Thank you all for everything so far. I meant to put this up last night but due to a few issues with copyright it had to be delayed. You can probably tell which parts I had to redo due to this. Thank you for your patience and enjoy part 2 :)
Stop calling Mel manipulative. She's playing the political game. She didn't create it but is being excellent at maneuvering it in the direction that she needs it to go.
@@williampearson6299 Manipulation is just a word. U associate to much negativity with it. In the end it just means that you influence something. Like genetic manipulation could mean you enhance your abilities, cure a desease, make someone more resistant or it could do the opposite. It is a tool which can be used for "good or bad".
@@nostalji93 It is not a coincidence how people choose to phrase certain words. In another video, someone describes Mel as an "aggressor" while Jayce is the "victim" as he takes advantage of him due to her power and influence. While Mel is one of the richest in Piltover, it troubles me how people are intrigued by Silko and defend him, but doubt Mel. You could've said "influence" instead of manipulation. This kind of language is particularly dangerous directed towards black women because no one sees them as vulnerable or empathetic. Be careful how you word things.
The amount of depth in Viktor's statement "In pursuit of great, we failed to do good" is quite fascinating, it plays on the double meaning of good, great is used as a measure of quality, whereas good (which also could be used as a measure of quality) is instead is used a measure of morality (as in good vs evil), it's what makes this statement very memorable, quotable and dare I say timeless.
Yeah I really hope that many people especially those who are in power to bee like Victor and Jayce, but I guess they can't always follow that kind of ideology even if they are the most kind person because power corrupts people and moral ambiguity of a certain situation and calculative nature that is needed to make decisions often make individuals to be desensitized and become corrupt over time. I think if I got a lot of money, influence and personal attributes like charisma and intelligence, I think I will become corrupt over time even if I have the best intention initially.
Re: Sky I didn't get the impression that Viktor rejected her, as much as he just didn't realize she was interested in him because he was so focused on his work. So tragic, though, especially once I realized Sky was the same girl who was curious about him as a child. She pulled herself up from the undercity just like Viktor, and has carried a torch for years before gathering up her courage and...😭
@@mustard5382 Jayce's opposition to Victor is because Victor attacked him and also Victor has an issue with stripping away free will. Also his cult around him that follow his ideals to a more extreme end that Victor doesn't care to deal with even when they terrorize some of the citizens of Zaun, the same people he wants to protect
I don't think Vicktor in arcane will be "GLORIOUS EVOLUTION" Victor Von DOOM! archatype his character is based on in the games. Just like Jinx in arcane isn't the "Chaos goblin" loonytoon she is in the game. I assume in arcane "Glorious Evolution" will become "Glorious Revolution" as he eventually joins the side of Zaun, as they as very out matched, leaderless, Hextech has not helped the people of Zaun.
19:20 When Marcus arrested Vi, he not only saved her live, but, probably more important to him and a lot of people, he ended the ongoing enforcer raid on undercity. And actually the same way, that Vi had planned to end the raid.
Well, apparently Vicktor is not that much of a villan. "The glorious revolution” was created around him, with him as a figure head. But the stories generally portray him as a pretty good guy, from what I remember.
Viktor is written so well to be morally Grey in the lore. Like sure he when he modifies people which remove some of their more human traits like free will. He is trying to improve their lives and well being by preventing further harm being done to people. He also does not force anyone to be modified and only performs the operation if the individual is willing. He and Jayce and basically middle grounds between Singed and Heimerdinger. Singed is Viktor without ethics or morals and focuses on getting results for example.
@@benign_oracle8875 apparently he wasn’t originally like that, basically forcing people to join his glorious revolution by making them robotic but Riot decided to retcon him to his current iteration which you described. A surprise for sure, but a welcome one.
@@judgmentalanimal yep, viktor originally would offer help but basically rid his patients of their free wil and humanity AKA Battlecast skins are the final stage in the 'glorious evolution' Nowadays Viktor tries to improve Zaun and help people but a machine religion formed around him and people willingly mutilate themselves to have more and more augments. Hell therea a statue with hundreds of human eyes in jars adorning it. Im wondering how the hexcore will come into play because it is obviously a Void like being now and thus viktor is part void too now
Mel is an interesting charter, I read her as genuinely wanting to help Jayce but her own messed up family taught her to be cold and manipulative. So, she acts cold and aloof. Just look at her scenes with her mom to see that she cares about Jayce, and just how manipulative her family is.
Jayce didn't steal the spotlight from Viktor. Jayce, as shown in the progress day episode, wanted Viktor alongside him on the podium to share in his own glory. Viktor denied it, and I think even if he never asked for it, Jayce would've seriously appreciated Viktor's help dealing with the responsibilities of a councilman. Jayce can be pretty well summed up in a single phrase: "I wanted to do the right thing, but near no one else did!"
I feel bad for Jayce. It seems like so many people dislike him for “stealing Viktor’s spotlight” or “Betraying Heimerdinger”. He thought the hexcore could cure Viktor and clearly didn’t want his best friend’s best invention to be destroyed. Heimer also didn’t want them to put new inventions to be used and told them to keep researching “give it a decade”, while Viktor clearly wanted them to be used now cause he thought he couldn’t live as long :( I don’t blame Heimer but can’t blame Jayce either
People keep forgetting that anytime Jayce speaks about his work he uses plural pronouns. It's always we/us/our, his language always includes and acknowledges Viktor. Viktor doesn't want a spotlight, he says so himself when Jayce asks him to do the speech with him. The guy is obviously introverted and doesn't want to have this many eyes on him (especially since he's very sick and most likely very insecure about it) and seems pretty content with letting Jayce who is both extroverted and a great public speaker to be the face of the company. And honestly, as an introvert myself, I get it, I hate speaking in front of a crowd and I would hate it even more if I was as sick as he is. As for the Heimerdinger situation... everything he called him out on is true. Heimer has sat on the council for two centuries and was perfectly happy to rest on his laurels as the city went to shit around him because he just can't relate. He's always saying no, but never offering any effective alternative solution. If anyone can be said to be directly responsible for the state of the undercity, it's him. I actually think Jayce did him a favour by kicking him off. It was a wake up call that made him leave his comfort zone, realise the realities of being human and began his future partnership with Ekko, who showed him that people need more than bare necessities to live and that the community cannot survive without trying to go forward. I dunno to what extent the Yordles are immortal, but Jayce's decision also most likely saved his life from that missile.
I think the Jayce hate is a product of previous Jayce iterations (always painting Vik as a villain through poor writing that inadvertently makes Jayce seem like an ass at best or a con man at worst). This version of Jayce is still quite full of ego, but it's healthy ego. He's just kind've... plain. Simple. So he does things without considering the long term consequences. It's great writing though. That's the defining trait of arcane - it is SO well written.
As for Heimerdinger, another video put it well in that he lacked "empathy", not in the kindness sense most see the word meaning but in being able to understand others. Heimerdinger is so long-lived that he perceives time differently so his "give it a decade" is very callous but doesn't from a place of malice...he simply has a failing to understand. This becomes a problem with his being head of the council and why it is so stagnated till Jayce steps in, where Heimerdinger sees safety and stability his fellow councilmen see a status quo that benefits them. Heimerdinger was ill-suited as a leader, and Jayce was right in that the problems that were growing them now were left to fester under Heimerdingers watch because as said he can't perceive the present the same way others can and fails to recognize the immediate problems and has grown complacent in pursuing safety and stability over progress. That said he was right to be cautious about Hextech, and its potential to be weaponized, but rather than help brainstorm ways to help safeguard his suggestion was "give it another decade".
about the council decision, if you notice in every council meeting, the decision always favor Mel, at first she only has her hand on the dumb guy but we know the dumb guy and the skinny guy has a relationship, so fast forward for few years, the council only wait for Mel's decision tbh, and when Mel finally made her decision, the whole council started to follow.
@@fahimrind9714 Mel is not responsible for what happened with Jinx. If anything, it's Heimerdinger's fault because his leadership allowed the undercity to fester.
wait, Viktor isn't really a villian in the lore, he think machine is the next step but not forcing anyone too, he just changed the people suffer in the Undercity and accidentaly created a diverse religion base on replacing bodyparts. that's where he is in the card game and in the original lore in the universe, he isn't evil either, he was helping and Jayce was "smashing" in the original lore too.
He also attacked Jayce out of the blue when they had a disagreement and beat him unconscious. Viktor isn't a villain because of his ideals, he is a villain because like Sindged he doesn't care about the collateral damage of his ideal. His cult, the Glorious evolution, have no moral compass and he doesn't recognize how bad that is.
@@Desean101101 1st: The only connection the Glorious Evolution Cult has with Victor is that they use him as an prime example of their ideal, maybe even as a messiah if u will. Victor however isn't the cult leader, in fact he even despises the cult! So anything the cult does isn't caused by Victor himself. 2st: The attack on Jayce was out of Desperation to save many lives. And there was no talking it out because let's be real, in the League Lore outside of Arcane, Jayce is a huge prideful and selfcentered Smartass.
It's like, using the concept of politics as a world building device relevant to the story, instead of the writers inserting their own personal opinions, actually makes something people want to watch! How 'bout dat!
I think the best kind of politics in media is the kind that reflects our reality and arcane did a perfect job in portraying the class divide in modern-day society. How the wealthy profit off the poor, how children are caught in the cross fires of a drug war, the parallels of shimmer and the opioid crisis and its use to control and exploit a population, a small circle of wealthy individuals pulling all the strings behind the scenes, the corruption of law enforcement, etc... It's interesting politics, because it's super realistic. These things happen in our world everyday and we participate in it. Ultimately, It's arcane's depiction of corruption in politics that really sold me and the blowback of that corruption (Jinx firing the rocket launcher). There were consequences of leaving the problems in the undercity fester and I think that's a warning for those countries in our world that refuse to address the problems of their working class. Things will get ugly (uglier than they already are) if we don't act.
Viktor can become a "villain" by simply losing his sense of self to the hexcore. The thing consumed Sky and I imagine it could also consume Viktor gradually (since he "protects" himself with shimmer) until he regresses into a shell and becomes a servile vessel to the hexcore.
If Mel dies, her mother will go to Jayce for hextech weapons to “deal with Zaun” (really, to get the weapon for herself). I wonder: who rises to lead Zaun?
@@kaly_ths_291 I think it moves smoothly.... in the lanes, but dealing with the Barons is gonna be herding cats (especially since she murdered one in front of the other), and mitigating Jinx without her leash (Silco) is the biggest concern IMO.
The character work in this show is so good when you realise a side character that you initially perceive as being a narcissistic manipulator has depth to her and see her kind of develop Mel actually became one of my favourites
Great video! The only thing I disagree with is that Jayce wasn't ever a realist in my interpretation. He was trying to cling on to the last shreds of his idealism until the end and he doesn't understand what the people need. His story is not a transition of idealism to realism; rather his downfall was that he was easily manipulated because of his idealism. Mel literally stroked that ego in every way she could to make him more agreeable to the Councilors. If he were a realist, he would have probably actually try to understand the issues Zaun faced instead of relying on technology to fix everything. He has done what America has been doing for a long time; looking at the hard economic numbers and tall towers that stand for commerce and calling that progress. Viktor meanwhile has actually made progress and going off the game lore (which, side note, I have never played the game, I have only read the character lore), he probably sided with Zaun because Piltover is not the city of social progress, but political progress. Viktor is a much more sympathetic character in my opinion because his downfall is that he holds on to what is important to him. Jayce is both being manipulated by and is manipulating the Council and this makes him look more of an egotist, which is harder to sympathize with. And egotists are hardly realists. I'm not saying Jayce doesn't deserve empathy or that he is a bad guy; he has traits that even I can empathize with. He just needs to step back and ask himself if what he is forcing his ideals on the city in the name of progress when that isn't what the issue is.
another thing, Silco is actually affected by the gas, after the meeting, he went back to his room for a shimmer shot and struggle to get it done... whicih make him bigger of an bad ass, he could've just easily kill Finn like normal villians but he knows Finn had his use too , he only need to scare them .
He wasnt affected by the gas, its just he injects shimmer into his eye (probably to keep his vision), its been established from the first time we saw him and not a 1 time thing.
It's not a shimmer injection. Don't know why people seem to think this. The river toxins that leached into his eye and surrounding tissue regularly need to be Lanced to relieve interocular pressure or ya, he will go blind. It's just a needle under spring pressure. I have trouble putting eye drops in my eyes, can't imagine how much I'd struggle stabbing myself.
@@MrWesley7769 because theres a drop of purple stuff leaked out of a black/orange eye ? And it makes sense to inject shimmer into it if he want to keep the vision of that eye too.
@@MefoWho so why doesn't it do the same when jinx stabs him in the face? It makes more sense to me that he's lancing his eye to remove infection. I obviously could be wrong but I don't see him ever use a vial of shimmer, And from a medical standpoint it makes sense to me.
@@MrWesley7769 well maybe jinx wanna stab him and she know it wouldnt do anything on his cheek so she just hold it longer. Maybe your idea is right but the thing of adding a little bit of shimmer into stuff for medical purposes is pretty established. And in the 1st ep, silco flick the thingy possibly to let the shimmer get into the needle ? idk. The thing is theres no unecessary scene in the show so when they deliberately show the drop of shimmers ( ep 4) im pretty sure it has shimmer in it
Real quickly, just wanna add how this show subverted my expectations and made it really enjoyable. When Victor and Jeice (hopefully I got their names right) become buddies and start working together, I thought "Victor is gonna eventually be jealous of the attention Jeice is getting because he does half the work as well." So they would have Victor turn on Jeice or they would separate because of it. It's a trope you see alot in media. But. They didn't do that. They actually tried to make a decent story that isn't very cliched and is very enjoyable. This same thing happened when Hoppelginger (probably butchered the name again, sorry) was telling both Victor and Jeice they shouldn't continue with their work. I thought "Hoppel is gonna be all like I told ya so, and he be viewed as right the entire time." Again, they didn't do that. They flipped on Hoppel, and made a very compelling message about it. "Humans can't live for hundreds of years, so we have to do.what we can with the time we have." Plus the whole bit about "Hoppel has been in control for a long time, but hasn't improved the situation" This show had spectacular storytelling. Great job :)
I dare to answer that question. Viktor is not exactly a villain in league lore. Just a fairly misunderstood anti-hero. Both Jayce and Viktor's story change quite a bit, but what Viktor wanted to do WAS inhumane, but it was meant to save significant lives (I can say this because the show has already DRASTICALLY changed from here). He sorta gets a terrible rep, a lot like Ekko's Firelights do in Arcane. 12:30 I don't think that's a fair rep on Jayce. I don't think he was all that arrogant, or meant to be a bit aloof about his partners condition... I think he was just overwhelmed. He just got a new job, and the responsibility is through the roof. 14:26 Addition, She does it to ensure Jayce has enough power to feel like he can trust his instincts when it comes to deciding what to do with his inventions. Small characterization detail: Jayce seeks approval for EVERYTHING. He's kind've of Man child that way. He needs someone to believe in him for him to continue any idea he has. While Viktor is too Sigma (jk lol) to discuss anything with anybody. 14:55 Yeah. I agree but he also has too. It was necessary he commands respect, so he can get his attempted results. No one takes him seriously. Marcus second guesses him immediately, which is something he would have never done without Viktor saying, "we're doing this." BRUH. The more I think about it... Like Jayce was about to KYS but now he's concerned about getting in trouble with the council? BRUH, how could it get worse.... Not actually his fault, but it's a showing of how rigid piltover society is when it comes to classes. Jayce is a upper middle class, if not rich, kid and your class in society determines how much of a voice any person has. The more my poli sci brain get's scrambled. (Rant Incoming) He called Piltover 'the city of equality.' Equality? WHERE? There's literally a jail where officers beat up an inmate so much they've lost count. Viktor had just told him no one believed in him without a backer or a name. City of Equality? At the same time perfect characterization of the naivety of the upper city citizens. Sorry.... 15:46 Wow thats an incredible interpretation. I only took the Mel scene (visually) as Jayce becoming a conflict with her inner turmoil (Being she's noxian and now she made a real connection w/ Jayce so she has to decide where her loyalties lie). 16:50-17:50 did you mean the GOD of Zaun XD. He MAKES everyone. 20:32 Can we talk about how that is the WORST thing you can tell a dying man?!! "I'm dying..." "yeah well.... great people die fast." 21:16 She is not. She did not want this expect or want this (yet). Look at her face when he proposes Heimer's removal. Jayce actually pushed her in this situation, because undermining him would screw up everything she worked to get him there. In ep 4, if you watch her eyes, you can tell she came up with the statement that idea to tell him he should be the future on the spot, mostly to push him to do his full presentation. Even though her goals is to put him on the leader seat eventually ( which is only understood by her flashback meant to show us how she operates) she knows he's not exactly leadership material yet. 23:00 shooting Jayce some undeserved bail, with the limited and fraudulent information he has, he's fairly justified in his actions. Mel's mother may have put the thought in her head, but there's a list of factors, we're looking at atleast 32 people murdered, by one actor, the bombing on the bridge proves they're ill prepared, he has all the police records of what shimmer is and doing, but he knows nothing about the actual life situation of the people he's blocking off. (sorry this personal) I have friends, who has... lets say choice words for the poor, because they don't know what it's like, and I didn't fit their stereotyping. He's naive, believing the fissure folk is out to get them because of god awful propaganda and one mad women. Jayce is a victim of being privileged and thrusted into a position to calls for him to empathize with a group of people he never met nor took the time to understand. Now I need a shower. Also I got some CHOICE words for Vi.... but I admit... that's my culture speaking and I'll leave it be... snitch... 26:57 Nah... Vi's fault. He finally made the proper leadership decision, but because a SNITCH said too much, and Jayce AGAIN knew too little, he added ONE too many clauses. The council should probably invest in uncover agents... I'm just saying. 27:50: SIR you are like ONE of FIVE people who understood why Caitlyn was such a hang up. Like I think people forget to Jinx, enforcers are LITERALLY monsters. Literally the things Vi was suppose to chase away. The things Vi, Craggor, her and Milo was were choosing weapons to assault enforcers over. Jinx is killing the monsters Vi were suppose to shoo away... and Vi's over here choosing Piltovers Finest over her. "but so are you, Here's to the new us." Okay. No shower, Time to fill my bathtub with tears.
28:53 it's golden flame or waves , ppainting all over Noxus in the background, the color gold representt Piltover and Jayce (his eyes are gold and his color theme too) also I remembered someone called him the golden something in the show.
Heimerdinger is the worst of them all. As a three hundred year old, he OVERSAW the growing wealth disparity between Piltover and Zaun. Jayce is right on when he calls Heimerdinger complicit, especially since of all the council, he was supposed to be the guiding, moral light. Yet he knew and did nothing for the Undercity before OR after Vander. For someone who's seen the rise and fall of civilizations, he should know more than most the dangers of ignoring an entire people only to profit enormously from their suffering. It's his ignorance (mirrored by pre-detective Caitlyn) that allowed this disaster to happen in the first place. Complicit.
He should have but he is an intelectualist with poor knowledge of psyche driven by fear of things tearing part. Also he is more focused on science. Dealing with highly complicated data it is sometimes very difficult to find root of all problems. He belives human misery is caused by poverty until Ekko shows him otherwise
I disagree that Mel manipulated Jayce. All she did was support him to get him to stop second guessing himself and continue to innovate. It gassed him up - but only because he was in love with her (something she didn't realize until ep. 6). Yes - she was interested in the financial side - but she was his sponsor/main investor - it was her job to find investors so he could continue his research. She was clearly against the decision to vote out Heimerdinger - you could see it in her reaction. Jayce was right though. Heimerdinger was a trash leader. You can't say Mel manipulated him if he never did anything as a result of her "manipulation." It quickly becomes clear that Jayce is easily swayed. If she REALLY wanted to manipulate him - she could have. Also, Viktor is not a bad guy by any means, but he is also not as angelic as you make him out to be. And Jayce is not "evil." Jayce wanted to "do good" just like Viktor. Jayce never backstabbed Viktor. Because he had a girlfriend? That's called being a human. Maybe if Viktor walked home with Sky, he would have been more relaxed and better able to work the next day, and maybe he wouldn't have turned Sky into a dust ball. What makes Arcane so good is the duality of the characters. Every character has flaws. No character is perfect or "good" or "evil."
Thank you for saying that. I've been trying to hammer this into people's heads ever since the show aired. Mel is nuanced. If she truly wanted to manipulate Jayce, she could've done it anytime during the 7 years time skip and it would arguably be more profitable for her because he wasn't her equal socially and politically, so the power would be firmly in her hands. Instead she waits until they're on equal footing before she initiates the relationship. That tells me she was genuinely attracted to him. We find out in her flashback that she actually shares his ideals and that's likely why she was so drawn to him (also he's very handsome and very charming). Also, she's clearly upset when he leaves her in the middle of the night - that's a reaction of a woman that felt used, not a manipulator. Furthermore she elevates him to a councillor after hearing out his complaints about Heimerdinger stalling his projects, and says "when is it not Heimerdinger?" which implies that they had this conversation before, multiple times; she makes him into a councillor so that he no longer has to ask for approval on everything he does.
Viktor isn't even a villain. He becomes what he becomes to save himself, and replaces failing parts on people who desperately need them. The Glorious Revolution is not even his idea. It's the zealots who treat him like some demigod that started that, while Viktor just tries to help the leas fortunate. His appearance belies his heart.
due to Mels similarityes to (sentinel) Senna, an the wired (widely discussed) glow effect, i agree with the popular opinion, that she will not die due to the rocket, or at least won't stay dead, but also save other present people. Most importantly Jayce and Victor.
Ok but is no one talking about how Heimerdinger was literally there + helped in the creation of Piltovar, creating the divide between the undercity and upper? He claims he doesn't want to see a city destroyed or people hurt since he's experienced it before with use of magic, yet that's just what happened to the undercity (but just without magic)?? People are suffering. His beliefs and morals are centred around keeping magic controlled, which makes me hesitate considering him a character truly in the right at all times . The city was apparently created to move away from the use and abuse of magic for the greater good, yet destruction and corruption still lies at the heart of their city. This show is simply brilliant however, and it's so interesting to hear about and see who viewers side with and see more as villains or heros. However in truth, while people may agree with some characters more than others, it's even more incredible that arcane allows us to still sympathize with the "villains" as one may see them and understand that understanding perspective is what will truly bring peace to our world.
I doubt Jinx even knew there were people up in the council chamber that night. I mean, politicians working late into the night?! Jinx just wanted to destroy the symbolic power of that Tower. It just so happens the council were inside that same time. Just another chance for a Jinx Event.
Wait, what is it that Zaun produces to become a banana republic? I don't think we ever actually see how companies control the undercity's workers, it's mostly just implied
16:17, there are even coins behind to represent metal lol. and the crowd on his headd too, is he going to be resposible for Zaun since Silco's dead because of Jinx and Caitlyn saw it ? dammn, governing a crime scene would break him haha.
The reason why in the last episode, the council inevitably voted to accept Zaun's independence is because they realize their mistakes and genuinely want to fixed it. The reason why Piltover was the city of progress unlike other cities in the past and now was because science was regulated by great leaders and scientist like 300 year old councilor and his students. And I think in my opinion the reason why the underground didn't flourish was because it was unstable and didn't want science to influence their community. Its just an opinion, of course. But I think over time, the divide between zaun and piltover socially and politically was so great that it started a war to each other and of course piltover won and so piltover decided to not help them economically and socially undermind them (just like how the allied countries undermined germany). I guess that the council of course didn't really voted just because it is the moral and logical thing to do, but because they want peace with their neighbors, since business and trade deals with other countries might be destroyed or halted because of war and also because the council also want to not change the good reputation of the city like the ethos that they have carefully crafted for years. And I think thats an okay compromise. Is it morally lacking? sure, is it too calculative of method of thinking? ,yeah because that's how the real world works. Its not all ponies and rainbows, politicians everyday need to be calculative so that a functional civilization is maintain. Morally ambiguity is the line drawn here and their decisions impact millions. I think all the individuals in the council are relatively good people initially, in the middle not really, but in the end was able to redeem the mistakes. And of course they have hypocritical tendency like we all do, and that's why I like arcane unlike other shows that potrays a 1 dimensional villain or person of power without any depth whatsoever, their ideologies is like "I am evil for the sake of it and I will destroy everything because I am very evil"
The political overtones of this movie reminded me a lot of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, at least in the hopeful years around the time of the Oslo Accords... things have gone way downhill since then, of course.
Fortiche have done a great job of making this part believable but not changing the theme from "Arcane" to "Game of thrones". ps: i would like it if they did, but considering the budget and schedule, i don't think that's realistic.
As someone who doesn't play or know much about League, when you mentioned Viktor's descend into darkness and unlocking humanity's true potential as a cyborg I just went, "Now that's something I'd like to see / wonder what that transition will look like...". Also, Jayce's contemplation of suicide didn't feel particularly jarring to me - for the reasons you stated. Although Jayce and thereby that scene reminded me of Daniil Dankovsky (aka. "The Bachelor") from Pathologic. Daniil is a scientist from "The Capital" who is on the verge of having his laboratory and research on "defeating death itself" shut down by "the powers that be" unless he makes a breakthrough to substantiate his claims soon, which brings him to research Simon Kain (an allegedly "immortal" man) in the town-on-ghorkon. Sound familiar? He too is a bit naive and idealistic, even a bit (scratch that, VERY MUCH) a dick, especially towards the townspeople and their "nonsense" local customs. Thereby dismissing their unique insight to the town and the eventual plague that hits later in the game and making him vulnerable to manipulation by the ruling families of the town who seek to use him to their own ends. Right off the bat, turns out Simon Kain was murdered, rendering his arrival here obsolete and jeprodisring his life's work. When he tries to flee the oncoming plague, a quarantine ordered by one of the town's leaders Daniil literally just helped obtain emergency powers to try and combat the plague traps him in the town with no hope of escape. Later, on the same day (I think) the one person who showed him kindness and hospitality in the town commits suicide while he was too busy being played, he is informed that his lab has already been seized and his life's work destroyed by the powers that be... Jayce and Daniil aren't the same, and I'd argue Daniil's situation and extent of suffering was far more severe than Jayce's, but even so I can absolutely see why Jayce would be driven to nearly commit suicide given what thoughts Daniil had after enduring something similar and sharing many of the same traits as him.
I can't recommend Pathologic Classic HD. Pathologic 2 is incredible, play that instead. The only thing is that Daniil's story is only available in the Classic HD game and he'd instead a character / not the protagonist in Pathologic. Codex Entry's two part series on Daniil's route is excellent at demonstrating the tragedy of it all and is a very entertaining watch. I highly recommend checking it out if the Jayce / Daniil comparison intrigued you. ^^ Haha, gotta love bounty hunting the local crime boss then being redirected by him to kill some other gang leader instead and have to kill 7 guys using a gun with 6 chambers and a reeeeeeeaaaaally slow reloading animation :,)
The worst thing that ever happened to Star Wars was original trilogy fanboys crying over politics in sequels. Star Wars had THE BEST opportunity to become Game of Thrones before GoT was a thing. (The second worst thing was the Disney Era) Politics can be the singular most interesting thing in fiction if done right. GoT, The Expanse, House of Cards, etc. "The human heart in conflict with itself" has been quoted to death so allow me to elaborate. Politics is the perfect medium/platform (base of story telling) to express human GREED AND MORALS in conflict and/or compromise with each other.
15:12 I disagree. They both gave into their temptations. (Viktor a little later) Obviously Jayce gave into his romantic temptations towards Mel, but Viktor was never tempted by Sky. He was tempted by the hexcore. He gave into that temptation and as a result someone died. You could also say that’s another parallel, as when Jayce gave into his temptation he wasn’t able to be there when Viktor is dying
I'm a little disappointed this video didn't explore the political messages of Arcane. I was hoping based on the title it would go into what political systems are portrayed in Arcane. The video just kinda focuses on individuals rather than exploring how the show comments on and reproduces Neolibralism, Anarchism, Marxism, and Fascism, and seeing how the show misrepresents those views based on it's own skewed lens.
15:12 NOWAITCAUSE it took me 11 rewatches of the whole damn show to get it cuz immm a dumbass ugdgfjdtgx but im so excited about it that i have to comment because like. Viktor does give in. Skye was never the temptation it was Magicccc the Hex of the Tech the whole scene portrays that unification of the lads and their respective vices my god i guess sex scenes in tv do have artistic merit who wouldve thot
I liked your video, one thing I do disagree with you on is when you called Marcus a "good guy". I'd be interested to see yours and others perspectives on this. In my opinion, from what I saw in the show, he is not a good person. First, he dehumanizes those in Zaun, saying "I'm going to bury the lot of you" at the Last Drop, calling Zaun children "sumprats", looking down on Vander and insulting his intelligence "That thick head of yours" "You shady son of a bitch", to the point where Grayson sends him outside to cool off. He does not seem to grow from this dehumanizing mindset in the time jump, as he shoots Echo in episode 7 without hesitation on the bridge, while he does hesitate to kill Caitlyn (though we'll never know if he would have gone through with it or not). Second, he blatantly shows disrespect and disregard for Piltover law and that of his higher up commanding officer, as he goes behind Grayson's back to make a deal with Silco, ultimately getting Benzo and Grayson killed. It is a deal that seems atleast in part motivated by greed and self interest for money(and would not have been necessary, as we can see they already had their scapegoat for the council- Vander) as he is handed a bag of coins and one falls in the blood of the now dead Grayson. That backhanded deal is what cemented Marcus to me as a "bad guy", because he allowed whatever morals he may have had to be corrupted by money, greed, and cowardice. Now that I'm typing this, I've realized Marcus did not have faith in Piltover's own law system, which is ironic considering he became the sheriff. I say he didn't have faith in Piltover law because he did not trust Piltover to be able to go after someone like Silco when Silco initially came to him with a deal, and if he was only thinking of money when he initially made the deal with Silco, if he had only cared about his daughter and had turned himself in(or blown himself up to take out Silco-- which in my opinion would have solved nothning as someone else in Zaun likely even more brutal would have taken Silco's place), he didn't trust Piltover would take care of and protect his daughter from Silco and those who work for Silco. Damn this show has layers. Again great video, let me know what you guys think!
Heimerdinger led the council for hundreds of years failing to improve the lives of the people from the undercity. This is like having the worst political leader from a governance standpoint - there is no human equivalent from a didn't do your job standpoint. He chose to do only the topside part of the job, completely absconding from the necessary governance of the whole state. 0/10 would not vote for reinstatement.
I wonder how Heimerdinger was perceived so "calmly" in the undercity. Mainly I get this through his interactions with Ekko, who doesn't seem very hostile against him. He knows who Heimerdinger is and what his decisions have done to the undercity' s people. (I assume)
Absolutely love this vid man, I learnt quite a bit here cuz there's a lot regarding Jayce and Victor I didn't notice cuz quite frankly I hate both of them, especially fucking Jayce. Victor on the other hand I sympathize because of his condition but my problem with these two guys is that they don't actually care about people, they're just only passionate about their work. They keep saying they want to make life better with Hextech but they never really make people's lives better, they only invent things and then throw them into the market and happily get credit for their work and that's it. Meanwhile Victor who came from the undercity does NOTHING for his people even though he managed to be the FRIGGIN' hand of Councilor Hamsterdinger. Meanwhile this is a guy who came from the undercity and knows the horror that is the lives that the people live there. Fuck Victor and fuck Jayce trice over! Jayce killed a child and didn't give a shit, he was only concerned about his reputation and the consequences of his actions. This fool killed a little boy and he acted like he accidentally stepped on a pet. And please, don't nobody ever have any kind of sympathy towards that filthy pathetic stain that is Marcus. At first I found him funny, cuz he was a rookie cop biting off more than he could chew. It was cute, but that evil stain kidnapped Vi (a girl that was barely a teenager) and threw her into a maximum security prison where she was abused and tortured for 8 FUCKING YEARS! To add insult to injury, this BASTARD erased every record of her in prison. Which means that Vi was doing prison time for nothing. He left her in there to rot and die. I swear if there was a hell in the Arcade universe, Marcus deserves to be thrown into it's bowel, where he would be violated and dumped on for all eternity!
![FNAF vs TF2 - Episode 2 [SFM]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/z5b3V2-VLb0/mqdefault.jpg)
Thank you all for everything so far. I meant to put this up last night but due to a few issues with copyright it had to be delayed. You can probably tell which parts I had to redo due to this. Thank you for your patience and enjoy part 2 :)
Stop calling Mel manipulative. She's playing the political game. She didn't create it but is being excellent at maneuvering it in the direction that she needs it to go.
@@williampearson6299 bro, thats how manipulation works. making things go your way
@@aleksjonsson Yeah, because the council has been so "progressive" under that hamster. I like Mel's ambitions better.
@@williampearson6299 Manipulation is just a word. U associate to much negativity with it. In the end it just means that you influence something. Like genetic manipulation could mean you enhance your abilities, cure a desease, make someone more resistant or it could do the opposite. It is a tool which can be used for "good or bad".
@@nostalji93 It is not a coincidence how people choose to phrase certain words. In another video, someone describes Mel as an "aggressor" while Jayce is the "victim" as he takes advantage of him due to her power and influence. While Mel is one of the richest in Piltover, it troubles me how people are intrigued by Silko and defend him, but doubt Mel. You could've said "influence" instead of manipulation. This kind of language is particularly dangerous directed towards black women because no one sees them as vulnerable or empathetic. Be careful how you word things.
The amount of depth in Viktor's statement "In pursuit of great, we failed to do good" is quite fascinating, it plays on the double meaning of good, great is used as a measure of quality, whereas good (which also could be used as a measure of quality) is instead is used a measure of morality (as in good vs evil), it's what makes this statement very memorable, quotable and dare I say timeless.
Yeah I really hope that many people especially those who are in power to bee like Victor and Jayce, but I guess they can't always follow that kind of ideology even if they are the most kind person because power corrupts people and moral ambiguity of a certain situation and calculative nature that is needed to make decisions often make individuals to be desensitized and become corrupt over time. I think if I got a lot of money, influence and personal attributes like charisma and intelligence, I think I will become corrupt over time even if I have the best intention initially.
Re: Sky
I didn't get the impression that Viktor rejected her, as much as he just didn't realize she was interested in him because he was so focused on his work.
So tragic, though, especially once I realized Sky was the same girl who was curious about him as a child. She pulled herself up from the undercity just like Viktor, and has carried a torch for years before gathering up her courage and...😭
wait is sky the same girl we saw in viktor's flashback?
Yeah. In the first flashback at the beginning of episode 6 you can hear her name being called
@@congamez4198 ooh I didn't realize that dang makes it sadder lol
What?! Noooooo!! That's so much worse!!
To be fair, viktors not really an outright villain per say in current lore, he only does his changes on volunteers and those who request it.
True, but I can see Riot making him go a bit darker in the series to tug at our heart strings but it's more than likely that they won't tbf
@@congamez4198 arcane tend to lean grey in its morality so it probably won't be portrayed as cut and dry
@@congamez4198 I really don't feel it would actually add anything to the story. He's plenty tragic enough.
As far as I know, the church of glorious evolution is something born from Viktor's ideas, but not endorsed by him.
@@mustard5382 Jayce's opposition to Victor is because Victor attacked him and also Victor has an issue with stripping away free will. Also his cult around him that follow his ideals to a more extreme end that Victor doesn't care to deal with even when they terrorize some of the citizens of Zaun, the same people he wants to protect
I don't think Vicktor in arcane will be "GLORIOUS EVOLUTION" Victor Von DOOM! archatype his character is based on in the games. Just like Jinx in arcane isn't the "Chaos goblin" loonytoon she is in the game. I assume in arcane "Glorious Evolution" will become "Glorious Revolution" as he eventually joins the side of Zaun, as they as very out matched, leaderless, Hextech has not helped the people of Zaun.
Yeah it's good shout. Looking forward to see where they take it
19:20 When Marcus arrested Vi, he not only saved her live, but, probably more important to him and a lot of people, he ended the ongoing enforcer raid on undercity. And actually the same way, that Vi had planned to end the raid.
Well, apparently Vicktor is not that much of a villan. "The glorious revolution” was created around him, with him as a figure head. But the stories generally portray him as a pretty good guy, from what I remember.
Viktor is written so well to be morally Grey in the lore. Like sure he when he modifies people which remove some of their more human traits like free will. He is trying to improve their lives and well being by preventing further harm being done to people. He also does not force anyone to be modified and only performs the operation if the individual is willing. He and Jayce and basically middle grounds between Singed and Heimerdinger. Singed is Viktor without ethics or morals and focuses on getting results for example.
Glorious Evolution
@@benign_oracle8875 apparently he wasn’t originally like that, basically forcing people to join his glorious revolution by making them robotic but Riot decided to retcon him to his current iteration which you described. A surprise for sure, but a welcome one.
@@judgmentalanimal yep, viktor originally would offer help but basically rid his patients of their free wil and humanity AKA Battlecast skins are the final stage in the 'glorious evolution'
Nowadays Viktor tries to improve Zaun and help people but a machine religion formed around him and people willingly mutilate themselves to have more and more augments. Hell therea a statue with hundreds of human eyes in jars adorning it.
Im wondering how the hexcore will come into play because it is obviously a Void like being now and thus viktor is part void too now
I still love the story where he taught a kid how to fight against his bullies and gives him drugs to help. 💀
Mel is an interesting charter, I read her as genuinely wanting to help Jayce but her own messed up family taught her to be cold and manipulative. So, she acts cold and aloof. Just look at her scenes with her mom to see that she cares about Jayce, and just how manipulative her family is.
Jayce didn't steal the spotlight from Viktor. Jayce, as shown in the progress day episode, wanted Viktor alongside him on the podium to share in his own glory. Viktor denied it, and I think even if he never asked for it, Jayce would've seriously appreciated Viktor's help dealing with the responsibilities of a councilman. Jayce can be pretty well summed up in a single phrase: "I wanted to do the right thing, but near no one else did!"
I feel bad for Jayce. It seems like so many people dislike him for “stealing Viktor’s spotlight” or “Betraying Heimerdinger”. He thought the hexcore could cure Viktor and clearly didn’t want his best friend’s best invention to be destroyed. Heimer also didn’t want them to put new inventions to be used and told them to keep researching “give it a decade”, while Viktor clearly wanted them to be used now cause he thought he couldn’t live as long :( I don’t blame Heimer but can’t blame Jayce either
Jayce was the Obama of Piltover. But far more accomplished in such a short amount of time 😂
People keep forgetting that anytime Jayce speaks about his work he uses plural pronouns. It's always we/us/our, his language always includes and acknowledges Viktor. Viktor doesn't want a spotlight, he says so himself when Jayce asks him to do the speech with him. The guy is obviously introverted and doesn't want to have this many eyes on him (especially since he's very sick and most likely very insecure about it) and seems pretty content with letting Jayce who is both extroverted and a great public speaker to be the face of the company. And honestly, as an introvert myself, I get it, I hate speaking in front of a crowd and I would hate it even more if I was as sick as he is.
As for the Heimerdinger situation... everything he called him out on is true. Heimer has sat on the council for two centuries and was perfectly happy to rest on his laurels as the city went to shit around him because he just can't relate. He's always saying no, but never offering any effective alternative solution. If anyone can be said to be directly responsible for the state of the undercity, it's him. I actually think Jayce did him a favour by kicking him off. It was a wake up call that made him leave his comfort zone, realise the realities of being human and began his future partnership with Ekko, who showed him that people need more than bare necessities to live and that the community cannot survive without trying to go forward. I dunno to what extent the Yordles are immortal, but Jayce's decision also most likely saved his life from that missile.
I think the Jayce hate is a product of previous Jayce iterations (always painting Vik as a villain through poor writing that inadvertently makes Jayce seem like an ass at best or a con man at worst).
This version of Jayce is still quite full of ego, but it's healthy ego. He's just kind've... plain. Simple. So he does things without considering the long term consequences. It's great writing though. That's the defining trait of arcane - it is SO well written.
As for Heimerdinger, another video put it well in that he lacked "empathy", not in the kindness sense most see the word meaning but in being able to understand others. Heimerdinger is so long-lived that he perceives time differently so his "give it a decade" is very callous but doesn't from a place of malice...he simply has a failing to understand. This becomes a problem with his being head of the council and why it is so stagnated till Jayce steps in, where Heimerdinger sees safety and stability his fellow councilmen see a status quo that benefits them. Heimerdinger was ill-suited as a leader, and Jayce was right in that the problems that were growing them now were left to fester under Heimerdingers watch because as said he can't perceive the present the same way others can and fails to recognize the immediate problems and has grown complacent in pursuing safety and stability over progress.
That said he was right to be cautious about Hextech, and its potential to be weaponized, but rather than help brainstorm ways to help safeguard his suggestion was "give it another decade".
about the council decision, if you notice in every council meeting, the decision always favor Mel, at first she only has her hand on the dumb guy but we know the dumb guy and the skinny guy has a relationship, so fast forward for few years, the council only wait for Mel's decision tbh, and when Mel finally made her decision, the whole council started to follow.
Mel was always right though - so it wasn't hard to agree with her.
@@brendajameson5093 not about hemierdinger
@@fahimrind9714 She was right about Heimerdinger too
@@brendajameson5093 clearly, it only ended with jinx getting a hold of a hex thingy and blowing the whole counsel up.
@@fahimrind9714 Mel is not responsible for what happened with Jinx. If anything, it's Heimerdinger's fault because his leadership allowed the undercity to fester.
Victor understands the failure of all Sith.
"In pursuit of great we failed to do good"
they made season 1 focus on Vi/Jinx and a hugeeee set up for Viktor/Jayce in season 2.
wait, Viktor isn't really a villian in the lore, he think machine is the next step but not forcing anyone too, he just changed the people suffer in the Undercity and accidentaly created a diverse religion base on replacing bodyparts. that's where he is in the card game and in the original lore in the universe, he isn't evil either, he was helping and Jayce was "smashing" in the original lore too.
He also attacked Jayce out of the blue when they had a disagreement and beat him unconscious. Viktor isn't a villain because of his ideals, he is a villain because like Sindged he doesn't care about the collateral damage of his ideal. His cult, the Glorious evolution, have no moral compass and he doesn't recognize how bad that is.
@@Desean101101
1st: The only connection the Glorious Evolution Cult has with Victor is that they use him as an prime example of their ideal, maybe even as a messiah if u will. Victor however isn't the cult leader, in fact he even despises the cult! So anything the cult does isn't caused by Victor himself.
2st: The attack on Jayce was out of Desperation to save many lives. And there was no talking it out because let's be real, in the League Lore outside of Arcane, Jayce is a huge prideful and selfcentered Smartass.
It's like, using the concept of politics as a world building device relevant to the story, instead of the writers inserting their own personal opinions, actually makes something people want to watch! How 'bout dat!
That’s cool
I think the best kind of politics in media is the kind that reflects our reality and arcane did a perfect job in portraying the class divide in modern-day society. How the wealthy profit off the poor, how children are caught in the cross fires of a drug war, the parallels of shimmer and the opioid crisis and its use to control and exploit a population, a small circle of wealthy individuals pulling all the strings behind the scenes, the corruption of law enforcement, etc...
It's interesting politics, because it's super realistic. These things happen in our world everyday and we participate in it. Ultimately, It's arcane's depiction of corruption in politics that really sold me and the blowback of that corruption (Jinx firing the rocket launcher). There were consequences of leaving the problems in the undercity fester and I think that's a warning for those countries in our world that refuse to address the problems of their working class. Things will get ugly (uglier than they already are) if we don't act.
Viktor can become a "villain" by simply losing his sense of self to the hexcore. The thing consumed Sky and I imagine it could also consume Viktor gradually (since he "protects" himself with shimmer) until he regresses into a shell and becomes a servile vessel to the hexcore.
16:11 the Victor & Mel comparision could be hintting that they both wanted to change the world in their way.
If Mel dies, her mother will go to Jayce for hextech weapons to “deal with Zaun” (really, to get the weapon for herself).
I wonder: who rises to lead Zaun?
Zevika. It's the only way we get a "Zaun." Since that doesn't exist yet. Zevika really believes in their cause which is what her Beef with Jinx was.
@@757reaper I really want to see how boss Zevika plays out
@@kaly_ths_291 I think it moves smoothly.... in the lanes, but dealing with the Barons is gonna be herding cats (especially since she murdered one in front of the other), and mitigating Jinx without her leash (Silco) is the biggest concern IMO.
@@757reaperSevika
@@kaly_ths_291its sevika
The character work in this show is so good when you realise a side character that you initially perceive as being a narcissistic manipulator has depth to her and see her kind of develop
Mel actually became one of my favourites
Great video! The only thing I disagree with is that Jayce wasn't ever a realist in my interpretation. He was trying to cling on to the last shreds of his idealism until the end and he doesn't understand what the people need. His story is not a transition of idealism to realism; rather his downfall was that he was easily manipulated because of his idealism. Mel literally stroked that ego in every way she could to make him more agreeable to the Councilors. If he were a realist, he would have probably actually try to understand the issues Zaun faced instead of relying on technology to fix everything. He has done what America has been doing for a long time; looking at the hard economic numbers and tall towers that stand for commerce and calling that progress. Viktor meanwhile has actually made progress and going off the game lore (which, side note, I have never played the game, I have only read the character lore), he probably sided with Zaun because Piltover is not the city of social progress, but political progress. Viktor is a much more sympathetic character in my opinion because his downfall is that he holds on to what is important to him. Jayce is both being manipulated by and is manipulating the Council and this makes him look more of an egotist, which is harder to sympathize with. And egotists are hardly realists. I'm not saying Jayce doesn't deserve empathy or that he is a bad guy; he has traits that even I can empathize with. He just needs to step back and ask himself if what he is forcing his ideals on the city in the name of progress when that isn't what the issue is.
Viktor probably won’t be a villain. He and Jayce will probably both end up a shade of gray but on opposite sides.
another thing, Silco is actually affected by the gas, after the meeting, he went back to his room for a shimmer shot and struggle to get it done... whicih make him bigger of an bad ass, he could've just easily kill Finn like normal villians but he knows Finn had his use too , he only need to scare them .
He wasnt affected by the gas, its just he injects shimmer into his eye (probably to keep his vision), its been established from the first time we saw him and not a 1 time thing.
It's not a shimmer injection. Don't know why people seem to think this. The river toxins that leached into his eye and surrounding tissue regularly need to be Lanced to relieve interocular pressure or ya, he will go blind. It's just a needle under spring pressure. I have trouble putting eye drops in my eyes, can't imagine how much I'd struggle stabbing myself.
@@MrWesley7769 because theres a drop of purple stuff leaked out of a black/orange eye ? And it makes sense to inject shimmer into it if he want to keep the vision of that eye too.
@@MefoWho so why doesn't it do the same when jinx stabs him in the face? It makes more sense to me that he's lancing his eye to remove infection. I obviously could be wrong but I don't see him ever use a vial of shimmer, And from a medical standpoint it makes sense to me.
@@MrWesley7769 well maybe jinx wanna stab him and she know it wouldnt do anything on his cheek so she just hold it longer. Maybe your idea is right but the thing of adding a little bit of shimmer into stuff for medical purposes is pretty established. And in the 1st ep, silco flick the thingy possibly to let the shimmer get into the needle ? idk. The thing is theres no unecessary scene in the show so when they deliberately show the drop of shimmers ( ep 4) im pretty sure it has shimmer in it
Real quickly, just wanna add how this show subverted my expectations and made it really enjoyable.
When Victor and Jeice (hopefully I got their names right) become buddies and start working together, I thought "Victor is gonna eventually be jealous of the attention Jeice is getting because he does half the work as well." So they would have Victor turn on Jeice or they would separate because of it. It's a trope you see alot in media.
But. They didn't do that. They actually tried to make a decent story that isn't very cliched and is very enjoyable. This same thing happened when Hoppelginger (probably butchered the name again, sorry) was telling both Victor and Jeice they shouldn't continue with their work. I thought "Hoppel is gonna be all like I told ya so, and he be viewed as right the entire time."
Again, they didn't do that. They flipped on Hoppel, and made a very compelling message about it.
"Humans can't live for hundreds of years, so we have to do.what we can with the time we have." Plus the whole bit about "Hoppel has been in control for a long time, but hasn't improved the situation"
This show had spectacular storytelling. Great job :)
I dare to answer that question. Viktor is not exactly a villain in league lore. Just a fairly misunderstood anti-hero. Both Jayce and Viktor's story change quite a bit, but what Viktor wanted to do WAS inhumane, but it was meant to save significant lives (I can say this because the show has already DRASTICALLY changed from here). He sorta gets a terrible rep, a lot like Ekko's Firelights do in Arcane.
12:30 I don't think that's a fair rep on Jayce. I don't think he was all that arrogant, or meant to be a bit aloof about his partners condition... I think he was just overwhelmed. He just got a new job, and the responsibility is through the roof.
14:26 Addition, She does it to ensure Jayce has enough power to feel like he can trust his instincts when it comes to deciding what to do with his inventions. Small characterization detail: Jayce seeks approval for EVERYTHING. He's kind've of Man child that way. He needs someone to believe in him for him to continue any idea he has. While Viktor is too Sigma (jk lol) to discuss anything with anybody.
14:55 Yeah. I agree but he also has too. It was necessary he commands respect, so he can get his attempted results. No one takes him seriously. Marcus second guesses him immediately, which is something he would have never done without Viktor saying, "we're doing this." BRUH. The more I think about it... Like Jayce was about to KYS but now he's concerned about getting in trouble with the council? BRUH, how could it get worse.... Not actually his fault, but it's a showing of how rigid piltover society is when it comes to classes. Jayce is a upper middle class, if not rich, kid and your class in society determines how much of a voice any person has. The more my poli sci brain get's scrambled. (Rant Incoming) He called Piltover 'the city of equality.' Equality? WHERE? There's literally a jail where officers beat up an inmate so much they've lost count. Viktor had just told him no one believed in him without a backer or a name. City of Equality? At the same time perfect characterization of the naivety of the upper city citizens. Sorry....
15:46 Wow thats an incredible interpretation. I only took the Mel scene (visually) as Jayce becoming a conflict with her inner turmoil (Being she's noxian and now she made a real connection w/ Jayce so she has to decide where her loyalties lie).
16:50-17:50 did you mean the GOD of Zaun XD. He MAKES everyone.
20:32 Can we talk about how that is the WORST thing you can tell a dying man?!! "I'm dying..." "yeah well.... great people die fast."
21:16 She is not. She did not want this expect or want this (yet). Look at her face when he proposes Heimer's removal. Jayce actually pushed her in this situation, because undermining him would screw up everything she worked to get him there. In ep 4, if you watch her eyes, you can tell she came up with the statement that idea to tell him he should be the future on the spot, mostly to push him to do his full presentation. Even though her goals is to put him on the leader seat eventually ( which is only understood by her flashback meant to show us how she operates) she knows he's not exactly leadership material yet.
23:00 shooting Jayce some undeserved bail, with the limited and fraudulent information he has, he's fairly justified in his actions. Mel's mother may have put the thought in her head, but there's a list of factors, we're looking at atleast 32 people murdered, by one actor, the bombing on the bridge proves they're ill prepared, he has all the police records of what shimmer is and doing, but he knows nothing about the actual life situation of the people he's blocking off. (sorry this personal) I have friends, who has... lets say choice words for the poor, because they don't know what it's like, and I didn't fit their stereotyping. He's naive, believing the fissure folk is out to get them because of god awful propaganda and one mad women. Jayce is a victim of being privileged and thrusted into a position to calls for him to empathize with a group of people he never met nor took the time to understand. Now I need a shower. Also I got some CHOICE words for Vi.... but I admit... that's my culture speaking and I'll leave it be... snitch...
26:57 Nah... Vi's fault. He finally made the proper leadership decision, but because a SNITCH said too much, and Jayce AGAIN knew too little, he added ONE too many clauses. The council should probably invest in uncover agents... I'm just saying.
27:50: SIR you are like ONE of FIVE people who understood why Caitlyn was such a hang up. Like I think people forget to Jinx, enforcers are LITERALLY monsters. Literally the things Vi was suppose to chase away. The things Vi, Craggor, her and Milo was were choosing weapons to assault enforcers over. Jinx is killing the monsters Vi were suppose to shoo away... and Vi's over here choosing Piltovers Finest over her. "but so are you, Here's to the new us." Okay. No shower, Time to fill my bathtub with tears.
28:53 it's golden flame or waves , ppainting all over Noxus in the background, the color gold representt Piltover and Jayce (his eyes are gold and his color theme too) also I remembered someone called him the golden something in the show.
Heimerdinger is the worst of them all. As a three hundred year old, he OVERSAW the growing wealth disparity between Piltover and Zaun. Jayce is right on when he calls Heimerdinger complicit, especially since of all the council, he was supposed to be the guiding, moral light. Yet he knew and did nothing for the Undercity before OR after Vander. For someone who's seen the rise and fall of civilizations, he should know more than most the dangers of ignoring an entire people only to profit enormously from their suffering. It's his ignorance (mirrored by pre-detective Caitlyn) that allowed this disaster to happen in the first place.
Complicit.
He should have but he is an intelectualist with poor knowledge of psyche driven by fear of things tearing part. Also he is more focused on science. Dealing with highly complicated data it is sometimes very difficult to find root of all problems. He belives human misery is caused by poverty until Ekko shows him otherwise
Hiemedinger in his 200 years didn’t do crap for Zaun till Jayce kicked him off the council.
Louder for the people in the back.
I disagree that Mel manipulated Jayce. All she did was support him to get him to stop second guessing himself and continue to innovate. It gassed him up - but only because he was in love with her (something she didn't realize until ep. 6). Yes - she was interested in the financial side - but she was his sponsor/main investor - it was her job to find investors so he could continue his research. She was clearly against the decision to vote out Heimerdinger - you could see it in her reaction. Jayce was right though. Heimerdinger was a trash leader. You can't say Mel manipulated him if he never did anything as a result of her "manipulation." It quickly becomes clear that Jayce is easily swayed. If she REALLY wanted to manipulate him - she could have.
Also, Viktor is not a bad guy by any means, but he is also not as angelic as you make him out to be. And Jayce is not "evil." Jayce wanted to "do good" just like Viktor. Jayce never backstabbed Viktor. Because he had a girlfriend? That's called being a human. Maybe if Viktor walked home with Sky, he would have been more relaxed and better able to work the next day, and maybe he wouldn't have turned Sky into a dust ball.
What makes Arcane so good is the duality of the characters. Every character has flaws. No character is perfect or "good" or "evil."
Thank you for saying that. I've been trying to hammer this into people's heads ever since the show aired. Mel is nuanced. If she truly wanted to manipulate Jayce, she could've done it anytime during the 7 years time skip and it would arguably be more profitable for her because he wasn't her equal socially and politically, so the power would be firmly in her hands. Instead she waits until they're on equal footing before she initiates the relationship. That tells me she was genuinely attracted to him. We find out in her flashback that she actually shares his ideals and that's likely why she was so drawn to him (also he's very handsome and very charming). Also, she's clearly upset when he leaves her in the middle of the night - that's a reaction of a woman that felt used, not a manipulator. Furthermore she elevates him to a councillor after hearing out his complaints about Heimerdinger stalling his projects, and says "when is it not Heimerdinger?" which implies that they had this conversation before, multiple times; she makes him into a councillor so that he no longer has to ask for approval on everything he does.
Viktor isn't even a villain. He becomes what he becomes to save himself, and replaces failing parts on people who desperately need them. The Glorious Revolution is not even his idea. It's the zealots who treat him like some demigod that started that, while Viktor just tries to help the leas fortunate. His appearance belies his heart.
I agree with you on Marcus, I think he is a great and realistic character
due to Mels similarityes to (sentinel) Senna, an the wired (widely discussed) glow effect, i agree with the popular opinion, that she will not die due to the rocket, or at least won't stay dead, but also save other present people. Most importantly Jayce and Victor.
Ok but is no one talking about how Heimerdinger was literally there + helped in the creation of Piltovar, creating the divide between the undercity and upper? He claims he doesn't want to see a city destroyed or people hurt since he's experienced it before with use of magic, yet that's just what happened to the undercity (but just without magic)?? People are suffering. His beliefs and morals are centred around keeping magic controlled, which makes me hesitate considering him a character truly in the right at all times . The city was apparently created to move away from the use and abuse of magic for the greater good, yet destruction and corruption still lies at the heart of their city. This show is simply brilliant however, and it's so interesting to hear about and see who viewers side with and see more as villains or heros. However in truth, while people may agree with some characters more than others, it's even more incredible that arcane allows us to still sympathize with the "villains" as one may see them and understand that understanding perspective is what will truly bring peace to our world.
I'm only 6 minutes in but the amount of times I've stopped to laugh at offhand lines is astronomical I'm all for this humor 20/10
Appreciate it 🙌
I doubt Jinx even knew there were people up in the council chamber that night. I mean, politicians working late into the night?! Jinx just wanted to destroy the symbolic power of that Tower. It just so happens the council were inside that same time. Just another chance for a Jinx Event.
Glad to see the vid back up
In the end of ep3 Marcus needed to put someone in prison so "saving" vi then isnt heroic...not telling silco is
Zaun is basically the equivalent of a Banana Republic mixed with Chernobyl.
Wait, what is it that Zaun produces to become a banana republic? I don't think we ever actually see how companies control the undercity's workers, it's mostly just implied
You deserve so many more viewers and subscribers! Thank you for this video, can’t wait for more!
I wouldn't call Heimerdinger a talking hamster, rather a talking otter.
16:17, there are even coins behind to represent metal lol. and the crowd on his headd too, is he going to be resposible for Zaun since Silco's dead because of Jinx and Caitlyn saw it ? dammn, governing a crime scene would break him haha.
The reason why in the last episode, the council inevitably voted to accept Zaun's independence is because they realize their mistakes and genuinely want to fixed it. The reason why Piltover was the city of progress unlike other cities in the past and now was because science was regulated by great leaders and scientist like 300 year old councilor and his students. And I think in my opinion the reason why the underground didn't flourish was because it was unstable and didn't want science to influence their community. Its just an opinion, of course. But I think over time, the divide between zaun and piltover socially and politically was so great that it started a war to each other and of course piltover won and so piltover decided to not help them economically and socially undermind them (just like how the allied countries undermined germany).
I guess that the council of course didn't really voted just because it is the moral and logical thing to do, but because they want peace with their neighbors, since business and trade deals with other countries might be destroyed or halted because of war and also because the council also want to not change the good reputation of the city like the ethos that they have carefully crafted for years. And I think thats an okay compromise. Is it morally lacking? sure, is it too calculative of method of thinking? ,yeah because that's how the real world works. Its not all ponies and rainbows, politicians everyday need to be calculative so that a functional civilization is maintain. Morally ambiguity is the line drawn here and their decisions impact millions.
I think all the individuals in the council are relatively good people initially, in the middle not really, but in the end was able to redeem the mistakes. And of course they have hypocritical tendency like we all do, and that's why I like arcane unlike other shows that potrays a 1 dimensional villain or person of power without any depth whatsoever, their ideologies is like "I am evil for the sake of it and I will destroy everything because I am very evil"
The political overtones of this movie reminded me a lot of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, at least in the hopeful years around the time of the Oslo Accords... things have gone way downhill since then, of course.
13:37 dammn this acting is perfect, fear in his eyes looking for someone else to take the blame.
"turn a man with a great heart...." that's exactly how, Viktor will lose his heart ;D
I think Mel will survive. I think she is wearing a magic item. As it gleamed, she looked back. I think she will be fine, along with Jayce.
This is one of the only shows I know of that makes politics interesting to listen too.
Fortiche have done a great job of making this part believable but not changing the theme from "Arcane" to "Game of thrones".
ps: i would like it if they did, but considering the budget and schedule, i don't think that's realistic.
As someone who doesn't play or know much about League, when you mentioned Viktor's descend into darkness and unlocking humanity's true potential as a cyborg I just went, "Now that's something I'd like to see / wonder what that transition will look like...".
Also, Jayce's contemplation of suicide didn't feel particularly jarring to me - for the reasons you stated. Although Jayce and thereby that scene reminded me of Daniil Dankovsky (aka. "The Bachelor") from Pathologic. Daniil is a scientist from "The Capital" who is on the verge of having his laboratory and research on "defeating death itself" shut down by "the powers that be" unless he makes a breakthrough to substantiate his claims soon, which brings him to research Simon Kain (an allegedly "immortal" man) in the town-on-ghorkon. Sound familiar? He too is a bit naive and idealistic, even a bit (scratch that, VERY MUCH) a dick, especially towards the townspeople and their "nonsense" local customs. Thereby dismissing their unique insight to the town and the eventual plague that hits later in the game and making him vulnerable to manipulation by the ruling families of the town who seek to use him to their own ends. Right off the bat, turns out Simon Kain was murdered, rendering his arrival here obsolete and jeprodisring his life's work. When he tries to flee the oncoming plague, a quarantine ordered by one of the town's leaders Daniil literally just helped obtain emergency powers to try and combat the plague traps him in the town with no hope of escape. Later, on the same day (I think) the one person who showed him kindness and hospitality in the town commits suicide while he was too busy being played, he is informed that his lab has already been seized and his life's work destroyed by the powers that be...
Jayce and Daniil aren't the same, and I'd argue Daniil's situation and extent of suffering was far more severe than Jayce's, but even so I can absolutely see why Jayce would be driven to nearly commit suicide given what thoughts Daniil had after enduring something similar and sharing many of the same traits as him.
I can't recommend Pathologic Classic HD. Pathologic 2 is incredible, play that instead. The only thing is that Daniil's story is only available in the Classic HD game and he'd instead a character / not the protagonist in Pathologic.
Codex Entry's two part series on Daniil's route is excellent at demonstrating the tragedy of it all and is a very entertaining watch. I highly recommend checking it out if the Jayce / Daniil comparison intrigued you. ^^
Haha, gotta love bounty hunting the local crime boss then being redirected by him to kill some other gang leader instead and have to kill 7 guys using a gun with 6 chambers and a reeeeeeeaaaaally slow reloading animation :,)
Heimerdinger had a flashback of Xerath
The worst thing that ever happened to Star Wars was original trilogy fanboys crying over politics in sequels.
Star Wars had THE BEST opportunity to become Game of Thrones before GoT was a thing.
(The second worst thing was the Disney Era)
Politics can be the singular most interesting thing in fiction if done right.
GoT, The Expanse, House of Cards, etc.
"The human heart in conflict with itself" has been quoted to death so allow me to elaborate.
Politics is the perfect medium/platform (base of story telling) to express human GREED AND MORALS in conflict and/or compromise with each other.
Good stuff. Do you think it would be a crazy subversion if Mel didn't die but was saved by a Dues ex Machina
The amount of time waiting for 2nd season will most likely not even be comparable to the time we'll need to recover from it😅
Also just as we recover from the 1st one the 2nd will hit us like a slagehamer
15:12 I disagree. They both gave into their temptations. (Viktor a little later) Obviously Jayce gave into his romantic temptations towards Mel, but Viktor was never tempted by Sky. He was tempted by the hexcore. He gave into that temptation and as a result someone died. You could also say that’s another parallel, as when Jayce gave into his temptation he wasn’t able to be there when Viktor is dying
I think no matter what, Zaun was gonna collide with Piltover. The road has been long paved. It's the natural progression of it's life
well the country in flashback could be shurima
I'm a little disappointed this video didn't explore the political messages of Arcane. I was hoping based on the title it would go into what political systems are portrayed in Arcane. The video just kinda focuses on individuals rather than exploring how the show comments on and reproduces Neolibralism, Anarchism, Marxism, and Fascism, and seeing how the show misrepresents those views based on it's own skewed lens.
15:12 NOWAITCAUSE it took me 11 rewatches of the whole damn show to get it cuz immm a dumbass ugdgfjdtgx but im so excited about it that i have to comment because like. Viktor does give in. Skye was never the temptation it was Magicccc the Hex of the Tech the whole scene portrays that unification of the lads and their respective vices my god i guess sex scenes in tv do have artistic merit who wouldve thot
has mans read Unsounded? political and government systems there are peak intrigue (though not a huge focus like in GoT)
Amazing video 😁!!!
I liked your video, one thing I do disagree with you on is when you called Marcus a "good guy". I'd be interested to see yours and others perspectives on this. In my opinion, from what I saw in the show, he is not a good person. First, he dehumanizes those in Zaun, saying "I'm going to bury the lot of you" at the Last Drop, calling Zaun children "sumprats", looking down on Vander and insulting his intelligence "That thick head of yours" "You shady son of a bitch", to the point where Grayson sends him outside to cool off. He does not seem to grow from this dehumanizing mindset in the time jump, as he shoots Echo in episode 7 without hesitation on the bridge, while he does hesitate to kill Caitlyn (though we'll never know if he would have gone through with it or not). Second, he blatantly shows disrespect and disregard for Piltover law and that of his higher up commanding officer, as he goes behind Grayson's back to make a deal with Silco, ultimately getting Benzo and Grayson killed. It is a deal that seems atleast in part motivated by greed and self interest for money(and would not have been necessary, as we can see they already had their scapegoat for the council- Vander) as he is handed a bag of coins and one falls in the blood of the now dead Grayson. That backhanded deal is what cemented Marcus to me as a "bad guy", because he allowed whatever morals he may have had to be corrupted by money, greed, and cowardice. Now that I'm typing this, I've realized Marcus did not have faith in Piltover's own law system, which is ironic considering he became the sheriff. I say he didn't have faith in Piltover law because he did not trust Piltover to be able to go after someone like Silco when Silco initially came to him with a deal, and if he was only thinking of money when he initially made the deal with Silco, if he had only cared about his daughter and had turned himself in(or blown himself up to take out Silco-- which in my opinion would have solved nothning as someone else in Zaun likely even more brutal would have taken Silco's place), he didn't trust Piltover would take care of and protect his daughter from Silco and those who work for Silco. Damn this show has layers. Again great video, let me know what you guys think!
18:18 All that hatred on Markus is not coz he gave in to Silco's pressure but that he took money for keeping Vi in prison for years.
Took money from who?
Marcus. Not Markus wtf is a markus
You should do a similar review on invincible
6:43, Wait.. Is that Caitlyn's father behind Viktor?
Heimerdinger led the council for hundreds of years failing to improve the lives of the people from the undercity. This is like having the worst political leader from a governance standpoint - there is no human equivalent from a didn't do your job standpoint.
He chose to do only the topside part of the job, completely absconding from the necessary governance of the whole state.
0/10 would not vote for reinstatement.
I wonder how Heimerdinger was perceived so "calmly" in the undercity. Mainly I get this through his interactions with Ekko, who doesn't seem very hostile against him. He knows who Heimerdinger is and what his decisions have done to the undercity' s people. (I assume)
Politics aren't boring because corruption is ironic.
Instead of thinking Berlin Wall, maybe we should be thinking Israel and Gaza
Absolutely love this vid man, I learnt quite a bit here cuz there's a lot regarding Jayce and Victor I didn't notice cuz quite frankly I hate both of them, especially fucking Jayce. Victor on the other hand I sympathize because of his condition but my problem with these two guys is that they don't actually care about people, they're just only passionate about their work. They keep saying they want to make life better with Hextech but they never really make people's lives better, they only invent things and then throw them into the market and happily get credit for their work and that's it. Meanwhile Victor who came from the undercity does NOTHING for his people even though he managed to be the FRIGGIN' hand of Councilor Hamsterdinger. Meanwhile this is a guy who came from the undercity and knows the horror that is the lives that the people live there. Fuck Victor and fuck Jayce trice over! Jayce killed a child and didn't give a shit, he was only concerned about his reputation and the consequences of his actions. This fool killed a little boy and he acted like he accidentally stepped on a pet.
And please, don't nobody ever have any kind of sympathy towards that filthy pathetic stain that is Marcus. At first I found him funny, cuz he was a rookie cop biting off more than he could chew. It was cute, but that evil stain kidnapped Vi (a girl that was barely a teenager) and threw her into a maximum security prison where she was abused and tortured for 8 FUCKING YEARS! To add insult to injury, this BASTARD erased every record of her in prison. Which means that Vi was doing prison time for nothing. He left her in there to rot and die. I swear if there was a hell in the Arcade universe, Marcus deserves to be thrown into it's bowel, where he would be violated and dumped on for all eternity!
I like political stories