Arcane never loses sight of the show’s beating heart

In the three years since the first season of ExcitingI had forgotten a lot of the little plot details – what exactly was the Shimmer? Why is hextech such a big deal? What’s up with Mel’s mom?

But the shine off Exciting is that you don’t actually have to remember all the specific plot details for it to work. Of course there is a whole wide world, bigger than just Piltover and Zaun. And yet all the larger themes and questions come right back to Jinx and Vi. Even when Exciting starts asking higher questions (like Viktor’s whole hextech Jesus arc) or goes into specific political machinations of Piltover, Zaun, and the lands beyond, the sisters anchor the entire show.

(Oath. note: This post contains spoilers for Exciting season 2.)

It’s especially evident in this last drop of episodes, which brings the sisters together – and working for a common cause for the first time in years. After Jinx learns what happened to their adoptive father, she searches for her sister. Even though last we saw each other almost killed her (and Jinx was about to let her), Jinx knows Vi is the only person who will understand what’s going on, and the only person Vander might recognize as well.

Now that they’ve been pulled back together, we’re thoroughly and devastatingly reminded of what they lost when they were torn apart. They patch up their relationship (as best they can), united in trying to restore Vander from the beast he’s turned into. They are still hurt and haunted by their past, but as they dwell in the peace of Viktor’s commune, there is, for the first time, a glimmer of hope for their future. The beautiful watercolor sequence through Vander’s memory also solidifies the norm that once was, the close relationship that this family once had – and maybe could have again.

Through Vi and Jinx, we see how the larger conflict between Piltover and Zaun tore one family apart. It’s a wound that goes deeper than the two sisters, going back to the rift between Vander and Silco. But it is Vi and Jinx who felt the after effects most concretely after following in the footsteps of their respective father figures for better or for worse. They represent two sides of the same blade, two different hands dealt, two different paths followed. Exciting deftly juggles a lot of plotlines and asks big questions about the show’s world and society. But the reason all those threads work, all those themes hit so hard, is that every vein leads back to Vi and Jinx, the beating heart of the show — the constant that holds hope and misfortune in equal measure.

However, it seems that both of these paths lead to tragedy. They’re not alone: ​​Jayce single-handedly ends Viktor’s hextech utopia here, and Mel is still stuck in the Black Rose prison. But Vi and Jinx’s story is marked by the greatest pain because of all the love that still lingers between them. We’ve had the chance to kill Jinx and end it all, but she hesitated every time because it’s still her little sister. That love doesn’t just disappear. It still fuels them, encouraging them to try again and mend the burned bridges to desperately grasp what once was. But that just raises the stakes for the whole show; what happens if that love isn’t enough?

Keeping the focus on Vi and Jinx not only anchors the world so the show never stretches too far beyond Piltover and Zaun, but it also keeps the tone and message consistent. It doesn’t matter what exactly the Shimmer is, why the Council is divided in hextech, or what exactly Piltover has against Zaun; What matters is that the decisions made by those in charge have devastating effects on ordinary people. And Exciting illustrates this specifically with the two characters we’ve known since the beginning of the series, who share a special relationship that was torn apart and turned against each other by forces beyond their control. It’s their relationship that defines the show — even when it hurts.

The first six episodes of Exciting Season 2 is now streaming on Netflix. The last three will fall on November 23.