Arcane is a Netflix series that is based around the video game, League of Legends. It has been in production for six years, and the only prior knowledge we had of the characters was through their interactions in the video game. However, anyone could have easily overlooked these characters and their stories while playing the game.
The show Arcane follows the lives of multiple people at a time and is able to keep each storyline both unique and believable. The show has three acts that are broken up into three episodes each, and the length of each episode feels satisfying: not too long, not too short.
The main characters include Powder (Jinx), Vi (Violet), Jayce, Viktor, Ekko, Marcus, Caitlyn, and Silco. A great thing about this series is that even the side characters have their own goals and their own skeletons in the closet. There are many more characters that are really good that I have not included, but if I were to, the list would go on and on.
Some people may think that this show is doing well just because the fans of the game have made it popular. But believe me, that is not the case.
Something similar that could be compared to Arcane would be the Ruination event that happened a few months ago in the game itself. This moment has been foreshadowed as an event for much longer than Arcane has been streaming, but it was truly horrible.
The characters in the game do not make sense in the story, many of them are forgettable, and some key characters were not introduced during the event, even though in the writings they were crucial to the progression of it. To reiterate my point, it was a disaster that could have been easily avoided. The event focused on selling you in-game content more than it tried to tell an interesting story, which showed so much disrespect towards those who actually cared about the story of the game.
Now, to give a fair warning, if you like Arcane, do not play League of Legends. That game, if taken even a little bit seriously, will drain the fun out of you. To not get into too many spoilers, the story of Arcane follows two to four different characters at a time, and depending on the episode, those stories are either separate or intertwined together.
Each one of the episodes contains so much content, that if you were to go to refill your snacks and not pause the show, you might miss out on an interaction or a line of dialogue that will develop a character a little more or foreshadow a future event. And each one of these episodes finishes with a big cliffhanger that will leave many fans longing for the next release.
The main plot of the series takes place in the world of Runeterra, specifically Piltover and Zaun, which is called Undercity during the first season. The cities are all vastly different from one another; Piltover is the place where rich people reside, and the Undercity is just one big slum. Piltover residents believe that they bring progress to the world with their inventions, but Undercity is very good at taking those inventions and turning them into weapons.
Another interesting aspect of the story is the corruption of people in power, and how each one of the higher ups is using their position to get special treatment and illegal possessions. As an example, two of the counselors are using the Hexgates, which were made to transport goods, to get wine illegally from a different region of Runterra called Noxus.
As the story begins, we are introduced to Powder (Jinx) and Vi (Violet), who are both orphans who grew up in the Undercity, and they are trying to act like adults, by pulling heists on Piltover, which escalates the tension in the story.
Jayce is the inventor of Hexgate. Once a boy who came to Piltover with only his mother, he was able to survive by crafting high-quality hammers for the working class of Piltover. And Viktor, Jayce’s partner, is disabled boy who wants to use his power of invention to help other people.
Caitlin is a sheriff from one of the prestige houses of Piltover, but her parents do not approve of her being on the police force. She is one of the only cops in the story who is actually trying to solve the shady crime that is happening in the Undercity. Marcus is her supervisor, and he is tied to the Undercity head pin and cannot get rid of Caitlin due to her ties with the prestige house.
Silco, the mastermind of the Undercity, is behind the distribution and production of shimmer, a neurological drug that gives a person superhuman powers. But shimmer is very addictive, leads to heavy withdrawal, and will make your body have humps and blobs. Silco is ruthless and heartless, and he is willing to do anything to keep his power.
And although I would like to talk about Ekko, if I were to say something interesting about him, it would spoil the story.
The Ruination in League of Legends may have left many people feeling skeptical about the release of Arcane, and it put many people in doubt that this series can amount to anything. But the ratings do not lie, and the show has delivered. It has blown everyone’s mind, no matter how you look at it.
With its unique art style, creative music, insane visuals, and a mind-shattering ending in the final episode, Arcane is definitely a series worth watching. Don’t miss it!
