justanerddummie

[justanerddummie]

I have a few guesses

1. The desolation born out of confusion, which is conveyed perfectly by the sterile background around her, cut only by Vi's color with some difficulty.

As if Vi is one of the grounding forces that gives her direction.

However it also needs to be pointed out that other than Vi another thing that gives Caitlyn direction and manages to cut through the confusion is anger.

So the camera switches between alienate, random close up of anything but the eyes, confusion, wide shot with sterile background and close ups of her face including her eyes, especially in moment of anger (think about the scene before Ambessa gives her the cloak).

The fact that these kind of shots are repeated frequently helps to also give the sense of being stuck in a rut especially when switching between them rapidly (when she hits Vi with the butt of her gun).

2. These shots are something that we are not supposed to be seeing (it would tie well with the way Caitlyn is portrayed in the opening sequence when she appears to be an actor walking on stage) and the character herself is pushing the camera away forcing it to "steal" the shot, especially considering how they are often followed by a close up of her entire face looking determined or pisses which are emotions she feels comfortable expressing in front of people.

3. The boring take, spy pov.

So I screencapped this shot because I think it's an interesting choice. Cait is in this very emotional place, but we get this shot that's high and wide and shooting her from behind, basically putting us as far away from her as we can get. It's a counter-intuitive choice, tbh. Her character animation is so good, we can tell what she's feeling from her body language, but still it's an odd choice. I can't quite figure out why they did this.

My thought is that on the one hand it starts to alienate us from Cait as she begins her dark turn. At the same time, it frames Cait and Vi between the curtains, they're occupying this space, a hole, together, mirroring the dialogue.

But neither of those explanations feel really quite right to me. Interested if anyone else has thoughts.

[justanerddummie]

Not gonna lie, I really do think the reason why Vi didn't go after Jinx after the jail was that she was terrified of what she might actually find.

While the rest of the Fandom goes she's either a shitty sister or a dumbass.

[justanerddummie]

It's also insane how Liam managed to play this shady puny wizard in a way that spelled IT'S FOR SURVIVAL and not greed, and everybody was like, yeah I agree.

I really enjoy Liam's commitment to the bit of Caleb's money counting quirk, just quietly counting out each one of his 16 gold pieces for incense in the background while Matt talks to the other players and then subtly shorting the shopkeeper by 1 gold.

[justanerddummie]

It's an interesting choice to have Silco keep his eye rotting in his head while Caitlyn's ripped out of hers.

Narratively speaking it says a lot.

[justanerddummie]

some gems from the donation reel

[Image IDs: A series of donation names: "bjald fjord come homes to me", "essek's well-kept feet", "Bolo is Predathos (Confirmed)", "I filled Dorian's keep with monsters", "C-Pop Industries Shipping Department", "essek's very tired thesis advisor"]

[justanerddummie]

This might be an unpopular opinion, but even though I loved Arcane and I still think it's one of the best shows out there I really think the writers missed the mark completely with Jinx and Vi.

Once again this is just my opinion but I really do think that making Jinx so disconnected and kind of uncaring toward Vi and the other way around was kind of a mistake. You see I believe one of the biggest strengths of s1 was exactly the obsession the character felt toward one another, the way Jinx is obsessed with Vi, the way Vi is obsessed with Powder and the way Silco is obsessed with Jinx and the layers it provides to the plot and the way in which those character give the feeling of being the ones who affect the plot and not the other way around is what truly made Arcane magic.

However in s2 at least imo felt like the obsession especially between the sisters was kind of nonexistent.

Vi wants to kill Jinx, because Caitlyn wants to and Jinx is pretty chill with it.

Don't get me wrong this my own dumb take extremely simplified and without all the actual layers the show has put into it, just to explain the portion of the story I want to talk about in a few sentences.

It was obvious that the writers wanted to justify Vi's change in alligiances, to show that she is devoted to Caitlyn at the point of annihilation by making her kill Jinx, however I don't think that having Vi stop herself on her own volition would have invalidated this process, it actually would have enhanced the dynamic, it would have made even more devastating the cocktail molotov montage in which Vi blames herself for not being able to give up the last piece of herself to appease Cait and it would have given Jinx a much more solid case to reconnect with her sister and kept intact the continuity of the story from the mad tea party. Honestly there is no point in not picking up the perfectly laid foundation for a story in which Jinx is ever more unhinged and Vi can't seem to be able to kill her, because since Jinx came and helped her out of the pit fighting ring she has showed Vi Powder is still in there. Because Vi has turned into a monster herself when in the Strike team.

Because they both made mistakes but they have found a way to love each other even though they're different.

Also having Jinx love Vi in a healthy way and have Cait make the conscious decision of letting go of her revenge because she loves Vi, makes a great point for Jinx to want to stay, not want to leave.

Truth be told the healthy relationship between the sister kind of invalidates both s1 and s2 final episodes.

In a way it feels like s2 ending was always supposed to end like this and they had a last minute change of heart regarding Vi and Jinx relationship and chose not to change the ending.

Honestly it's just a minor thing because even though Arcane has a lot of flaws they still made great show, I just think with this adjustment it would have been a 10 out of 10 in my book and not a 9 out of 10. Anyway I'm still incredibly hyped for whatever they do next.

[justanerddummie]

Arcane SPOILERS if you still haven’t seen the entirety of s2.

I don’t know why people are not talking more about the parallels between Cait and Viktor throughout both seasons but I’m about to.

I’ll start with the way both are framed as lonely characters from the beginning of the show.

I think it’s quite interesting also the way it is portrayed, let’s take for example their flashbacks in season one.

How Cait's mother seems to be looking for her and Sky takes an interest in him from the cliff.

I’d like to point out how both those scenes, at least to me feel like an invitation to join society, and in a way they both decline.

Viktor with his disabilities can’t join the other undercity children in their games so what’s the point of him looking at all of them having fun while looking from the sidelines?

Cait instead is expected to show up in a room full of adults most likely talking about politics so what’s the point of joining her family?

They both instead choose the anomaly, Grayson and Singed same as Viktor and Caitlyn are framed to be actively rejecting the society in which they live in and Cait and Viktor seem to finally find people they can connect with.

Which is the opposite of when we see them connect to Jayce and Vi.

Jayce and Vi attract people to them like magnets, Jayce is framed to be the sun of Piltover the man of progress, the heart of Piltover, he makes people believe the impossible is real.

Vi is framed to be the undercity’s north star, she represents Vander’s dream for a community in shambles, we see it in the way Jerrico, Babette and Huck (even though he betrays her in the end) help Vi, craving what used to be a community based on sound principles.

Both Viktor and Cait are not immune to their charm and gravitate towards them same as their entire community do.

Then fast forward to season two and we see Jayce and Vi alone as Viktor and Caitlyn are at the helm of their respective community.

However it is interesting to point out how both of them rarely ever interact with their people and the only time they do is a weird recreation of the dynamics they once had with Jayce and Vi.

Maddie has taken Vi’s place and even if we know she was being untruthful she was still pointing Caitlyn toward the just course of action, she was advocating for the people of the undercity same as Vi did in s1, but the difference here is that she’s also stroking Cait’s ego instead of challenging her believes and keeping her humble.

Sky is framed to be Viktor’s new lab partner instead of Jayce but she acts more like a conscience to him pointing out the faults in his experiments instead of pushing him to surpass his limits.

And those are the exact reasons why Maddie and Sky don’t work as well as Jayce and Vi as their counterbalance.

Viktor is restrained by the limits of his body but Jayce makes him believe in the impossible.

Just as Cait’s action are boundless in the scope of her privilege and Vi keeps her accountable.

The fact that they are both love stories is the reason they work so well, both Jayce and Vi could choose differently, but love is not framed as the reward of them choosing Cait and Viktor, as we all are so accustomed to see in other media, it is the reason they make that choice.

The outcome is much more bittersweet as Vi and Jayce leave behind some other people they love to stay close to their introverts, Cait and Viktor have tried (Maddie and Sky), but they cannot find anyone else to stabilize themselves the same way Vi and Jayce do.

It is extremely unfair for everyone involved, for Vi and Jayce to have been forced to let go of their entire life outside of Viktor and Caitlyn, and Viktor and Caitlyn to never be trusted to make their decisions with complete autonomy, but love as life rarely is.

So I guess that in the end the Arcane for all of its faults has kind of nailed the ending for this characters, at least in my opinion.  

[justanerddummie]

I started season 2 with the conviction that Caitlyn’s story was going to be the one to resonate the most with me (might have a thing with holding grudges) but the truth is that in the end it was Vi’s.

I guess it has a lot to do with being a twenty-something and having to step up and become the first care-giver to a family member who is sick. Disease turns people into angry, hateful beings and the person closest to them gets the brunt of it.

It is an impossible job and that’s Vi’s job, over and over again, first with Jinx, then with Caitlyn and in the end with Warwick.

Vi annihilates herself for the people she loves, she is asked to make impossible choices, most times than not she becomes their punching bag , is forced to eat dirt when she dares say enough is enough and in the end accept the death of her father and her sister no matter what she’s had to endure.

All of this alone should’ve rung a bell in my head a lot sooner but it never did until the end. Nothing started my brain worm until act 3 and the way the writers relegated Vi’s arc into a footnote for Jinx and Caitlyn’s story.

A lot of people are angry about it and I was too but in the end I came to the realization that Vi is no big action hero, she’s honestly just a regular person thrown into Runeterra.

What Vi deals with are the most human problems of the show, she’s trying to take care of her mentally ill sister, she’s dealing with her girlfriend’s grief and then with her sick father, she’s not about to invent magic, she’s not about to turn the whole world into a wasteland of automatons and she’s not about to go down a dictator path and that’s the strength of her character and in the whole ecosystem of Arcane she is the force that keeps the show grounded.

I guess that’s why I think what the writers did in act 3 even if not intended made Vi even more relatable at least to me.

Her story isn’t about big sacrifices, defeating her enemies or a big moment of glory, it’s about second chances, the mistakes she’s made and the way she tries to fix them, her need for forgiveness and her willingness to forgive, her duty to her family, maybe finding a little happiness along the way in the midst of all the horrors around her and survive to fight another day.

[justanerddummie]

Act 3 spoilers

Why do the writers hate Vi so much? 😭

[justanerddummie]

I really wanted to make a post about about Viktor, he's one of my favorite characters after all but then I always spiral into a bunch of extremely clichè morality questions to which no one has the answer to. So I guess I'll just talk about a bunch of stuff that really hit me during ep 6.

How Viktor doesn't simply heal people, but also the land, the place when he first arrived was barren, no plants, no water, no sun, no nothing, now it is blooming, plants grow high and healthy in full cooperation with hextech and the sun shines non-stop. We can see some of them even have the purple lines like the ones that kept dying in Viktor's lab. I guess I really did enjoy the duality of Viktor needing shimmer to force hextech to work with nature, but having to sacrifice his morality to do so.

The way Viktor's comune was portrayed into such a positive light was quite jarring, at the end ep5 we see it in a very ambiguous way and now it seems that it's just a force of good. Like this is a hive-mind situation, then why does this place feel so warm and cozy? I blame it all on the warm colors and the light fortiche used to lull the viewer into a sense of safety.

Vi, baby, I know you feel the same, I know the promise of forgiveness has lured you in, but seriously except for the mistake of hitting your sister in the worst moments of both of your lives, which isn't justifiable but understandable you haven't done anything wrong ever since. You need to stop blaming yourself for everything bad in your life and start putting at least part of the blame on your sister and your gf 'cause seriously they fucked up way worse than you.

Why was Jinx's color palette clashing so much with the environment? I mean, Vi and Isha seemed to blend in just fine, fuck even Warwick felt fine at some point but Jinx felt like a thumb in a sore eye the entire time they were in the comune.

Singed I love you, I also really loved the way this episode felt more like a clash of his and Viktor's phylosophy more than anything else. The only thing I'm sorry about is how in the end he is always right.

I enjoyed Vander's flashback sugarcoated as they were, as they turned into Vi's memory. I guess that's the whole point of nostalgia so no notes here.

I guess that placing this episode at the end of act 2 was a really smart move, we've just come from five episodes of darkness and smoke, everything from the situations to the art felt oppressive and the moment it started I asked my self if I was watching the same show as five minutes before. Putting a breather right before the situations plunges back into darkness destroys the viewer's heart way more than keeping the tension high the entire time.

Ambessa doesn't look like your typical villain, and honestly I don't really recognize her as one. She's framed constantly as nothing but a warmonger, yet she rarely ever leads sword first. Is it because of her situation as a destituted Noxian looking for allies across sea? Is it because she fancies herself fox and wolf? Guess we'll see next act, hopefully.

Isha, I've been side eyeing that little girl since the begging of the season, everyone knew she was going to die, and we all cried like babies. I really do hope that they don't go the way the leaks have suggested, because seriously then what's the point? Other than that I want to watch act 3, because right now I'm honestly speechless.

[justanerddummie]

I really like the way Caitlyn breaks her alliance with Ambessa the moment she finds it no longer beneficial to her goals.

I guess it might have been a bit muted in s1 and harder to clock but Cait has always been the kind of character for whom the end justifies the means. She's not above stooping so low she can be considered un-redeemable, she's not above using chemical warfare to catch the chembarons, she's not above risking the death of a child if it means she gets to kill Jinx and that is something Ambessa had not considered.

I think it's quite telling the way in which Ambessa thought she needed to teach Cait about guile, no honor, no accountability, well Ambessa that's your regular Piltie, Cait's not the exception she is the rule. The fact that she encourages the worst parts of Caitlyn right before she betrays her is just so funny I can't stop thinking about it and the way she seems so angry and hurt by it is even better.

In her manipulation Ambessa is the one who forgot to follow her own rules she lost her vision and instead of doubling down twice as hard on Caitlyn, keeping her constantly under her scrutiny she started to consider her one of her own, her kin, giving her free reign of her camp, what is even better is that in a way the pupil surpassed the teacher and when it was time for Caitlyn to be the one to give in this alliance she instead metaphorically flipped Ambessa the bird and if we do not consider the act3 preview Caitlyn really did fuck up her plans with Warwick.

I guess in a way Ambessa found in Caitlyn the daughter she never had only for it blow up in her face, you better be careful with what you wish for.

I'm honestly really curios about how this will evolve in the next episodes, and considering how in the preview it seems that Cait and Ambessa are dueling I guess my wish will be turn to reality.

[justanerddummie]

Act2 spoiler

I'm waiting untill act 3, because ep6 was already so packed with stuff, it had to be about Viktor and Vander.

But seriously if this is the resolution of act 1 then what's the fucking point of Cait’s dictator arc? What's the point of the undercity rallying together and Jinx becoming a simbol? Will they ever address Caitlyn hitting Vi in the gut with the riffle with the seriousness such a topic deserve to be treated?

I'm willing to give the show the benefit of doubt because the sneak peak seems to give it a bit more time, but if the answer to all of the above is Ambessa, this show will become a joke in my book.

[justanerddummie]

Am I seeing things or has the intro changed during the flash moments?

[justanerddummie]

I mean, if we really want to be generous, I guess we could sum it up to a matter of loyalty. It's not just about how Vi's blood tainted but it's also about who she will choose when shit hits the fan.

She's been testing Vi since the beginning of the season and one thing that really has made my skin crawl was how Cait waits for Vi to kill Jinx (I have not seen her reload once during the fight and after she shoots Jinx's finger off she shoots at least two more bullets so no matter how much I wanted to just chalk it up to Caitlyn needing to reload it wasn't possible, because she has at least three bullets per round).

Now if we want to be generous Cait just stood there doing nothing but watching because she didn't want to deprive Jinx of her last words, and if we want to be un-generous is because she's testing Vi once again.

No matter what, Vi hesitated and that has given Isha the time to run up to them which connects pretty well with the way Cait treated Heenot, Smeech's man. If we look at the scene through Vi's eyes this guy has been tied upside-down for hours breathing grey, he's obviously not feeling well, if we look at this scene through Cait's eyes he's stalling.

Two plus two is four and Vi is stalling, Caitlyn shoots, Jinx escapes.

So I guess the "It's her blood in your veins" isn't just an insult it's also about how blood is thicker than water.

What's the point of Commander Caitlyn?

I've been thinking about the Commander Caitlyn arc. Namely, why does it exist?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not attached enough to Caitlyn to object to it on a "Cait shouldn't do that" or "that's too harsh for Caitlyn and Vi to get over this as a couple".

There's no League lore reason for why it has to exist. And if they just wanted to fulfill the theme of the season of everybody becoming what they don't want to be, I feel like they could have gone for some other external reason for example to force Caitlyn to take over as sherrif to protect Vi or to have a better handle on Ambessa.

So why was that not enough.

The most obvious thing would be for the show to want to make a deeper point about fascism. But I'm kind of deeply unconvinced that that is the case and that the show's politics are that deep. The way the show approaches politics has always struck me more as aesthetic and referential rather than being like a deep, meaty exploration of the topic.

So me theory is that this is actually about Jinx.

The show wanted to split Vi and Cait up, so Vi and Jinx could interact for a bit without Cait playing a role (since Cait is such a major cause of tension and jealousy). And for that there needed to be a split and for that split to be pretty complete (as Vi is very puppy dog over Cait, so it needed to be drastic).

Maybe we'll even get a little "Jinx proves her maturity by starting to understand how much Vi cares about Caitlyn, even if she doesn't approve":

That said, I have to rant for a bit

This scene makes no sense to me.

I can buy into the whole conflict about shooting the kid. I can get into Cait being so angry and offended that Vi is comparing her to Jinx that she hits her with the butt of her rifle.

But this line. What exactly is Caitlyn complaining about here? What actions of Vi's would constitute being like the other, bad, animal Zaunites?

Just that she got into Caitlyn's way? Even though that was sorta what Caitlyn specifically asked her to do originally? Because Cait sees it as Vi choosing "her people" over Piltover? Why would that even be a terrible thing in Cait's moral system?

I feel like that scene would have worked much better with a "I can't stand the sight of you anymore" line as a way to follow up the sort of slide into darkness Cait has been experiencing. Don't get me wrong, it's a line that works well for calling back to other lines and for breaking up Caitlyn and Vi as this is likely something that deeply resonates with Vi.

But I'm just not convinced that that is a line that makes a ton of sense for Cait to say here.

(but I'm willing to be convinced otherwise, so hit me with your best explanation that is more than just "Cait is messed up and saying dumb stuff")

[justanerddummie]

This can't be a conincide, right?

Vi "rejects" Powder

Powder: I'm gonna be the daughter of the man who set in motion the series of unfortunate events that led me to kill my found family.

Jinx "rejects" Vi

Vi: I'm going to join the people who killed my bio family.

[justanerddummie]

Pt2 of my rant

Ok so, I think Vi has been handed the shittiest hand of cards of all time.

Stuck between Cait and Jinx, still tied to the chair at the mad tea party forced to choose between her crazy sister and the kind enforcer, except this time it's Cait asking her to choose between a full blown war between Piltover and Zaun and putting on an enforcer uniform so Vi has chooses the lesser evil. She sacrifices her entire identity, her heart to save her people and I think that if she hadn't agreed to Cait's offer in the end Jayce would have armed the enforcers with hextech weapons, she managed to stall long enough to avoid it.

So, I really do think that Vi was the only person who so far has managed to make all the right choices. They might have not been the best choices but those were the ones she was handed and she had to work with it.

As for Cait, well, fuck.

Same as Vi, mentally she's stuck at the mad tea party, needing, craving the control Jinx took away from her knowing full well that behind Jinx and Silco there's a whole criminal organization that cheered when Jinx blew up her mother, that if invited to the party they would have loved to play with a councilor's daughter same as Jinx, so to be honest I'd say Caitlyn's need to be in control is pretty understandable, same as her rage.

Is it justifiable? Hell no, but understandable, yes.

Also, for a young woman who is incredibly traumatized she managed to keep her cool way better than anyone has ever given her credit to.

After the attack from Renni, not just Vi but also Cait managed to stop a full blown attack on Zaun by coming up with the idea of the strike team. Mel was getting cornered by both the other councilors and I honestly doubt she could find a way not to be out voted if Caitlyn hadn't barged in.

Anyway, back to the topic.

Yes, Caitlyn sacrificed a big chunk of her morality and legacy using the Grey, but strategically it made sense to use it. It kept them unseen so that the last two chembarons could not protect themselves from the attacks (btw it's left unclear if they were arrested or killed but I unfortunately think it's the latter, which is another extremely fucked up thing to add to the shit Cait's done in only three episodes so far) and also did in fact clear the streets of civilians as Vi claimed, like honestly if I would see a fucking nasty cloud of smoke coming my way I would make a run for my life.

As for the people they interrogated the only logical conclusion for me is that they were the people working in the shimmer factories we see them burn, who also have a much higher chance of knowing where the fuck Jinx is considering they were part of Silco's organization.

As for Heenot, Smeech's man, we can all see how Cait is already barely holding on to her sanity, she's way more aggressive than when we last left her and Vi is caught up to pace, she jumps in front of the guy as soon as Cait activates the rifle as if to protect him with her own body and Cait obviously clocks it and deflates quickly after, powering down the rifle.

Tension was already high.

The kiss was perfect in my opinion, both Cait and Vi were at their softest, and I know a lot of people might not agree with me but I really do feel like Cait was fighting the changes herself, that was all her talk with Jayce was about, how Cait is trying and unfortunately failing not to turn into this.

I also don't think Cait has tried to manipulate Vi in any way, honestly I don't think she had the emotional capacity, to deal with her Jinx trauma, the loss of her mother, her internal fight not to become a bigot and also manipulate the only person she felt comfortable enough to cry around.

Like, I think Caitlyn is smart but that is giving her too much credit she's not a master mind.

I think this also ties pretty well with the way she stopped Vi before going into the temple, I really do think she was about say something on the line of let's turn around, we don't have to do this, you don't have to do this but lost the fight with herself.

As for the fight at the temple, it was obviously full of armor plot, but I applaud the writers for working around it well enough to make it all seem quite believable. I loved it and I also loved Cait's insanity, the way she simply started shooting without aiming as soon as she felt Jinx slipping through her fingers once again and the way Vi had to catch the bullets with the gauntlets was pure madness considering how Cait refused to stop. It was a full blown panic attack at the shooting range happening and Sevika was the only one smart enough or maybe close enough to pull the fire alarm lever.

As for the last part. Well, Vi technically stopped her and Cait technically changed, there is no going back, the trust they once held in each other is completely gone and even though Vi tries to make Cait reason one more time, she can't, Cait is too far gone, in her mind there are no more good Zaunites only judgment and punishment to lash out and the first one who gets it is Vi.

I'm not going to lie, the only thing Cait got right in that episode is leaving after she hits Vi with the butt of her gun. I really think it would have been way worse if she apologized and Vi forgave her out of guilt.

I honestly have no more hope for CaitVi to happen, the things Cait did in only ep3 are enough to make me think that she should not be allowed within a mile of Vi's person. They had something special but it was broken and unless the writers pulled a miracle or reversed time there is no putting the pieces back together.

With that being said, I still enjoy Cait's character, I know it's weird but I really think that she is battling with a fear born from the deepest parts of her heart and hides behind every thought and emotion poisoning her entire being. I really do hope that she overcomes it, however if she doesn't she'd still be an amazing villain, and I support women's wrong, mostly almost all of them.

Bonus

I forgot about Singed in the last post but I think what we see are flashback of him right after the shimmer factory burned in s1.

That's it, I'm done.

[justanerddummie]

I've got a lot of things to say about s2 so I'll divide them in two posts, spoilers after the cut beware

First thing first, the intro, it's beautiful I love it, it gives us a lot of information about every character and what they're going through, about how each and everyone of them is changing and that's exactly why I think it will change before the end of the season, once everyone is focus. I don't think it will change every act, even though I'd love that but I'd surprised if it didn't change at all.

Now let's talk about the juicy stuff.

Jinx

What I really want to talk about is the figth with Vi and Cait. I really don't think Jinx went there with the intention of dying, I think she went there with the intention of killing both Vi and Powder for good, and also found herself face to face with the monster she created, Caitlyn. When Caitlyn shot her finger off was probably the first time we've seen, Jinx, not Powder, actually being terrified and what is Jinx if not a mask, a persona that Powder has learnt to wear to survive the undercity when she was alone the first time around. Right now Powder needs people more than ever, she needs Ishta and she needs Sevika because Jinx isn't working anymore she needs to find a new way to be able to survive and I think it's the perfect timing for her to become the face of the revolution, because she's ready to accept people in her life once more, because simply surviving by being the baddest bitch around isn't viable anymore, she needs an higher purpose to move her forward and finally bring her out of the metaphorical cage her past rappresents. I can really see Jinx take on the role of protector this season, to the undercity, to Ishta and maybe Vi? After watching her stand up to Cait, literally blocking her bullets with her own body, I think Jinx has realized that even though Vi has made a lot of awful decision, she is still there, she just needs a little push to remember who she is. Let's be real the nothing else to lose clip has basically told us that they were teaming up again, we're getting the sisters back together this is just something that re-enforces the theory.

Sevika and Ishta

Ok, this is rough because I'm just speculating and I have nothing to base this hunch on, but I unfortunately think that Ishta is going to die, and that Sevika is going to betray Jinx. The only thing that supports this insane theory is that Arcane is a story told in cycles the end for how awful it is will never change, it's always the characters making the same mistakes of the past and to whom do we see Jinx being compared to? Vander. And who did Sevika betray? yep Vander. I'm pretty sure I'm wrong but I can totally see Sevika become the next Vander or Silco, by the end of the season, and I guess a lot of people think it's going to be Jinx but as Jinx has said herself to Smeech, "every one that gets close to me dies". Ishta and the people of the undercity are going to be collateral damage and this will prompt Sevika to turn on Jinx.

Ekko

He's the only one who got the assignment. He's the only one who tries to break the cycle of violence, he tries to do it with Jinx even though he gets blown up by a granade as a thank you and he breaks it with Heimerdinger without pointing the finder and this time he manages to get an ally in fighting the arcane pollution. No notes here, Ekko is the bestest boy.

Mel

I think the intro is telling us that by the end of the season Mel is going to be in the position Ambessa was in the blood and tears music video. I might be wrong but I can see her understanding what the fuck is Ambessa up against and choose to take her family side here. She is ready to become both the fox and the wolf (poor Jayce, he's going to get through another divorce). Also hasn't Mel been revealed a mage by the catastrophic promotional campaign? I guess that would explain how she and Jayce are unscathed.

Viktor

Jesus Viktor is kind of hot, I would love to talk about him but he's barely even been shown and I know basically nothing about lol lore. I can't understand if he's a good guy, a bad guy or a secret third option, so far I can only say that if he's able to control the arcane pollution in order to heal people he could be of help to Ekko.

Jayce

He keeps changing his mind on everything as usual, but I personally could have not argued with what he said to Viktor during the divorce. He was right morality means nothing if you have a chance of saving your friend's life. Other than that, I loved the weird glitchy thing at the base of the hex gates and how Ekko basically told him he's to blame for the arcane pollution that is destroying his home. Really hope Jayce owns up to it and does something to actually fix his mistakes.

Ambessa

I loved how she controls the scene while basically being background. The way she regards Caitlyn when she shuts Salo up at the meeting. It's obvious she thinks she's finally found the perfect person for the job, Caitlyn has the power to make Jayce build weapon with hextech, her family name carries way more respect than Salo, and what's more she's a decorated officer, the one who managed to uncover Marcus corruption. I mean she'd be every fascist wet dream, it's pretty obvious that the big houses of Piltover will get behind her without saying a word. Salo on the other hand would have been a much thougher sale, even if safer. Let's be real Caitlyn isn't a coward or an idiot like Salo and for as much as Ambessa will be trying to manipulate her, Caitlyn will be breathing down her neck. It's obvious at least to me that if the leader of a foreign country is offering help she will want something in return and Caitlyn being the daughter of a councilor will at least have had a bit of training in politics and know at least the basics. I can see Cait bend her morality to the limit willingly, but not fall for the manipulation, not completely at least. I really hope she'll not be that stupid, but I guess we'll have to see.

Cait and Vi will get their own post, cause seriously there is just too much to talk about.