Arcane Season 2 Act 1 Review: A long-waited, emotional, explosive return to Piltover

After three long years, Arcane, the best TV series of 2021, returns with a sad, beautiful second season that doesn’t pull any storytelling punches established in the first season. Like the first season, Arcane season 2 is broken into three acts. This review will only cover Arcane Season 2 Act 1.

Arcane Season 2 Act 1 Overview and Rating

In the first season, Arcane brilliantly used time jumps to advance the story. While season 2 will probably feature time jumps in Acts 2 and 3, Act 1 takes place immediately after events from the season 1 finale.

Most of Piltover’s council is killed or seriously injured by Jinx’s attack on the capital.

Mel is a surprising standout in these three episodes. She’s the only one trying to keep everything together. Mel recognizes the depths of Caitlyn’s pain and urges Jayce to help, a lovely little detail that exemplifies what makes this series unique. Arcane is a series full of anger, but it sprinkles sweet moments such as this Mel scene and intimate (not sexual) Vi-Caitlyn scenes.

Vi (Hailee Steinfeld) was caught between her sister Jinx and Caitlyn last season. She staunchly supports Caitlyn in the new season but can’t quite shake off the shackles of her home of Zaun.

Jayce and Caitlyn’s story deals with guilt in impressively different ways. Jayce is immediately hit with survival remorse. Why is he unscathed when Caitlyn’s mother is dead, and his partner Viktor is unconscious? Caitlyn doesn’t get time to process her grief. She immediately attempts to fill her mother’s shoes. By doing so, she pursues a path of vengeance similar to Vi’s uncontrollable anger toward the Enforcers in the first season. Recognizing this darkness, Vi tries to dissuade Caitlyn but doesn’t quite have the tools to help.

Then there’s everything going on in Zaun. Some, primarily children, view Jinx as a rebel hero of sorts. Others, even some who are part of Zaun’s version of a council, want to trade Jinx to the Enforcers for a reward. Only Sevika shows loyalty towards Jinx.

These three episodes are a terrific start to the new season. The music, sound design, voice performances, directing and hard-hitting action sequences are incredible. Similar to last season’s early episodes, the Jayce, Ekko, and Heimerdinger subplots don’t feel as powerful as the other storylines, but does set up an interesting dynamic concerning the environmental impact of magic, so there’s plenty of potential.

Thankfully, any worries that the series’ long hiatus will sap Arcane’s incredible action, plot movement, and character development are put to rest. Even in the incredible sea that is the TV landscape in 2024, with series like The Penguin, Shrinking, and House of the Dragon, Arcane stands right alongside them.

Arcane is streaming on Netflix.

Here’s a recap and review of each episode in Arcane Season 2 Act 1.

Heavy is the Crown Recap and Review

Jinx’s (Ella Purnell, Fallout) terrorist attack leaves the Council in shambles. Most of the council members were killed in the attack, including Caitlyn’s mom. Jayce (Kevin Alejandro) is physically unscathed, as are Mel (Toks Olagundoye) and Mel’s mother, Ambessa Medarda (Ellen Thomas). Hoskel calls a hasty meeting to mount a war effort. He wants to go scorched earth, as do a couple of other members. Caitlyn and Mel speak out against using Hextech, aka this world’s nuclear option. However, they agree that a team should go into the slums of Zaun to capture Jinx.

Vi spends part of the episode listless. She’s never far from Caitlyn, but she doesn’t know how to comfort her. After the council session, Caitlyn offers Vi a spot as an Enforcer, which Vi refuses on the spot. She drinks herself into a stupor but breaks out of it. Junior officer Maddie Nolan shares that most officers view VI as a hero.

The capital hosts a memorial for those who died during the attack. Last season, Jayce killed a woman’s son during his and Vi’s invasions of Zaun. The woman launches an attack during the memorial. Vi, Caitlyn, and Jayce all have moments to shine during the attack, but it’s Ambessa and her men who end the conflict.

Jayce provides weapons to Caitlyn, Vi agrees to join the Enforcers, and a plan is hatched to apprehend Jinx at all costs.

Overall, this is an excellent start to the new season that doesn’t waste time by jumping into the carnage from last season’s explosive ending. The attack on the memorial is a great action sequence with incredible twists throughout. I also continue to enjoy the Vi-Caitlyn relationship even though it has tragedy written all over it.

Watch it All Burn Recap and Review

After spending the 1st episode of Arcane Season 2 Act 1 in Piltover, the 2nd episode deals with the power vacuum in the Undercity of Zaun, Viktor’s reawakening and the search for Jinx.

Chem-Barons Smeech, Chross, and Margot are vying for control. Sevika wants to create a united front. The main disagreement among the group is what to do about Jinx. There’s a reward out from Topside for Jinx’s capture. Sevika wants the group to stand by Jinx. The others want the money. Meanwhile, Jinx, like her sister, is searching for purpose. Jinx saves an orphan from an attack, and the boy forms an attachment to Jinx.

Vi and Caitlyn begin their search for Jinx. There are a couple of of close calls. Jinx even has a couple of shots to stealthily take out Vi but can’t put the trigger. She escapes to an alley only to walk into an ambush by Smeech, Chross, and Margot. Sevika arrives and helps Jinx fight them off. Jinx pledges to kill her remaining family members.

Meanwhile, in Piltover, Viktor finally wakes up. Jayce wants to restart their partnership, but Viktor part ways and returns to the Undercity with abilities that he slowly starts to understand. Ekko and Heimerdinger sneak into Piltover to determine why the environment in the Undercity is showing increasing signs of decay. Jayce catches them. While Ekko and Jayce don’t like each other, the trio works together to figure out what is happening.

Purnell was phenomenal last season, creating this Harley Quinn-like character, and that continues to be the case.

Finally Got the Name Right

Vi is concerned about Caitlyn’s more aggressive side, which showed itself in the previous episode. Caitlyn promises she won’t change. They also discover Jinx’s plans to attack Piltover by launching pollutants into the ventilation system. Caitlyn and Vi square off with Sevika and Jinx. The fight goes back and forth until the orphan shows up and shields Jinx from Vi’s attacks. Caitlyn won’t relent while Vi tries to back her off. An explosion allows Jinx to escape. Caitlyn slaps VI, breaks up with her, and becomes commander-in-chief of the council.

Ekko, Heimerdinger, and Jayce continue investigating Hextech’s environmental impact. They discover a massive source of the contamination, but the storyline ends before the impact can be measured.

After Mel is kidnapped, Ambessa is revealed to be the architect behind the memorial attack. She plays an integral part in placing Caitlyn at the head of the council.

The 2-on-2 fight is exceptional. In adult animation, the fantastic visuals can sometimes overwhelm the emotional moments. That never happens in Arcane. Every action beat has an emotional or character purpose, making every blow matter.

Arcane Season 2 Act 1 Final Thoughts

Arcane Season 2 Act 1 kicks off the season brutally and beautifully. By the end of Act 1, sisters are enemies and lovers are foes.