Also by the end of S1, almost no character has a happy ending. The closest might be Heimerdinger, who, by working with the FIrelights can help people without the council interfering.
It's a classic greek tragedy. It even has a Cartharsis with the purgation of pity and fear. We pity Jinx at the end, and we also fear for what happens to the to the other characters (The bomb).
Ever since watching Arcane, I haven't been able to get over how much I love Jinx for the same reasons as Catra. It breaks my heart to apply your analysis of Powder to Catra: she has a deep need to help, driven by her trauma and a deep fear of being left behind. Being useful is a defense mechanism for these characters who can't understand themselves simply as loved for their own sake; the Horde and Piltover have taught them that they have no intrinsic value, so they have to make their own. And Catra keeps trying to prove her usefulness: to Shadow Weaver, then to Hordak, then to Horde Prime. "Save the Cat" is a turning point for her because there's no possible motivation for Adora's actions besides love, though this takes a while to sink in. It's much worse for Jinx because she doesn't get this clarity -- immediately after reuniting with Vi, the presence of Caitlyn makes her worry that it was only her use as a weapon that mattered to them. Similarly, the last turning point for Catra (as well as Adora) is Shadow Weaver's self-sacrifice, which shows both of them just how little pure *usefulness* matters compared to the love they want. Jinx comes so close to a similar turning point, in Silco's choice to save her, but she just misses it. The bitter, bitter irony is that in Ep9 she would have been extremely useful to Silco as a bargaining chip--she would get him everything he ever wanted--but of course usefulness was always only the means to an end for her, and she *can't* take the chance of finding out what she really was to him. It breaks my heart.
In that same way, I find Vi similar to Adora. The constant pressure of responsibility for others and the "whatever happens it's on you" makes the similarity uncanny to me.
@@pip_a_doodle2175 oh, absolutely! it's one reason i'm a huuuge sucker for jinx & vi's relationship. it's super interesting how, narratively, vi & adora have similar experiences of being thrown out of their world and finding *something* that deserves their affection in the alien world they had grown up hating. of course, arcane is grittier than she-ra in most ways, but the parallels between the fright zone & zaun are really interesting. zaun is subjugated where the horde is a colonizer, but that doesn't make a big difference to your average denizen. (in fact, especially given what we learn about scorpia's past, we should remember that pretty much everybody living in the fright zone *was* etherian before hordak showed up.) oh dear, cait really is glimmer isn't she? her mom is even the next closest thing to queen
It’s a co dependent sibling dynamic which is very interesting, makes it very relatable to a lot of people Not saying Catra and Adora are related 💀 But the roles they had growing up together match well Very cool of you to point their similaries out, Let’s see what they’ll do with Jinx and Vi this season 😁
I'd add that I feel like Viktor the scientist is also a direct reference to the Frankeinstein book by Mary Shelley, given his name and his profession. He is both the creator and the creature in his situation. Jinx also reminds me of the Creature a little bit, given they're both monsters who seek revenge, but also consequences of the circumstances they've been surrounded: violence, rejection, trauma, etc. deeply misunderstood aswell
Also, to say something a little bit more relevant to THIS essay: could there be any better example of Aristotelian pity & fear than this show? I doubt it. Your commentary on the nature of fate in Arcane is I think the best piece of commentary I've heard about the show, and the clips you chose for that discussion are doing some really interesting counterpointing to what you're saying. Thanks for sharing this with us
I think the best word I could use to describe Jayce as a character is malleable, much like the metal he uses to forge tools and weapons in his family’s workshop. When put under enough pressure and heat, he can be influenced to be whatever others feel will suit them to their benefit. He’s flexible and pliable, and throughout the series he bends dangerously close to his breaking point.
The What What Could Have Been song for me is not only directed to Vi (mostly to Vi) but also to the council, to Piltover to the bridge scene to everything that made Powder become Jinx out of survival instinct, to Fate. She wouldn't have to become Jinx if the council took care of the undercity, if Jayce didn't have the stones, if and what ifs. This song is like desperation in front of Fate everything that happened for the story to be at this point (almost acceptance of the situation but never completely). A cry of help that says "too late", it's on "you" it's on all of you. With just before the song starts "We will show them, we will show them all" it's Anarchy, it's Revenge. This song and scene is a masterpiece. And as viewers we're just like every other characters, powerless. Witnesses to the failure of a society and thus the creation of a Monster we can't blame. But we can all together with Jinx blame Fate. (I wrote this during the song part of this video so if it doesn't make sense to the conclusions of the video this is why)
The way they mold scenes into music videos is something Riot have been doing for years in their cinematic trailers. When you get the chance you should watch a couple of them, namely the Awaken, Warriors and The Call trailers which are some of the most popular among them. They're crazy good
Arcane has been one of my favorite studies in characterization done right in media as of late. Seeing the deeper analysis of everyone's fatal flaws was something I hadn't dwelt too deeply on through my first viewing, so this has given me reason to go back and rewatch the series. And while we're talking about going back to rewatch, holy cow! I did not realize how intertwined the themes of the music were! That's definitely something I want to go back and get more notes on. Finally, I had never thought of seeing fate in fiction is a symptom of the interconnectedness of characters in a system, and that makes perfect sense to me. That's a great way to frame it in a way that doesn't make it feel slaved to the writers, gods of the story. She-Ra analysis brought me to this channel, and it's wonderful Arcane analysis like this that's kept me around.
It's awesome to see you unpack characters, motives, connections, etc. because while it says a lot about the stories and characters you talk about I also get to see some of those things reflected in myself when I wasn't aware they were there before. (I binge-watched all of She-Ra, best day of my life, because I wanted to be able to watch one of your videos without spoilers.) Also, another youtuber named "schnee" has also been looking at Arcane, but from a literary standpoint instead of a psychological standpoint. Your videos mesh together extremely well since they both center on the characters. Thought you might want to take a look (: Thanks for getting me into She-Ra.
delighted i was able to nudge you towards she ra. excellent show. i’ve seen a couple of his! good stuff! i’m especially amazed at how many he cranks out. always envious of creators that can do that. i always try to approach things thru a mixed psychological/philosophical/storytelling lens. because it’s always “why does this matter to US,” “what provokes these feelings and reactions as we experience this story?” for me. anyhow, thanks for your kind words
Powder's fatal flaw is not "wanting to help", it is fear of abandonment. That fear leads to the need to be appreciated (so she won't be abandoned), thus always wanting to help and be valuable, but it is an consequence of the deeper cause.. Jinx loses that flaw (while gaining others), and the Mad Tea Party scene is her working through the final transition from Powder to Jinx, a transition that was arrested without the resolution with Vi. When she kills Silco, she seals her fate as "a jinx" in her mind (she's killed nearly everyone she loves) and accepts that Vi will never love her as she wants and needs. So she gives it up.
This doesn't necessarily have to do with the ancient Greek literary device, but someone mentioned some brilliant parallels between She-ra and Arcane in terms of intertexuality, and so I notice another detail. If you consider that Jinx's fishbone probably will kill/severely injure Cait's mom (someone of great political influence), it is just like Catra unintentionally "killing" Glimmer's mom (Queen Angela) with the portal. Furthermore, there's a great mentioning of how Cait and Jinx are parallel in terms of their strengths, appearance and relationship with Vi. It's like how we used to see S4 Glimmer and Catra as parallels in terms of their arcs and relationships. So to extrapolate what will probably happen in the upcoming season: Cait will be someone suffering through grief, learning to take on new responsibilities and probably make a few mistakes along the way. And Jinx is definitely going down an even darker path before her redemption (if she will ever get any).
Thank you again for another amazing video and Arcane analysis. It is truly enjoyable seeing and hearing you break down the textual and psychological aspects that makes these shows just great to watch. Keep up the good work.
On my mind i saw 'what could have been' as a representation of silco's relationship with piltover and his will to make zaun independent, but from jinx's perspective makes more sense
Also, the show is kinda gay and Greek Mythology is a LOT more gay then people realize. I mean Achilles, Heracles, Poseidon, Athena, Artemis, Apollo, Perseus' parents I think are implied to be in a Polyamory relationship (not counting Zeus) and more that I'm likely not remembering but yeah all these major figures in Ancient Greece are Queer. :)
Fate is a big theme in Greek romance too- like Patroclus and Achilles. So it’s befitting that Jayce and Viktor would be fitting opposites of interconnected backgrounds and great partners. And that Caitlyn and Vi would be the same. That’s super gay. And I love them.
I can't even watch a analysis of this show without tearing up, even now weeks after finishing it….for the fifth time-/. I was late to the party on arcane so only watched it a few weeks ago & i feel i am actually in some sort of bizarre mourning process for powder, an animated character! Ha haaa. Great analysis FbyFT, i've really enjoyed both of your arcane vids. Many thanks.
Greek mythologies definitely had a lot of gays. Interesting tidbit: Greeks saw boys being gay as a sign of manliness, since nothing is as masculine as another man, especially when gender representation was something they didn't have. No clue if women were allowed to be gay or not, to the greeks they were kinda just there to serve the men. Oops, my comment is a little bit of a downer now. Oh well
loved your analysis of the music, and I only have one thing to say: I wish they'd have enounciated more clearly as a second language speaker. Some of the songs sound too mumbly for me to pick up the proper lyrics without having the lyric sheet in front of me
English is my one and only language and I still have to look up the lyrics to figure out the lines of almost any song. Different reason though, I've got bad ears.
Yeah, while I agree that Arcane has a lot of simularities to Greek tragedies, throughout watching the show, I also noticed a couple of nods to Shakespearian tragedies as well (this is gonna be a long comment, so buckle up everyone 😀). For instance, while the ending to both Greek and Shakespearian tragedy is usually very predictable and inevitable (giving it that constant angst for the audience watching), Shakespeare expanded this idea by introducing (and putting plot-focus on) side-tragedies of his own. Like, in Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare outright tells you that these lovers will end up taking their own life ("A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life" in the Prologue), and while he makes that part of the story inevitable, he still manages to shock the audience by killing side-characters that didn't need to die (like with the death of Mercusio in the beginning of Act 3), making that aspecf of the story completely unpredictable, and therefore able to suprise even the most hardened tragedy-experts among the audience (sure, Greek Tragedies had side-tragedies too, but they were never explicitly brought into the play's focus). In Arcane, simular side-tragedies occur, with the first of major ones being the death of Milo and Clagger in Episode 3. Sure, it could be guessed based on their lack of characterisation, their lack of an intresting character design and their absence from League that they will be 'desposable characters', but never in a million years could anyone guess HOW they died, and how much of an impact their death will have on the show's story (despite their death being completely avoidable and unnecesary). The deaths of Benzo and Sky (the shopkeeper from Episode 1, and Victor's assistant) were also unexpected, and both served to enrich the arcs of more major characters (namely Ekko and Victor). And of course, who could forget Silco's death, which had a big impact, and ended up bringing absolutely devastating consequences for every character in the show (I'm not mentioning Vander here, because his death was pretty inevitable, and Silco being the one to kill him was also very predictable). Aside these from side-tragedies, Arcane also has a pair tragic heroes as their main characters (as opposed to one in Greek tragedies), and the absence of Poetic Justice (when good is rewarded, and evil is punished) is also (I believe) something that was inspired by the tragedies of Shakespeare. Regardless, we are still left with an emotionally complling, modern Greek tragedy, with the elements of Shakespeare sprinkled in throughout.
HARD agree. and biblical! i had to stop myself or else it would’ve ballooned out of scope. but i’d love to tackle it from either/both of those angles as well.
Another common element of both Greek and Shakespearean tragedy is prophecy, the audience is told point blank how things will end and it forces you to focus on the journey and twists of fate rather than predicting the inevitable destination. In this case it is once again the game. You know exactly how Jinx, Vi, Caitlyn, Jayce, Viktor, Ekko, Singed, etc. will end up. It’s inevitable, inescapable, and puts emphasis on how they change rather than what they are doomed to become.
While Jayce and Viktor are complementary foils, I think Jayce's conviction and Silco's devotion darkly overlap to translate each other more thoroughly: Jayce compromises other values for the sake of manifesting his singular conviction (Hextech can help people/Hextech hurts people but must still progress in order to help people) and Silco's malleable devotion (sacrificing Zaunites for Zaun/moving the goalpost of creating the nation of Zaun in order to save the symbol of Zaun as Jinx). They both willingly destroy most of what they sought to create in order to clench at a whittled catalyst.
Watching this video make me fantasize about future generations stuying Arcane storywriting in literature classes like how we study Greek tragedies today. Great analysis.
The “insufferable IB kid” and the opening in general called me out and engaged me for the rest of the video. Your analysis of the characters are so detailed and make into me realize more about them.
wow. Outstanding & superbly eloquent commentary. After buying songs one by one I decided to buy & download the entire soundtrack just 2 days ago. Music’s role in the crafting of this masterpiece cannot be overstated. Thank you for this essay. Bravo.
In the lyrics for the song **Snakes** (the song when Vi and Jayce fight the Chem-barons), what really hooked me is the words "do you have no shame?" I thought for a long time that this is pointing to Jayce's ignorance and reckless behavior when shooting the hammer-cannon.
One of the best Arcane reviews I’ve seen! Please keep making more content on Arcane or any other piece of media you are interested in. You have my support!😀
Jinx is a tragic hero in a way Oedipus was. In ancient Greek Athens, everyone knows Oedipus' fate, it's a well known myth, yet Sophocles' play makes you care for him. Just like we know Jinx's fate from the game, we know she goes crazy, yet the show gets us to hope that maybe Vi gets to her and Powders comes back even though it's too late for that. There are no spoilers in a myth, it's common knowledge, and spoilers don't work on Arcane because of the game. Jinx was never gonna go back to Powder, and it is with that knowledge that we still watch her tragic fate develop and care. We care exactly because there's nothing to be done, and it's painful. It shows the powerlessness of man. We are shaped by so many circumstances that we really don't have much choice. That's why Jinx's tea party is such a well written scene. There was never a choice between Jinx and Powder. Her "choosing" the Jinx chair was actually chatartic, because even though it's not a real choice and she could never choose the Powder chair, she makes it a choice. She "chooses" her fate, she chooses to live in it, to own her own life. For me, her sitting in that chair was the pinnacle of the show. And it was _brilliant_ .
Alright you’ve convinced me to subscribe! I already thought it was a Greek tragedy but as it turns out it is. Also the Greek-esque/Roman-Esque statues in the intro don’t help the comparisons 😅😅🤣
Out of curiosity, have you seen the series Puella Magi Madoka Magica (and its sequel film Rebellion)? It is a very openly intertextual story calling upon writers from Goethe to Hans Christian Andersen to Nietzsche to Freud. (I'd argue for C.S. Lewis as one of the most interesting parallels as well, although no references to his work are overtly made.) It is also a tragedy in the classical sense, utilizing fate and character choices to push people into positions where they must re-evaluate who they are. I love a good tragedy, and both Arcane and Madoka are great modern takes on the age-old genre. Other great films that fit are 1986's Jean de Florette/Manon of the Spring (a single story told in two parts because a four hour movie is a tough sell) and 2019's Happy Old Year.
i`ve watched an enormous amount of arcane videos and yours just became my new favourite. Great attention to detail, from the bottom of my heart, thank you❤
i couldnt possibly consisley and coherently describe how much i love arcane, its story, characthers, style and everything - my best shot would probably be too redrict to your video here, for i feel you touched on so many of those reasons i love it, and ill defintley return to arcane and this video many times. Love how eloquently you put everything, and youre editing is amazing visually and neat w source and refrence Loads of love and apprectiation
So in Dynasty's and dystopia's there is the lyrics, Ooh, yeah, he mad. I'm racking up white diamonds For those who don't know white diamond is slang a term of endearment used by a black person to describe a white child who was positively influenced by their interaction...historical relationship.
great video and commentary; funny, in early college I wrote an essay comparing Mass Effect to I believe it was the Epic of Gilgamesh! I don’t really remember the content but I did get an A, fun to realize other nerds have similar ideas 😂
We’re currently analysing Frankenstein in my English class and attached to all the stuff you’re talking about here. Intertextuality, Greek tragedy, and fatal flaws as well as the idea of fate. Honestly I was supposed to be working on my essay right now but watching this video was practically studying for said essay because it brought up some ideas talked about in class that I had previously forgotten about. So, thank you for this it’s amazing and it’s helpful and it’s one of those things that make me wish really really deeply that I was able to analyse things better. I often sit in my English class thinking wow there’s so much to know here yet I feel like I am incapable of knowing any of it. Hopefully, by the end of my school year in November I will have learned that skill I honestly would love the idea to write more video essays or just essays in general about the content that I love and I hope that even though I don’t plan to study an English degree, I will have the capability to do that
I'll be insufferable and point out that the meaning of hamartia (αμαρτία) is never defined by Aristotle, despite him making a clear distinction between sins (ἁμαρτήματα), accidents (ἀτυχήματα) and crimes (ἀδικήματα). Thus, a fatal flaw being its definition is one of the ways those who have studied Aristotle and tragedies interpret it, but it's not the only one. An error of judgement is a different common and prevalent interpretation, as opposed to the moral or ethical flaw as scholars more usually describe it in Greek. Then scholars also introduce the question of whether the hero is aware or not, is it a voluntary and intentional action or is it a tragic error, an akratic behavior? The answer is usually that the former would make the action more of an offense, an injust action, a crime, an ἀδικήμα, not an ἁμαρτήμα, an hamartia. Those injust actions are more commonly taken by others and not the protagonist who is not meant to be depicted as sinister, malicious or evil. The action of hamartia being the result of a divine intervention, a god's involvement to cause madness in a character before they meet their impending doom, is yet another case we stumble upon in certain tragedies. At the end of the day, it's awesome how much of Aristotle applies to modern works and how people are willing to study and review them. I also apologize for any questionable translations of terms, I tried my best to use appropriate ones but I'm Greek and it's strange referring to these terms in English.
This is amazing and deserves so much more likes. I've always felt like the music in this show was so perfect, not like it was slapped in like many other shows. But you put it into such perfect words that it all makes sense
This was so fascinating and not anything I'd ever considered myself. I absolutely loved the video and analysis, awesome job!! It was so thoughtful and clear, and consistently engaging. So, so nicely done
He does, though on a shorter timeframe. When he finds out Vi is alive, he hides it from her and tries to deal with the ramifications before Jinx found out.
Our Love is my favorite of the songs, a truly upbeat one, in fact it's the only upbeat song. The end of ep.2 is where that tone of tragedy begins to wander into the show's themes. Our first taste of tragedy is in the scene contrasted by the song which invokes the last tones of innocence and this makes for one of the most tragic feelings without us even scratching the surface of tragedy in Arcane. Powder has not yet even blown up the warehouse and tragedy can already be felt. Whenever I rewatch Arcane, the first thing I do after crying during the finale is go back to the end of ep.2 and rewatch the Our Love sequence. That potency for tragedy can be felt and is now known having finished the show but it is during a stage in the story when all these terrible things could have been changed. That feeling is what makes tragedy tragic, the terrible things that unfold the way they do make for a sensation of "What Could Have Been". Truly 10/10 storytelling. The palpable nature of the themes in Arcane helps these themes land in a way that very few stories allow for. The themes are active in Arcane when in most, mediocre stories the themes are passive, permitting the action to unfold in the forefront. In Arcane, these themes a felt with all of the actions. In short, Arcane is the best show ever and I will slam your face with an atlas gauntlet if you think otherwise. Great vid!
Sometimes when analysing things I feel you can end up ruining them. In this case it's the opposite and a glimpse of what lies beneath, like Jinx eye at the of ep3 references a fallen angel. Didn't know that. Awesome! Hope you do more Arcane analysis, best I have seen/heard.
Wow....what a great analysis, so much better and deeper than most of the other Arcane revies. You did it....now Arcane hurts me a bit more than bevore - THANK YOU - thought that was impossible XD That just shows, what a super job you did
I usually hate fate as a theme but in a story like this it works exceptionally not only for the way they handle it but because the story itself is a prolouge. The audience either already knows or can easily find out how the characters and their releationships end up, its the writers job to get them to that predetermined spot. Thats why even though in most stories I role my eyes at fate themes it feels so tangable and real in this story which was suprising and delighting to me.
Idk if this was also a reference to the “Fallen Angel” painting, but perhaps also after killing Silco, when she tells Vi “I thought you could love me like before, even though I’m…different.” It’s almost a half-hearted, half-remembered flash of a moment connecting to Powder’s first fall from grace when her eye was framed in Silco’s arms. Now instead of wrapped in Silco’s arms, illuminated by destruction and fire that shrinks away into a black screen, they are facing away from each other, in darkness, out of balance in the frame, uncentered. And Jinx leaves this darkness to cut through a red sky with her own searing blue version of devastation. Just very mwah mwah poetic imagery.
This video was extremely well done, even though you had time restraints on the music side I wish you included 'Snakes' from the Vi and Jayce fight. I think of this song as Vi's theme as it incorporated a raw FIGHT energy to it, but if you look at the lyrics you can find that it's also her opinions on Jayce. With the line "You're a snake, I wanna punch you in the face" she could be referring to anyone in this scene but the lyrics kick in when Jayce is fighting. Not only do they kick in, they come in screaming as so does the beat drop. It also helps that she was already angry with him because she didn't get what she wanted in return for telling the council about Jinx, and then when she met him privately she got pissed over saying "You could go to prison for this." More importantly at the end of the fight where Jayce ended up killing a kid, Jayce felt guilty while Vi was pissed.
@@5x5Takes Misfit toys is also another really good one as it highlights exactly what Ekko and The Firelights stand for. It also proves that they don't side with Piltover or Silco's Zaun, as shown in the lyric "I declare war on anyone standing in the way of what I dream for".
hey!! your trauma-informed analyses are great (as a psych student who loves dbt and trauma informed care), i would love to see your take on the netflix series, You (yes the psycho stalker show AND yes i assure you it is CHOCK full of trauma symptoms and responses)
I think the second verse of What Could Have Been is told from Vi's perspective. You said it yourself. Powder wasn't the angel. Vi was the one who vowed and failed to protect Powder. She ended up shattering her psyche to pieces and forcing her to embrace the Jinx persona and to "kill" Powder. But Vi still thinks Powder is still somewhere in there and is still trying to protect her. She thinks Jinx is an "invention". Just a new mindset that Powder used in order to survive and cope with her guilt.
In addition to the reference to Alexandre Cabanel's "Fallen Angel", I wonder if John Martin's "The Great Day of His Wrath" is referenced by Heimerdinger's visions of destruction.
Can you do a vid on *'the 100'* ? I rlly loved that the show and i discovered and decided to watch she ra by one of your videos! Id love to have your view on the show (i binged it exactly like arcane and she ra, its amazing!) Amazing vid btw
i believe it feels Greek how you say in the title, because they followed the basis of the ancient greek plays, which from then on became the de facto into making a story. it has everything. A tragic hero. A dichotomy of good and evil. A tragic waste. Hamartia (the hero’s tragic flaw)
I love all your analysis so much. I'd love to be able to see those things by myself when consuming media but I don't know how (I didn't have a good literature education). How do I get there? Do you have any recommendations on how to be able to? Sorry to bother you I just really like your analysis and my hunger to be good at it raises after I watch one of your videos 😅
Jinx messes everything up. She is in a Greek sense "cursed" or "doomed". Even when she tries to be helpful, it costs her or someone else something. For example, her theft of the Hextech Crystal comes with the deaths of enforcers and a headache and problem for for both Silco and Marcus. In the end she causes the death of the head of Zaun and presumably most or all of the council, ironically Zaun's newest and probably best ally. She is unable to escape herself, a Jinx.
"Is it fate that Cait and Vi find themselves on opposite sides of a door on a day that will change their lives, years before they actually meet?" Ugh. I am in love with them still🌈🌈
the amount of character/story study about arcane on UA-cam have been astonishing! I'm glad that we're getting lots of quality content from a great show. season 1 of arcane is a masterclass of story telling in a short amount of time and i hope the season 2 will be as good as this season but i have my doubts
It was extremely rushed in the end but yes, a lot of the storytelling was well done. Masterclass? Maybe for animations, I don’t know, I’m no animator. This is just my opinion but I don’t personally see it as masterclass when compared to what sci-fi novels are out there in general. And I’m not even talking the grand universal expanding ones but even including small pulp books Arcane is at B level. Still good though!
Mask it’s not just the animation The acting (both voice acting and how characters act based on facial expressions) The music, the songs Great camera shots, editing, directing Great fights + nice choreography Add to that a good story and compelling characters World building without talking about world building and all of that was shown in the background All of that in just 9 episodes Haven’t seen any other animated tv show to be as good as this That’s why it is a masterclass in what it is If some day i want to make animated stuff, arcane is THE show i will look up to
Also by the end of S1, almost no character has a happy ending. The closest might be Heimerdinger, who, by working with the FIrelights can help people without the council interfering.
It's a classic greek tragedy. It even has a Cartharsis with the purgation of pity and fear. We pity Jinx at the end, and we also fear for what happens to the to the other characters (The bomb).
Ever since watching Arcane, I haven't been able to get over how much I love Jinx for the same reasons as Catra. It breaks my heart to apply your analysis of Powder to Catra: she has a deep need to help, driven by her trauma and a deep fear of being left behind. Being useful is a defense mechanism for these characters who can't understand themselves simply as loved for their own sake; the Horde and Piltover have taught them that they have no intrinsic value, so they have to make their own. And Catra keeps trying to prove her usefulness: to Shadow Weaver, then to Hordak, then to Horde Prime. "Save the Cat" is a turning point for her because there's no possible motivation for Adora's actions besides love, though this takes a while to sink in. It's much worse for Jinx because she doesn't get this clarity -- immediately after reuniting with Vi, the presence of Caitlyn makes her worry that it was only her use as a weapon that mattered to them. Similarly, the last turning point for Catra (as well as Adora) is Shadow Weaver's self-sacrifice, which shows both of them just how little pure *usefulness* matters compared to the love they want. Jinx comes so close to a similar turning point, in Silco's choice to save her, but she just misses it. The bitter, bitter irony is that in Ep9 she would have been extremely useful to Silco as a bargaining chip--she would get him everything he ever wanted--but of course usefulness was always only the means to an end for her, and she *can't* take the chance of finding out what she really was to him. It breaks my heart.
In that same way, I find Vi similar to Adora. The constant pressure of responsibility for others and the "whatever happens it's on you" makes the similarity uncanny to me.
@@pip_a_doodle2175 oh, absolutely! it's one reason i'm a huuuge sucker for jinx & vi's relationship. it's super interesting how, narratively, vi & adora have similar experiences of being thrown out of their world and finding *something* that deserves their affection in the alien world they had grown up hating. of course, arcane is grittier than she-ra in most ways, but the parallels between the fright zone & zaun are really interesting. zaun is subjugated where the horde is a colonizer, but that doesn't make a big difference to your average denizen. (in fact, especially given what we learn about scorpia's past, we should remember that pretty much everybody living in the fright zone *was* etherian before hordak showed up.) oh dear, cait really is glimmer isn't she? her mom is even the next closest thing to queen
SOOOOO true
It’s a co dependent sibling dynamic which is very interesting, makes it very relatable to a lot of people
Not saying Catra and Adora are related 💀
But the roles they had growing up together match well
Very cool of you to point their similaries out, Let’s see what they’ll do with Jinx and Vi this season 😁
I'd add that I feel like Viktor the scientist is also a direct reference to the Frankeinstein book by Mary Shelley, given his name and his profession. He is both the creator and the creature in his situation. Jinx also reminds me of the Creature a little bit, given they're both monsters who seek revenge, but also consequences of the circumstances they've been surrounded: violence, rejection, trauma, etc. deeply misunderstood aswell
Also, to say something a little bit more relevant to THIS essay: could there be any better example of Aristotelian pity & fear than this show? I doubt it. Your commentary on the nature of fate in Arcane is I think the best piece of commentary I've heard about the show, and the clips you chose for that discussion are doing some really interesting counterpointing to what you're saying. Thanks for sharing this with us
I think the best word I could use to describe Jayce as a character is malleable, much like the metal he uses to forge tools and weapons in his family’s workshop. When put under enough pressure and heat, he can be influenced to be whatever others feel will suit them to their benefit. He’s flexible and pliable, and throughout the series he bends dangerously close to his breaking point.
I think people use his good heart against him
The What What Could Have Been song for me is not only directed to Vi (mostly to Vi) but also to the council, to Piltover to the bridge scene to everything that made Powder become Jinx out of survival instinct, to Fate. She wouldn't have to become Jinx if the council took care of the undercity, if Jayce didn't have the stones, if and what ifs. This song is like desperation in front of Fate everything that happened for the story to be at this point (almost acceptance of the situation but never completely). A cry of help that says "too late", it's on "you" it's on all of you. With just before the song starts "We will show them, we will show them all" it's Anarchy, it's Revenge. This song and scene is a masterpiece. And as viewers we're just like every other characters, powerless. Witnesses to the failure of a society and thus the creation of a Monster we can't blame. But we can all together with Jinx blame Fate.
(I wrote this during the song part of this video so if it doesn't make sense to the conclusions of the video this is why)
Glad you're doing analyses on this show. There's a LOT to unpack here.
The way they mold scenes into music videos is something Riot have been doing for years in their cinematic trailers. When you get the chance you should watch a couple of them, namely the Awaken, Warriors and The Call trailers which are some of the most popular among them. They're crazy good
Arcane has been one of my favorite studies in characterization done right in media as of late. Seeing the deeper analysis of everyone's fatal flaws was something I hadn't dwelt too deeply on through my first viewing, so this has given me reason to go back and rewatch the series. And while we're talking about going back to rewatch, holy cow! I did not realize how intertwined the themes of the music were! That's definitely something I want to go back and get more notes on. Finally, I had never thought of seeing fate in fiction is a symptom of the interconnectedness of characters in a system, and that makes perfect sense to me. That's a great way to frame it in a way that doesn't make it feel slaved to the writers, gods of the story.
She-Ra analysis brought me to this channel, and it's wonderful Arcane analysis like this that's kept me around.
It's awesome to see you unpack characters, motives, connections, etc. because while it says a lot about the stories and characters you talk about I also get to see some of those things reflected in myself when I wasn't aware they were there before. (I binge-watched all of She-Ra, best day of my life, because I wanted to be able to watch one of your videos without spoilers.)
Also, another youtuber named "schnee" has also been looking at Arcane, but from a literary standpoint instead of a psychological standpoint. Your videos mesh together extremely well since they both center on the characters. Thought you might want to take a look (:
Thanks for getting me into She-Ra.
delighted i was able to nudge you towards she ra. excellent show.
i’ve seen a couple of his! good stuff! i’m especially amazed at how many he cranks out. always envious of creators that can do that.
i always try to approach things thru a mixed psychological/philosophical/storytelling lens. because it’s always “why does this matter to US,” “what provokes these feelings and reactions as we experience this story?” for me.
anyhow, thanks for your kind words
Powder's fatal flaw is not "wanting to help", it is fear of abandonment. That fear leads to the need to be appreciated (so she won't be abandoned), thus always wanting to help and be valuable, but it is an consequence of the deeper cause.. Jinx loses that flaw (while gaining others), and the Mad Tea Party scene is her working through the final transition from Powder to Jinx, a transition that was arrested without the resolution with Vi. When she kills Silco, she seals her fate as "a jinx" in her mind (she's killed nearly everyone she loves) and accepts that Vi will never love her as she wants and needs. So she gives it up.
You’re absolutely right about powders fatal flaw
The quote would be: "Punch first, ask questions while punching" but I'll let it slide.
Very well analyse on how each of their own justice pushes them closer and closer to the tragedy. Really appreciate the effort!
This doesn't necessarily have to do with the ancient Greek literary device, but someone mentioned some brilliant parallels between She-ra and Arcane in terms of intertexuality, and so I notice another detail. If you consider that Jinx's fishbone probably will kill/severely injure Cait's mom (someone of great political influence), it is just like Catra unintentionally "killing" Glimmer's mom (Queen Angela) with the portal. Furthermore, there's a great mentioning of how Cait and Jinx are parallel in terms of their strengths, appearance and relationship with Vi. It's like how we used to see S4 Glimmer and Catra as parallels in terms of their arcs and relationships.
So to extrapolate what will probably happen in the upcoming season: Cait will be someone suffering through grief, learning to take on new responsibilities and probably make a few mistakes along the way. And Jinx is definitely going down an even darker path before her redemption (if she will ever get any).
Thank you again for another amazing video and Arcane analysis. It is truly enjoyable seeing and hearing you break down the textual and psychological aspects that makes these shows just great to watch. Keep up the good work.
this ‼️
Love the whole video! The nod to pyrrhic victory and Ventus really got me. Can't wait to see your deep dive into Mel if/when you have the time
so glad someone appreciated that!
@@5x5Takes your video essays are some of my favourite ever! I can’t wait!
As a Classics major in progress and an average Arcane enjoyer, you are one of my favorite analysts so far
Emotionally and literarily intelligent analysis. Love that you caught the "Fallen Angel" reference. Are you a student of history?
On my mind i saw 'what could have been' as a representation of silco's relationship with piltover and his will to make zaun independent, but from jinx's perspective makes more sense
Gosh your work inspires me
Also, the show is kinda gay and Greek Mythology is a LOT more gay then people realize. I mean Achilles, Heracles, Poseidon, Athena, Artemis, Apollo, Perseus' parents I think are implied to be in a Polyamory relationship (not counting Zeus) and more that I'm likely not remembering but yeah all these major figures in Ancient Greece are Queer. :)
Fate is a big theme in Greek romance too- like Patroclus and Achilles. So it’s befitting that Jayce and Viktor would be fitting opposites of interconnected backgrounds and great partners. And that Caitlyn and Vi would be the same. That’s super gay. And I love them.
I can't even watch a analysis of this show without tearing up, even now weeks after finishing it….for the fifth time-/. I was late to the party on arcane so only watched it a few weeks ago & i feel i am actually in some sort of bizarre mourning process for powder, an animated character! Ha haaa. Great analysis FbyFT, i've really enjoyed both of your arcane vids. Many thanks.
My mind immediately went to "because it's gay, duh".
So true.
Greek mythologies definitely had a lot of gays.
Interesting tidbit: Greeks saw boys being gay as a sign of manliness, since nothing is as masculine as another man, especially when gender representation was something they didn't have. No clue if women were allowed to be gay or not, to the greeks they were kinda just there to serve the men.
Oops, my comment is a little bit of a downer now. Oh well
@@dragon_n7129 It just reminded me how shitty was the past.
Lmao
Correction: hella gay.
loved your analysis of the music, and I only have one thing to say: I wish they'd have enounciated more clearly as a second language speaker. Some of the songs sound too mumbly for me to pick up the proper lyrics without having the lyric sheet in front of me
English is my one and only language and I still have to look up the lyrics to figure out the lines of almost any song. Different reason though, I've got bad ears.
I think that makes it pretty cool. As if it’s mourning, underwater
Brilliant analysis! Putting that IB diploma to good use!
This is really interesting, thanks for sharing your thoughts. I really loved your Korrasami essay.
Yeah, while I agree that Arcane has a lot of simularities to Greek tragedies, throughout watching the show, I also noticed a couple of nods to Shakespearian tragedies as well (this is gonna be a long comment, so buckle up everyone 😀).
For instance, while the ending to both Greek and Shakespearian tragedy is usually very predictable and inevitable (giving it that constant angst for the audience watching), Shakespeare expanded this idea by introducing (and putting plot-focus on) side-tragedies of his own. Like, in Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare outright tells you that these lovers will end up taking their own life ("A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life" in the Prologue), and while he makes that part of the story inevitable, he still manages to shock the audience by killing side-characters that didn't need to die (like with the death of Mercusio in the beginning of Act 3), making that aspecf of the story completely unpredictable, and therefore able to suprise even the most hardened tragedy-experts among the audience (sure, Greek Tragedies had side-tragedies too, but they were never explicitly brought into the play's focus).
In Arcane, simular side-tragedies occur, with the first of major ones being the death of Milo and Clagger in Episode 3. Sure, it could be guessed based on their lack of characterisation, their lack of an intresting character design and their absence from League that they will be 'desposable characters', but never in a million years could anyone guess HOW they died, and how much of an impact their death will have on the show's story (despite their death being completely avoidable and unnecesary). The deaths of Benzo and Sky (the shopkeeper from Episode 1, and Victor's assistant) were also unexpected, and both served to enrich the arcs of more major characters (namely Ekko and Victor). And of course, who could forget Silco's death, which had a big impact, and ended up bringing absolutely devastating consequences for every character in the show (I'm not mentioning Vander here, because his death was pretty inevitable, and Silco being the one to kill him was also very predictable).
Aside these from side-tragedies, Arcane also has a pair tragic heroes as their main characters (as opposed to one in Greek tragedies), and the absence of Poetic Justice (when good is rewarded, and evil is punished) is also (I believe) something that was inspired by the tragedies of Shakespeare. Regardless, we are still left with an emotionally complling, modern Greek tragedy, with the elements of Shakespeare sprinkled in throughout.
HARD agree. and biblical! i had to stop myself or else it would’ve ballooned out of scope. but i’d love to tackle it from either/both of those angles as well.
Another common element of both Greek and Shakespearean tragedy is prophecy, the audience is told point blank how things will end and it forces you to focus on the journey and twists of fate rather than predicting the inevitable destination. In this case it is once again the game. You know exactly how Jinx, Vi, Caitlyn, Jayce, Viktor, Ekko, Singed, etc. will end up. It’s inevitable, inescapable, and puts emphasis on how they change rather than what they are doomed to become.
@@jacobb5484 That's a very intresting meta perspective, and I agree! Thank you for sharing it! 😊
Fantastic. I love your analysis of the show and the parallels of the show. I hope you make that video about Mel.
While Jayce and Viktor are complementary foils, I think Jayce's conviction and Silco's devotion darkly overlap to translate each other more thoroughly: Jayce compromises other values for the sake of manifesting his singular conviction (Hextech can help people/Hextech hurts people but must still progress in order to help people) and Silco's malleable devotion (sacrificing Zaunites for Zaun/moving the goalpost of creating the nation of Zaun in order to save the symbol of Zaun as Jinx). They both willingly destroy most of what they sought to create in order to clench at a whittled catalyst.
Watching this video make me fantasize about future generations stuying Arcane storywriting in literature classes like how we study Greek tragedies today. Great analysis.
The “insufferable IB kid” and the opening in general called me out and engaged me for the rest of the video. Your analysis of the characters are so detailed and make into me realize more about them.
wow. Outstanding & superbly eloquent commentary. After buying songs one by one I decided to buy & download the entire soundtrack just 2 days ago. Music’s role in the crafting of this masterpiece cannot be overstated. Thank you for this essay. Bravo.
because its a many character focused epic with many intertwining plotlines and plot twists
I'd love to see a video about Angel and Crime and Punishment now that you've brought it up! Really anything Buffyverse would be cool!
it’s delusional. one day i’ll make it a video
I wasn't expecting to be hit with a KH reference in the most emotional bit of the video
glad you enjoyed
I love your break down on this. It def seems like a Greek tragedy.
In the lyrics for the song **Snakes** (the song when Vi and Jayce fight the Chem-barons), what really hooked me is the words "do you have no shame?" I thought for a long time that this is pointing to Jayce's ignorance and reckless behavior when shooting the hammer-cannon.
I feel like the song snakes could represent jinxes perception of Vi becoming an enforcer snakes are are often depicted as double crossers and liars.
One of the best Arcane reviews I’ve seen! Please keep making more content on Arcane or any other piece of media you are interested in. You have my support!😀
Jinx is a tragic hero in a way Oedipus was.
In ancient Greek Athens, everyone knows Oedipus' fate, it's a well known myth, yet Sophocles' play makes you care for him. Just like we know Jinx's fate from the game, we know she goes crazy, yet the show gets us to hope that maybe Vi gets to her and Powders comes back even though it's too late for that. There are no spoilers in a myth, it's common knowledge, and spoilers don't work on Arcane because of the game. Jinx was never gonna go back to Powder, and it is with that knowledge that we still watch her tragic fate develop and care. We care exactly because there's nothing to be done, and it's painful. It shows the powerlessness of man. We are shaped by so many circumstances that we really don't have much choice.
That's why Jinx's tea party is such a well written scene. There was never a choice between Jinx and Powder. Her "choosing" the Jinx chair was actually chatartic, because even though it's not a real choice and she could never choose the Powder chair, she makes it a choice. She "chooses" her fate, she chooses to live in it, to own her own life. For me, her sitting in that chair was the pinnacle of the show.
And it was _brilliant_ .
Alright you’ve convinced me to subscribe!
I already thought it was a Greek tragedy but as it turns out it is. Also the Greek-esque/Roman-Esque statues in the intro don’t help the comparisons 😅😅🤣
LITERALLY dude
Out of curiosity, have you seen the series Puella Magi Madoka Magica (and its sequel film Rebellion)? It is a very openly intertextual story calling upon writers from Goethe to Hans Christian Andersen to Nietzsche to Freud. (I'd argue for C.S. Lewis as one of the most interesting parallels as well, although no references to his work are overtly made.) It is also a tragedy in the classical sense, utilizing fate and character choices to push people into positions where they must re-evaluate who they are. I love a good tragedy, and both Arcane and Madoka are great modern takes on the age-old genre.
Other great films that fit are 1986's Jean de Florette/Manon of the Spring (a single story told in two parts because a four hour movie is a tough sell) and 2019's Happy Old Year.
i`ve watched an enormous amount of arcane videos and yours just became my new favourite. Great attention to detail, from the bottom of my heart, thank you❤
As a fellow IB survivor, i know exactly what you mean!! Great video!1
Your choice of clips connecting with your voiceover is immaculate. Well done. Absolutely enjoyed your perspective.
Yessir, been waiting for this one
thanks, loaf of tofu
Great Video, but im a little sad you didn't mention "Guns for Hire" song, that moment with Jinx's flare was the most emotional to me.
next time
i couldnt possibly consisley and coherently describe how much i love arcane, its story, characthers, style and everything - my best shot would probably be too redrict to your video here, for i feel you touched on so many of those reasons i love it, and ill defintley return to arcane and this video many times. Love how eloquently you put everything, and youre editing is amazing visually and neat w source and refrence
Loads of love and apprectiation
I... did not get that it was his eye :( but I get it now!
So in Dynasty's and dystopia's there is the lyrics,
Ooh, yeah, he mad. I'm racking up white diamonds
For those who don't know white diamond is slang a term of endearment used by a black person to describe a white child who was positively influenced by their interaction...historical relationship.
Amazing video as always! Super interesting to think of the gods in arcane as the systems that be
Awesome video, thanks for sharing!
Oh my gosh I loved this!! The section on how music is used in arcane was especially enlightening, awesome video!!
great video and commentary; funny, in early college I wrote an essay comparing Mass Effect to I believe it was the Epic of Gilgamesh! I don’t really remember the content but I did get an A, fun to realize other nerds have similar ideas 😂
Another amazing deep dive!
this channel is one of the hidden gems of UA-cam
We’re currently analysing Frankenstein in my English class and attached to all the stuff you’re talking about here. Intertextuality, Greek tragedy, and fatal flaws as well as the idea of fate. Honestly I was supposed to be working on my essay right now but watching this video was practically studying for said essay because it brought up some ideas talked about in class that I had previously forgotten about. So, thank you for this it’s amazing and it’s helpful and it’s one of those things that make me wish really really deeply that I was able to analyse things better. I often sit in my English class thinking wow there’s so much to know here yet I feel like I am incapable of knowing any of it. Hopefully, by the end of my school year in November I will have learned that skill I honestly would love the idea to write more video essays or just essays in general about the content that I love and I hope that even though I don’t plan to study an English degree, I will have the capability to do that
As soon as the first notes of "What could have been" hit my eyes tear up - and I am a quite jaded and cynical 41 year old man...
I'll be insufferable and point out that the meaning of hamartia (αμαρτία) is never defined by Aristotle, despite him making a clear distinction between sins (ἁμαρτήματα), accidents (ἀτυχήματα) and crimes (ἀδικήματα). Thus, a fatal flaw being its definition is one of the ways those who have studied Aristotle and tragedies interpret it, but it's not the only one.
An error of judgement is a different common and prevalent interpretation, as opposed to the moral or ethical flaw as scholars more usually describe it in Greek. Then scholars also introduce the question of whether the hero is aware or not, is it a voluntary and intentional action or is it a tragic error, an akratic behavior? The answer is usually that the former would make the action more of an offense, an injust action, a crime, an ἀδικήμα, not an ἁμαρτήμα, an hamartia. Those injust actions are more commonly taken by others and not the protagonist who is not meant to be depicted as sinister, malicious or evil.
The action of hamartia being the result of a divine intervention, a god's involvement to cause madness in a character before they meet their impending doom, is yet another case we stumble upon in certain tragedies.
At the end of the day, it's awesome how much of Aristotle applies to modern works and how people are willing to study and review them.
I also apologize for any questionable translations of terms, I tried my best to use appropriate ones but I'm Greek and it's strange referring to these terms in English.
This is amazing and deserves so much more likes. I've always felt like the music in this show was so perfect, not like it was slapped in like many other shows. But you put it into such perfect words that it all makes sense
This was so fascinating and not anything I'd ever considered myself. I absolutely loved the video and analysis, awesome job!! It was so thoughtful and clear, and consistently engaging. So, so nicely done
9:38 "sit our thrones" foreshadowing to Jinx's dinner party, maybe?
One correction: Silco never lies to Jinx about Vi, IIRC. He believed she was dead, and only learned the truth shortly before Jinx did.
He does, though on a shorter timeframe. When he finds out Vi is alive, he hides it from her and tries to deal with the ramifications before Jinx found out.
Our Love is my favorite of the songs, a truly upbeat one, in fact it's the only upbeat song. The end of ep.2 is where that tone of tragedy begins to wander into the show's themes. Our first taste of tragedy is in the scene contrasted by the song which invokes the last tones of innocence and this makes for one of the most tragic feelings without us even scratching the surface of tragedy in Arcane. Powder has not yet even blown up the warehouse and tragedy can already be felt. Whenever I rewatch Arcane, the first thing I do after crying during the finale is go back to the end of ep.2 and rewatch the Our Love sequence. That potency for tragedy can be felt and is now known having finished the show but it is during a stage in the story when all these terrible things could have been changed. That feeling is what makes tragedy tragic, the terrible things that unfold the way they do make for a sensation of "What Could Have Been". Truly 10/10 storytelling. The palpable nature of the themes in Arcane helps these themes land in a way that very few stories allow for. The themes are active in Arcane when in most, mediocre stories the themes are passive, permitting the action to unfold in the forefront. In Arcane, these themes a felt with all of the actions. In short, Arcane is the best show ever and I will slam your face with an atlas gauntlet if you think otherwise. Great vid!
Sometimes when analysing things I feel you can end up ruining them. In this case it's the opposite and a glimpse of what lies beneath, like Jinx eye at the of ep3 references a fallen angel. Didn't know that. Awesome! Hope you do more Arcane analysis, best I have seen/heard.
Love your analysis, gonna use this as inspiration
Wow....what a great analysis, so much better and deeper than most of the other Arcane revies.
You did it....now Arcane hurts me a bit more than bevore - THANK YOU - thought that was impossible XD
That just shows, what a super job you did
I love this unpacking!!
I usually hate fate as a theme but in a story like this it works exceptionally not only for the way they handle it but because the story itself is a prolouge.
The audience either already knows or can easily find out how the characters and their releationships end up, its the writers job to get them to that predetermined spot. Thats why even though in most stories I role my eyes at fate themes it feels so tangable and real in this story which was suprising and delighting to me.
Idk if this was also a reference to the “Fallen Angel” painting, but perhaps also after killing Silco, when she tells Vi “I thought you could love me like before, even though I’m…different.” It’s almost a half-hearted, half-remembered flash of a moment connecting to Powder’s first fall from grace when her eye was framed in Silco’s arms.
Now instead of wrapped in Silco’s arms, illuminated by destruction and fire that shrinks away into a black screen, they are facing away from each other, in darkness, out of balance in the frame, uncentered. And Jinx leaves this darkness to cut through a red sky with her own searing blue version of devastation.
Just very mwah mwah poetic imagery.
This video was extremely well done, even though you had time restraints on the music side I wish you included 'Snakes' from the Vi and Jayce fight. I think of this song as Vi's theme as it incorporated a raw FIGHT energy to it, but if you look at the lyrics you can find that it's also her opinions on Jayce. With the line "You're a snake, I wanna punch you in the face" she could be referring to anyone in this scene but the lyrics kick in when Jayce is fighting. Not only do they kick in, they come in screaming as so does the beat drop. It also helps that she was already angry with him because she didn't get what she wanted in return for telling the council about Jinx, and then when she met him privately she got pissed over saying "You could go to prison for this." More importantly at the end of the fight where Jayce ended up killing a kid, Jayce felt guilty while Vi was pissed.
me too man
@@5x5Takes Misfit toys is also another really good one as it highlights exactly what Ekko and The Firelights stand for. It also proves that they don't side with Piltover or Silco's Zaun, as shown in the lyric "I declare war on anyone standing in the way of what I dream for".
hey!! your trauma-informed analyses are great (as a psych student who loves dbt and trauma informed care), i would love to see your take on the netflix series, You (yes the psycho stalker show AND yes i assure you it is CHOCK full of trauma symptoms and responses)
I think the second verse of What Could Have Been is told from Vi's perspective. You said it yourself. Powder wasn't the angel. Vi was the one who vowed and failed to protect Powder. She ended up shattering her psyche to pieces and forcing her to embrace the Jinx persona and to "kill" Powder. But Vi still thinks Powder is still somewhere in there and is still trying to protect her. She thinks Jinx is an "invention". Just a new mindset that Powder used in order to survive and cope with her guilt.
God, I love this.
in a video about mirroring other works, the video ends with credits with the same sound episode three ends with. Well played
What a lovely analysis.Thank you:3
My sister introduced me to Arcane. I was talking to her and I said something connecting it to Greek tragedy, and then she sent me this video. 🤯
In addition to the reference to Alexandre Cabanel's "Fallen Angel", I wonder if John Martin's "The Great Day of His Wrath" is referenced by Heimerdinger's visions of destruction.
Even more reminiscent, John Martin's "Destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum"
Your videos are amazing!
You’ve earned a subscriber from this video.
Great video as always! :)
Also, I kind of feel that “She-Ra” lifts quite a bit from the Aeneid.
"Everyone does something at the wrong time"
Can you do a vid on *'the 100'* ? I rlly loved that the show and i discovered and decided to watch she ra by one of your videos!
Id love to have your view on the show (i binged it exactly like arcane and she ra, its amazing!)
Amazing vid btw
@schnee1 had some really interesting commentary on Mel, and really want to see where you go with that.
luv mel
Oh man...IB...*shivers*
Cos the Greeks invented everything, not just Windex and Kimonos!
I’d love to listen to “ enemy “ with Ancient Greeks
fucking outstanding
i believe it feels Greek how you say in the title, because they followed the basis of the ancient greek plays, which from then on became the de facto into making a story. it has everything. A tragic hero. A dichotomy of good and evil. A tragic waste. Hamartia (the hero’s tragic flaw)
I love all your analysis so much. I'd love to be able to see those things by myself when consuming media but I don't know how (I didn't have a good literature education). How do I get there? Do you have any recommendations on how to be able to? Sorry to bother you I just really like your analysis and my hunger to be good at it raises after I watch one of your videos 😅
Jinx messes everything up. She is in a Greek sense "cursed" or "doomed".
Even when she tries to be helpful, it costs her or someone else something. For example, her theft of the Hextech Crystal comes with the deaths of enforcers and a headache and problem for for both Silco and Marcus. In the end she causes the death of the head of Zaun and presumably most or all of the council, ironically Zaun's newest and probably best ally. She is unable to escape herself, a Jinx.
You are a top tier UA-cam
How about Guns for Hire ?
"Is it fate that Cait and Vi find themselves on opposite sides of a door on a day that will change their lives, years before they actually meet?"
Ugh. I am in love with them still🌈🌈
I KNOW AN IB-KID WHEN I SEE THEM, after all i am one myself ;0
it’s terrible isn’t it
Did I hear IB, also known as International Baccalaureate?
i can neither confirm nor deny
@@5x5Takes I have never thought I would see an alive IB graduate in the wild, yet here we are
@@rays2771 the fact that i even have this channel is a testament to how persistently we stay insufferable
Ah yes a fellow IB kid
in all honesty its the greeks that were the true master of story telling
the amount of character/story study about arcane on UA-cam have been astonishing! I'm glad that we're getting lots of quality content from a great show. season 1 of arcane is a masterclass of story telling in a short amount of time and i hope the season 2 will be as good as this season but i have my doubts
It was extremely rushed in the end but yes, a lot of the storytelling was well done. Masterclass? Maybe for animations, I don’t know, I’m no animator.
This is just my opinion but I don’t personally see it as masterclass when compared to what sci-fi novels are out there in general. And I’m not even talking the grand universal expanding ones but even including small pulp books Arcane is at B level. Still good though!
Mask it’s not just the animation
The acting (both voice acting and how characters act based on facial expressions)
The music, the songs
Great camera shots, editing, directing
Great fights + nice choreography
Add to that a good story and compelling characters
World building without talking about world building and all of that was shown in the background
All of that in just 9 episodes
Haven’t seen any other animated tv show to be as good as this
That’s why it is a masterclass in what it is
If some day i want to make animated stuff, arcane is THE show i will look up to
because everything goes wrong?