly from her trauma. Her delusions, hallucinations, self sabotaging behaviors, her bpd behaviors. All of those stem from her trauma. Form thinking everyone has left and blaming herself. Whether she was truly at fault or not. Hell she goes by Jinx! Joker didn’t get his name from trauma from what I’ve seen. He made it himself. Jinx spends the whole show just trying to survive and stabilize herself and then breaking that fragile stability. That’s way different than committing crime because you think it’s fun and wanna be edgy. Joker is used a cop out for mainly incellish cishet men. And Jinx is starting to become that, but in the source material it is so different. Which is why her character is so incredible, why this show is so incredible.
Yeahhh!!! I'm so happy this has been such a popular show. I love animation and this show is presented in such a gorgeous style when, by and large, cartoons aimed at adults generally lean towards caricature or are kinda ugly. And the way they've put thought into how every character moves, holds themselves and their facial expressions are just so wonderful in realising them as people. And oh yeah definitely. I get that they see quirky chaos girl and go yeah that's Joker territory but Joker is deliberately manipulative and really doesn't have anything he cares about aside from chaos. He doesn't want anything and he doesn't stand for anything. He wants to break the system sure but, then what? He wants to beat Batman but again, then what? Joker (admittedly I haven't seen the recent movie) is an ass. Like he canonically lies to Harley all the time about his tragic backstory to get her to feel sorry for him and keep her loyal, changing up details to suit whoever he's talking to at the time and force sympathy. He's physically and emotionally abusive and he knows he's doing it. But he gets to laugh it off. Nobody he encounters does though and there's power in that. He never has to take anything seriously because the rules don't apply to him. He revels in it, in how he's a chaotic unknown but he's just a hollow egotist in my opinion. The only thing that's giving his life any meaning is his feud with Batman. Also the deliberate edginess gets up my nose but that's a personal taste kinda deal. Jinx embraces chaos because every time she's told something will happen one way or that someone trusts her, the situation always turns around on her and she gets hurt. Of course she's always going to be looking for a lie or a loophole; she's been hurt too many times. This happens over and over when she's a kid and leaves her vulnerable every time and the last thing she wants to be is weak, so she sticks with Silco who's been the only person to unconditionally accept her and never abandon her. He's someone who values loyalty as much as she does. So when he guides her towards the path of a violent outcast, she lets him take her hand and push her gently under the water. And all she really wants is to be loved but the damage of years of grief, trauma and the chaotic and dangerous work she does takes its toll and her brain is trying to protect her from that as best as it can. That ends up manifesting as sensitivity to rejection and paranoia, to stop her getting close to anyone who might hurt her again, in the hallucinations to detach that inner critic from herself and give herself distance from the thoughts and feelings that upset and frighten her. She's written like a person but Joker's written like a cardboard villain. (sorry for the ramble!)
Hi!! I'm really happy this video has resonated with a lot of people!! But also, I've had it pointed out by a few people now that there's no racism in this show, so why did I mention it in the intro?
Well, I only mention it in the content warnings and the sentence: "There's no actual racism in this show, but it sure fuckin feels like it" because there is none. It's just not in the show. The show is all about class, which is what I do analyse. But the warning is there because racism comes together with class a LOT of the time in our world. And if you're sensitive to one of either classism or racism and the content warning meant you didn't want to engage with this right now, there's a high chance the same would apply to the other, especially because one of the most major ways classism is enforced in the show is with police violence.
Whether you're from Piltover or Zaun, if you're intruding into the wrong half of the city, that's painting a target on your back. Especially if you're from Zaun because a lot of the people in Piltover consider you lesser and will assume you are suspicious. This is why I mentioned that the situation has a lot of parallels to the Irish Troubles because, even though there's no religious element here, if you're caught on the wrong side of the territory by someone who hates your group, you're in very real danger. And Ireland was a singular nation only 100 years ago, with more bombings happening last year thanks to complications of independence from Brexit!
I'm from the UK and I've seen a lot of racism here from the English directed at the Irish in particular, even though both groups are white. Far less time has passed than people would like to think between now and the days when "no Irish" signs were in the windows of shops and Bed and Breakfast places in England, and you can probably guess by my accent that I am English. When I lived in Wales, going into a local pub accidentally if you were English could be dangerous. And the English don't care about the Welsh; we're still taking most of their water and electricity from Welsh dams whilst insisting their language is dead (it's not) and not worth saving (it was only declining because Welsh kids were beaten for speaking it thanks to the English) and infamously flooding areas where people live for more dams. It's really hard to untangle things like class, race and violence in real life and so while I'm glad the show could examine class more closely without having to account for racism, and I think the messages might not have been as focused if they'd had to add more factors, it is something that I felt prudent to warn for.
Hi there, Just wanted to add that while season 1 hadn't discussed racial issues all that much, the league universe has indeed many instances where discrimination based on race, ethnicity or relegion is brought up, especially in places like Targon and Demacia that I hope we will see portrayed in future seasons.
In fact (and this could be a potential minor spoiler in the future?), in the original lore, the city of Piltover itself was no Racial paradise. the people there were extremely racist towards non humans, even yordles such as Heimerdinger had to use gadgets that disguses them as humans so they could live peacefully in the city. that was actually highlighted as one of the key differences between the 2 cities as Zaun would accept anyone from anywhere, even in the show you could notice much more diversity in Zaun's streets. we don't yet know whether that part was retckoned or it simply didn't happen yet given that Arcane is a sort of a prequel to the entire lore, but yeah... there's that.
Hi, just started to watch your essay of my favourite new show(and one of my favourites ever) and at the 3 minutes mark enters the hollow knight soundtrack(one of my favourite games and soundtracks also ever). You've earned my subscription and i adore you
That's actually really interesting!! It might only be left to other areas of the world or if we get more information on Piltover's founding maybe we'll see how things changed over time, or maybe it's just not gonna be in the show at all. I'm not super sure where Arcane stands regarding League but it seems to be an alternate universe or a separate canon but I'm glad it's giving Riot a chance to tell a straight well thought out story without wibbling around years of lore being added from all directions as new champions got added etc.
Hi hi! Thank you so much ❤ I love Hollow Knight! Might do something on abandoned places one day... Lots of my favourite games are like that haha
@@elasri11 yordles dont use gadgets its their natural ability to look like small people
I love that you point out how Silco can be both a loving father and a bad father simultaneously.
Love is not enough to raise a child
Yeah! He adores her but he's absolutely terrible for her. In some ways he's great! He trusts her completely, he let's her have space when she's upset, he's physically affectionate, he encourages her passion for invention and lets her draw all over everything (I also love that she still has the same doodled on cup down in the bar that she had with Vander) but at the same time...
He sets very few boundaries with her so she can pretty much do whatever she wants with in the name of her having freedom. She gets officers Silco made deals with killed. She's clearly unstable, hearing voices that are causing her visible distress and working herself up into a rage in her workshop, and is super sensitive to rejection. She lashes out at others immediately regardless of who it is, like hanging Sevika from the ceiling or jabbing Silco in the face with that needle. And she can do that because there's no consequences. Silco doesn't stop her, doesn't try to talk to her about how she's feeling and why she's doing what she's doing or help her find healthier outlets. I think it's partially because he doesn't know himself and is so lost in his own damage that he sees Jinx as someone who's allowed to act on all those feelings where he can't. Like he's seeing her almost as an extension of himself at times, especially as they've has some similar traumatic experiences.
When Jinx is curled up in the rafters saying she can't crack hextech and that he should just give it to Singed because she "keeps seeing them, that day." Silco responds with, "Fear haunts us all child." Like, I'm glad you understand what she's going through to some degree bud but you've got to actually help her here!
@@HoneyBat The problem really is that with Silco it's fully the Blind leading the Blind.
If he had any inkling of how to actually help her he would have in a heart beat. Instead all he can do is give her the lessons He has learned.
@@HoneyBat
He technically can't help her much just get her comfortable and also it seems she is not able to kill topsiders unless it's for a reason even then that's a nope don't do that.. but if we look at it, she did actually get them what they wanted but Vi snitched on jinx in the end so jayce asked for her by name.
Snitching on blood Vi?
Good one.
Anyway.
Silco can't really help jinx at the moment Vi Can't really help jinx.
At the moment, what can you do in zaun?
Lol not much so what do you have to do?
Try to keep em as stable as possible which he does most the time.
But as we see a little bit of thinking she is weak and she HERSELF will go into a frenzy.
He says the right things right like let your past go, be strong, ect ect.
But you can't do it alone silco you also need jinx and she is well... at the moment a bit unhelping she will listen for a moment but meh.
And when silco says fear haunts us all he brought her to the water.
And then she did the mission so. Guessing it worked for that situation.
But ultimately jinx is the failure here how ironic.
She doesn't fully trust anything.
She won't allow it, always looking for a sign your telling a lie.
Ect ect.
It is like people say, you can bring a horse to water, can't force it to drink.
Jinx is holding herself back.
Let's think about it, if jinx had listened to silco and faced her fears what would she be right now?
Probably one of the dangerous bitches on silco crew.
She is already a planner.
A good shoot.
Good social skills.
To get what she wants.
Set traps.
Gadgets don't fail.
She improved alot.
But in the end I HAD IT ALL DUHDNADIH ALL FOR NOTHING.
she is the one trapped in her head.
And as we know, silco kinda has a bigger job to do right.
Yet we do see him with jinx and sometimes ya got to use manipulation.
To reset jinx.
But he probably believe everything he says.
@@HimitsuHunter
Somehow I don't see Vi doing any better.
Oh definitely!! He doesn't have much better coping skills or I'm certain he'd help her. What I mean is that he often sees Jinx's upset and circles back to his own problems; he doesn't necessarily mean to but he gets so caught up in his own trauma and the aspects he shares with her that he doesn't actually listen properly. He doesn't know how. He can only view her problems through himself so when he says things like "fear haunts us all" it's both an acknowledgement of her fear but also a shutting down of the conversation. He's trying but like you said, blind leading the blind. I think that's why he wants to give her so much freedom to express herself, so she won't get caught up with the systems that nearly killed him. He wants her to be able to exist outside them while he works on getting Zaun it's independence but at the same time, that does make her an outsider.
He does understand her abandonment issues better than most because they have some similar experiences but everyone experiences events and processes emotions differently and he can't quite distance himself enough to help her with that. Which isn't a fault either. He loves her and it's practically impossible to be objective to someone you're so close to, that's why we have therapists that are trained for this sort of thing. But like, I doubt Zaun has a system of trained mental health professionals. They both need so much therapy >.
Viktor has a quote that fits the show “in the pursuit of great we failed to do good”
I LOVE that quote!! I forgot to put it in the actual script but I had to include it on screen because damn, if that doesn't say it all ❤
That and "is there anything so undoing as a daughter", those two lines encompass the motives of almost every action made during the show.
@@carpevinum8645 true
@@carpevinum8645 very fitting that they come from arguably two of the most complex and interesting characters on season 1.
I feel like Viktor is going to be very important to season 2
i think the best thing i heard was "When the Undercity became Zhaun, Powder became Jinx" I never thought of that.
i also really enjoyed the performances of the plushies
Hahaha thank you ^.^ I'll pass your compliments on to the plushie troupe 🦇
@@HoneyBat yeah your argument of the parallel of piltover and zhaun to vi and jinx is amazing especially when you add the zhaun is no longer a child and could strive in its own the parallel perfect
@@marli4442 what the fuck is zhaun
its zaun
Silco never sees jinx as a problem and calls her perfect because she literally embodies all zaun is. Perfectly.
I love their relationship! It's a mess but Silco loves her to pieces and where Vi ends up as Vander's protogee, Silco found his in Jinx. I have no idea what she's going to do now that he's gone and Zaun is independent but...I have a feeling that Noxus is going to be looking to spread out and absorb some unstable territory though.
Great watch, just a small correction: The firelights aren’t attacking Piltover, they’re after Silco’s shimmer transports and get framed by Silco so Piltover doesn’t find out about Jinx’s attacks.
Oop, yeah for some reason I thought they were also doing attacks on Piltover but no they're being *framed* for attacks on Piltover. Guess there's no way to hide Jinx's attacks but they can be pinned on someone else easily
Another small correction. Powder was an excellent marksman as shown early on
18:01 holy shit, I just noticed that ekko's spy glass as a kid goes through the owl mask he wears as a firelight
!! I never noticed this either! Man, the details in this, good spot!
@@HoneyBat Thanks!
I love how jayce after being told that his friends is using his position to further her investigation, he take a breath and cover her, not even questioning her afterwards.
Yeahhhh I love that he's just like, oh shit Cait did what? Oh, ahem, yeah yeah of course I told her she could do that. No hesitation ^.^
@@HoneyBat and afterwards he's just mad she didn't tell him like "Shit Cait, i don't care you got your gf out for dinner, but at least warn a guy"
This video has a criminally low number number views.
Also, small thing but I don't agree with Pwoder's freakout being a tantrum. She clearly shows attachment and self esteem issues beforehand even when she was a kid. Vi telling her she's not ready validated those feelings hence the breakdown.
Tantrums occur when a person is trying to get something they want which is why sometimes crying kids stop to see if anyone is looking at them but in Powder's case she's completely alone. She also breaks her own toys during the sequence and hits her head which in my experience usually happens with feelings of guilt and general self loathing.
You're completely right! Poor word choice on my part, this is definitely an outward expression of pain and overwhelm/overload, not to get anyone's attention or sympathy. I mean, there's no one in the house for a start.
She doesn't know how to process those emotions yet but they have to be dealt with somehow, and Vi's word choice calling back to the earlier heist where bringing Powder along and telling her she's ready, then being blamed for losing their haul, can't have helped. She's always told that she's different but that's a good thing, that she's stronger than she thinks but when it comes down to the line... They leave her behind. Plus adding in the fear of potentially losing the rest of her family and you've got TOO MANY.
RSD monster?
@@MS-pr8px Flipping your lid? Lizard brain mode? Executive dysfunction?
Yeah, that reaction is closer to a meltdown or a maniac panic attack. Both come from brains not being able to cope with highly stressful situations.
Yep, it was a break down. Big difference
I hate that I can't give this a hundred Likes. This is one of the best video essays on Arcane I've seen. Well done, Honey Bat.
:O thank you so so much!!
What makes Arcane so haunting is that it's real. Perhaps not in a literal sense, but we're watching it happen right now. All over the world, countless Zauns and Piltovers. So many leaders like Heimerdinger, who can't see the corruption. So many people like Silco and Sevika, desperate people driven to desperate measures, who only want to free their home but end up damaging it in the end. So many children like Vi and Jinx, chewed up by the system and spat out.
Arcane has way too much realism for anything made in a fucking fantasy universe.
Yeahhhh it's so painful because we all know there's so much of this kind of suffering all over the world and it often feels that there's so little we can do about it. Not on an individual level anyways, and activist burnout is definitely a thing. We're all so connected now that we all know about so many more problems than we could ever solve and that's draining af.
I love that in this show you can always understand why the characters are doing what they're doing even when they end up hurting themselves or other people. Like you know they're wrong but they can't see any other way. And that's the reality for so many people in our world at so many different social levels too. And everyone's hurting in some way. Everything's so broken but we're all still moving forward, and I think there can be hope somewhere in that too. I think all we can do is engage with empathy to the people around us, and hope they do the same to us.
Not really when it comes to Heimerdinger. It's more like there are plenty of people in power willing to turn a blind eye to the suffering without power all the name of profit... Notice how everyone on the council has no problem doing just that, including out voting Heimerdinger when the time comes.
The Kids aren't alright
and beating and destruction to other group.@@HoneyBat
25:45 to 28:39 The Jinx section is probably my favorite. Every character feels so detailed and meticulous with their own tics and patterns that it makes you want to try Pixar's 'Elevator Test' with each of them and see what happens. You could literally put 2 of Arcane's characters in any environment or situation and the story would practically write itself.
I absolutely adore the character design in this show! Everyone moves differently and it gives them so much personality!! Jinx is definitely my favourite but I think Viktor/Vi come in as close seconds.
Ooh, I didn't know about the Elevator test but YES every character in this show would have a unique response to being stuck in an elevator, but any two stuck *together* would always be interesting. Honestly it's such a testament to the writing that there's not a single character I don't care about.
I think being stuck in an elevator with Jinx would be my worst nightmare.
"don't you dare deadname my daughter" that's actually brilliant
i am so happy someone finally pointed out Vi looking at her bloody knuckles after having punched Jinx and remembering what Vander said about it. that that path only causes more problems and his whole speech about how the other kids look up to her and that whatever happens to them, as the leader, it'll be on her. yep, even Powder's downfall. Vi's leadership caused the birth of Jinx, just like Jinx herself said in the last episode. Silco didn't make Jinx; Vi did.
i've watched so many reactions, reviews, and video essays who have noticed so many great details, but i've yet to see anyone point the bloody knuckle thing out. until you. ✨ kudos!
Thanks!! I really like that Vander can see the strength of Vi, even when she's young, and tries to set her up to be conscious of how the others look up to her and to be careful. Like whether she wants it or not, as the oldest, best fighter and most confident the other kids are gonna copy what she does so she may as well be aware of it. And he doesn't want it to end up hurting her as he's seen enough of his own people destroyed by their earnest desire for change.
And I know I didn't talk about it in the video but that fight with Sevika when Vander appears and tells her that, "she still needs you"? Just, ow. She still feels so responsible for her little sister that even though they've been separated for years that she just can't let her go without trying to appeal to the last scraps of Powder over and over. Like she's spent years with only the faint hope of seeing her sister again to keep her going through horrible isolation and beatings. And now she just can't mesh that image of Powder with Jinx at all and it kills Vi the same way it kills Jinx and damn they can't live with or without each other.
@@HoneyBat Poor Vander. Season 2 will break us all.
Silco is such a painful character. I know he is the "villain" but his love for Jinx is so strong and pure. Even when given all the justification in the world to say that she is a problem, not worth the effort, or to Lash out at her physically he refuses to hurt her. He comforts her, he restrains his violent urges he doesn't, he can't, do anything to hurt her. He is a ruthless, violent, drug lord but he is being the best father he can. And that is so painful and heartbreaking to watch but so well done.
I complex villains!! Every character in this has complicated motivations whether they're on the whole considered "good" or "bad", but that's always clearest in the villains. Like you can see in his face when he looks at Jinx when she's hurt or reaching out to her how just unfathomable losing her is to him. There is sheer terror. He adores her; he could never knowingly hurt her. He's not always good for her but damn he loves her and tries his best with the tools he has and I love that. He's not a good person but he wants to be good to his daughter.
@@HoneyBat His tools don't include her sister's life ?
I...did not say that. He does use manipulation as a tool, but NOT to help Jinx. A tool can be used to help or harm. The tools he uses to help her is using his own experiences to understand hers with empathy and compassion, giving her unconditional love, trust and acceptance and the freedom to experiment with her talents.
Where he falls down is that he projects his own damage onto her and can't quite view her as her own person, more an extension of himself, and that's wrapped up in his own trauma and fear or betrayal. He doesn't set firm boundaries or consequences for her actions so she can cause damage to other people *and* herself. He puts her in danger often, and encourages her to give in to her violent impulses in the name of freedom. So he manipulates her, and he's a bad person because of that. He loves Jinx but in some ways he's absolutely awful for her. Love doesn't excuse that.
the bat recreation of jinx’s baptism was my favourite part
Hahahaha thank you! My love and I had a lot of fun matching the shots, the audio is full of giggling
"you have to live with each other and that's a lot harder than one emotion-fueled reconciliation ... fantasizing about that perfect moment of reunion only means you're setting up your future with that person to be hollow"
The greatest show I have ever seen. This is not hyperbole. I spent weeks sandbagging before coming to the realization that it is literally in my opinion; The greatest show I have ever seen. Pretty sure this show exposes every mental issue I have completely, all the issues I hide from everyone, I find and feel within this show. No one I know has seen the show though. I guess I'm still safe, but I want to talk to someone that feels what I feel. This show is the only show that made me even consider this.
I'm really glad you found a show that makes you feel so seen and understood! Fiction's a good way to explore those sorts of vulnerabilities, especially as a lot of people that struggle are encouraged to hide their problems
I feel this a lot, Arcane really pulled out all my ✨sister issues✨ and jinx was ALREADY a favourite character of mine from league alone. Her arcane version? 👌👌👌👌👌EVERYTHING
I hope things go well for you. Arcane really HAS emotion, hasnt it? Damn.. I would talk with you about it, but i dont really identify that deep with the series (seeing their problems as my on). Keep on, you'll find somebody that understands you, there's has to have someone
I feel the exact same way. All the daddy issues, mommy issues, sister issues, abandonment issues, self esteem issues - all checked off. Thank, Riot. 🥲Jinx and Silco's relationship (and to a lesser extent Mel and her mom's) kept me _hooked_ .
The only thing that’s stopping me from agreeing with you is that it’s not complete yet-since it’s complete that spot still goes to Black Sails, but this show can overtake it EASY. The story work is truly and honestly unmatched in Arcane.
I was halfway though the copyright claimed part when I realized that you were reenacting it with plushes and I’m like 😭👏🏾
Hahahaha the commentary is still completely serious as I didn't know it'd get claimed, so if someone's watching this in the background they're not gonna notice a thing, stealth bats XD
I love the parallels between Vi and Vander when it comes to confronting Powder and Silco. Genius writing
It's so well-written! I can't wait to see what they do in season 2 ^.^
"There is no heterosexual explanation for this" YOU'RE RIGHT
Okay but I looked through enough of the arcane tumblr tag that I genuinely thought Piltover's Finest was the name of season 2 when it got announced but no, its Caitlyn and Vi's ship name 😂
@@HoneyBat Historians will say that they were the best of friends.
I am a heterosexual male. I've been alive for 43 years. I've never cared about any form of a kissing scene in my entire life. Until Vi and Caitlyn. This relationship is the purest relationship I have witnessed in all of media. I don't know how this happened, it did. I love it and it hurts. (no kiss occurred, that means even more)
@@Thulgore Have you already seen 'Life is Strange'? The first one i mean, from 2015. Cait and Vi really resembles me Max and Chloe, which i'm just SO emotionally attached (just like i'm becoming emotionally attached to Vi, since her damn first scene. If there was only more screen time 😭😭). So, if you want to see some more of this type of nice relationship, i re a lly recommend go check the game. Seriously, give it a try. ;)
(Watch a gameplay or play it yourself, dunno).
Although I LOVE them relationship (them 4, but Max and Chloe morecough) i really dont like to see it as romantic (and I dont see it like that at all). To me its just... a freaking pure and deep friendship and damn, I love it. Well, that's me.
aand i've talked too much opss
@@uma-piba Aw man Max and Chloe from Life Is Strange were straight up how I found out I was gay! I got so invested in the romantic options and trying to get them to kiss in the last cutscene, I didn't actually come out until years later but it should've been obvious lol
I love that while your essay is mostly within the confines of Arcane, you clearly research Runeterra Lore.
Everytime you use a term that doesn't appear in the show it makes me smile
Thanks! I have a passing familiarity with LoL thanks to my circle of friends but I really don't care about playing the game, not my cup of tea, BUT I ended up looking into a bunch of the lore and champions for this and I now adore Fiddlesticks and Kindred ❤️
I didn't have anywhere to put it in this video but Fiddlesticks says the worst fear of whatever champion he encounters and to Jinx he says "Jinx! All your fault! All your fault!" which... When you look at the show is just... Ow
@@HoneyBat Kindred is one of my favorite characters, and i really recommend looking into the Legends of Runeterra card interactions for them and Their followers.
if you haven't seen him yet swain is the Noxian grand general. He is possessed by the demon of secrets. Just like Fiddlesticks he says a secret of the champion when he hits them with his w ability.
For Jinx he says "Faces fading in the flames. It was all her fault."
I'm so tempted to get into Legends of Runeterra tbh. I suck at card games but Inscryption has sunk it's hooks in me so here we are (and now I've finally gotten the hang of mana based card systems).
Oh noooooo, poor Jinx >.< Demon of secrets sounds like life goals though
@@HoneyBat Legends of Runeterra has recently leaned more into PvE content, which I really enjoyed because I also suck at card games ^^'
@@HoneyBat Fiddlesticks is amazing. Also... he's associated with crows due to being a scarecrow... *Peers at the constant presence of crows in Piltover and Zaun and the fact that Jinx shoots one*
Damn that's a good analysis. Genuinely moving.
Also, I wanna see the entire thing acted out with plushies.
One thing to add that I think you missed regarding the relationship between Piltover and Zaun, its not just the threat from Zaun that Piltover fears. Its much deeper and more fundamental. Piltover **needs** Zaun. it needs the workers, it needs the consumers, it needs the reasources they destroy their lives to mine.
Its an important fundamental to class struggle that the working class arent kept around as some benevolence of the wealthy. its that the wealth is created by the working class, both through Marxian Labour Theory of Value and (more importantly) through the Economic Demand which can only exist with a large population.
The rich need lots of people to work and to provide resources but mainly, they need lots of people to buy the shit that makes them money.
Thank you so much!! Ran out of bat plushies in the end, had to branch out hahaha
And definitely! The whole worker economy is barely talked about but Jayce says in his speech on Progress Day that hextech will "bring an end to your hardships. Whether you're the scion of our high houses, or an honest labourer from the underground." Even though he clearly means it in earnest, the implicit divide is right there with the "our" high houses, and the underground associated with labour and toil. Piltover is so concerned with their businesses and financial status that they must know where all their labourers come from but....again they don't want to look, or have to consider them as people really, so they just don't talk about it. They only see the end product.
It's probably also why they're so scared of Zaun wanting independence but nobody wants to acknowledge the elephant in the room. They're outraged that it'll be bad for their endeavours and that they have procedures to follow (that they made up) but they don't say why it'll be bad for commerce, even though they all know. If there wasn't some raw nerve being hit there then the councillors probably wouldn't have reacted as viscerally as they did. The only workers I remember seeing are the shimmer factories but those are obviously Silco's operations, but even so, those people there are the ones that *need* the money.
@@HoneyBat Agree with that but there's also an extra dimension to Jayce's misplaced desire to "help".
His idea of help isn't actually to offer people less burden and less work. Its to make the work more productive (if potentially a little less physically demanding). His Hextech isn't removing the wage slavery, its making it more profitable.
Yeahhhhh, his gauntlets are designed to make mining easier, but...it's not to stop people going down the mines, is it? If anything it means more people are going to be sent down there until it's all hollowed out. It's the whole automation making work easier but not actually reducing working hours thing again, with companies reaping all the rewards of a more efficient (and exhausted) work force. I don't think he realises yet but hooo boy that's gonna do some damage >.
28:00 the moment my friend saw this scene he started laughing and going “they are just partners” as Vi calls Caitlyn a cupcake.
Hahahaha that's amazing! I now pronounce them gal and pal✨
Really loved this show. I was surprised by how much depth it hit between the characters as well as the class struggle
Yeah!! Honestly went in with pretty low expectations but it blew me away. I love how everyone and every situation is nuanced and complex, like there's not simple or easy solution for problems because there's different factors to every situation- the writing is so good! Even if you don't agree with someone's decisions, you can see exactly where they're coming from.
I waaaaas kinda worried about how political this video is but... The show is saturated in it so whatever. There's a lot to pick at but it's all so well done that you could just get absorbed in the world without even thinking about it
"a big old tree inspiring hope in people" 10/10 trope
I blame watching Ferngully and Pocahontas over and over as a kid for attaching to that trope so hard, it's always good!
The actual origin of Zaun and it's separation from Piltover is pretty interesting and it's a bit different from your interpretation from watching Arcane. Zaun was created when the original city of Zaun was trying to create a canal and so they bombed some piece of land. That created a sink hole and made Zaun the undercity it now is. The rich people from Zaun were able to make a new city on what was left of it on the surface and named it Piltover as it was constructed on the river Pilt
That's really cool that Zaun started as a canal that made living there viable in the first place as a water source, then gets life behind when people expand up rather than down like I thought! That kind of makes it sadder
@@HoneyBat ua-cam.com/video/BiCIKcIO-iM/v-deo.html
This video explains it well. You can skip to "tragedy on the river Pilt" part
@@HoneyBatAdditionally, due to the bombing, gasses from the fissures got into the undercity. It isn't said in Arcane but I can imagine it still is true because of the air pollution in the undercity. Although the gas in the mines is definitely even worse considering the chembarons were breaking down having to breathe that gas again.
Amazing essay. So fun to watch/listen too. :)c
One note on something that is very 'blink or you miss it': The Pink Haired girl dies after Jinx shoots her thinking it's Vi. You can see her in the process of being added to the Mural by another Firelight when Echo shows it to Vi. Chilling, and gives real depth the Echo's deep rooted hatred of what Jinx has become.
Thank you!! And ohhhhhh shit I thought Ekko did his time rewind thing and saved her, I'm sure I saw a shot of his watch but I may be misremembering or maybe he didn't have the opportunity, but damn them painting her into the mural is such a wonderful little detail!! I love the world building in this show and yeah that'll definitely really cement Ekko's hatred of Jinx
@@HoneyBat It seems to me that Echo doesn’t have the ability to ‘rewind’ like in the game.
The ability is hinted at with all the close-up shots of his watch and the flashbacks he experiences during the jinx fight.
Maybe season 2?
@@HoneyBat Ekko to this point doesn't have his ability to rewind time yet. He'd only just gotten a glimpse at the hextech gemstone which could be capable of it before the bridge fight where jinx ultimately retains it. I suspect The Heimerdinger Ekko relationship might culminate in his ability for s2.
Using Madness Returns music for the segment where you talk about Jinx was genius.
That game’s representation of insanity might be as accurate to real life as the average bat man villain but it’s maybe the oldest story I can think of that is always 100% on the side of it’s mentally ill characters and frames the people who dehumanise them for their inability to conform as selfish, unreasonable and cruel.
It’s a nice tribute to connect it to Arcane, another story that asks you to see more in it’s mentally ill protagonist then just her illness.
i really hope jinx gets a redemption arc. not reverting back to powder but healing from everything she’s gone through and becoming whoever she is after that because it makes me hysterically sob seeing her like this (i’m
not even exaggerating)
I just want her to be happy!! I didn't know much about LoL before Arcane but I vaguely knew what Jinx's character was like so seeing Powder in the first arc was a huge, oh no, what's going to happen to you?? I hope she finds some peace in season 2, some other people that can help her
@@HoneyBat yep, exactly. i need my baby to be ok😭
26:50 I think she does not understand people decisions so she observes them to just get everything she CAN see at the moment. It's fascinating to see people react and respond when you do not fully comprehend what is really driving them. Jinx is driven by her fears so it's hard to know others when they are so different. It's also hard for her to notice it's fear when It's rationalized by Silco.
Your voice is so calm and soothing. I could listen forever to you talking about my favourite show ever
Aww, thank you!!
Caitlyn's greatest strength is that she is aware of her lack of knowledge and her willingness to address that. She doesn't want to see the rest of the world, or the bad side of town, just "the real world". She doesn't call Vi a liar when she says she's been abused, though it goes against her current knowledge and world view. When she comments on the last drop she acknowledges and considers Vi's reaction.
Yeah!! It would have been so easy for her to double and down and say that it's not like that or that Vi's lying to manipulate her, but she doesn't. I think the closest she comes to it is when she's talking to Ekko about Silco and tells him that he's wrong but Vi gets between them and is like hey, look, Cait's not your enemy and wants to help you and Cait you are working off faulty information here, shut up and listen to Ekko. And Cait continues trying to look at things from new perspectives for the rest of the show. I love that little bit in front of The Last Drop too because, while Vi doesn't say anything directly to imply it's important to her, Caitlyn looks at her body language and is like oop, okay, bad topic.
@@HoneyBat and then when she gave up her gun without a second thought. The most valuable thing, not just in terms of being expensive, but to her personally. She had been shooting since a child, and excelled, it was also the tool of an enforcer, and she gave it up in service to another - like Grayson instilled in her.
I never thought about that before but ABSOLUTELY!!!
On the "staring at a person so intensely it feels like she's staring through them point"... That's a response to abandonment issues in some people, at least with me. It's trying to gauge how much you can be yourself, and how much you need to pretend. And then studying what type of pretending makes them happy, because everything is always about making people stay, even at the cost of your own happiness. It's a defense mechanism, because we hate things being out of our control, we force everything onto our shoulders even if the straps weren't made for the weight. Jinx specifically seems to be doing a distant study, like she's trying to get a grip on a person externally, not to make them stay perse, but to find out what makes them tick, just in case she needs the information for later. It's very consistent with her character: using her trauma and their defence mechanisms to suit her everyday life. She got really good at reading peoples reactions because it's what her abandonment issues demanded of her, but now she uses them to be a warlord.
That makes complete sense! She's always trying to figure out where she stands with people and that really comes to a head after she's hurt on the bridge and went through the horrible drugging. The way she sets up the dinner table scene is all very calculated and it seems she wants to find out where she stands with both Vi and Silco. Like I don't think she's necessarily doing this to hurt or torment Vi, but to understand how Vi sees her and how much she really wants to be with her and how much is lip service. Even when she forces Vi to choose between her and Caitlyn and Vi won't shoot Cait, Jinx aims at her anyway just to see her reaction. And having a gun be within Silco's grasp but with some difficulty also feels like it was in testing territory. I really wonder how that scene would have played out if Jinx hadn't had an episode, because she planned out every detail and until that moment she was in complete control of the situation.
But yeah, even before then she's always studying people like you said. Even if she can't use that information right now, it could be useful later. I've tended towards the avoidant side of things, but... the picking people apart is familiar >.
@@HoneyBat exactly! That dining table scene was a perfect example of how she thinks, it's always about how people react to her, and whether she will actually be accepted. I think when vi flinched in horror, it was ultimately the moment powder died, because jinx realised that vi only saw her as a monster with something good trapped inside of her, and the subsequent tests were just her running through the motions she'd set up until she had her episode and it all derailed. It's really good character building!
Jinx is weirdly endearing in a way...I like how everyone missing Powder has reunited the two cities :)
She ended up as my favourite character! I love how passionate she is about the things and people she cares about and how creative she is
I loved this video! It made me understand Jinx a lot more and even made her more likeable to me. I had trouble understanding why she jumped in the arms of Silco in episode 3 and I guess, like Vi, I didn't understand how the years changed her. I'm subscribing :D
That makes me so happy that you've found something new in the show!! Jinx was definitely my favourite, and her relationship with Silco is so interesting to watch. He loves her so much and would do anything for her, but at the same time he's awful for her. He only sees the damage they have in common and can't support her properly because he's so consumed by his own trauma. I loved how there was stuff she'd doodled all over on his desk too, he keeps all the things she's scribbled on and encourages her to make things, trusts her completely but at the same time he won't ever draw a line with how far Jinx is allowed to go because he wants her to be a tool of chaos. Even if it causes her to self destruct. Like he doesn't save her from the river he nearly drowned in, he gently encourages her under and that's fucked up!
I love Vi a lot too, she has so much love in her and she's never given up hope despite the years in jail for literally no reason. She's tough as hell and jaded af but still soft to people she cares about, she's got a good heart ❤️
this feels more like a summary of the show then a video essay
Mm, I tried to use the plot as a through line to analyse the characters through their actions but also think I might have been a little too plot heavy. I find it a tricky balance when I also want people who haven't seen a thing to be able to follow haha, I'll get there! Thanks for the feedback ^.^
I was blown away with how well all the reactions of the show are in-character, the scale of their reactions is always justified. Im particularly amazed at the writing of Silco.
His character was so well done. He is a horrible villain, so so evil and a class act manipulator. He is intelligent and loyal, so its makes sense his cause is to make Zaun independent. Genuinely it is the most intelligent solution for Piltover and his people in Zaun but he has become the worst person to run it, justifying his abuses as a drug lord and gang leader of child labour as a means to the end of his greater cause. Through intelligence and insistence on loyalty, he manipulates people to favour his plans, maybe sometimes without meaning to as he constantly reminds Jinx of her insecurities and reinforces them to deepen her attachment to him, and find common ground through the hurt of betrayal. He genuinely loves her, but is the worst possible person for her to trust.
In a media landscape where many villains are written as manipulative, i often find these characters flat and hollow, only as complex as giving sweets to a kid if they do their homework. But Silco actually feels like a real life manipulator, and it felt validating to see onscreen, where his dangerousness is shown fully and feels natural as he dangles exactly what the people around him want as individuals over their heads, rather than giving generic promises of power. It was also validating to see his genuine feelings of love and care, and have the show still recognise how dangerous and unstable his manipulation makes the lives of the people he loves regardless.
I just...I love how everyone's love for Powder and and fear of Jinx made everyone examine their biases, revel in the disgust, and finally improve Zaun...just to save Jinx from Jinx
I’m impressed by the quality and depth you go into. Your channel deserves to be much bigger than it currently is.
- the use of bats to escape copyright got a laugh out of me too.
Thank you so much!! Plus I'm totally using this as an excuse to justify getting more bat plushies. I mean, it's for art!
@@HoneyBat Agreed. I would love to see them act out other scenes as well.
Speaking of the flare... I see Jinx's Tattoos as the blue smoke of the flare in this new version of her tattoos. It's a permanent cry for help for her sister.
46:27 This!! I think one of my favorite scenes in Arcane is when Sevika is telling Silco, "She's a problem. We all know she's a problem" and Silco responds by saying, "We? Who's we?" It really enforces that he loves her so deeply that he is willing to look past every glaringly obvious flaw that Jinx has to make her feel loved and welcome with him. He genuinely believes that she is perfect the way she is and lashes out towards anyone that states otherwise and if that's not the epitome of fatherly love, I don't know what is. Their dynamic was my absolute favorite thing about the show and while the relationship is built in an unhealthy way, there is an insane amount of true love and acceptance on both their parts that makes it feel so raw and heart-wrenchingly real.
Yeahhhh!! I love their relationship so much, he just loves his daughter. I've seen a couple of people saying that his decision to place Jinx over Zaun's independence that he's worked for his whole life isn't the logical choice and I'm like ye exactly! If anything it demonstrates just how much he cares about her! There's a lot of unhealthy elements mixed up in there too, but it's just nice to see someone purely accepting Jinx for who she is. He just wants her to be happy!
I love that even though Sevika hates Jinx, she respects how much she means to Silco as well, like when she gives Silco advice to give Jinx time when she's upset. I'm really interested to see what Sevika is gonna get up to next season because she's the one who makes things happen. Silco has the vision, can see all the moving pieces and can direct people. He's the strategist and does the politicking with Marcus, but Sevika is the one on the ground with all the contacts and the respect of other gangs, even when they're losing faith in Silco. I wonder if she's going to be gunning for Jinx, blaming her for Silco's death, or whether she'll be unable to kill her in respect of Silco's memory.
@Honey Bat Ahhh! You're bring up so many possibilities I haven't even thought about yet! I'm so excited to see how everything plays out next season (though I'm absolutely distraught that my second favorite character is dead now, I hope he shows up as a positive hallucination for her because I don't think I could handle seeing him be mean to her in any capacity. I'd also love to see them together in flashbacks during her childhood)
!! I really want to see a small Jinx growing up with Silco!! I'm so happy we're getting a season 2, I can't wait to see how everyone changes and adapts ^.^
Just finding this essay now but man this is so well made (Im about to watch Arcane for the 8thish time to its full length dragging my friends along the ride as well).
Im so hyped
Cried alot in this video.. well done! I don't remember ever connecting to a piece of fiction quite like I have with Arcane. I can't seem to get through these videos without uncontrollably sobbing. Send help...
Thank you! And I'm (mostly) sorry XD Currently rewatching the show with a friend who hasn't seen it yet and damn it's good, the end of ep 3 makes me cry every damned time
@@HoneyBat haha don't be! I learned that really emotionally investing yourself into a well written piece of media is the best way to enjoy it, even if it means having a hard time brushing tears off your face. I've watched Base Violence a bunch of times too and it never fails to get me. Ur really sweet ❤️
Earned a sub :)
"it made me care about league of legends" honestly the lore and stories of league have for the past few years been clearly the best parts of the universe of the games
Yeah! My partner plays LoL and has done for years and she's tried to get me into it but I absolutely hate the gameplay haha, but looking up some of the characters and their promo videos and alternate universes was really enjoyable! (I love Fiddlesticks and Annie) I'm definitely looking forward to season 2 of Arcane, I just hope it doesn't get forcibly rushed through production because this season clearly had so much love put into it
@@HoneyBat ah yeah, I get the gameplay thing. While i don't mind it a ton, I can only ever play with friends or it's not really interesting enough
Another thing I'd like to add; In his spare moments, it's clear that Silco's been listening to Jinx' concerns about her own visions and how they make her feel like a screwup. So when Vi calls back those memories, Silco more than anyone knows that she's ignorantly tormenting Jinx and he violently wants to make her stop. And in his last moments, he knows reflexively that Jinx is going to blame his death on herself, as part of her curse of being a perpetual f*ckup.
He only has moments to spare in which he wants to tell her that, _"Your reactions to your trauma are valid and they are a part of you. Don't be ashamed of them. It's OK to act out and lash out against the world. You were never a screwup to me."_
But instead he tells her, _"Don't cry, you're perfect"._
And, despite how he doesn't say the rest of it, it's clear that Jinx understand his sentiment and it calms her down. To me, the scene doesn't read as her being pushed over the edge, but rather her being centered again. Lashing out against the world is OK. There's a monster inside all of us. We'll show them. We'll show them all.
YEAH!! While Silco can't help her in all the ways she needs, he loves Jinx so much. He genuinely would have done anything for her and I'm not sure Jinx fully internalises that until he's gone. She knows he loves her but there's that constant fear that one day she'll push it too far and be declared a useless fuck up yet again. You can know something is true but still not truly Feel that it is and Silco knows that about her I think, even in his final moments he's still looking out for her and that hurts.
When she's going to take out the council, yes she's upset, but she's definitely not reacting wildly or randomly lashing out at everything. She takes one slow, deliberate and measured shot. I love that, it gives her actions so much power. This is her choice.
I LOVE the plushy reenactments omg, the contrast between the very intense events and voiceovers with the adorable imagery had me loosing it!
Hahahaha, thanks! Most fun I've ever had with technical issues XD I had no idea if it was going to get claimed or which bits so allll the narration just got played straight. Also I know a lot of people like listening to video essays in the background so some people are never gonna know about the bats and that really tickles me, secret plushies 🦇
I think a big part of why Vi is desperate to change jinx and bring powder back, is because she cares about Caitlyn now too, and she doesn't want to lose her either. While being pulled apart on both sides by an enforcer and a homicidal terrorist, one of them is gonna have to change. The logical choice will always be the one who's actually breaking laws, being immoral and unjust. But if she didn't have that attachment to an officer of the law, maybe she would've been willing to turn a Rebel and fight Piltover together with her sister, even if she's a little too ruthless.
However, in the end, to save Caitlyns life, she still decides she's willing to leave her for Jinx. Not to rebel, but just to leave.
Yeah, I think Vi isn't entirely sure what she wants concretely but she loves both Cait and Jinx and doesn't want to lose either. When she can't get through to Jinx and Jinx isn't responding in the ways that she hopes, then being forced to choose between the two, Cait is clearly the more currently stable option that clearly wants to be with her too. I think she'd have had a much better chance at connecting with Jinx if she didn't have Caitlyn with her because *that's* the thing that breaks them apart during their initial reunion. Jinx takes it as a betrayal instantly.
I find the parallel of Ekko and Jinx reactions to Vi and Cait really cool too! Like, both Jinx and Ekko lost their frends and family on the same night, and both as adults are rebelling. Ekko is cagey as hell but eventually accepts Vi and embraces her and he extends that trust to Caitlyn, even if he is still very wary. But Jinx? She immediately embraces Vi but then sees Cait and takes her distrust of this stranger and extends it to Vi. They both just want their friend/sister back and ow.
I never thought of any of this...love it. It's like a love triangle (not in a weird way) with Jinx and Cait, Vi in the middle. Torn between her two loves.
"Jinx clings to people she loves, even if theres not many of them. - She needs someone, anyone to be there for her. Its the same for Vi"
I am SO glad you pointed this out🌈💞 almsot every CaitVi scene they're touching each other in some way...even when they claim to "hate" each other. Even when its not necessary for them to be touching.
True but Vi at first didn't accept that gentle touch. When Caitlyn wants to wipe Vi's face, she swats her hand away. Compare that to when Caitlyn caresses
Vi's cheek and Vi takes her hand before she pulls it away.
Vi was touch-starved but had huge walls around her due to Caitlyn being from Piltover and an enforcer. And just generally because I'd argue Vi has trust issues. Where Vi used to be a team leader in her childhood and teenage years, she developed into a loner over the years as she "realized" she brings people to ruin.
“Powder has a good heart.”
Skipping over the fact she tried to frag that guy!
She's doing her best!! It's not great but, she's sure doing it 😂
Your honor, she was just being a lil silly
Amazingly therapeutic and calming voice you've got there. It's nice to find a place to pipe down from the emotional whiplash that was jinx's arc
Aw, thank you!! I've never really liked my voice so it's nice to hear other people have found it soothing haha
I just love how Jinx a terrrorist...is what is making Zaun and Piltover a better place...like how Powder always wanted to :)
One of the most important moments that frequently fly over people's heads is in episode 4. Jayce is in the lab complaining to Viktor that they've spend the *insert amount of years that the timeskip took here* years working on council's projects and he's itching to finally be able to start doing what he and Viktor have originally set out to do, "it's time they let us decide how we want to use hextech." So the council (and most likely Heimerdinger with his alarmist mindset) have been actively stopping them from helping Zaun in any way during that entire timeskip. And then shit hits the fan. Other than Mel (who arguably has selfish motivations for doing so, at least initially), none of the council members has been enabling their active attempts to acknowledge and include Zaun in their striving for progress. I wonder how this is going to translate into the second season now that those who have been stalling action are out of the picture (meaning more direct action can finally be taken), but both cities are on the brink of war and distrusting of each other due to Jinx's and Silco's terrorist acts and under threat of foreign invasion.
Definitely! It's not clear entirely how long the time skip is but being blocked from using your tech for that amount of time, then being told to add another TEN YEARS for seemingly no reason has gotta be a blow. Especially with the undercity deteriorating with shimmer use being rampant and money getting tighter and tighter. I mean, safety measures on new tech are essential but also, Heimerdinger doesn't ask what precautions they've already taken. He just says, hm, it's new and uses magic, stall it.
The fallout of the, ahem, removal of the council is gonna be so interesting!! Though I do wonder if Mel is okay? Her armor did a strange glowy thing as the missile was about to hit that meant she looked around first. I'm hoping it's something protective and she'll still be alive. I don't like her as a person but as a character, she's fascinating.
@@HoneyBat That's my main gripe with Heimerdinger. He never gives any constructive feedback or offers an effective alternative solution. He's a technical genius in his own right, but doesn't make any effort to help Jayce and Viktor to develop the safeguards. Hopefully his time with Ekko will serve as a much needed wake-up call.
Hoping Mel survives as well, she has so much more to bring to the story than just being more trauma fodder for Jayce. Unpopular opinion, but I also really enjoy their relationship dynamic. He's helping her channel the qualities her mother wanted her to suppress and be more emotionally expressive, and she's helping him to be less of a doormat and reign in his impulsivity (which doesn't always work *cough* special shoutout to Vi being a huge enabler here 😂). But the writers have been good at subverting these cliches so far (other than Sky's death perhaps) so I have faith.
UA-cam copyright strikes are dumb, but I love the bat recreations
I tried so hard to get around but hey, most fun I've had with a tech issue hahaha
Jinx doesn't flip out because of some sort of "Vi is only for me" thing; she flips out because Caitlyn is an enforcer, she's one of the oppressors who have made the people of Zaun's lives hell; the murderers who killed her parents; the ones that have been hunting her since she was a child.
That's very true! Most of the the through line of the show feels more focused around the replacement idea to me but that is DEFINTIELY an extra painful factor for Jinx. Her initial encounter with Vi is like a massive trainline of shocks. It's Vi! She's back! She's with an ENFORCER!? Sevika *wasn't* lying? Oh, she's sided with them. Her being an enforcer adds major insult to injury, like, wow...she really picked a rich Piltie enforcer over me? The people that murdered our parents and have kept us in the dirt ever since? Was I really *that* bad?
After she's had some time she seems to be jealous of Caitlin from a replacement standpoint, like staring at them hugging on the bridge, hearing voices that tell her that Vi was there for Cait not her, hallucinating Cait in her place when being drugged and saying she "paid your girlfriend a visit" during the dinner table scene. But like, that would apply to anyone I think. I know Vi is an enforcer in League and she's with Caitlin at the end of Arcane so is likely going to join up but...I kind of don't like that. Doesn't sit right. I'm hoping they won't make her a willing and enthusiastic enforcer in season 2 because I don't think she can write off everything she's and everyone around her have been forced to endure just for one person. Even when she does get to appeal to the council she goes around their decision and persuades Jayce to attack the shimmer facility on her own terms; I doubt she'd come to heel for the enforcer program but I know that's her in game canon...
The inclusion of the plushies really took the video to the next level. By far (seriously) the best of the Arcane essays I've watched.
You talk about something that I've noticed a lot of people struggle with, that this idea that just Jinx and Vi being together for a moment would make everything better between them or that killing Silco would bring 'Powder' back and maybe that's how it would work in a lot of fiction but Arcane isn't a lot of fiction. The name Powder at this point represents a time in her life, rather than who she really is, she 'really is' Jinx, she's changed, evolved, grown-up. I appreciate that you used the term deadnaming, I'd thought about using it before but I wasn't completely sure it was the right term but I've been unable to find a better one.
"Everyone's constantly seeking connection, everyone wants to belong, to have somebody to love." Got me right in my heart and is very, very accurate. This show is tragically human.
Thank you!! I love the characterisation in Arcane, everyone feels so human and alive and complex, you can really feel the love the creators put into the show. I couldn't think of a better word than deadnaming, it's close but not quiiiiiite right so I went with it, but the feeling is similar in that she wants to be acknowledged for who she is now. I wish Vi and Jinx had had more time together because I really think they could have adapted over time, but every time they're interrupted or at a distance or it's just the wrong moment and they're just confronted with guilt or abandonment pain and that's all part of the sweet sweet tragedy. The ideas they've built up of each other in absence is all wrong but they never lost hope in each other and I love that so much. I can't wait for season 2!! And thank you so much for watching and commenting ^.^
This is great content and analysis, thank you! Also, I think the picture in Jayce's old notes was a picture of him in a cape and with a hammer! (the one he built)
Thank you! Ahh, I always thought it was the mage but that's really cool that he gets to make the hammer with the runes exactly like he wanted to when he was a kid, he's become a superhero!
@@HoneyBat but there in too lies the problem, the ego and the fantasy temptation of greatness. He is blinded by his drive and his weaknesses in his charcter get exploited by others, most notably Mel, and he constantly find him fighting between the choices to satisfy his fantasy and his inner child morality saying that is wrong. Guilt over what you want most is what we see played out over and over again. Vi wants to be just ike the tough vander she loves, but Vander doesnt want to see her go down the same path, everytime she throws a punch she goes against the will of her father. Powder wants to be accepted for what she can do....but what she can do hurts the ones she wants to be accepted by, each explosion from her is a constant reminder of her first success and the punchline thats its all gotta be some big joke that only she gets and drives her further into madness. We can go character by character here and they just to such a bang up job making all these characters living. It really is something else, that thing love can do when allowed to just do its thing. We get stuff like this. Or incredibly precise and detailed temples and artwork that lasts for centuries and millenia even. Arcane shows the lie in progress by science rather than the human heart which should always proceed any advancement. Thoth was right.
Looove the political commentary intertwined with well-researched character analysis, u got a new subscriber in me
Thank you!! I was kinda worried about being "too political" but...*side eyes the actual show content*
"You got a friend in me"
@@HoneyBat It is the 2020s. Capitalism is destroying the planet and crushing people Charles Dickens' style. I think younger generations can afford some room for class analysis.
I loved this video. It shows an understanding of both the cities, it's citizens and the characters in it. The best analysis of the show I've seen.
Thank you so much!! There's so much complexity to every problem that there's a lot that I had to skim over but yeah there's so much to unpack here; I love this show so much!
@@HoneyBat It's so interesting to see how a show with only nine episodes manages to generate so much reviews, analysis and discussions. It speaks for it strength in how it tells its story and develops its characters. Keep going. Looking forward towards the second season.
Definitely! Whilst I absolutely can't wait for season 2, I do hope the team is given enough time to make sure it's as tight as season 1. Because we've seen what they can do and DAMN!!
Another aspect of the minigun; Despite being an expert marksman that could go into Piltover as a lone gunman with an enforcer's rifle like Caitlyn's, she deliberately chooses the minigun and names it after Powder. Why? Because mini-guns cause collateral damage to their environment, no matter what you aim them at. It is a way for Jinx to reclaim her past; All of her past jinxes. It's not that she accepts her past mistakes, but rather that she's going to make it everyone else's problem.
YES I never thought of that!! That's such a great connection ^.^
I’ve seen many Arcane video essays but this is definitely my favorite.Your observations are unique and you really grasped the essence of the show.This deserves more views:3
Thank you so much!! I'm can't wait to see where the story goes next!
oo I love what you said about Jinx constantly trying to get tactile feedback, I never thought about it that way before but it makes so much sense
yeahhhh she's just so into everything, I love that about her, like she doesn't do anything by halves and is always looking for something interesting to poke at and for people to connect to
@@HoneyBat I forgot to reply but yes this is so true !
I loved this, the way you're pondering about what jinx might think and feel is so real, she's the character (w viktor) i was the most touched by because of the rawness of her emotions. This was great, thank you!! and the plushies lol they were so cute.
Thank you!! I always find characters the easiest way into a story and Jinx and Viktor are my absolute favourites! Though that's closely followed by Vi ^.^
This was properly lovely and I loved all of it... though one problem.
You completely left out Mel and her pretty vital part in the entire dynamic. That of an upper class person who genuinely wants to do good... but is as much part of the cycle of corruption and damage because of the very things she's been taught in her upbringing.
Yeah I ended up focusing mainly on Jinx and Vi for time's sake. If I'd gone into as much with Jayce, Viktor and Mel's side of things I'd probably have added another hour to the video XD I wanted to give her her own small section but it always read as kind of tacked on? So I ended up cutting it >.<
But if I can share my thoughts here? I honestly think she's a bit of a hypocrite. She does want peace and to prevent the same problems occurring here that happened in Noxus. She knows how damaging war is, but the way she goes about fixing things is largely to play with Piltovan politics without really considering Zaun, except for avoiding fighting with them.
I think she gets caught up in her own head a lot with how she feels like an outsider and I think she does genuinely find love and belonging with Jayce but she actively wants the status quo to remain the same. She wants Jayce to keep up the under the table deals going and she wants to be on the side with the most cutting edge developments but in my opinion she doesn't actually want to solve many problems. She wants to be a part of the elite without the brutality, like she saw back in Noxus, but this means she doesn't acknowledge the brutality in her new home. Maybe because there's less actual outright slaughter and a lot of the damage she does see is political rather than war? But she knows the ramifications of political instability too. I think she believes a peaceful solution is the only way forward but... She doesn't do anything to help really. She's always investing in the now but she's always half lost in her own identity as an exile, and it's a rough place to be stuck but something has to give.
And she does want to belong like everyone else! She does want to see her city grow, to gain standing, to make art!! She's creative and wants to encourage other creators around her like Jayce, because she sees potential in everything but she's often so busy planning the game that she misses her turn
@@HoneyBat Often So busy Planning the game that she Misses her turn is a pretty much perfect encapsulation of her arc.
The thing is I don't see her as a hypocrite so much as similar to Caitlyn in a way. All at once she's in a position of power... and Sheltered by that power.
Yes she doesn't see the ugly things because she essentially ran away from them. And Piltover is the place where she settled... but I don't think it's because she's actively turning her fact away so much as she has seen so much uglier that it doesn't actually REGISTER to her how bad the divide truly is.
Her upbringing in multiple ways, both the brutality of her mother and the Upper class training she clearly had, has not prepared her to tackle issues in any manner that isn't inherently based on political and economic power... which has predisposed her to seeking those out and hanging on to them in order to keep her world orderly and peaceful... but also to embrace new things which can enhance that world.
But she won't look in the gutters because that very outlook and combination of upbringing aspects kinda blinds her to the place of production rather than the place where the products are turned into profit.
Yeahhhh definitely! I think you're right, she really doesn't register how bad the divide between the two cities is at all. I hadn't thought of it like that. It's a completely different kind of divide to the one she's seen earlier in her life, and far less overtly bloody. When she pictures conflict, the image of that girl her mother executed is probably one of the first images to spring to mind. So sending police to investigate crimes probably isn't ringing any alarm bells. That's what they're for. Like, if you don't *know* there's a problem, why would you investigate it?
What irked me about Mel was that she was often a catalyst, and meant to be so, but didn't ever want to appear to be the first to move. She'd always set things up behind the scenes, like letting Jayce and Viktor into Heimerdinger's office or at the opera with her pulling strings to get around all of the new safety blockades that had been set up for the richest, but she would never fully own anything? Like, most of the things she puts into place do work and are effective, but she wants someone else to be the face of the idea so she can back out and leave them with the mess if the rest of the council don't agree. It's a smart strategy and I can definitely see why she does it, it's probably ensured her place in Piltover and allowed her to climb so high. It feels disingenuous to me, but also... that's politics in a nutshell. Definitely a necessary evil if she wants to get anything done.
@@HoneyBat Precisely. She sets things up, then steps back to keep from getting dirty if the fallout is too great.
But it's also clear that she utterly underestimated Jayce's drive to 'Take Charge' and 'Fix everything'... without knowing the intricacies of the things he's trying to 'fix'.
She sought to be a guiding hand... but didn't realize that her hands off approach would be completely spiral out of control with him.
@@HoneyBat Also Happy New Year Btw.
One of the best Essays on this series out there. Really glad I found this video!
Thank you!! Really happy more people seem to be finding this one, I tend to cover older games mostly haha but once I watched Arcane I knew I HAD to write something on it ^.^
@@HoneyBat And we're all glad you did ^^. I hope this video finds to even more people like me. Or the people find the video... You know what I mean lol.
Omg the details in this show. I just realized the Pink haired firelight that Jinx killed is being painted on the wall when Ekko is showing the Firelight base to Vi. Amazing.
Yeah!!! I totally missed that one until someone in the comments pointed it out but damn they put so much heart and detail into this show 💛
In Piltover science and progress are more akin to prayer and religion, scientists and doctors, their clergymen and kings; because in a world where magic and gods do exist, the pursuit of knowledge beyond their power is simply irrational.
I'm pretty much only going off what's in the show but I would LOVE there to be more of an exploration of what magic means (or doesn't mean) to people in the next season! It's definitely got a legacy and science is way more of a focus but the combination of the two is what Viktor and Jayce are working on so the magic is just sort of...there, because for them it's not their aim I suppose. Reminds me of that Terry Pratchett quote: "“Most witches don’t believe in gods. They know that the gods exist, of course. They even deal with them occasionally. But they don’t believe in them. They know them too well. It would be like believing in the postman.”
I really love this series so much! It took years to develop and it shows. It's so incredibly detailed, and every single character has their nuances and characteristics; I genuinely believe there isn't a single "flat" character in Arcane. In fact, even in this very well researched and put together essay, there were so many other things that were left out!
Mel and her family struggles weren't even mentioned; Heimerdinger only had a small segment; or even Singed (the doctor) mentioning the fact that he also had (has?) a daughter and can sympathize with Silco. Even the background characters! Like the man that first appears in the Undercity brothel scene wearing a Kindred mask, is also the "local cuisine" that Ambessa, Mel's mom, presumably sleeps with. Or that one bat boy with Ekko and the firelights, who is shown to be big and brute, is later shown caring for a baby, probably his sibling.
There's just so much character detail, it's really insane. Loved your video and hope to see more like it in the future!
Yeahh!! It's so rare to find a story where every character feels alive with their own motivations! There was just so much in the show that I couldn't fit everything in without everything feeling like bitty tangents so a lot got cut >.< I ended up focusing on Vi and Jinx's storyline because they're kinda the heart of the show, but I could easily have added another hour talking about Jayce, Viktor and Mel.
I hope Mel survived at the end, her armour did a glowy thing just before Fishbones struck the room so I'm really hoping she lives and we get to see how she handles the removal of the council. I don't really like her as a person but I adore her as a character, she's the classic spider kind of character, pulling strings everywhere behind the scenes but rather than being the typical cold mastermind she feels like a genuine person with a good heart. I'm guessing now that Piltover has been destabilised, Noxus is probably going to try and add it to their empire and that's gonna really mess with Mel who's been trying to hard to prove herself as an independent leader her whole life. And like, she's GOOD at it. She's an excellent politician but she often spends so long planning the game that she misses her turn. But she's also so creative and expressive in her art, and she finds genuine connection in Jayce and I love that.
Also YES I'm really happy someone else noticed the baby bat!! I know they're only on screen for a couple seconds but her happily biting the older bat's fingers was sooooo cute. But obviously I'm a sucker for any bat character haha
SOBBING AT THE REENACTMENT WITH THE PLUSHIES IM TRYING NOT TO CRY BUT ALSO ITS CUTE
Hahaha I REALLY wanted that final Silco and Jinx scene to pass the copyright filter because it's such an important one but no matter how many filters or bits of text I added youtube was having none of it. On the flip side, my love posted a photo of Silco bat tied up on my bed on twitter and Silco's voice actor commented a bat emoji so he has witnessed my nonsense now XD
family mean ohana, and ohana means no one gets left behind
This has to be the definitive Arcane essay. Wow! What a masterpiece of a video. Can't wait to binge your entire channel haha
Oh my gosh thank you so much!! Hope you find something else interesting ^.^
Something i noticed is that the hex tech inventions to improve the lives of the Zaunians, were only focused on increasing the speed of production. Not on reducing the pollution or improving the health. The goal was still to help enrich the people of Piltover on the backs of the laborers in the mines
You're absolutely right!! The gauntlets Vi gets are designed to make mining more efficient and produce more product faster but er, I bet you anything that's not going to reduce the shift times in the mines or help protect the workers against the gasses. If anything, people will probably be encouraged to work more because the work is technically easier now so you can definitely put in a longer shift, right? And it's safer from a tools perspective so be grateful. I wonder if in season 2 we're going to get more of a focus on the workers application of hextech or on different nations approaches to tech given Noxxus probably wants to expand into Piltover/Zaun now they're so unstable.
I've just discovered this channel and... like, omg, diction and enunciation and pronunciation I caaaan't
When I'm working on something, especially if I'm drawing, I like to have something in the background - usually streams or long video essays; something I can have come in and out of focus as I'm working. I love it when I find a new content creator with such clear diction and pleasant vocabulary, so I'm super excited I've discovered this channel
Thanks so much! That's so lovely to hear ^.^
@@HoneyBat Glad to hear it ^^ oh also the content is really good. I just realized I forgot to mention and it ended up sounding like I didn't even pay attention to the content, but I love the analysis
It’s always nice to see a small channel pop up in the recommended that actually deserves it. Great job you have a very pleasant way of speaking. Hope to see more soon!
Thank you so much for giving me a chance!! I'm really happy you enjoyed it ^.^
This was so good! So much here I didn't even consider. Great essay!
Thank you so much!! ^.^ Tried to reign it in a bit by mainly focusing on Jinx and Vi's storyline but there's so MUCH in this show
Silco is the best dad ever !,he gave Jinx competences ,trials ,connections,confidence and love and finally turned her into a person feared by the the world for what she s capable of and there isnt a more beautiful gift from a parent to their kids than this !
I love their relationship! Silco gives Jinx exactly what she needs: complete and utter acceptance. He encourages her creativity and passion for invention, he doesn't judge her for any of her strange approaches to situations and can empathise with a lot of her problems and experiences. He wants to raise her to be strong enough to take on the world that hurt him. In other ways he's so bad for her, encouraging her unhealthy coping mechanisms and driving her towards violence and wanting her to make weapons for his cause.
Ooh, one thing I've noticed though is Silco's face seemed more damaged in the early episodes and I thought maybe it healed or faded a bit during the timeskip but no at the end of ep 5 he's applying makeup? I wonder if he started doing that when he took Powder in to make her feel more comfortable around him and now it's habit.
"Best dad ever" oof lol. Okayy...
Can we all put in to get Sevika a nice holiday somewhere away from the sisters? Somewhere where she’s not a punching bag. After all the pummelling she’s taken, poor woman deserves a break.
She deserves the world!! I'm really curious as to what she's going to do next season. She has plenty of contacts and the respect of all the other gangs around Zaun and she gets shit DONE but...it was Silco's vision. He was the one with the overarching goal and I wonder if she's going to adopt his place as a leader or form her own gang or just walk away and have a fresh start in an independent city. She had so much love and respect for Silco, even lost an arm for him pushing him out of a blast, and I do wonder how she's going to react if she crosses paths with Jinx again. She's never liked her but she's put up with her for Silco's sake and she even gives him good advice regarding her when she's upset and Sevika tells him that Jinx will come back when she's ready. She stuck by him no matter who try to sway her, and now I wonder if she'll leave Jinx be out of respect for Silco or whether she'll want revenge for Jinx killing him and paying her back for every screw up and incident she's had to let slide before. Like she could easily take the bitter path or she could totally thrive in a new position. Or even join Jinx in an uncomfortable alliance. Either way, I'm so ready!
I finished Arcane this week and need more of it in my life. I try to cope by playing League. End me.
Using stuffed animals to act out the scenes that were caught by copyright had me laughing through my tears 😂😭
hey, one, amazing video
also, i love your plushies, they're so fren shaped and cute
Probably the best part of this video: the plushie reenactments.
Not to say the rest was bad. It was awesome. Definitely one of my favourite video essays on Arcane ( aside from the SLIGHT Silco slander >:( )
hahaha definitely a more fun way to avoid auto-copyright claims than the millions of filters I tried! If it happens again with something else I make, well, I've got my bats on standby. I can't believe I spent boxing day afternoon tying up a plushie bat in honour of Silco but here we are XD
Thank you so much for this...I only discovered your channel this morning and now at 8:15 pm I still can't stop listening. This video in particular is awesome because I couldn't watch Arcane since the art gave me a migraine but I wanted to know about it.
Honey Bat: "..it should be ilLeague-al!"
Imagine Dragons: "Everyone wants to be my enemy"
Me: "I do for sure"
Hahahaha I'd say I was sorry but I'm definitely not
You brought up so many new perspectives on this phenomenal show - I appreciate its complexity and writing even more now and I feel like there is still something hidden in the themes to be found. Thank you so much!
Thank you so much ^.^ there's so much detail in this show, it's amazing! Loads of people in the comments have pointed out extra things I missed too, I love how everyone notices different things!
@@HoneyBat Definitely agree with you, reading the comments has been a blast. I consider you severely underrated and will for sure be tuned for whatever you release next!
Stellar video, you brought up some points I haven't thought of, even if I've been watching and thinking about this show a LOT. But I would disagree wich why Silco tries to shoot Vi in the end (you said it was bc he wanted keep Vi from hurting her): He doesn't want to share Jinx, he wants all of her to himself, he doesn't need Vi's influence. His love is a narcissistic one imo, because he took Powder in in the first place because he saw something akin to his own story in her and basically turned her, or tried to turn her into a copy of himself, instilling the same values and beliefs in her, validating unhinged behaviour, and drilling into her that basically no one but him will ever love her (which is toxic af). Vi's influence could topple all of that, her love for Powder being a direct contradiction to what he taught her, that's why he's so adamant to insist it's not real. Jinx could be led astray from her Jinx persona he helped her mould, that would mean a turn-away from him, and he can't have that. That's why he's insisting on her name being Jinx (basically saying. She's mine now!) These are also the main issues I have with the notion that he's a good father. Just because he feels love for her does not make him (or anyone) a good parent. A good parent would have encouraged the reunion with Vi and not fed her the toxic lies of "it's just us against the world and nothing else".
Definitely! I think in the moment it was partially because he didn't like seeing her in pain but also he DEFINITELY is terrified of losing her, and he really doesn't want Vi in the picture because he does want to keep Jinx to himself. He sees her as an extension of himself, I think, which is a huge part of why he can't help her even though he really wants to and genuinely loves her. He can't consider her as her own person. He doesn't help her out of the river, he gently pushes her under and that's fucked up!!
I guess he's not had to make any contingency for Vi's presence because he thought she was dead until she showed up in the Lanes again. Once she's back he's gotta double down on the whole, "everyone else betrays us" and that Vi wouldn't want Jinx now anyway. And the painful thing is he's kinda proven right? Vi wants Powder, not Jinx. Maybe given time, she could reconcile who her sister is now with the kid she was but Silco actively tries to kill Vi before she can even meet up with Jinx again. Both Silco and Vi have skewed views of Jinx. Vi can't stop seeing her as a corrupted Powder, and Silco can't stop seeing her as part of himself and... can this girl catch a break??
@@HoneyBat Yeah, you're totally right! I agree with him seeing her as an extention of himself, and I agree that Vi can't come to terms with what Powder has turned into. I thought this insight was spot-on in your video. And tbh, I understand that, too. Vi ist still very young, and she was kept alive all these years by the hope to see Powder again, she was bound to develop a crooked image of her and their relationship. I probably would have, too. All in all, a terrible situation for everybody, and yeah, poor Jinx or rather, the young woman Powder has become, deserves a fucking break.
Fantastic video essay. Came here as the show made me ~feel things~ with the broken but beautiful father-daughter juxtaposition between Vi/Vander and Jinx/Silco. I enjoyed your exploration of the class differences, reliance on one another, and the relationships between each character.
Looking forward to your future videos!
Thank you so much!! The whole exploration of family in the show is heart breaking but it's so interesting, it really gave the show a lot of heart ^.^
I didn't realize she was re-enacting parts of the show with bat puppets lol
Hahahaha I didn't know which bits youtube was gonna potentially claim so the commentary is still deadly serious, some people are gonna miss it completely if they're tabbed out and that's hilarious to me
@@HoneyBat quality content:)
22:27 when Powder said that her monkey bomb finally worked, Vi taught that Powder is the reason behind Vander's death but it was actually Silco and one of his mosters he made.
Yeahhhh it was all the info she had >.< I wonder if we're going to see more of Vander/Warwick next season? Vander's surname in the credits is Warwick and I know he's a champion in LoL, and there's a wolfy creature that looked like him in the background of Singed's lab
Yes, yes, yes! Finally, who expressed my thoughts? Vai just wanted Powder back, her little sister. Partly because it's all that Vai has left of her past life. But Vai did not understand at all and did not want to understand Jinx. By her actions, Vai only caused even more pain to her sister and eventually contributed to the fact that Jinx's new life was destroyed again.
Remembering Silko's words, thoughts also come to my mind. Even if Vai hadn't left Powder, would they have been able to live together after everything that happened?
Well, I will add that I am a little offended that, in fact, politics and economics have been pushed into the background, highlighting personal relationships. There is something to think about. Let's imagine that Ekko didn't stop Vi and Jinx from talking, and what's next? Will Jinx give Caitlin the hextek stone? I doubt it very much. Then will Vai leave Caitlin for Jinx and Silko? I doubt it too.
That is, the clash of interests here has already been predetermined. The only question was how it would be resolved.
Yeah, I'm not sure how things would have gone if Vi and Powder hadn't been separated. Because both of them would still be hurting really badly after losing their family again. I think Powder would have probably become much more dependent and clingy to Vi for a while whilst Vi would have wanted space and distance which would have been...difficult. I think Vi would have probably ended up with far more resentment towards her sister because she'd be confronted with Powder every day whilst she was still trying to process the accident. Like even when you *know* something wasn't intended and that action hurt the other person too, it's hard not to *feel* like it's their fault, especially when you're grieving. Also Powder's trust in Vi would likely be all wonky after she lashed out at her and left her behind to go after Vander so she'd probably cling harder in desperation, not wanting to be alone.
I love in tragedies when the tragedy occurs because of who the characters are. Like, the events are avoidable but they're always going to happen this way because of who these characters are and the choices they personally would make. It may not be the most logical series of events, but because of what they value, it makes perfect sense and feels inevitable.
Really enjoyed the video, definitely looking forward to more video essays in the future! Keep it up!
Thank you so much!!
Amazing video thank you!
I've seen people complain about miscommunication mixing badly with drama. I think it works in this case when Jinx overhears Silko and assumes the worst. Her story is about who she can trust, who's real and who's going to show up. Questioning Silko has to be a part of that
Yeah!! This is one of the only stories I've seen where this trope actually worked really well ^.^ It's perfect for Jinx's arc and her trust issues, choosing who she is and who her family is. I think her putting that (possibly, I can't tell from the footage very easily) unloaded gun in front of Silco at the dinner table was going to be another form of test for him as well as handing a gun to Vi too. She's testing everyone, wanting to know exactly where she stands with all of them and it's so interesting. Especially after she'll have seen all of Silco's insecurities with and emphasis on loyalty growing up. She's gonna have internalised a lot of shit with him framing Vander as a terrible traitor and that Silco is the only one she can trust, her real family.
when did Vi intentional leave, feels more like she continued to treat Jinx as a split personality till it was too late that resulted in Silco death which would obviously be extremely trauma to her sister. Anyways besides that great Video Essay.
Yeah, I think in the ending Vi's just like, whether that is Powder or Jinx, this is too much and I have no idea how to fix the situation. With Jinx's line "I thought that you could love me like you used to, even though I'm...different," I think she's giving up on Vi too. Like, she knows this is a doomed reunion and that she's gone too far in trying to force them back together as well but, she didn't know any better way and that's cost her everyone she loved AGAIN and ow
A detail I like: The tech in both piltover and the undercity are coloured purple and blue. Different colours, but they’re both part of the same group, being cold colours. I like to think that it shows how both cities might be different places, but they’re still similar at their core. On colour palettes, purple and blue are right next to eachother. I’m probably reading into it too much, but I like the thought of it showing that despite being different places, there’s no denying that at their core, they’re similar, something that can’t be denied because of how close they are.
Ooh I never noticed that!! Intentional or not, it's another good link between the two cities. They're both developing rapidly alongside each other, just with a different tech base! One thing I've only picked up on after making this is that everyone from Zaun has stripes somewhere in their outfit too, there's so much detail! ^.^
Excellent analysis. I'm amazed at the wealth of material that can be mined from this show, how every time I reexamine it through someone else's eyes they manage to unearth layers and perspective that never occurred to me before.
Thank you so much!! I love when media is dense enough that everyone gets different things out of it. I'm always going to miss things but then I get to discover them from someone else and see the show in a new light ^.^
Lovely. This was one of best reviews I have watched.
When Ekko spies on Vander and Grayson his lense is hidden in a mask that is very reminiscent of the firelight masks. Only just realised that.
The amount of detail in this is staggering honestly!! I never noticed the mask, it's such a wonderful touch, already looking through his future self's eyes when he's uncovering corruption in the system, I love it ^.^
i love the plushie reenactment as i listen to your video essay😭😭♥️♥️
Hahaha thank you! It's definitely the most fun I've had with a technical issue (and the plushies distract from the pain of Arcane XD)
Outstanding job! Reliving the story through your words made me want to rewatch the series again.
Thank you so much!! It's such a well-written show every re-watch means I notice something new ^.^
To be fair to the Kirramans, they dropped Jayce before 'coz he was using their money for unsanctioned/illegal experiments which might get them in trouble as Cassandra Kirraman is a councilor, also he could've had their kid killed because of that explosion. I for one would've dropped him as well.
Yeahhh Jayce was trying his best but er, his best was not great. I love that about all the cast honestly, everyone's motives are true to character but they're complicated and intersect in so many ways. Jayce doesn't really see the further reaching impact of what he's doing until it's too late a lot of the time
I love your video essay on this. I don’t like League of Legends but this show is a masterpiece and deserves all the love it’s getting. I truly hope it paves the way for future animated shows for adults. Because this is the bar now.
Also people have started saying that Jinx is the Joker for women which I disagree. I think she’s been taken that way by a lot but the overall creation of arcane has made Jinx more realistic than Joker. All of her mental struggles come directly from her trauma. Her delusions, hallucinations, self sabotaging behaviors, her bpd behaviors. All of those stem from her trauma. Form thinking everyone has left and blaming herself. Whether she was truly at fault or not. Hell she goes by Jinx! Joker didn’t get his name from trauma from what I’ve seen. He made it himself. Jinx spends the whole show just trying to survive and stabilize herself and then breaking that fragile stability. That’s way different than committing crime because you think it’s fun and wanna be edgy. Joker is used a cop out for mainly incellish cishet men. And Jinx is starting to become that, but in the source material it is so different. Which is why her character is so incredible, why this show is so incredible.
Yeahhh!!! I'm so happy this has been such a popular show. I love animation and this show is presented in such a gorgeous style when, by and large, cartoons aimed at adults generally lean towards caricature or are kinda ugly. And the way they've put thought into how every character moves, holds themselves and their facial expressions are just so wonderful in realising them as people.
And oh yeah definitely. I get that they see quirky chaos girl and go yeah that's Joker territory but Joker is deliberately manipulative and really doesn't have anything he cares about aside from chaos. He doesn't want anything and he doesn't stand for anything. He wants to break the system sure but, then what? He wants to beat Batman but again, then what? Joker (admittedly I haven't seen the recent movie) is an ass. Like he canonically lies to Harley all the time about his tragic backstory to get her to feel sorry for him and keep her loyal, changing up details to suit whoever he's talking to at the time and force sympathy. He's physically and emotionally abusive and he knows he's doing it. But he gets to laugh it off. Nobody he encounters does though and there's power in that. He never has to take anything seriously because the rules don't apply to him. He revels in it, in how he's a chaotic unknown but he's just a hollow egotist in my opinion. The only thing that's giving his life any meaning is his feud with Batman. Also the deliberate edginess gets up my nose but that's a personal taste kinda deal.
Jinx embraces chaos because every time she's told something will happen one way or that someone trusts her, the situation always turns around on her and she gets hurt. Of course she's always going to be looking for a lie or a loophole; she's been hurt too many times. This happens over and over when she's a kid and leaves her vulnerable every time and the last thing she wants to be is weak, so she sticks with Silco who's been the only person to unconditionally accept her and never abandon her. He's someone who values loyalty as much as she does. So when he guides her towards the path of a violent outcast, she lets him take her hand and push her gently under the water. And all she really wants is to be loved but the damage of years of grief, trauma and the chaotic and dangerous work she does takes its toll and her brain is trying to protect her from that as best as it can. That ends up manifesting as sensitivity to rejection and paranoia, to stop her getting close to anyone who might hurt her again, in the hallucinations to detach that inner critic from herself and give herself distance from the thoughts and feelings that upset and frighten her. She's written like a person but Joker's written like a cardboard villain. (sorry for the ramble!)