That Ekko/Jinx fight is something else, ain’t it? Even aside from how it’s a visual and musical tour de force of animation, my favorite thing about it is how much story it conveys without a single line of dialogue. And the way it layers irony upon irony. Ekko, who spends the episode insisting that Powder is gone, chooses to appeal to their childhood history as they begin the fight. Jinx, who just tried to convince herself that she had killed Powder once and for all, accepting Ekko’s terms without a word, all unspoken mutual understanding from their past lives together that the ticking watch means *this* and her cocking the gun means *that*. And then Ekko is only able to beat Jinx because he knew her so well as Powder that he could predict her moves - a tacit admission that even he knows Powder’s not truly gone. And the final tragic irony upon ironies, as Ekko is ultimately defeated in the moment that he and Jinx together come to the shared realization that Powder’s still there, that their old friendship isn’t as dead as they had thought. In that moment of empathy and remembrance, Ekko hesitates, and Jinx decides to put both kids out of their misery.
The moment whe he comes out between Vi and Cait is my favourite in the whole show, and that is saying something. It is so epic, so dramatic and there are so many _feelings!_
I've seen an interpretation saying that the fight also depicts the fact thay Ekko was able to progress and keep going after the tragedy while Jinx is stuck in her as she recreated her moveset perfectly and Ekko was able to improve.
I'd add a slight change at the end: the way I read the scene, Jinx isn't the one deciding to put them out of their misery, Powder did. This was Powder's suicide attempt.
In case you missed it... The tune Jinx was humming as she walked up the bridge was the same one that she was singing in the intro to episode one. Same bridge too.
In situations of extreme stress a person with ptsd can revert to a younger age mentally and go back into habits of that age. Such as singing a song that is supposed to comfort you.
@lyrebird83 it was not a situation of extreme stress. If you remember, the enforcers were executing people the same way on the bridge in episode 1. This is the situation coming full circle, with Jinx becoming the monster to be feared. Even the weapons she uses probably has roots in the weapons she saw the enforcers using back then to do so much damage and destruction. We are in her perspective for most of the prologue.
Subtle and easy to miss (but very cool) detail about Jinx's mechanical firelights bombs: they all flew to and targeted guns specifically. Ekko and Cait were unarmed so they weren't hit directly. Cait trading her gun to save Vi saved her own life, too.
Not something I noticed initially but it totally makes sense! I honestly thought Cait giving up her weapon was going to get her into trouble but it’s interesting that it ended up saving her instead.
Silco _is_ affected, just not as much. It is a very clever stunt he pulls. If you look closely, you see him take a deep breath as Sevika turns around, then gives his speech, then takes another breath through the mask. This combined with the fact that Silco still lives down in the undercity, while it seems these guys try to get as close to Piltover as they can, gives him just enough resistance to pull through and make it seem like it isn't affecting him at all. It is a Conmans game and he is playing it immensly well.
Interesting. I'd just assumed it's because they all live away from the bad air of the Undercity now, having the money to build those rickety towers, whereas he lives down in the lanes, breathing the same air as the people. You could be right though - after all, you wouldn't want to get a bad lungful and cough through your speech, it'd ruin the point he was making.
@@Sinewmire I don't think the air Silco unleashes on the assembly is Lanes air. I think it's literally air from the mines the undercitizens work on. There's a couple reasons I believe that's the case: 1. Sevika also lives in the Lanes, but she wears a mask anyway. 2. If that was air from the Lanes... how would Cait have been able to spend a few days with Vi in the undercity without a mask? Point #2 specially... if the air Silco uses on the Chembarons is simply from the Lanes, then the Cait stuff would be a pretty major oversight in continuity. And I refuse to believe the Arcane writers would commit such a blunder 😂
@FFSBR It's the same air! That's why Jinx's lab is on a giant fan, and most decent Undercity buildings like Benzos have air sealed doors and why the Enforcers wear breathing masks in the Lanes. It's why there are no trees or greenery in the Undercity, and Vi is surprised at Ekko's. I guess its' a lot more concentrated when you unleash it from a canister like that, though. Maybe it's a bit better 5 years later with Silco in charge? I think with Cait, they made a conscious choice not to cover the character's face for most of the story.
@@Sinewmire Eh, I don't know about that. The air in the undercity is definitely poorer/toxic which is why I think enforcers use masks, but not enough to cause someone not used to it to gag and be unable to breath. Not sure I buty Cait being able to do it as simply a stylistic choice as it'd fly directly in the face of an otherwise established logic within the setting. Besides, in the meeting scene Silco explicitly mentions to mines when talking about the thick air. Idk
What Ekko was silently saying, as he began swinging the watch: "Let's play our old game...one last time..." And in the end, while Ekko was willing to kill Jinx, he wasn't prepared to kill Powder. The bridge scene is tragic in multiple ways; one of the saddest parts, to me, is Jinx before everything goes to hell. As usual with her, she's in just the wrong place at the wrong time to see things in the worst context. However, she DOESN'T immediately to the worst conclusions. She tells 'Mylo' to shut up, it's just a good-bye hug, and that Vi wouldn't do that again. She gets more and more agitated as events continue, until the sight of Vi running towards Caitlyn, an Enforcer and a member of Piltover, finally push Jinx over the edge. And that's one of the most tragic aspects of Jinx: she knows that she's not mentally well, and tries to fight against it. But she doesn't know how to deal with it, and eventually, the paranoia, anger, and delusions overwhelm her.
"his hearts in the right place, but his head's not." That is probably the best description oof Jayce I have everheard. He _wants_ to do good. He _wants_ Viktor to be okay. But he is still too naive to the realities of the world to see that he cannot have everything he wants, just by _wanting_ it.
Yep yep. I see so many people hate on Jayce, but he's honestly probably one of the most relatable characters at a base level: he's in way over his head, has no idea what he's doing, is just winging it and reacting to what works or not. I've probably just described most adults in existence, the difference with Jayce versus most of us is when he gets something wrong the consequences are way more far reaching.
Mel isn't advocating for a preemptive strike. She's is suggesting that they prepare weapons in case they are needed. She even states that she hopes they won't have to be used.
Yeah, but that is what makes another persons statement later regarding the use and making of weapons much more prescient: Mel, in her own way, is just as naive as Jayce if she believes that you can just _make_ Weapons and never use them. Even the atomic bombs: The reason why they are such a good deterrent _know_ is that we have actually _seen the devastation the wrought. They were used and people saw the consequences. That was when we all decided whe should probably not use that stuff.
I love when Ekko is showing Vi the mural they're in the process of adding a painting of the pink haired girl who looked like Vi that Jinx executed on the airship. Another thing I noticed which I think is amazing. When they're talking about using Hextech to make weapons and Viktor is disarming Jinx's bomb for a split second he hesitates before deciding to snip the wire. I think in that moment of hesitation was making a choice whether he should maybe let the bomb go off, taking out himself and Jayce thereby ensuring that Hextech will never be used for weapons. Then he snips the wire and delivers the line 'There is always a choice'. Yet another brilliant moment at the end of the Ekko/Jinx fight. Growing up as kids together Ekko had a huge crush on Powder and when he's looking down at her all he's seeing is that girl that used to know and love. In the game he even has a line when Jinx is also in the arena where he says "I had a crush, until you started talking to the gun"
I don't read Jinx' smile to Ekko as her winning. It was more like a silent goodbye to him. She laid out the bomb next to her and made no attempt to escape...
Now is a good time to watch the "Enemy" music video. There are no spoilers (now that you have finished episode 7) and it is 100% animation that is not seen in the show. The reason to watch it is because it shows a lot of Powder and Ekko being close to each other that we don't see in the show. It makes their fight on the bridge hit a little bit harder.
Ekko also had a crush on her as kids. You get it from his voice line in game when meeting Jinx, something along the lines "I used to have a crush... until you started talking to the gun." In fact, I heard the reason he got the nickname boy savior is because he tried to "save" her form Silco many times through the years, assuming she was being held against her will.
The fight is among the best in cinema. But I have to highlight the microexpressions between the two. It's incredible how many emotions Ekko conveys before he issues his challenge.
The entire series is filled with those little two-part expression reactions. They're one of the things that make the animation so good, and props to Fortiche for doing them so well.
So many layers and depth for sure. Each expression can easily be traced and understood, yet so much happens in so little time. A classic case of “show, don’t tell” at its finest.
There's a reasonable amount of conjecture (including from mental health professionals who cannot diagnose a fictional character, but can point out traits) that one of the key issues Powder/Jinx strongly displays is borderline personality traits. This is most commonly described as "black and white" thinking with no nuance... people are either entirely supportive or entirely an enemy/threat, which is why she demonizes Caitlyn. Caitlyn is an enforcer (someone Powder learned to despise at a young age) AND Jinx feels she is stealing Vi away from her. Somewhat separately, I see "Jinx" as a defense mechanism created by "Powder" due to the traumatic violence she was exposed to as a child, in addition constantly feeling like she was never good enough/capable enough. Powder is the vulnerable part of her personality, and Jinx is the hardened response. I also feel like Jinx's smile was a "goodbye" smile. She wanted to die. You don't lay a grenade down next to yourself when you're lying flat on your back if you aren't wanting to die. She had just seen how fast Ekko was; I think she knew he'd get away. But when I see the look on her face in that moment she's almost thanking him for the good memories; she just looks broken, exhausted, and peaceful for the only time we've seen her in the series.
Oh absolutely. I'm not sure if shw knew Ekko would get away, but I think it was her attempt at dying as _Powder._ This is probably closer to Powder that she has gotten in years and it felt like it was her way of saying: "If I go now, I go as someone you loved. if i stay, i will be jinx again and Powder will be gone."
This is infinitely fascinating and provides so much additional insight on her character. Everything you say here makes sense and I’ll have a tough time seeing it differently from here on out.
Great reaction.... Was those bad things you presumed what you thought?.... Marcus's arm getting blown off is kinda surprising .... Jinx found those mechanical firelights during 1x4 on progress day and she has been working on them.... When Silco is yelling at her she's currently doing work on them.... Shows just how smart she is overall regardless of her mental issues....
Silco stays in the depths of the lanes where the air is still clouded with pollution, where as all the chem barons hang out in cleaner air near the surface in a large greenhouse, so he's more used to the gasses from the mines.
This is, unequivocally, my favorite episode of the show, and Ekko is my favorite character. Schnee did an amazing video about Ekko, breaking down the part that he plays as the "other" in the classic "hero/villain/other" trio. Usually, the other is an evil force above and beyond the main, identifiably human villain, but Ekko represents a less common heroic other. He and the Firelights are the third faction to Piltover and Zaun, and if there's one thing that's clear from the music video and everything he says, he'll as happily take on Piltover as much as he will Zaun... as long as they threaten his community. Which, with Markus in charge of the enforcers, they have for the last several years. He's not doing it for power, though, or money... he's doing it to protect his community. Where Piltover and Zaun are riddled with corruption, he has the clearest sense of purpose of any of them. The people who need protecting above all. I heard something interesting pointed out the other day: namely that the mechanical firelights seemed to seek out weapons as their way of identifying their targets. So, in the end, by giving up her gun in the previous episode, Caitlyn wound up saving herself from the explosions. Also, I've seen speculation that the Dynasties and Dystopias music video segment is alluding to Ekko's time manipulation abilities. After all in his video Seconds, we see him replaying a single fight over and over again until he can get the outcome that matters the most to him. In Seconds, you see that even when he wins the fight, but the mural gets destroyed... he still rewinds again, despite only having barely won in the first place. The theory goes, then, that Ekko could have replayed that fight over and over again during that sequence until he came to the series of events that let both him and Jinx survive the fight.
The duel here is simultaneous amazing and heartbreaking, as is Jinx's defeated but grateful little smile. The animation is so good here, you can see sadness, acceptance, love, regret. Apparently the opening was originally going to be Ekko repeatedly trying to "free" Powder from Silco as they grew up, not realizing she was there through choice, hence "the boy saviour". I can understand that they didn't want to risk spoiling the twist. You can see Ekko's owl mask on the shelves in Benzo's shop in episode 1, and the first scene Ekko is in, he's repairing a clock. We've seen the robot butterflies before - the progress day celebrations. Jinx must have stolen some. We've seen them again in her workshop on her bench. I know I keep banging on about Marcus, but that's because he's easily overlooked - there's so much amazing content in Arcane it's easy to miss details. He's completed his arc here. By modelling himself on Grayson, he's repeated history: In the first arc, he was the hotheaded youngblood who wanted justice at any cost, didn't understand why Grayson was going so easy on the Undercity, nor realising Grayson had an arrangement with Vander, the crime boss of the Undercity. Marcus pushed and he pushed, blundering around with his power without finesse, trying to bring down the enemy in the Undercity, and his actions brought the Undercity and Piltover to the brink of war. Just as Vi moved to defuse the situation, returning the lost hextech crystal and turning herself in, Silco's monster killed Grayson leaving Marcus to face the consequences. In this arc, Jayce is a the hotheaded youngblood who wants justice at any cost, doesn't understand why Marcus is going so easy on the Undercity, not realising Marcus has an arrangement with Silco, the crime boss of the Undercity. Jayce pushed and pushed, blundering around with his power without finesse, trying to bring down the enemy in the Undercity, and his actions brought the Undercity and Piltover to the brink of war. Just as Vi, Caitlin and Ekko move to defuse the situation, returning the lost hextech gem with Ekko risking handing himself over, Silco's monster killed Marcus, leaving Jayce to face the consequences. We'll have to see if Jayce is able to break the cycle of violence. I flipping love this show.
Yeah and Marcus is especially interesting when contrasted to Caitlyn, because Grayson was both of their mentors. Caitlyn took the spirit of her teachings('what are you shooting for', meeting the people of the undercity where they're at) while Marcus took the word(work with the undercity leader and make deals to maintain a status quo).
After episode 9 you should really check out the Bridging the Rift videos Riot put out about the making of the series cause it'll blow your mind the work that went into everything.
The Shimmer provided by Singed ( The scientist from the Under city ) is a more stable and better than the other shimmer. Over the years past, the Gemstone is not the only one that has improvements. With the new shimmer that Viktor Injected, this time there are no Transformation of body or monster like behavior. We saw that shimmer has a capability to heal or regenerate wounds just like what Caitlyn gave to VI on episode 6. The reason about why Viktor injected the shimmer, because for him to be able to withstand the hexcores power. Its a risky trial for him to do his but we saw the power of hexcore when Viktor tried to combine it with a plant or any living thing. We saw that Hexcore reacts to living things but the only problem is it seems its giving boost the the living and afterwards it consumes it. For him to withstand this... Shimmer is the option. Possible Spoiler: Hexcore will consume Viktor and he has no control of this. We know that he told to Jayce that it speaks to him. Glorious Evolution ~
I love that Shimmer, designed as a weapon, has become a tool, used in a healing potion for Vi, and a medical tool for Viktor, and that Hextech, designed as a tool for science and creativity, to help people, is now being considered turning into a weapon.
What will Jayce do? Whatever the last person with any kind of personal conviction told him would be a good idea. Like always. The whole "nobody wins in war" thing is... drastically inaccurate. In fact, generally, SOMEONE wins in war. What IS accurate, however, is that everyone who takes part in war will ALSO lose. For my money, war is all but inevitable, because rather than trying to solve the endemic problems of a Zaun that is supposed to be under the council's control, they attempt to clamp down on the dissatisfaction of the people being downtrodden - which is how you get rebellion. In fact, there's no way to AVOID rebellion if your system excludes some of the people under it. Fortunately, Silco has been working towards revolution for a very long time, so it may happen, and in fairly structured form, which is very important. The balance between Zaun and Piltover isn't much like the nuclear arms race, it's more like any OTHER arms race. Nuclear weapons are different from other weapons we humans have made to kill one another because of certain factors surrounding them... and while magic MAY be similar in the surrounding danger and long-term effects, this is more akin to the arms race of building the best warships in the age of sail, or the best infantry rifles, or having the best fighter planes to secure air superiority.... it's simply a race to get tactical superiority so as to achieve strategic superiority THROUGH that and be able to dictate terms to the other side. And if anything, Jinx has a better weapons development foundation than Jayce does. Jayce has dreamed of, and then made, TECHNOLOGY for the full timeskip, say seven years or so. Devices, tools, stuff like that. Whereas Jinx... ... okay so I have an objection to your descriptions of how Jinx "isn't Vi's little sister/Powder anymore", that she's "changed". How? She was making bombs at the age of... nine or ten or however old she is in episodes 1-3. She attempted to use these bombs on people around her, and she didn't look heartbroken or apprehensive at the notion that someone might get hurt from her nail bombs. She's been a firebug, a bomb maker, and indeed a KILLER since after the first time we heard that Imagine Dragons song... she just didn't SUCCEED in any of her attempted homicides before, but she certainly TRIED. And that's why, if it's a race between Jayce and Jinx, I'm concerned for Piltover, because Jinx has been making killing implements since before the timeskip, on a fairly restricted budget. Her budget now is looking pretty impressive, and she managed to go from "never really heard of this stuff before beyond seeing that big teleporty tower in the distance" to "I have a working Hextech device and am figuring out rune combinations" in about a DAY using just some of Jayce's and Viktor's notes. Given a week, she might have giant, nuke-launching mechs.
If you want to see how far Arcane goes with symbolism have a closer look (zoom) at Jinx right at the end after her grenade exploded. On her throat you will see "Vi" written two times. One time with her clothing and one time with her dirt. You can watch this show ten times and will still find new details.I surely did.. M A S T E R P I E C E! ❤️
Which is why I highly, _highly_ reccomed the Channel "schnee" for after this. He does breakdowns and psychological and philosophical discussions and he just hit his one year nniversery and you get the feeling he still hasn't exhausted all there is to say about this.
I have to say I'm really impressed by your level of depth with these reactions. Ive seen a fair number of Arcane reactions and while they enjoy it and get the story and realize the depth this damn show has, they never really go to far into it at least in their videos. You seem to be getting quite a bit of the layered storytelling right out the gate and i really like how you take a chunk of time to just disect everything at the end. Also since you're unfortunately already nearing the end of the show. Idk if you take or are interested in recommendations. But, if you're looking for something to watch next, id sugest Kipo and the age of wonderbeasts or dragon prince. They are both real good shows IMO but a bit less popularity than other shows.
Thank you so much! I sometimes feel like I just go on nerdy rants but I’m glad I seem to be on the right track! As for recommendations, I’m always looking for new stuff to watch! Dragon Prince is definitely one that’s been on my radar for a while now so I may have to make some videos on it in the future 👀
@@TheGamingTeacher1 Rants are fine and can be fun if you're going somewhere with it. And its also just fun to see someone try and pick things apart especially if you know how close or far off they are. Also ya Dragon prince is a lot of fun it just got its fourth season after a really long hiatus, could be fun to check out. But maybe do stick Kipo on your radar its much more underrated show. I really like it and the reviews and reactions to the show say the same thing. But for some reason it didnt really get a big youtube footprint
When Viktor is disarming the grenade, I think his pause is him actually considering letting it explode - so that there would be nobody left alive to weaponise hextech. That he says "there is always a choice" afterwards, I think underlines this. The grenades themselves seem to almost have their own thread. Jinx creates them, and uses them to kill people without hesitation, trying to show her competence, power, and usefulness. Marcus considers using one to end himself and Silco, but doesn't, showing his spinelessness and lack of power. Jayce says one almost killed him when he tried to disarm it himself - perhaps showing cautiousness. Viktor - I just covered. Silco uses one to manipulate the council. Finally, Jinx uses one to try and end herself. Each interaction says something about how each character works.
Ok, I know Marcus is flawed, he's likely the most 'real' person in the show. But calling not committing suicide 'spineless' is a bit much I think. Especially given he has a daughter, I think you could make a serious case that actually dying in that situation *would* have been spineless. Marcus is trapped by an ever spiraling series of events from one bad decision that he made in which he thought he was doing the right thing. Marcus has many, many flaws, but I must admit I get annoyed at how badly so many people see him, as his story is honestly a tragedy and there are a number of echoes in the other stories of tragedy in Arcane.
@@iainmcdonalds4018 So, for you, perhaps him considering it was the spineless part. My main point was about how interaction with the grenades (the same actual grenade for some), told us something about each character.
@@Hohum37 its not spineless for him to think about using it. If he had even used it I wouldn't call it spineless either. My point was mainly that everyone tends to give Marcus undeserved hate. It absolutely gives us loads of character information, but people tend to be way too harsh to the character without being fair.
@@iainmcdonalds4018 "I think you could make a serious case that actually dying in that situation would have been spineless." " If he had even used it I wouldn't call it spineless either" Both quotes are yours.
Mercy is a duty but also a priviledge of the ultra powerful. If you're too weak, you will need cruelties to prevent a greater tragedy. But when you're beyond powerful, you can use charisma or tools that are humane to defend. I think as well that the focus should be defend, not attack. Historically magic has always been attack, but Piltover might be in a unique position to use magic to defend, since it's a council government that can make use of their entire university structure. Anti magic fields, defense systems, area control, paralyzation capabilities, but at the end of the day also, deterrence in the most quick and achievable way for now.
She didn't expect to make it. That last smiling look was a fleeting glimpse of Powder, not Jinx, happy to see her childhood friend. And that moment of reflection served as the impetus for her to do what a tiny part of Jinx's mind, the part that was still Powder, wanted to do: end it all. Simply perfect.
Little detail: when Jinx shoots at Vi and Caitlyn, right before Vi pushes Cait out of the way, Caitlyn tries to cover her with her own body to protect her. Regarding the last smile before the grenade, I didn't interpret it the same way. To me, it wasn't Jinx saying "I win", but rather Powder saying "good bye". You can see that she makes no attempt at freeing herself from Ekko. She could've attached the grenade to him, but instead let it right next to herself and stopped struggling. This wasn't just one of Jinx's reckless fighting strategy, this was Powder giving up and trying to kill herself.
Jayce is what we like to call Chaotic Good. He wants to do good always and is a good person, but his motivations and actions are constantly shifting based on the situation, and are sometimes unpredictable
@@jamiethomas3122 I’ll have to disagree about Silco. Id say he’s lawful evil. He uses evil tactics (murder, deceit, etc) to establish and maintain his power. After he’s in power, his drug empire and other exploits make the world around him actively worse. However, he wants loyalty, order, and obedience within his organization. I could see an argument for neutral evil, but he’s undoubtedly an evil character.
@@jamiethomas3122 meh more like unlawfull neutral for Silco he does it for his personnal gain with a touch of romantism but he still destroy lives from his own people "for the greater good"
Spoiler for the next episodes: . . . . . . Something that I don't think I've seen anyone in the community pick up (to be fair I don't read through all of the comments), but to me is a huge Easter Egg for the game and foreshadows the next time we see Ekko alive and seemingly unharmed relative to Jinx. The stopwatch. For context to people who have seen Arcane but never played League, there is an item called Stopwatch. Its function is a one-time use of invulnerability, used for outplaying and stopping lethal damage to your character. Once it is used, you get... the Broken Stopwatch. The last picture we see is Ekko's broken stopwatch. You could also read into it as the stopwatch is clicking slightly, like a faint heartbeat. There have been a few good interpretations of this scene, but I haven't seen the reference to the game being mentioned.
You can hear Ekko bat the grenade away before the explosion. No need to make up things when there is a very simple explanation for what happens in the episode itself.
Watching the show without knowing which characters are champions must be so nice. Like I was never really worried about them surviving. I lack the blissful unawareness
You should know the show runners said not to assume because a champion is alive in the future in the game that means they will survive this season or the series.
To this day I am torn on Sevikas Motivtion when she tells Silco not to go after Jinx. On the one hand, it isn't wrong. If he goes after her now, it probably wouldn't really lead to an agreement. But we know that Sevika hates Jinx and she _wants_ her to implode to get her out of the way. And we have seen her being manipulative with Vi before, so it is also possible that she is just trying to keep Silco and Jinx seperated so that they cannot fix their issues and Jinx goes further off the deepend. I am honestly not sure which one it is.
Sevika doesn't like Jinx, but she's loyal to the cause, and to Silco, as long as he remains the most competent figurehead of that cause. ("But, he won't be the last"). Sevika is always honest and straight with him, and doesn't want Silco to get distracted. She's not going to try to pull one over on him to get what she wants, he'd see through it in a heartbeat. In this case, genuine advice. Sure, Jinx technically benefits from Sevika's advice to Silco, but she's not the intended beneficiary.
@@tchjdaedn Indeed. This puzzled me for a while, but then I thought about what Sevika's main motivation is:. **the cause**, and it all fell into place as you've said.
I'll second what others have said, please watch the official video for 'Enemy', it gives some context on how close Jinx and Ekko (as the youngest kids) were growing up
And we're back on the bridge, circling back again. Jinx is humming the same song Powder did in the first minutes of episode one. And again Arcane shows of its masterful skill of getting us hyped for a battle and then reminding us that what we're watching is an terrible tragedy. We get an incredibly thrilling sequence, perhaps the coolest battle sequence of the show, set to my personal favourite track from the show, ending with the absolute HEARTBREAK of realizing they used to be the best of friends and still found themselves on opposite sides of this struggle. Someone in the comments suggested you check out the music video to Imagine Dragons' Enemy now because now there's no mo spoilers in it and yeah, its a great time to do that: ruclips.net/video/D9G1VOjN_84/видео.html
Just found your channel a few days ago, binged invincible and I wanted to wait for arcane till it was done but I made the mistake of checking out your reaction to ep 1, to see how you viewed and felt about it and now I’m here and sad 😂
There are confirmations from the Makers of the show that they had planned a few scenes with jinx and Ekko in the in between phase, but they couldn't fit them in. But I always hear her: "The Boy Saviour" in such a resentful tone as giving the hint that thy have had multiple interactions before this. And Jinx _hates_ him for not saving _her_ I can imagine that he tried to get her out of Silcos in the beginning and maybe she even rejected him. And after a while he stopped trying, because he had to take care of the other firelights. And I don't think Jinx would have forgiven him for not trying again. That isn't fair at all, but fair isn't really the view of her fractured mind, so... Also, there are lines of Ekko in the game that hint at a at least temporary romantic attraction, so many fans speculate that little Ekko had a crush on Powder. I very highly reccomend that you watch the "Enemy" Music video, as it gives these two a few more scenes and paints you a better picture of how close they were.
Yeah it's really interesting to imagine Ekko and Jinxs interactions during the timeskip. Jinx doesn't like herself or what she does, and the resentment in her voice reads so many ways. It's my belief that Jinx stays with Silco because she thinks she's a monster too, because she clearly knows Silco does bad stuff and thinks it's bad. My theory is that Ekko tried to save her by giving her a choice, probably multiple times, but she was reluctant because she didn't think she deserved to be saved. I think what she was hoping for was him to just rip her away from Silco and tell her that she wasn't bad, a jinx, etc. but because she wouldn't make the conscious choice to leave her materially safe, even if abusive situation, Ekko gave up. Idk it's all very vague and I think there's a bunch of interpretations, this is just my favorite. Have a good day
@@bzzzzzzzzzz2075 it’s definitely an interesting interpretation and makes sense for the overall narrative! Ekko definitely seems to want to have hope but knows that there is nothing left to truly save, and as such Jinx is more of a threat than ever.
You may not have seen it, but, when Ekko is showing Vi the memorial mural, there is a person on the right side painting. The person that they’re painting is the pink-haired girl Jinks killed in episode 4. 😭
Your voice is a lot louder than the vid, and it makes it kind of hard to watch because your voice is already so much deeper than the video. It hurts my ears when I turn it up enough to hear the video.
That Ekko/Jinx fight is something else, ain’t it? Even aside from how it’s a visual and musical tour de force of animation, my favorite thing about it is how much story it conveys without a single line of dialogue.
And the way it layers irony upon irony. Ekko, who spends the episode insisting that Powder is gone, chooses to appeal to their childhood history as they begin the fight. Jinx, who just tried to convince herself that she had killed Powder once and for all, accepting Ekko’s terms without a word, all unspoken mutual understanding from their past lives together that the ticking watch means *this* and her cocking the gun means *that*. And then Ekko is only able to beat Jinx because he knew her so well as Powder that he could predict her moves - a tacit admission that even he knows Powder’s not truly gone.
And the final tragic irony upon ironies, as Ekko is ultimately defeated in the moment that he and Jinx together come to the shared realization that Powder’s still there, that their old friendship isn’t as dead as they had thought. In that moment of empathy and remembrance, Ekko hesitates, and Jinx decides to put both kids out of their misery.
The moment whe he comes out between Vi and Cait is my favourite in the whole show, and that is saying something. It is so epic, so dramatic and there are so many _feelings!_
I've seen an interpretation saying that the fight also depicts the fact thay Ekko was able to progress and keep going after the tragedy while Jinx is stuck in her as she recreated her moveset perfectly and Ekko was able to improve.
I'd add a slight change at the end: the way I read the scene, Jinx isn't the one deciding to put them out of their misery, Powder did. This was Powder's suicide attempt.
@@saiyasha848 I got so hype I jumped up and yelled when I saw it for the first time
In case you missed it... The tune Jinx was humming as she walked up the bridge was the same one that she was singing in the intro to episode one. Same bridge too.
In situations of extreme stress a person with ptsd can revert to a younger age mentally and go back into habits of that age.
Such as singing a song that is supposed to comfort you.
@lyrebird83 it was not a situation of extreme stress. If you remember, the enforcers were executing people the same way on the bridge in episode 1. This is the situation coming full circle, with Jinx becoming the monster to be feared. Even the weapons she uses probably has roots in the weapons she saw the enforcers using back then to do so much damage and destruction. We are in her perspective for most of the prologue.
Subtle and easy to miss (but very cool) detail about Jinx's mechanical firelights bombs: they all flew to and targeted guns specifically. Ekko and Cait were unarmed so they weren't hit directly.
Cait trading her gun to save Vi saved her own life, too.
Not something I noticed initially but it totally makes sense! I honestly thought Cait giving up her weapon was going to get her into trouble but it’s interesting that it ended up saving her instead.
Silco _is_ affected, just not as much. It is a very clever stunt he pulls. If you look closely, you see him take a deep breath as Sevika turns around, then gives his speech, then takes another breath through the mask. This combined with the fact that Silco still lives down in the undercity, while it seems these guys try to get as close to Piltover as they can, gives him just enough resistance to pull through and make it seem like it isn't affecting him at all. It is a Conmans game and he is playing it immensly well.
Yep, besides that I've also always assumed he can hold his breath longer than average. You know, having almost drowned and all.
Interesting. I'd just assumed it's because they all live away from the bad air of the Undercity now, having the money to build those rickety towers, whereas he lives down in the lanes, breathing the same air as the people.
You could be right though - after all, you wouldn't want to get a bad lungful and cough through your speech, it'd ruin the point he was making.
@@Sinewmire I don't think the air Silco unleashes on the assembly is Lanes air. I think it's literally air from the mines the undercitizens work on. There's a couple reasons I believe that's the case:
1. Sevika also lives in the Lanes, but she wears a mask anyway.
2. If that was air from the Lanes... how would Cait have been able to spend a few days with Vi in the undercity without a mask?
Point #2 specially... if the air Silco uses on the Chembarons is simply from the Lanes, then the Cait stuff would be a pretty major oversight in continuity. And I refuse to believe the Arcane writers would commit such a blunder 😂
@FFSBR It's the same air! That's why Jinx's lab is on a giant fan, and most decent Undercity buildings like Benzos have air sealed doors and why the Enforcers wear breathing masks in the Lanes. It's why there are no trees or greenery in the Undercity, and Vi is surprised at Ekko's.
I guess its' a lot more concentrated when you unleash it from a canister like that, though. Maybe it's a bit better 5 years later with Silco in charge?
I think with Cait, they made a conscious choice not to cover the character's face for most of the story.
@@Sinewmire Eh, I don't know about that. The air in the undercity is definitely poorer/toxic which is why I think enforcers use masks, but not enough to cause someone not used to it to gag and be unable to breath. Not sure I buty Cait being able to do it as simply a stylistic choice as it'd fly directly in the face of an otherwise established logic within the setting. Besides, in the meeting scene Silco explicitly mentions to mines when talking about the thick air. Idk
What Ekko was silently saying, as he began swinging the watch: "Let's play our old game...one last time..."
And in the end, while Ekko was willing to kill Jinx, he wasn't prepared to kill Powder.
The bridge scene is tragic in multiple ways; one of the saddest parts, to me, is Jinx before everything goes to hell. As usual with her, she's in just the wrong place at the wrong time to see things in the worst context. However, she DOESN'T immediately to the worst conclusions. She tells 'Mylo' to shut up, it's just a good-bye hug, and that Vi wouldn't do that again.
She gets more and more agitated as events continue, until the sight of Vi running towards Caitlyn, an Enforcer and a member of Piltover, finally push Jinx over the edge. And that's one of the most tragic aspects of Jinx: she knows that she's not mentally well, and tries to fight against it. But she doesn't know how to deal with it, and eventually, the paranoia, anger, and delusions overwhelm her.
The bat guy isn't a bat from body mods, he's a different race/species known as Chirean that are native to the valleys around Pilltover where Zaun is
Mel didn't want pre-emptive strike, she just wanted the weapons in case they did attack.
"his hearts in the right place, but his head's not."
That is probably the best description oof Jayce I have everheard. He _wants_ to do good. He _wants_ Viktor to be okay. But he is still too naive to the realities of the world to see that he cannot have everything he wants, just by _wanting_ it.
Yep yep. I see so many people hate on Jayce, but he's honestly probably one of the most relatable characters at a base level: he's in way over his head, has no idea what he's doing, is just winging it and reacting to what works or not. I've probably just described most adults in existence, the difference with Jayce versus most of us is when he gets something wrong the consequences are way more far reaching.
@@FFSBRct Another difference from most people is he actually takes away lessons and learns from his mistakes, lol.
Mel isn't advocating for a preemptive strike. She's is suggesting that they prepare weapons in case they are needed. She even states that she hopes they won't have to be used.
Yeah, but that is what makes another persons statement later regarding the use and making of weapons much more prescient: Mel, in her own way, is just as naive as Jayce if she believes that you can just _make_ Weapons and never use them. Even the atomic bombs: The reason why they are such a good deterrent _know_ is that we have actually _seen the devastation the wrought. They were used and people saw the consequences. That was when we all decided whe should probably not use that stuff.
I love that Silco doesnt ever get truly angry with Jinx when she begins getting a little upset and taking things out on him.
He definitely seems to respect her deeply!
I love when Ekko is showing Vi the mural they're in the process of adding a painting of the pink haired girl who looked like Vi that Jinx executed on the airship.
Another thing I noticed which I think is amazing. When they're talking about using Hextech to make weapons and Viktor is disarming Jinx's bomb for a split second he hesitates before deciding to snip the wire. I think in that moment of hesitation was making a choice whether he should maybe let the bomb go off, taking out himself and Jayce thereby ensuring that Hextech will never be used for weapons. Then he snips the wire and delivers the line 'There is always a choice'.
Yet another brilliant moment at the end of the Ekko/Jinx fight. Growing up as kids together Ekko had a huge crush on Powder and when he's looking down at her all he's seeing is that girl that used to know and love. In the game he even has a line when Jinx is also in the arena where he says "I had a crush, until you started talking to the gun"
I don't read Jinx' smile to Ekko as her winning. It was more like a silent goodbye to him. She laid out the bomb next to her and made no attempt to escape...
Well that’s super depressing 😢
Now is a good time to watch the "Enemy" music video. There are no spoilers (now that you have finished episode 7) and it is 100% animation that is not seen in the show. The reason to watch it is because it shows a lot of Powder and Ekko being close to each other that we don't see in the show. It makes their fight on the bridge hit a little bit harder.
Ekko also had a crush on her as kids. You get it from his voice line in game when meeting Jinx, something along the lines "I used to have a crush... until you started talking to the gun." In fact, I heard the reason he got the nickname boy savior is because he tried to "save" her form Silco many times through the years, assuming she was being held against her will.
The Jinx vs Ekko fight is probably my favourite scene from the whole show. It's unfair how perfect everything is about it.
The music, animation, combat, and emotional weight are all perfection.
The fight is among the best in cinema. But I have to highlight the microexpressions between the two. It's incredible how many emotions Ekko conveys before he issues his challenge.
The entire series is filled with those little two-part expression reactions. They're one of the things that make the animation so good, and props to Fortiche for doing them so well.
So many layers and depth for sure. Each expression can easily be traced and understood, yet so much happens in so little time. A classic case of “show, don’t tell” at its finest.
There's a reasonable amount of conjecture (including from mental health professionals who cannot diagnose a fictional character, but can point out traits) that one of the key issues Powder/Jinx strongly displays is borderline personality traits. This is most commonly described as "black and white" thinking with no nuance... people are either entirely supportive or entirely an enemy/threat, which is why she demonizes Caitlyn. Caitlyn is an enforcer (someone Powder learned to despise at a young age) AND Jinx feels she is stealing Vi away from her. Somewhat separately, I see "Jinx" as a defense mechanism created by "Powder" due to the traumatic violence she was exposed to as a child, in addition constantly feeling like she was never good enough/capable enough. Powder is the vulnerable part of her personality, and Jinx is the hardened response.
I also feel like Jinx's smile was a "goodbye" smile. She wanted to die. You don't lay a grenade down next to yourself when you're lying flat on your back if you aren't wanting to die. She had just seen how fast Ekko was; I think she knew he'd get away. But when I see the look on her face in that moment she's almost thanking him for the good memories; she just looks broken, exhausted, and peaceful for the only time we've seen her in the series.
Oh absolutely. I'm not sure if shw knew Ekko would get away, but I think it was her attempt at dying as _Powder._ This is probably closer to Powder that she has gotten in years and it felt like it was her way of saying: "If I go now, I go as someone you loved. if i stay, i will be jinx again and Powder will be gone."
This is infinitely fascinating and provides so much additional insight on her character. Everything you say here makes sense and I’ll have a tough time seeing it differently from here on out.
Great reaction.... Was those bad things you presumed what you thought?.... Marcus's arm getting blown off is kinda surprising .... Jinx found those mechanical firelights during 1x4 on progress day and she has been working on them.... When Silco is yelling at her she's currently doing work on them.... Shows just how smart she is overall regardless of her mental issues....
Silco stays in the depths of the lanes where the air is still clouded with pollution, where as all the chem barons hang out in cleaner air near the surface in a large greenhouse, so he's more used to the gasses from the mines.
This is, unequivocally, my favorite episode of the show, and Ekko is my favorite character. Schnee did an amazing video about Ekko, breaking down the part that he plays as the "other" in the classic "hero/villain/other" trio. Usually, the other is an evil force above and beyond the main, identifiably human villain, but Ekko represents a less common heroic other. He and the Firelights are the third faction to Piltover and Zaun, and if there's one thing that's clear from the music video and everything he says, he'll as happily take on Piltover as much as he will Zaun... as long as they threaten his community. Which, with Markus in charge of the enforcers, they have for the last several years. He's not doing it for power, though, or money... he's doing it to protect his community. Where Piltover and Zaun are riddled with corruption, he has the clearest sense of purpose of any of them. The people who need protecting above all.
I heard something interesting pointed out the other day: namely that the mechanical firelights seemed to seek out weapons as their way of identifying their targets. So, in the end, by giving up her gun in the previous episode, Caitlyn wound up saving herself from the explosions.
Also, I've seen speculation that the Dynasties and Dystopias music video segment is alluding to Ekko's time manipulation abilities. After all in his video Seconds, we see him replaying a single fight over and over again until he can get the outcome that matters the most to him. In Seconds, you see that even when he wins the fight, but the mural gets destroyed... he still rewinds again, despite only having barely won in the first place. The theory goes, then, that Ekko could have replayed that fight over and over again during that sequence until he came to the series of events that let both him and Jinx survive the fight.
That’s a really cool theory and I’m gonna have to do some digging on it because it totally makes sense 👀
The duel here is simultaneous amazing and heartbreaking, as is Jinx's defeated but grateful little smile. The animation is so good here, you can see sadness, acceptance, love, regret.
Apparently the opening was originally going to be Ekko repeatedly trying to "free" Powder from Silco as they grew up, not realizing she was there through choice, hence "the boy saviour". I can understand that they didn't want to risk spoiling the twist. You can see Ekko's owl mask on the shelves in Benzo's shop in episode 1, and the first scene Ekko is in, he's repairing a clock.
We've seen the robot butterflies before - the progress day celebrations. Jinx must have stolen some. We've seen them again in her workshop on her bench.
I know I keep banging on about Marcus, but that's because he's easily overlooked - there's so much amazing content in Arcane it's easy to miss details. He's completed his arc here. By modelling himself on Grayson, he's repeated history:
In the first arc, he was the hotheaded youngblood who wanted justice at any cost, didn't understand why Grayson was going so easy on the Undercity, nor realising Grayson had an arrangement with Vander, the crime boss of the Undercity. Marcus pushed and he pushed, blundering around with his power without finesse, trying to bring down the enemy in the Undercity, and his actions brought the Undercity and Piltover to the brink of war. Just as Vi moved to defuse the situation, returning the lost hextech crystal and turning herself in, Silco's monster killed Grayson leaving Marcus to face the consequences.
In this arc, Jayce is a the hotheaded youngblood who wants justice at any cost, doesn't understand why Marcus is going so easy on the Undercity, not realising Marcus has an arrangement with Silco, the crime boss of the Undercity. Jayce pushed and pushed, blundering around with his power without finesse, trying to bring down the enemy in the Undercity, and his actions brought the Undercity and Piltover to the brink of war. Just as Vi, Caitlin and Ekko move to defuse the situation, returning the lost hextech gem with Ekko risking handing himself over, Silco's monster killed Marcus, leaving Jayce to face the consequences.
We'll have to see if Jayce is able to break the cycle of violence.
I flipping love this show.
Yeah and Marcus is especially interesting when contrasted to Caitlyn, because Grayson was both of their mentors. Caitlyn took the spirit of her teachings('what are you shooting for', meeting the people of the undercity where they're at) while Marcus took the word(work with the undercity leader and make deals to maintain a status quo).
@@bzzzzzzzzzz2075 an angle I hadn't even thought of!
Watching Jinx wanna just end herself, with Ekko as collateral just breaks my heart everytime. So sad
you should definitely check out the Enemy music video from Imagine Dragons, it shows a lot of Ekko and Powders past together as kids
After episode 9 you should really check out the Bridging the Rift videos Riot put out about the making of the series cause it'll blow your mind the work that went into everything.
The Shimmer provided by Singed ( The scientist from the Under city ) is a more stable and better than the other shimmer. Over the years past, the Gemstone is not the only one that has improvements.
With the new shimmer that Viktor Injected, this time there are no Transformation of body or monster like behavior. We saw that shimmer has a capability to heal or regenerate wounds just like what Caitlyn gave to VI on episode 6.
The reason about why Viktor injected the shimmer, because for him to be able to withstand the hexcores power. Its a risky trial for him to do his but we saw the power of hexcore when Viktor tried to combine it with a plant or any living thing. We saw that Hexcore reacts to living things but the only problem is it seems its giving boost the the living and afterwards it consumes it.
For him to withstand this... Shimmer is the option.
Possible Spoiler:
Hexcore will consume Viktor and he has no control of this. We know that he told to Jayce that it speaks to him.
Glorious Evolution ~
I love that Shimmer, designed as a weapon, has become a tool, used in a healing potion for Vi, and a medical tool for Viktor, and that Hextech, designed as a tool for science and creativity, to help people, is now being considered turning into a weapon.
Of all the reactors I've watched, you're the only one who caught that the insects are mechanical. Instasub for me.
I thought it was obvious honestly, but I guess it can be missed if you aren’t paying attention! Thank you for the support either way 😄
What will Jayce do? Whatever the last person with any kind of personal conviction told him would be a good idea. Like always.
The whole "nobody wins in war" thing is... drastically inaccurate. In fact, generally, SOMEONE wins in war. What IS accurate, however, is that everyone who takes part in war will ALSO lose. For my money, war is all but inevitable, because rather than trying to solve the endemic problems of a Zaun that is supposed to be under the council's control, they attempt to clamp down on the dissatisfaction of the people being downtrodden - which is how you get rebellion. In fact, there's no way to AVOID rebellion if your system excludes some of the people under it. Fortunately, Silco has been working towards revolution for a very long time, so it may happen, and in fairly structured form, which is very important.
The balance between Zaun and Piltover isn't much like the nuclear arms race, it's more like any OTHER arms race. Nuclear weapons are different from other weapons we humans have made to kill one another because of certain factors surrounding them... and while magic MAY be similar in the surrounding danger and long-term effects, this is more akin to the arms race of building the best warships in the age of sail, or the best infantry rifles, or having the best fighter planes to secure air superiority.... it's simply a race to get tactical superiority so as to achieve strategic superiority THROUGH that and be able to dictate terms to the other side. And if anything, Jinx has a better weapons development foundation than Jayce does. Jayce has dreamed of, and then made, TECHNOLOGY for the full timeskip, say seven years or so. Devices, tools, stuff like that. Whereas Jinx...
... okay so I have an objection to your descriptions of how Jinx "isn't Vi's little sister/Powder anymore", that she's "changed". How? She was making bombs at the age of... nine or ten or however old she is in episodes 1-3. She attempted to use these bombs on people around her, and she didn't look heartbroken or apprehensive at the notion that someone might get hurt from her nail bombs. She's been a firebug, a bomb maker, and indeed a KILLER since after the first time we heard that Imagine Dragons song... she just didn't SUCCEED in any of her attempted homicides before, but she certainly TRIED. And that's why, if it's a race between Jayce and Jinx, I'm concerned for Piltover, because Jinx has been making killing implements since before the timeskip, on a fairly restricted budget. Her budget now is looking pretty impressive, and she managed to go from "never really heard of this stuff before beyond seeing that big teleporty tower in the distance" to "I have a working Hextech device and am figuring out rune combinations" in about a DAY using just some of Jayce's and Viktor's notes. Given a week, she might have giant, nuke-launching mechs.
If you want to see how far Arcane goes with symbolism have a closer look (zoom) at Jinx right at the end after her grenade exploded. On her throat you will see "Vi" written two times. One time with her clothing and one time with her dirt.
You can watch this show ten times and will still find new details.I surely did..
M A S T E R P I E C E! ❤️
Which is why I highly, _highly_ reccomed the Channel "schnee" for after this. He does breakdowns and psychological and philosophical discussions and he just hit his one year nniversery and you get the feeling he still hasn't exhausted all there is to say about this.
@Saiyasha 1000 % right. The real deep dive in the show. My fav being "How Arcane writes women" 😍😍
But the show should be finished first of course😉
I have to say I'm really impressed by your level of depth with these reactions. Ive seen a fair number of Arcane reactions and while they enjoy it and get the story and realize the depth this damn show has, they never really go to far into it at least in their videos. You seem to be getting quite a bit of the layered storytelling right out the gate and i really like how you take a chunk of time to just disect everything at the end.
Also since you're unfortunately already nearing the end of the show. Idk if you take or are interested in recommendations. But, if you're looking for something to watch next, id sugest Kipo and the age of wonderbeasts or dragon prince. They are both real good shows IMO but a bit less popularity than other shows.
Thank you so much! I sometimes feel like I just go on nerdy rants but I’m glad I seem to be on the right track! As for recommendations, I’m always looking for new stuff to watch! Dragon Prince is definitely one that’s been on my radar for a while now so I may have to make some videos on it in the future 👀
@@TheGamingTeacher1 Rants are fine and can be fun if you're going somewhere with it. And its also just fun to see someone try and pick things apart especially if you know how close or far off they are.
Also ya Dragon prince is a lot of fun it just got its fourth season after a really long hiatus, could be fun to check out. But maybe do stick Kipo on your radar its much more underrated show. I really like it and the reviews and reactions to the show say the same thing. But for some reason it didnt really get a big youtube footprint
One thing you missed was that on the bridge jinx was humming the tune to the song she sang at the start of episode 1
I did miss that and now I’ll never forget it 😢
Gaming Teacher: "How many people did she kill"
Me: "yes"
On the last moments before the grenade exploded, you can hear a thud. Ekkk attempted to swat away the grenade.
Well that’s heartbreaking 😭
When Viktor is disarming the grenade, I think his pause is him actually considering letting it explode - so that there would be nobody left alive to weaponise hextech. That he says "there is always a choice" afterwards, I think underlines this.
The grenades themselves seem to almost have their own thread. Jinx creates them, and uses them to kill people without hesitation, trying to show her competence, power, and usefulness. Marcus considers using one to end himself and Silco, but doesn't, showing his spinelessness and lack of power. Jayce says one almost killed him when he tried to disarm it himself - perhaps showing cautiousness. Viktor - I just covered. Silco uses one to manipulate the council. Finally, Jinx uses one to try and end herself. Each interaction says something about how each character works.
Ok, I know Marcus is flawed, he's likely the most 'real' person in the show. But calling not committing suicide 'spineless' is a bit much I think. Especially given he has a daughter, I think you could make a serious case that actually dying in that situation *would* have been spineless. Marcus is trapped by an ever spiraling series of events from one bad decision that he made in which he thought he was doing the right thing.
Marcus has many, many flaws, but I must admit I get annoyed at how badly so many people see him, as his story is honestly a tragedy and there are a number of echoes in the other stories of tragedy in Arcane.
@@iainmcdonalds4018 So, for you, perhaps him considering it was the spineless part. My main point was about how interaction with the grenades (the same actual grenade for some), told us something about each character.
@@Hohum37 its not spineless for him to think about using it. If he had even used it I wouldn't call it spineless either. My point was mainly that everyone tends to give Marcus undeserved hate. It absolutely gives us loads of character information, but people tend to be way too harsh to the character without being fair.
@@iainmcdonalds4018 "I think you could make a serious case that actually dying in that situation would have been spineless." " If he had even used it I wouldn't call it spineless either" Both quotes are yours.
Mercy is a duty but also a priviledge of the ultra powerful.
If you're too weak, you will need cruelties to prevent a greater tragedy.
But when you're beyond powerful, you can use charisma or tools that are humane to defend.
I think as well that the focus should be defend, not attack.
Historically magic has always been attack, but Piltover might be in a unique position to use magic to defend, since it's a council government that can make use of their entire university structure.
Anti magic fields, defense systems, area control, paralyzation capabilities, but at the end of the day also, deterrence in the most quick and achievable way for now.
when i thought i was done w arcane reactions i find you!
She didn't expect to make it. That last smiling look was a fleeting glimpse of Powder, not Jinx, happy to see her childhood friend. And that moment of reflection served as the impetus for her to do what a tiny part of Jinx's mind, the part that was still Powder, wanted to do: end it all.
Simply perfect.
Well that’s heartbreaking 😭 but as you said, such a great moment of visual storytelling.
Little detail: when Jinx shoots at Vi and Caitlyn, right before Vi pushes Cait out of the way, Caitlyn tries to cover her with her own body to protect her.
Regarding the last smile before the grenade, I didn't interpret it the same way. To me, it wasn't Jinx saying "I win", but rather Powder saying "good bye". You can see that she makes no attempt at freeing herself from Ekko. She could've attached the grenade to him, but instead let it right next to herself and stopped struggling. This wasn't just one of Jinx's reckless fighting strategy, this was Powder giving up and trying to kill herself.
Jayce is what we like to call Chaotic Good. He wants to do good always and is a good person, but his motivations and actions are constantly shifting based on the situation, and are sometimes unpredictable
agreed, and hot take, Silko is true neutral imo
@@jamiethomas3122 I’ll have to disagree about Silco. Id say he’s lawful evil. He uses evil tactics (murder, deceit, etc) to establish and maintain his power. After he’s in power, his drug empire and other exploits make the world around him actively worse. However, he wants loyalty, order, and obedience within his organization. I could see an argument for neutral evil, but he’s undoubtedly an evil character.
@@jamiethomas3122 meh more like unlawfull neutral for Silco he does it for his personnal gain with a touch of romantism but he still destroy lives from his own people "for the greater good"
Jayce is True neutral. Bit of everything but rather bland.
@@jamiethomas3122 i would say Slico is Lawful good. He is a crusader with a cause. He thinks he is doing what must be done for his people.
Spoiler for the next episodes:
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Something that I don't think I've seen anyone in the community pick up (to be fair I don't read through all of the comments), but to me is a huge Easter Egg for the game and foreshadows the next time we see Ekko alive and seemingly unharmed relative to Jinx. The stopwatch.
For context to people who have seen Arcane but never played League, there is an item called Stopwatch. Its function is a one-time use of invulnerability, used for outplaying and stopping lethal damage to your character. Once it is used, you get... the Broken Stopwatch. The last picture we see is Ekko's broken stopwatch. You could also read into it as the stopwatch is clicking slightly, like a faint heartbeat. There have been a few good interpretations of this scene, but I haven't seen the reference to the game being mentioned.
You can hear Ekko bat the grenade away before the explosion. No need to make up things when there is a very simple explanation for what happens in the episode itself.
I suggest you should have watched Imagine Dragon's music video Enemy before this episodes but still watch it now.
Love your reactions man! I'm a huge fan of the series but I was crying along with you for the ekko/jinx fight. Thanks for the video ^___^
Thank you so much, and thank you for watching! ❤️ this show definitely toys with my emotions to say the least 😅
Watching the show without knowing which characters are champions must be so nice. Like I was never really worried about them surviving. I lack the blissful unawareness
You should know the show runners said not to assume because a champion is alive in the future in the game that means they will survive this season or the series.
To this day I am torn on Sevikas Motivtion when she tells Silco not to go after Jinx.
On the one hand, it isn't wrong. If he goes after her now, it probably wouldn't really lead to an agreement.
But we know that Sevika hates Jinx and she _wants_ her to implode to get her out of the way. And we have seen her being manipulative with Vi before, so it is also possible that she is just trying to keep Silco and Jinx seperated so that they cannot fix their issues and Jinx goes further off the deepend.
I am honestly not sure which one it is.
Sevika doesn't like Jinx, but she's loyal to the cause, and to Silco, as long as he remains the most competent figurehead of that cause. ("But, he won't be the last"). Sevika is always honest and straight with him, and doesn't want Silco to get distracted. She's not going to try to pull one over on him to get what she wants, he'd see through it in a heartbeat. In this case, genuine advice. Sure, Jinx technically benefits from Sevika's advice to Silco, but she's not the intended beneficiary.
@@tchjdaedn Indeed. This puzzled me for a while, but then I thought about what Sevika's main motivation is:. **the cause**, and it all fell into place as you've said.
I'll second what others have said, please watch the official video for 'Enemy', it gives some context on how close Jinx and Ekko (as the youngest kids) were growing up
That clock wasn't completely frozen..... ;)
That face in the thumbnail 😆
😅😂
Thank you for these.
Thank you for watching 😄❤️
waiting for the last 2 eps!
And we're back on the bridge, circling back again. Jinx is humming the same song Powder did in the first minutes of episode one. And again Arcane shows of its masterful skill of getting us hyped for a battle and then reminding us that what we're watching is an terrible tragedy. We get an incredibly thrilling sequence, perhaps the coolest battle sequence of the show, set to my personal favourite track from the show, ending with the absolute HEARTBREAK of realizing they used to be the best of friends and still found themselves on opposite sides of this struggle. Someone in the comments suggested you check out the music video to Imagine Dragons' Enemy now because now there's no mo spoilers in it and yeah, its a great time to do that: ruclips.net/video/D9G1VOjN_84/видео.html
Ekko has a voiceline with Jinx in the game where he says to her: "I had a crush... until you started talking to the gun"
😭😭😭😭
this war will definitely have a Victor even if there are no winners.
I'm sorry.
Just found your channel a few days ago, binged invincible and I wanted to wait for arcane till it was done but I made the mistake of checking out your reaction to ep 1, to see how you viewed and felt about it and now I’m here and sad 😂
Haha well thankfully you won’t have to wait long as the last two episodes go live this week! Thank you for your support either way! ❤️
Based on my experiences, Jayce, Marcus and Mel are the most "real" characters in the show. They act like people I know in real life.
They all definitely have some relatable qualities to them. Props to the writers for really making every character feel real.
There are confirmations from the Makers of the show that they had planned a few scenes with jinx and Ekko in the in between phase, but they couldn't fit them in. But I always hear her: "The Boy Saviour" in such a resentful tone as giving the hint that thy have had multiple interactions before this. And Jinx _hates_ him for not saving _her_ I can imagine that he tried to get her out of Silcos in the beginning and maybe she even rejected him.
And after a while he stopped trying, because he had to take care of the other firelights. And I don't think Jinx would have forgiven him for not trying again. That isn't fair at all, but fair isn't really the view of her fractured mind, so...
Also, there are lines of Ekko in the game that hint at a at least temporary romantic attraction, so many fans speculate that little Ekko had a crush on Powder.
I very highly reccomend that you watch the "Enemy" Music video, as it gives these two a few more scenes and paints you a better picture of how close they were.
Well that’s heartbreaking 😢 I’ll definitely be looking into that video as many have recommended it!
Yeah it's really interesting to imagine Ekko and Jinxs interactions during the timeskip. Jinx doesn't like herself or what she does, and the resentment in her voice reads so many ways. It's my belief that Jinx stays with Silco because she thinks she's a monster too, because she clearly knows Silco does bad stuff and thinks it's bad. My theory is that Ekko tried to save her by giving her a choice, probably multiple times, but she was reluctant because she didn't think she deserved to be saved. I think what she was hoping for was him to just rip her away from Silco and tell her that she wasn't bad, a jinx, etc. but because she wouldn't make the conscious choice to leave her materially safe, even if abusive situation, Ekko gave up. Idk it's all very vague and I think there's a bunch of interpretations, this is just my favorite. Have a good day
@@bzzzzzzzzzz2075 it’s definitely an interesting interpretation and makes sense for the overall narrative! Ekko definitely seems to want to have hope but knows that there is nothing left to truly save, and as such Jinx is more of a threat than ever.
One way to look at this is that Jinx saved Katelyn from Marcus. *inhales copious amount of copium*
In another way caitlyn giving away her gun saved her, since all the firelight bombs only landed on guns🤯
in the song Imagine Dragons x J.I.D - Enemy (from the series Arcane League of Legends) you can see more of the relation of jinx and ekko
You may not have seen it, but, when Ekko is showing Vi the memorial mural, there is a person on the right side painting. The person that they’re painting is the pink-haired girl Jinks killed in episode 4. 😭
Just be prepared for the rest of the series to be emotionally crushed at the end of each ep.
Dear friends across the river... just keep your nickel i don't need it now
Algorithm comment.
this show is basically a trauma itself
Not wrong 😅
Your voice is a lot louder than the vid, and it makes it kind of hard to watch because your voice is already so much deeper than the video. It hurts my ears when I turn it up enough to hear the video.