Arcane – Season 2 Episode 1 Recap & Review

Heavy is the Crown

Episode 1 of Arcane season 2 starts with the aftermath of that shocking explosion orchestrated by Jinx. Mel and Jayce are, miraculously, still alive, but most of the council are dead or in considerable pain. When Jayce catches a glimpse of the crackling blue in the distance, he realizes Viktor may still be alive. He rushes him to the lab and tries to revive him with the Hextech, but despite a consistent pulse, he barely looks human. The Hexcore is evolving and it seems to be the only thing keeping him alive right now.

However, the more trying matters here stem from the grief-stricken tone hanging over the city. A beautiful montage ensues, with our main characters the only bits of colour in a hand-drawn, scrawled black and white funeral procession. Caitlyn is overcome by a swirling cocktail of grief and anger, given her mum was one of those who died. She’s not the only one though.

The remaining council are angry and call this war. Regardless of innocents, Councilor Salo is determined to go in with force and take them out. However, Mel doesn’t agree. In doing this, it would unify the Undercity against them and risk a more brutal force than one deranged individual like Jinx. Me wants to pin a reward to apprehend her, but the others refuse. They’re going to invade instead – and as a council they need to be unified on this decision.

However, Ambessa Medarda is here with Salo and it seems she’s using his grief to try and make a play for the Hextech.

Caitlyn is the focus here though and between feeling guilty for not taking the shot against Jinx, and living up to her family legacy, she’s conflicted. There’s also the matter of Vi too. This is the only person Caitlyn allows herself to be vulnerable around. Vi wants the gauntlets remade so she can go after Jinx, but she refuses. There’s no more time for rogue missions but Caitlyn has another proposal.

She wants Vi to be one of the enforcers when they storm into Zaun. This would show a unified front and that not all of the Undercity are these reckless mercenaries those in Piltover believe them to be. Naturally, Vi vehemently refuses, given her past, and she leaves.

Jayce shows up to see Caitlyn next, who’s in danger of being swallowed up by her emotions. However, through it all she still has positive things to say about Vi. A junior officer called Maddie arrives to see her like a fangirl in the street. She talks to Vi about how Caitlyn had nothing but good things to say about her, and offers a lot of respect. It’s a different side to the Enforcers than she’s used to seeing; could it change her mind on everything?

When the memorial service takes place to honour the fallen, Vi notices something not quite right. Men still loyal to Silco make their play and his goons, disguised as officers and mourners, show up and immediately start war on the topside.

In the chaos, Jayce is slashed across the back but saved by Vi at the last second, while Caitlyn takes charge of the rabble Enforcer group with her pinpoint accuracy. However, thanks to the Hextech, Jayce and Vi help turn the tables together, alongside reinforcements showing. And those reinforcements? Well, they appear to be a merchant guild but we’ll have to wait and see on that front.

In the aftermath of this fight in the memorial, Caitlyn is angry and pissed off. Vi realizes that this was all a ploy to rile them up and make the topsiders angry enough to make a mistake. Well, looking at the devastation, it seems to be working. It would appear that someone may have been helping from the inside.

Caitlyn doesn’t know how to proceed from here, but the key could well be the Kiramman Key she’s given by her mum. She decides to embrace her airtight and shows up at the latest council meeting, meaning business. She’s leading a strike team into Zaun with three objectives – find Jinx, disable any Shimmer and neutralize all agents loyal to Silco. And the turning point? She’s modified a bunch of Hextech guns with Jayce. Oh, and Vi is now going to be an Enforcer too, armed with the Gauntlets she wanted.

The Episode Review

So Arcane is finally back and 2021’s best show doesn’t waste any time slipping into its groove. The aftermath of the council attack has obviously rocked the city, and the fight at the memorial only exemplifies the grief and anger everybody is feeling.

Where Arcane works so effectively though is with its characterisation. This time we get a lot more insight into Caitlyn, and her conflicting feelings and struggle to keep her emotions under check. She’s obviously grief-stricken and angry, but she’s also bitterly regretful for not doing more to stop Jinx. It’s so fascinating to watch this play out on-screen, as she looks close to teetering on the edge of sanity, struggling to hold it all in.

There are some beautiful scenes here too, like the black and white at the funeral against the coloured characters, or the montages too, giving an opportunity to show off the soundtrack which has always bee one of Arcane’s better elements.

Either way, that ending leaves the door wide open for the remaining two episodes this week.