Arcane – Season 2 Episode 3 Recap & Review

Finally Got The Name Right

Episode 3 of Arcane season 2 starts with Caitlyn unleashing chemical warfare on the Undercity. This explains how she manages to slip in with the other Enforcers, using a series of passages and tunnels, and there’s a neat visual that shows them going down.

The Enforcers manage to save Heenot, one of Smeech’s goons, and he spills how Jinx is planning something big. She’s looking to reroute the piping for some reason, but we’re not sure why right now. Vi warns that Jinx may use Heenot and the other survivors against them, and urges Caitlyn not to bring them along. 

Vi is worried as everybody in her life has changed and she’s concerned that Caitlyn will go that route too. The pair talk in private, where they eventually kiss, tentatively, as Caitlyn makes a promise not to change.

Meanwhile, Amara, head of the Merchant Guild, shows up to see Ambessa Medarda. She easily makes her way in and points out that Ambessa has a debt to pay. She knows what they’re chasing and refuse to allow it. However, Ambessa gets the jump on the leader, and kills her outright, stabbing her in the gut. This is far from the end though, and Ambessa knows there are consequences coming.

Salo is not strong enough to hold them back, but Ambessa is not about to bring Mel into this plot either. So who will she turn to? For now, she heads to see Salo, demanding he rally as many families as possible loyal to their cause. She knows that the merchants won’t take this lying down.

Mel has her own spies and manages to obtain the Amara name. She also knows that Salo is just the puppet while Ambessa is going to be the puppet master. Ambessa is definitely rattled though, that much is true, and with a vial of Shimmer, it could be enough for Mel to take out Salo and stop her mother no matter what.

Over in Jayce’s lab, Jayce believes there may be wild runes out there. These are natural patterns that occur where the border between their world and the Arcane is thin. These are like fingerprints and basically retaliating against them abusing the Hextech.

Ecco, Heimerdinger and Jayce head down to the depths of the Hexcore, at least 200 feet down, to figure out what’s happening. There’s a failsafe at the Topside base, and the real power is far below.

Despite being miles from the main fissures, Ecco points out that if this thing blew, it would take out the pipes carrying water and ventilation. This explains why its been spreading into the flowers and plants. They soon realize that they’re right in the midst of the wild rune they’ve been talking about, and Jayce is shocked over what he sees.

Meanwhile, Caitlin has instructions to take the shot against Jinx if she presents herself. Well, Vi and Jinx talk but the latter has her own tricks, set up with mirrors around the large hall they’re in. Caitlyn misses her shot, thanks to the reflective shield, and Jinx gets the jump on them by using a bunch of explosives. Sevika is also here too, and as she and Caitlyn fight, so too do Jinx and Vi.

Vi gets the better of Jinx but just before she hits the killer blow, Isha arrives and protects her. This is the kid whom Jinx has taken under her wing and it throws Vi off her game. She can’t kill an innocent kid like this and in many ways, it reminds her of Powder too.

Caitlyn takes the shot, shooting the kid’s gun out of her hand. Isha instead throws her arms around Jinx. Caitlyn is ready to kill the kid and Jinx alike, but Vi is the voice of reason here. She grabs the gun and stops her from killing an innocent.

Sevika stops them all though, hitting a big explosive that unveils a huge torrent of wind that throws them out the room. This explains the rerouting of power and suddenly a torrent springs up and hits Piltover instead.

Sewers from all over the city belch kaleidoscopic tufts of steam that engulf the city. Caitlyn is angry at Vi and blames her for not allowing her to shoot. Vi though can sense the anger turning to villainy and warns that she’s acting just like Jinx. And that promise she made earlier on to not change? Yep, that’s gone out the window.

Remember the merchant’s guild? Well, they show up and consume both Mel and Elora. With the pair gone, Salo and Ambessa pounce on the opportunity and the latter makes a big play for power during a meeting with all the families. She demands martial law in the city, bringing up Amara’s death as nothing but a tragic accident from Silco’s goons, and decides to bring up an unlikely candidate for general in the city. And that person? None other than Caitlyn Kiramman. She’ll also have the power of Noxus at her disposal too.

Caitlyn takes her place as the general, while we catch our glimpse of this monstrous beast underground. It could well be Warwick, a wolf-esque creature from League of Legends lore but we’ll have to wait and see!

The Episode Review

So the final episode this week rolls round and delivers some shocking revelations. It would appear that we’ve got a Wild Rune to deal with, along with a new big bad brewing in the background. Not only that, but we’ll also have to contend with Ambessa vying for power. She’s clever, and clearly senses a lot of anger and grief within Caitlyn that she can use to her own advantage. This much was especially apparently in episode 1 when Mel mentioned that Caitlyn is in pain but hiding it well, and this appears to be where she’s going.

Meanwhile, we get a long-awaited stand off between Vi and Jinx, although the inclusion of Isha definitely throws a spanner in the works. It’s hard not to feel bad for Vi though, who has seen her whole world crumble around her. She and Caitlyn make a promise not to change, and then 10 minutes later, Caitlyn does just that.

The ending is definitely a big turning point in this one though and we’ll have to wait and see where this series goes next!