Arcane
My number one show on Netflix has always been The Umbrella Academy. For so long, no other series has come close to topping it. However, after watching Arcane, I refuse to believe that anything on this planet could surpass the absolute genius this show is. I watched the first season of Arcane on my iPad during a road trip; I thought it was fine, and left it at that. But when the new season came out, I watched the first season again and I appreciated so much more about it. The music, the color choices, the animation; it was all perfect, and I couldn’t look away. Somehow, the second season surpassed the first by all metrics. Also, this post contains a whole lot of spoilers, so watch out!
Remember how the first season had that one fight scene with Jayce and Vi with a song about snakes screaming in the background? Well, the second season gave us more of that awesomeness. The fight scenes were literal eye candy in the second season, with my favorite one being the lottery-prosthetic-arm-blasting one with Sevika, Jinx, and evil Heimerdinger. The characters were also improved SO MUCH in the new season. Ekko was great in the first season, but his importance to the story skyrocketed in the new one. He became my favorite character out of nowhere, and his multiverse hopping arc was better than anything Marvel could come up with.
Also, as a Vi fangirl, the new season was EVERYTHING I needed. Seeing Vi in her emo fighting ring outfit was a spiritual experience. I’ve watched the intro to that episode an unhealthy number of times. But anyways, the Caitlyn situation/breakup really was crazy. The new series definitely never had a dull moment. Mel was a character I really liked in the first season, but I honestly had no idea what she was up to in the second. The twist (SPOILER) of her being a arcane sorcerer was great, but her plot line this season was pretty forgetful. All I remember is her brother’s meme chad jawline. I can’t believe the animators did that.
Even crazier than all of this though was Jayce and Viktor’s storyline. I never would have guessed that Viktor was the new season’s villain. Him having a Jesus arc and becoming a god was pretty unexpected. And I honestly feel bad for Jayce getting stuck in the alternate dimension for however many years because of Viktor’s whole GLORIOUS EVOLUTION plan. It is pretty funny though how he forgets entirely about Mel, his girlfriend, and just tries to save/kill Viktor. In the end, both of them get yeeted into nonexistence through the power of bro. A perfect conclusion to a perfect series.
If you are the type of person to get bored with a series easily, the first season will be hard to get through. A lot of it is exposition and setting up all the characters for the next season. But once season two starts, it locks in immediately. Arcane is hands down the best show on Netflix. It has all the great themes; war, civilization, friendship, love, and family. So please watch it!
Update: Solid 10/10. I have nothing else to say.