Arcane is a Netflix original series based on the video game League of Legends, which focuses on the stories of two champions in the game. The setting is primarily between the thriving city of Piltover and the underground nation of Zaun. The show first premiered in November 2021, receiving outstanding critical acclaim for its animation, storytelling, characters, and much more. The show has also won several much-deserved awards, including Best Adaptation in the 2022 Game Awards. The second and final season premiered this past November and has also received fairly positive reviews ahead of its release. 

I highly recommend watching Arcane in general. The story is beautiful and filled to the brim with action, emotion, and suspense. It’s appealing to watchers who either have never heard of League of Legends or have never played it. I watched Arcane when it first came out and enjoyed it immensely. As someone who loves and appreciates animation, I was blown away by the gorgeous art style, variety of colors, and nearly perfect soundtrack. I was set on watching the second season whenever it came out, and now that it has finally arrived, I have a lot of thoughts. Here’s my official review for Arcane: Season 2.

Act I

Act I was a perfect start to the second season, beginning immediately after the cliffhanger that Season 1 ended on. I felt that the pacing here was pretty good and that the flow of each character’s story was well done, as it always is. I noticed in a couple of the episodes that certain sequences experimented with different art styles, a trend that the rest of the season continues. I was impressed and felt it was very fitting for Arcane’s overall aesthetic. My particular favorite was the Hellfire sequence at the beginning of Episode 3; the style combined with the song reminded me of the Spiderverse films, which are movies I also adore. This was my favorite act in Season 2 and felt the most like the narrative that Arcane has built up. 

Act II

I felt like Act II started well with Episode 4, but threw me off in episodes 5 and 6. They weren’t bad; in fact, none of the Arcane episodes in general aren’t bad in the slightest. But with what Season 2 was advertised as I was not expecting the plot to go the way it did. Despite that, I liked what was happening and was excited to see what happened next. I did start to notice some problems, however. Season 1 was very well-paced, and did a very thorough job of developing each character and giving them the necessary amount of screen time. Season 2, however, is notably messier in that aspect. A lot of other characters got much more screen time than others, and while that isn’t inherently bad, it pushed some minor and major characters to the side. I felt that Vi, in particular, one of the two main characters, was specifically shut out and not as developed as other characters. The action in general also increased to a drastic amount, so much so that I believe that it affected the pacing, among other minor things. After the first teaser trailer for Season 2 came out, fans expressed concern over the fact that Season 2 would be the final season, assuming something along the lines of cancellation had occurred. However, Christian Linke, co-creator of Arcane, stated that it wasn’t canceled and that the team decided two seasons would be enough to tell the story. And while that may be true, I believe that it would have been smart to either extend the length of episodes or the length of the season. Most of the issues with the season could have easily been fixed if there was simply additional length.

Act III

This was the act where everything sort of fell off for me. The fact that certain characters got pushed aside in favor of others was much more prominent in this batch of episodes than in the previous two. And yes, while that isn’t terrible, it is unusual and disappointing. Considering that one of those characters is a main character and one that many Arcane fans looked forward to seeing, it was kind of a letdown. It also seems that some aspects of the plot and characters (a non-spoiler example being the future of Piltover and Zaun) are open to the fans or left as they are. While confusing, it is possible that they are being left alone right now and will return at some point in any future League shows, which are confirmed to be in development. What threw me off the most was that this act, and the ending overall, did not feel like Arcane at all to me. It’s difficult to describe, and I’m sure other fans can relate to it, but the creative liberties the showrunners and writers took this season are much different than what other fans and I are used to expecting. It makes me wonder if the ending and other details had once been different, and what they could have looked like if those ideas were officially added to the story. The ending was great, but I felt that the ending also just left a bad taste in everyone’s mouths. It left fans with a “that’s it?” feeling, and it doesn’t personally sit right with me. 

Overall, I liked the season. It certainly surpassed all of the expectations I had going into it, and I’m grateful for the people who put their all into making the work of art that is Arcane. However, I am confident to say that Season 1 is definitely the better season. Arcane deserves the love and attention it gets, and I hope more people can be drawn to the show now that it has taken its final bow.