Warning! This article contains spoilers for Arcane Season 2 Episode 3.
Key Takeaways
Arcane Season 2 Episode features a highly-anticipated showdown, leading to a heartbreaking realization. A new conspiracy involving Ambessa unfolds, setting the stage for war between Piltover and Zaun. Arcane sets up two major plots that threaten to overshadow its main characters if not handled carefully.
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The third episode in Arcane Season 2 contains a much-anticipated showdown and also introduces a couple of major twists that shake up the Netflix series' final season.
The first two episodes of the new season of Arcane have been spent setting up the status quo in Piltover and Zaun following some major deaths from Season 1. Episode 3 of Season 2, titled "Finally Got The Name Right", brings these two worlds together, raising the stakes phenomenally and providing some of the most heart-wrenching moments in the series so far.
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Arcane Season 2 Episode 2 Review
Arcane Season 2's second episode uses stylish animation to reveal what's happened to Zaun.
Vi and Jinx Reunite
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Arcane Season 2 Episode 3 "Finally Got The Name Right"
Cast
Hailee Steinfeld, Ella Purnell, Katie Leung, Kevin Alejandro, Ellen Thomas, Reed Shannon
Creatives
Henry G.M. Jones (writer), Barth Maunoury & Christelle Abgrail (directors), Christian Linke & Alex Yee (creators)
Based on
League of Legends
Streaming on
Netflix
The episode opens with another of Fortiche's excellent visual montages. Each episode of Arcane Season 2 thus far has featured a new experimental style from the animation company and Episode 3's is a colorful almost graphic novel-style sequence that portrays Caitlyn and Vi's action-packed infiltration of Zaun. Eventually, they come across a present left by Jinx, one of Smeech's men, who informs them Jinx has plans of her own for Piltover's ventilation system. Vi suggests to Caitlyn they leave the rest of the enforcers behind lest they be caught up in her sister's plan. Vi's acceptance that her sister is no more leads to a tender moment between her and Caitlyn, culminating in a long-awaited kiss.
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The Showdown of the Century
When Vi and Caitlyn arrive at Jinx's hideout she is ready for them. The battle that ensues is possibly Arcane's best one yet. The showdown between the two sisters is something that happens earlier in the season than expected, but it's no less powerful. The series employs all possible tactics to make this the showdown fans have been waiting for. It blends fast cuts with detailed slow-motion shots, features an epic music track, and exchanges punches that hit straight to the heart thanks to the 11 episodes of character work Arcane has put into these two siblings.
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When Caitlyn takes a shot that removes Jinx's finger, Vi gains the upper hand and Jinx concedes defeat. But Vi's hesitation to kill her sister provides enough time for Isha, a young girl who has become enamored with Jinx throughout this season, to get between them. Vi is ready to let them go free, not willing to harm an innocent, but Caitlyn does not show the same remorse, which forces Vi to stop her.
Paint the Town Blue
Sevika takes this opportunity to enact Jinx's plan, blowing open a wind gate that sucks them all out of the room. All around the city, colored paint explodes out of the vents, staining Piltover in a rainbow of chaos. With Jinx out of her grasp once again, Caitlyn and Vi argue, which brings up two revelations. Vi can't stop thinking of Jinx as her sister, and Caitlyn can't give up on her revenge. These are realizations that put an end to their fleeting romance.
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The Price of Progress
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Elsewhere in Piltover, Jayce, Ekko, and Heimerdinger are unraveling the mysteries of the corruption of the Hexcore that is impacting the Firelights' tree. Jayce theorizes it may be a result of "wild runes", aka arcane magic that has formed in reaction to Viktor and Jayce's attempts to control it via Hextech. Visiting Hextech's failsafe underground, the group discovers a massive problem.
A strange arcane anomaly has formed, which results in all sorts of Multiverse of Madness-style visuals taking place. The group's interaction with the anomaly has ramifications on all Hextech devices, including the ones being used in Jinx and Vi's fight that happens to be occurring at the same time. It makes for a climactic sequence at the end of the episode, with the sister's confrontation intercut with Jayce's realization that he has created something hugely out of his control.
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A Piltover Conspiracy Emerges
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This episode also takes the opportunity to introduce a new conspiracy related to Ambessa and Noxus. After meeting with Piltover's guild merchant Amara, Ambessa realizes she is possessed by a strange dark magic, and a voice warns her to give up her plan in Piltover. The magic morphs into a black rose, which is a massive hint at something dangerous to come, that League of Legends players will recognize. Ambessa kills Amara which frees her from the Black Rose's grasp, for now, but she needs to employ the help of council member, Salo, to cover up the death.
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Mel is suspicious of her mother's plans and learns from a vastaya named Lest, who overheard Salo and Ambessa's meeting, that Ambessa plans to back him for a more powerful leadership role. When Mel begins looking into Ambessa's circumstances, she discovers some secrecy around her brother's death, which instantly results in her being snatched by the Black Rose's magic. Ambessa's plan comes to fruition in the final moments of the episode, revealing that she was the one responsible for the Zaunite's attack on the memorial in Episode 1. This was all an attempt to further divide Piltover and Zaun and force them into war. She now takes the moment to appoint a new general to lead the war effort: Caitlyn Kiramman.
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A Beast of a Problem
It would be remiss not to mention the tag at the end of Episode 3, which links to the final scene in all three episodes of Arcane Season 2 thus far. These scenes, pieced together, set up the introduction of a new and highly-anticipated character. They depict Singed approaching the den of a Murk Wolf, who he then dissects and uses its biology to create something new. The final scene shows the frame of a beast hanging from the ceiling as it's pumped with a green chemical compound. This character is one League fans will recognize and will presumably have a big role in the coming episodes.
Arcane Season 2 Expands The World at a Rapid Pace
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If there are any flaws in the first act of Season 2 it's the pacing. Characters are introduced with little time to properly establish them as they are swept up in the breakneck speed of the plot. The third episode of Season 2 also introduced two major new plots that threaten to overwhelm the characters at the heart of the story. It could be a sign of the series doing too much too quickly, but it will all depend on how Arcane balances its storylines moving forward.
Arcane Season 2's first act is a representation of everything the show does best. It uses animation to great effect to tell both the big and small emotions and creates effective character moments through both visual metaphors and sharp dialogue. While the creatives behind Arcane could easily have just continued to adhere to the standard they set in Season 1, they choose to strive for better, bringing innovative new ways to explore this world and characters on screen.
Arcane Season 2 Episodes 1-3 are available on Netflix now.
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Arcane
TV-14
Action
Adventure
Sci-Fi
Animation
Arcane is an animated series developed by Alex Yee and Christian Linke that follows a the story of Piltover and Zaun, two pivotal locations in the League of Legends universe. The first season follows the stories of Jynx and Vi, as well as Jayce and Viktor.
Release Date November 6, 2021
Cast Hailee Steinfeld , Ella Purnell , Kevin Alejandro , Katie Leung , jason spisak , Toks Olagundoye , Harry Lloyd , JB Blanc , Reed Shannon , Mick Wingert
Seasons 2
Writers Christian Linke , Alex Yee
Streaming Service(s) Netflix
Franchise(s) League of Legends
Directors Pascal Charrue , Arnaud Delord
Showrunner Christian Linke , Alex Yee
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