Arcane | S2 | Episode 5

Re: episode pacing to the end of this series, I have a very, very strong suspicion that the Black Rose related stuff and some things with the extended Medarda family will be left on a cliffhanger by the end and carried over into whatever next series they do set in the world beyond Piltover- it feels very much like a setup for a “final boss” type scenario after the writers explore more of this realm as a whole. So with that in mind, that just leaves us a few major threads to tie up- Piltover vs Zaun conflict in general, Vi and Jinx’s sisterhood and whether they can find any closure with that, Vi and Cait and if that relationship is ever going to be salvageable, what on earth is going on with Jayce/what Viktor’s up to, and the fate of Ekko. Any other plot lines are very much secondary and won’t need a huge amount of time to focus on, I think. I don’t super anticipate getting major answers on the Black Rose or what on earth is up with Mel by the end, but boy am I curious, ahah. Speaking of Mel, holy shit? What are the odds that she’ll end up as a champion in League, do you think?? If she’s suddenly got powers, this very much feels like one wallop of an “intro” for a new playable character. I think it’d be cool for a new character to join the game from the show itself. Now that I think about it, her armor DID glow gold right before Jinx’s warhead struck that meeting room. Jayce questioned early in the season how it could be that they survived unscathed where everyone else was severely injured or died, and… if she has some sort of innate protective ability she didn’t know about, then that’s likely why. Spicy. This also gives another reason why her mother “banished” her— if she knew about her daughter’s coveted ability, and that others might try and kidnap her to abuse it, it would be safer to send her away from where most would be looking. The Vi and Jinx interactions were big Ooof this ep, ouchies. I think Vi is certainly being forced to see a different side of her sister here, which is interesting- a surprisingly sensitive and Caring side of her. Isha definitely brings out the best in Jinx, that’s for sure. I think having her by her side is healing her inner sister, or something… she’s getting to be the older sister she wished she Could have had growing up, but didn’t get because Vi was absent for all those years. Isha also gives her someone to Live for… which is why Jinx is currently far more emotionally stable seeming than Vi, who… quite frankly, did Not think she had anyone to live for after Caitlyn walked away. I mean, her foster dad is dead. Her sister was dead to her at the time. Her potential lover spurned her. And then, the next closest person she has down here, Ekko, is missing. Goodness, I really can’t blame her for turning to blatant alcoholism and just pouring all her pain into fight ring stuff with that in mind. ‘Tis really sucks. Crack theory: so, Vi and Jinx’s mother specifically mentions another man as the father in that scene, BUT, I find it very interesting the super soft way Silco is looking at her that whole scene as she’s talking. In the letter, Vander mentions like… her death (on the bridge, in the first scene of the whole show), in the sort of context that it may have been one of the big things that drove them apart, and I have to wonder… was Silco secretly in love with Vi and Jinx’s mother, years and years back? Even though she was with someone else? And when she died on the bridge… did he maybe blame Vander for it, as one of the leading people during the bridge strike? Was that a part of what started their rift?? I feel like I’m playing ultimate theory craft here, lol. May be entirely off base and reading into things too much, but thought it would be interesting. Honest to god, I wasn’t too terribly into Jayce as a character before, but he became like ten times hotter to me when he came out of the wild rune all scruffy and beat up and feral lookin’, LOL. Like sir… SIR… that is a LOOK, sir. I don’t necessarily understand or condone your actions yet, but slay, boy. XD

Novantinuum