This review will contain heavy spoilers.

I was prepared to write this review before the final episode. As soon as I finished the season, any words describing “Arcane” escaped me. I had to take an entire week before beginning this so I could process what I watched.

Riot Games’ “Arcane” tells the story behind the game “League of Legends.” The first season, released in 2021, tells the story of Piltover and the Undercity and provides the backstories of beloved champions such as The Machine Herald (Viktor), Jinx, Caitlyn, Jayce and Vi. While I have never played “League of Legends” and never will, this show does a phenomenal job of explaining the lore. 

The final season was split into three acts, each lasting three episodes. The first act begins where the previous season left off: right after Jinx blew up the council. Most of the counselors are either dead or severely maimed, including Caitlyn’s mother. Viktor is practically dead, and Jayce rushes him to the Hexcore, which merges itself with Viktor. The entire first act is spent with enforcers and Vi searching for Jinx so that she can be punished for the damage she caused.

The second act begins with a montage of enforcers attempting to find Jinx. It shows more Undercity factions being created, Ambessa grooming Caitlyn into the perfect dictator and the fallout of gay situationships. After Vi was abandoned by Caitlyn, she turned into a backstreet fighter and Caitlyn turned into a dictator. After Viktor leaves Jayce behind, he turns into the universe’s Jesus and Jayce disappears into his own creation.

The third and final act is spent portraying the battle of Viktor and Ambessa between everyone else in Piltover. The first episode shows where Jayce, Ekko and Heimerdinger disappeared to. The last two are spent in the final battle, and we see Vi and Caitlyn’s titillating reunion.

The first piece of overall praise I have for season two is the animation. When I watched season one three years ago, I was blown away, but this season has taken it to an entirely new level. 

The sound design was excellent as well. I was able to hear the ruffling of clothes, brushing of hair and even out-of-frame action perfectly. It’s so clear this show was expensive to produce, with a budget of $250 million.

The fight scene with Sevika and Jinx in Act I, when Sevika gets her new arm, blew my head off my shoulders. While it wasn’t as great as the Ekko and Jinx fight in season one, it was still excellent. 

The funeral scene in Act I with the black and white frames was entirely hand drawn with charcoal.

It is so rare to see hand drawn frames in modern-day animation.

The care and precision the director and animators took with this production is increasingly clear the more Riot continues to create new episodes.

The imagery in Act III during the final battle between Jayce and Viktor made me pause the show and stare at my screen in silence. The frame of Viktor as the Machine Herald in front of all the soldiers’ souls, with his cape flaring behind him and the nebula behind him, almost brought me to tears. The animators did a beautiful job of portraying Viktor as somewhat of a patron saint through imagery. Viktor’s portrayal through animation during the entirety of the season was jaw-dropping; there was never a dull moment. 

There are so many more things I would like to say about the animation alone, but those were the biggest moments my heart stuck to.

Continuing its legacy from last season, the soundtrack for “Arcane’s” newest installment is absolutely fitting for the mood of the story. Four songs stood out to me the most: “Paint the Town Blue” by Ashnikko, “这样很好 (Isha’s Song)” by Easton Chan, “Ma Meilleure Ennemie” by Stromae & Pomme and finally, “Come Play” by Stray Kids, Young Miko and Tom Morello. 

The entire scene for “Paint the Town Blue” was amazing, showing how the Undercity was coming together to support Jinx and literally painting the town blue.

As for Isha’s song, I do not have the words to describe the state it left me in. I finished that episode sobbing in the middle of The Times-Delphic’s office for a solid 10 minutes. Isha being mute and her song being in Mandarin, a language other than English, made the entire scene entirely more tragic. The memories flashing by as Isha is going to sacrifice herself and the climax reaching just as Isha runs for Jinx’s gun gives me goosebumps even as I rewatch the scene now. 

“Ma Meilleure Ennemie” is a song I’ve had on repeat since I saw Act III. This song set up  parallels between Ekko and Jinx fighting in season one and Ekko and Powder dancing in season two. Both scenes being four frames a second especially added to the effect. Translated from French, the opening lyrics say “I love you, I’m waiting for you.” That’s heartbreaking by itself given the context of the two’s relationship, but the chorus says “But my best enemy is you / Flee from me, the worst is you and I.” In Ekko’s universe, they are enemies. But in this new universe, they were lovers. 

Finally, Stray Kids. I am a long-time Stray Kids fan, and the scene where this song was played was perfect. I was on the edge of my seat the entire season, waiting for “Come Play” to ring in the background. The scene Riot chose perfectly matched the energy of the song. I listened to that song when it was released, and it remains on my playlist after finishing the show.

Aside from the music, what I absolutely love the most about “Arcane” is its acceptance of society’s unconventional.

Homosexuality isn’t unnatural or stigmatized in this world; it’s just normal.

Not one character makes a homophobic comment toward Vi and Caitlyn, and their relationship is never seen as anything else but love. Jayce and Viktor’s relationship, while never explicitly stated, has such extreme gay undertones. Anyone with a tiny bit of media literacy can see it’s clear, and I honestly love how Riot never made it crystal clear.

This season was phenomenal. It has been announced that Riot will be releasing several other shows that tell the story of “League of Legends.” While this season had some slight flaws, such as not being longer, it was absolutely perfect. I cannot wait to watch the installments coming in the future.