This is why no episode of Arcane ever felt like filler. In less than one minute they showed what the firelights were about, in the coolest way. A less talented team would have had Ekko just tell us through some long, boring and clumsy exposition, but because of this sequence we could quickly move on. Fantastic storytellers.
Not only that, but in each episode, a character has some sort of backstory told. Ekko didn’t get one in his episode because the Firelights are about growth and the present moment. Instead, his story was shown this way, and the art style is reoccurring throughout the episode (Jinx vs Ekko scene).
Makes me sad cause I really want them to patch things up but they're exact opposites now. Jinx creates chaos and war while echo tries to create order in peace within a chaotic environment. Their foils of each other. They're more oil and water than Vi and Cait.
Zaun is all about cool stuff. Firelights are cool. Jinx is cool. GLORIOUS EVOLUTION is cool. But the most important : STREET FOOD is COOL. Gime delicious tentacles
To be fair, if you could like make an MV that appeals to certain demographics then in theory it could improve recruitment. Kids, youths... They want to be tough. They want to be "cool"... I know kids who'd be influenced by something like this. Mind you, joining a gang ain't ever a good idea, not that I don't support a healthy community but like... One should always remember oneself.
@@tysej4 Dude up here ACTUALLY talking like Jayce. The Firelights aren't a gang of thugs, they're a response to the oppressive and murderous nature of their ruling government. Everyone thinks "gangs" form from nothing, when all you'd have to do is imagine the LAPD as the Enforcers, and suddenly the world starts to make a lot more sense. There are kids who lived their entire lives in South Central and don't even know what the ocean looks like, despite it only being a few miles away. Arcane isn't telling a new story with the Firelights.
@@SublimeMind Aight, but I meant for real tho' like... No joke, Firelights get up to a ton of s*** but they are the good guys... Just gotta start questioning when your own morals have to like.. Dip for the "Group" ya'know?. I don't recommend joining the Firelights either but that's mostly just a "Stay safe" mentality.. If where you at ain't safe then sure, go ahead.
@@tysej4 Who wouldn't URGENTLY NEED to join firelights if they are Zaunian and see this ? xDDD Even if they existed in real life and were litteraly fighting injustice and building an oasis of peace while being THAT cool who could say no ?
Fun fact, Ekko's mask can be seen at Benzo's when he is spying on Vander and Grayson, thats where he got it, the attention to detail in this show is amazing.
true and riot said they are adjusting lore to make it much more interesting like vi says her name stands for vice in game but in arcane it stands for violet
@@superpadstutorials8365 the Violete it was already introduced in LOR and was implemented on canon league universe arcane is just following the canon name of vi the same with jinx
@@superpadstutorials8365 That has been a thing for years. And she was just joking, her name is obviously not Violence, or Vice, or Victory, those are just silly catchphrases to show her personality
Piltover: hextech is the future! Zaun: schimer is our key to freedom! Firelights: *dope music video go brrrr.* Also let's make some flying skatboards and plant a giant tree
Rather than sulk in the shadows after the death his friends, Benzo and Vander, Ekko decided to take the fight to criminals and tyrants that harmed Zaun forming a resistance from the ground up and give the people hope in the darkness that was their home. The kid has the courage of a lion for risking his neck for people he barely even knew and gathered people from all around that lost much as he did. It goes to show you that the spirit of defiance and freedom is not so easily extinguished, even in Zaun.
@@cosneanumatei5117 Ekko is a normal person. Jinx has mental illness suffering from Schizoprenia. That helped her become insane. Ekko found new people to cope with.
"I declare war, on anybody standing on the way of what I dream for" The lyrics itself is powerful and conveys what the group is all about, there is no need for background stories, the song already explains it
Oh, god! The symbolism is strong here, of them beating the wardens who seem to be hanging like puppets, and also kicking the eye which may represent Silco
MOHAWK! lol I think the dreadlocks were alright, I think he only gets the mohawk once he's tinkered too much with hextech. All that arcane electricity went straight to that boys hair dew.
At about 00:35 seconds, you can see Ekko holding a torch, similar to the one given to Powder by Vi. Even if Ekko was never shown being given such a torch aswell, the image seems to parallel; A hope for the people he cares to return to him. And though Powder and Vi didn't gather under his light, many others did.
A thing I've noticed about Ekko ( and I don't see people talking about it ) is that every time he has time screen, he is with someone. He is the third way ( green between bleu and red ), the good solution, and in every other story he would have been the hero, the good VS the evil ! BUT he is the only one (after arc 1) that we never see alone !! Even Marcus 🤢, and the right hand of Silko ( I forgot her name 😭) have their moments ! I think, unlike others, he doesn't need validation. He is doing the right thing and he knows it. Instead of destroying everything, searching validation, or plotting revenge, he did his mourn and he is protecting people. He defends them in hiding them and choosing his battle. Also he is well known for secretly following people. I think it is for all these reasons that he is the character with the less time screen but still one of the most important. ( Firelights 💚)
Every hint was pointing towards him being Ekko (stopwatch, hourglass, overall appearance and behaviour, saving vi, bla bla,…) but I didn’t want to set my hopes too high. But at the beginning of ep 7 this started and i was like it’s definitely ekko lol
I swear this was some of the hypest shit when it came on. 'I declare war, on anybody standing in the way of what I dream for.' Like I got a sub woofer sitting under my tv and goddamn, mans bed started shaking.
The thought put into this section is so astonishing, at 0:33 when the guy is punching the tied up enforcer the enforcer is at the show’s normal 60ish fps, while the guy is still moving at 15 or even 10
I realized at the end when Ekko reaches towards the camera and moves it, it reminded me of the True Damage music video where in the beginning Ekko does the same thing to the camera
looking back arcane actually did such a good job at character identity i mean look at this in 58s they showed us an entity's actions, "style," philosophies, and overall existence
Single handedly the best music video sequence in the show so far. The track reminds me of like 98% of the soundtrack to Kupo And The Wonderbeasts. Also, the lyrics are fucking fire and hold a lot of meaning, both for bringing you into the mind & motives of Ekko and the Firelights as a faction. They also have a lot of weight and meaning in the context of today's world. It's an anthem of the down-trodden and the misfits of the world in Arcane and real life.
I truely believe Ekko is what Jinx could have been. Had she not acted the night of episode three or of Vi had not been taken from her than she would be who Ekko is, but she never got that chance. Instead she became the worst version of herself because of Silco who, indead truelly loved her, but encouraged everything that destroyed Powder, only because Jinx represented everything he wanted the nation of Zaun to be.
Honestly, the firelights concepts and animation sequences upped the game of arcane even more! I looove the animation style in this one. Also the scene ont he bridge - ah, just *chef's kiss*
Ever since I saw this intro, I saw a clear vision of how Gunn could incorporate something like this into introducing a character like Anarchy or something in the DCU
This is why no episode of Arcane ever felt like filler. In less than one minute they showed what the firelights were about, in the coolest way. A less talented team would have had Ekko just tell us through some long, boring and clumsy exposition, but because of this sequence we could quickly move on. Fantastic storytellers.
"It all started when..."
Budget means everything tho
@@SublimeMind the fire nation attacked?
Even the verse's lyrics can just as easily fit Ekko as Pusha T.
Not only that, but in each episode, a character has some sort of backstory told. Ekko didn’t get one in his episode because the Firelights are about growth and the present moment. Instead, his story was shown this way, and the art style is reoccurring throughout the episode (Jinx vs Ekko scene).
Notice that Ekko here and Jinx in ep 9 sit the same way. They really are the antithesis of each other.
Oh my god you’re right
Makes me sad cause I really want them to patch things up but they're exact opposites now. Jinx creates chaos and war while echo tries to create order in peace within a chaotic environment. Their foils of each other. They're more oil and water than Vi and Cait.
Also when he lights the fire thing at 0:36
He is the Batman to her Joker.
@@icyunvme2400 damn you right, it might be him trying to find his old friends.
>Firelights
>Cool tool
>Cool leader
>Cool theme
>Cool mask
>Cool music
Best gang in arcane
Don't forget cool hoverboards
>i agree
>agreed
>yes i agree
>i approve
>approved
>i fucking agree and i approved
yes
Zaun is all about cool stuff.
Firelights are cool.
Jinx is cool.
GLORIOUS EVOLUTION is cool.
But the most important : STREET FOOD is COOL. Gime delicious tentacles
@@Roxar96 jinx is cute and tentacles? I love tentacles
@@whatthehell4644 Jinx with tentacles would also be cool
The amount of times this show turns into a music video is both hilarious and awsome
True, can't believe we even have Imagine Dragon OCs xD
Well fortiche did make all of League's MVs so it's expected HAHA
hey, fortiche studio have made musical videos for riot for years, let them flex a little xD
@@byonty886 Fair, fair xD
They earned it
Storytelling. Common sense.
Firelight: boss what's our next move against Silco?
Ekko: how about we make a dope ass rap music video?
Firelight:...... Brilliant!
To be fair, if you could like make an MV that appeals to certain demographics then in theory it could improve recruitment.
Kids, youths... They want to be tough. They want to be "cool"... I know kids who'd be influenced by something like this.
Mind you, joining a gang ain't ever a good idea, not that I don't support a healthy community but like... One should always remember oneself.
@@tysej4 Dude up here ACTUALLY talking like Jayce. The Firelights aren't a gang of thugs, they're a response to the oppressive and murderous nature of their ruling government. Everyone thinks "gangs" form from nothing, when all you'd have to do is imagine the LAPD as the Enforcers, and suddenly the world starts to make a lot more sense.
There are kids who lived their entire lives in South Central and don't even know what the ocean looks like, despite it only being a few miles away. Arcane isn't telling a new story with the Firelights.
@@SublimeMind Aight, but I meant for real tho' like... No joke, Firelights get up to a ton of s*** but they are the good guys... Just gotta start questioning when your own morals have to like.. Dip for the "Group" ya'know?.
I don't recommend joining the Firelights either but that's mostly just a "Stay safe" mentality.. If where you at ain't safe then sure, go ahead.
@@tysej4 Who wouldn't URGENTLY NEED to join firelights if they are Zaunian and see this ? xDDD
Even if they existed in real life and were litteraly fighting injustice and building an oasis of peace while being THAT cool who could say no ?
You gotta do more than survive, you gotta give them a reason to live.
Fun fact, Ekko's mask can be seen at Benzo's when he is spying on Vander and Grayson, thats where he got it, the attention to detail in this show is amazing.
Shit you are right. I remember seeing those masks, but i never made the connection
@@valentin7693 The shot with the 3 masks? It's not Ekkos exact mask, but it does come with a little bit of hindsight. Very well thought out!
Oh shit I thought it was Jhin's mask when I first saw it in the shop. THANKS FOR POINTING IT OUT
@@ExcuseMee hahaha I thought the same thing at first!
Laundry’s Anguish is also featured in that set of masks
Fun fact: The firelights was never introduced in the canon league universe but arcane delivered the firelights in the best way possible
true and riot said they are adjusting lore to make it much more interesting
like vi says her name stands for vice in game but in arcane it stands for violet
@@superpadstutorials8365 the Violete it was already introduced in LOR and was implemented on canon league universe arcane is just following the canon name of vi the same with jinx
@@superpadstutorials8365 She said Vice, Victory and Violence, we knew she lied for a looooong time
@@superpadstutorials8365 That has been a thing for years. And she was just joking, her name is obviously not Violence, or Vice, or Victory, those are just silly catchphrases to show her personality
They were never introduced as firelights, but ekko's lore mentions that he used to be part of gang who named themselves as the lost children of zaun.
Wish Ekko has his firelight skin
will probably come soon cos he hasn't had an arcane skin yet i believe
Look at Project L , they used that design basically .
I hope it becomes his new legendary. Every time his ultimate is ready he could have his Firelight Mask on as saying he has his ultimate.
@@ukiyoideas2215 they used his design after he puts down the mask and coat
Firelight Ekko in the show has not had his Z-Drive yet, but that doesn't really matter
"I can get you kidnapped, these kids ain't playing with you..."
Vi and Cait: Yeah, we noticed.
Man's bagged and tagged them like they were wild animals
LMAOOOOOOOO XD
The firelights are such a good adition to the series fleshing out the many facets auf Zaun and the conflict in the undercity.
The human punching bag is the best to show the hatred and courage of the marginalized villagers of Zaun, who constantly live their abuses.
Ekko is a good addition. I was so satisfied
@@kemars1833 he’s the best part of the show
Is it just me or do the firelights have big blm energy?
@@Dastankbeets9486 by BLM you mean literally every Militant group representing a disenfranchised group?
Topsiders : Hextech can power the entire city!
Undercity : Hextech can blow the entire city!
Firelight : *F L Y I N G S K A T E B O A R D*
And eventually: time travel
Piltover: hextech is the future!
Zaun: schimer is our key to freedom!
Firelights: *dope music video go brrrr.* Also let's make some flying skatboards and plant a giant tree
@@obi-twokenobi4861 😂
Firelights' not a region like piltover or zaun, they're just a gang
@@itsjustvin7630this comment aged like fine wine lol
Rather than sulk in the shadows after the death his friends, Benzo and Vander, Ekko decided to take the fight to criminals and tyrants that harmed Zaun forming a resistance from the ground up and give the people hope in the darkness that was their home. The kid has the courage of a lion for risking his neck for people he barely even knew and gathered people from all around that lost much as he did. It goes to show you that the spirit of defiance and freedom is not so easily extinguished, even in Zaun.
The fact he literally nourished a tree with a beautiful enclosed ecosystem shows how ingeniously cautious he is.
@@checht69 The tree already existed. He onnly found it.
He took Vi's place as a leader, if Vi wasn't locked up she would most likely be the leader of an organization like this fighting Silco.
Imagine he became depressed and became a new, mental broken jinx. That would've been fucking horrific.
@@cosneanumatei5117 Ekko is a normal person. Jinx has mental illness suffering from Schizoprenia. That helped her become insane. Ekko found new people to cope with.
"I declare war, on anybody standing on the way of what I dream for"
The lyrics itself is powerful and conveys what the group is all about, there is no need for background stories, the song already explains it
Oh, god! The symbolism is strong here, of them beating the wardens who seem to be hanging like puppets, and also kicking the eye which may represent Silco
The enforcer is full a straw. It's basically just a decorated boxing bag.
@@everett6072 *do you even symbolism bruh*
@@everett6072 its meant to symbolize that the enforcers are merely puppets
Fuck the “eye of zaun” and fuck the enforcers, the future of the undercity lies in community like it always has
I KNOW WRITERS WHO USE SUBTEXT AND THEY’RE ALL COWARDS
Underrated opinion, Ekko with the dreadlocks looks alot better than him having the weird ass mohawk
...but isn't still a weird @ss Mohawk, only now the hair has dreads?
@@dgj212 hightop dreads, its a lil different
Bro there’s people disagreeing?
Wdym underrated? Who's disagreeing?
MOHAWK! lol I think the dreadlocks were alright, I think he only gets the mohawk once he's tinkered too much with hextech. All that arcane electricity went straight to that boys hair dew.
I honestly love the idea of Ekko being a boss to a gang of Batman styled vigilantes
ikr
ekko debut as a rapper is canon apparently
It fits though so won't complain.
Ekko stops clock with solo debut after indefinite hiatus of True Damage?
it was canon since 2019
A cool detail here: it takes exactly 4 seconds for the music to kick in
0:45 This shot is so damn fire 🔥
At about 00:35 seconds, you can see Ekko holding a torch, similar to the one given to Powder by Vi. Even if Ekko was never shown being given such a torch aswell, the image seems to parallel; A hope for the people he cares to return to him. And though Powder and Vi didn't gather under his light, many others did.
He also sits the same way jinx does in ep 9
That's such a cool touch
That's not a torch. Looks like his usual bat/club.
@@joseph4445 Well it seems pretty similar to his torch at 0:41
Firelights are kinda like fireflies combined with... I guess moths? Seems like it fits??
0:16
That's actually the mask of the firelight girl jinx shot, next to empty bullet casings decorated by jinx...
Damn
“I DECLARE WAR, ON ANYONE STANDING ON THE WAY OF WHAT I DREAM FOR” 🗣️🗣️🗣️🔥🔥🔥
Ekko Pose and Ep9 Jinx Pose.
The Writers are Cooking man
I want a arcane spin off about the firelights with this as the intro
can't get over how ekko decided making a dope ass music video for his gang was a NECESSITY
The Firelights are so badass they get their own intro, god damn.
When you learn who the Fireflies are, you would fight for their cause as well.
Yeah agreed
Ah yes the fireflies
This ain't the last of us bruh
@@MrStressedOut lmaoooo
Just watched the show
The amount of time this show became literal art and animation at the same time
hope we see more of the firelights in second season, the short time they had in the first definitely left an impact to remember them
A thing I've noticed about Ekko ( and I don't see people talking about it ) is that every time he has time screen, he is with someone. He is the third way ( green between bleu and red ), the good solution, and in every other story he would have been the hero, the good VS the evil ! BUT he is the only one (after arc 1) that we never see alone !! Even Marcus 🤢, and the right hand of Silko ( I forgot her name 😭) have their moments !
I think, unlike others, he doesn't need validation. He is doing the right thing and he knows it. Instead of destroying everything, searching validation, or plotting revenge, he did his mourn and he is protecting people. He defends them in hiding them and choosing his battle.
Also he is well known for secretly following people.
I think it is for all these reasons that he is the character with the less time screen but still one of the most important.
( Firelights 💚)
Ekko is legit the heart of Zaun
i instantly realize it's ekko behind just by hearing this song
Especially when you've listened to the True Damage music video
I realized it was Ekko behind the mask as soon as I saw that stopwatch.
@@Dead25m Didn't you notice Ekko's hourglass symbol in the first 3 seconds and on the suit he wears?
I knew it was him by the hour glass/infinity symbol that gets sprayed in green. Just like ge has on his face
Every hint was pointing towards him being Ekko (stopwatch, hourglass, overall appearance and behaviour, saving vi, bla bla,…) but I didn’t want to set my hopes too high. But at the beginning of ep 7 this started and i was like it’s definitely ekko lol
High on hopium for that vastaya to be the firelight champ.
I think hes a chirean
@@TheMaskedAvengerN a what now?
@Max _ I do agree that he has chirean ears but...can chireans grow that tall?
@@TheRaptor0101 Bat people that lived in the caves beneath zaun, that got "unearthed" due to mining operations
Watch it being bo but in the arcane canon
(Bo is the first shown chirean, within à LoR extension. He's part of ekko's gang)
I love how Ekko's symbol looks like an hourglass.. ⏳
remember ekko's original theme? good times.
this song is dope tho
Ekko og theme is still great wdym
In the bridge fight with jinx you can hear the melody from his theme in the background for a split moment. Loved that little easter egg 😌
Ekkos original theme is still his this is for the firelights.
@@khariperkins4243 they didn’t say it wasn’t
The exaggerated swagger of a Zaunite teen
This is the impact of show, dont tell. Instead of Ekko telling us his backstory and cause, Riot shows us.
im just obsesseddd with the way ekko bops his head
Thought I was the only one
But that song though. I need more.
Look up Misfit Toys
Daytona Pusha T
I swear this was some of the hypest shit when it came on.
'I declare war, on anybody standing in the way of what I dream for.'
Like I got a sub woofer sitting under my tv and goddamn, mans bed started shaking.
I just like the green, and how it looks
The thought put into this section is so astonishing, at 0:33 when the guy is punching the tied up enforcer the enforcer is at the show’s normal 60ish fps, while the guy is still moving at 15 or even 10
I declare war.. On anybody who stands in they way of what I'm dreaming for... Yes. I live that line
I realized at the end when Ekko reaches towards the camera and moves it, it reminded me of the True Damage music video where in the beginning Ekko does the same thing to the camera
Ekko sitting in the same position as Jinx, then he hold same light as her in ep 6, nice parallels
literally ying and yang black and white evil and good
I wish we got more of the firelights😢
I like Characters like ekko with the green neon stuff and steam punk its so cool
everything from their designs, to the artstyle used and even the music is honestly perfect, god the Firelights are fucking cool
Ekko rapping with the firelights before his True Damage skin :)
This is a perfect intro the episode and misfit toys is perfect
I was really hoping to see it making a comeback in season2 as a entrance of firelights but unfortunatly not
looking back arcane actually did such a good job at character identity i mean look at this in 58s they showed us an entity's actions, "style," philosophies, and overall existence
Single handedly the best music video sequence in the show so far. The track reminds me of like 98% of the soundtrack to Kupo And The Wonderbeasts.
Also, the lyrics are fucking fire and hold a lot of meaning, both for bringing you into the mind & motives of Ekko and the Firelights as a faction. They also have a lot of weight and meaning in the context of today's world. It's an anthem of the down-trodden and the misfits of the world in Arcane and real life.
Nobody:
Absolutely Nobody:
Firelights:"want a random music video at the beginning of act 3?"
The actual song is “Misfit Toys” By Pusha T, and Mako
I want to see an entire show with an art style like this
That’d be cool
I knew the firelight leader was Ekko when he moves the camera like he does in the Giants music video at 0:47-0:48
This is how Cyberpunk 2077 should have show it's gangs ingame
Hex Tech or Shimmer?:
Firelights: How about a giant tree?
Chemtech if I'm not mistaken
It's powered by friendship!!
I truely believe Ekko is what Jinx could have been. Had she not acted the night of episode three or of Vi had not been taken from her than she would be who Ekko is, but she never got that chance. Instead she became the worst version of herself because of Silco who, indead truelly loved her, but encouraged everything that destroyed Powder, only because Jinx represented everything he wanted the nation of Zaun to be.
the fact that this is ekko makes it more awesome
This scene goes hard, it's so cool
This song definitely matches this with their squad and a fight, this is tuff
This is so amazing. My son got me stuck on Archane and Ekko is my fav!
Honestly, the firelights concepts and animation sequences upped the game of arcane even more! I looove the animation style in this one. Also the scene ont he bridge - ah, just *chef's kiss*
Fun Fact: The Bat dude punches the dummy the same way Vi did to knock him out.
he learning
Scar had no business being so cold, best Firelight fr.
Back after watching the "Hellfire" sequence from S2 E3. I can't stop marvelling at the contrast, and they're both just such bangers!
I thought the same thing both went so hard
FRRR
one of the most hardest intro to a gang ever
The Lyrics were actually ... good!
Firelight In The Hood!
THIS NEEDS MORE VIEWS
Legit was watching this at night when it came out and it was so badass
This song is the bomb that delivers good rhythm and makes you a misfit in the crowd.
0:03 Visual Studio logo
yup
I like to imagine that it’s is cannon how each Legend is just a god at music
The tall bat guy is so cool, he saved ekko
I will always adore the graffiti/spraypaint/mural style of the art in this clip I have no words to describe the vibe it gives off
ekko is so fucking badass and my favorite character after vi.
Man I love the hyena guy, he's so cool
I think he's more of a bat
@@saxophones1041 i mean sure, whatever he is, he is very cool
Fr
Damn this new Ekko skin looks sick
Ever since I saw this intro, I saw a clear vision of how Gunn could incorporate something like this into introducing a character like Anarchy or something in the DCU
This is what tipped me off to the fact it was Echo behind the mask
This reminded me of the good old times, 2004-5 era. Need for speed Underground and Most Wanted vibes for sure.
OH SHIT I just realized their logo represents the firelight bugs while also hinting at ekko with an hourglass shape.
ekko and his firelighthood
pusha t need some praise here vro
i need to see a heirmendinger firelights
damn, really been over a year sense we first saw this, but i keep bangin it
I wish it was the whole song where they mash together clips from the show for more time
firelight, the foundation of zaun
0:32 best girl
Gang highjacked the intro lmao
The name of music is Misfit Toys - Pusha T, Mako .
Can't wait for season 2 next year
I just realized, the Firelights symbol is a rotated hourglass
the bass in this song lining up with the gong was awesome
This went HARD
This is so good
“And all those little mishaps that only happen to you misfits I’m gonna fix that”. Cait and Jayce were called misfits in a few eps ago. Hmmm 🧐
Certainly one of the coolest factions in League lore