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[shimmerofstars]

Upon rewatch, Arcane actually has two layers with regards to Jayce, Mel and Viktor. The framing of the show suggests one thing, and depicts another. Watching Viktor cough up blood in between Mel and Jayce making out makes the whole experience uncomfortable at best and suggests Jayce is choosing Mel over Viktor or his science work, especially when later, Jayce going to Mel for comfort over Viktor's prognosis fades from this (Jayce laying on Mel's lap):

To this (Viktor sitting alone in front of hextech mixed with his blood):

except...

Jayce was with Viktor, spending time with Viktor by his bed at the hospital right before he went to Mel for emotional support.

And that scene where Jayce makes love with Mel? That's literally in the middle of the night- the stars are out. He's not at work because he's not on work hours. He's not choosing anyone over anything, he's having a romantic life and events outside of his work while also maintaining his friendships.

Or the framing of this scene in episode 5:

Jayce: Yesterday's smuggling fiasco was nothing. These manifests are full of discrepancies, dating back months.

Viktor: This is a poor use of out time.

Jayce: I'm a councilor now, Viktor. It's my responsibility to make sure the hexgates are safe and protected.

Viktor: What about our pledge to improve lives, for those in need? For the undercity?

Jayce: [sighs] Look, I'm sorry I didn't announce our other projects in my speech. Soon we can do everything we-

Viktor: Soon? There are people who need our help now, Jayce.

Which can be interpreted as Jayce thinks trade discrepancies are of equal or more pressing concern than the lives of those in the undercity or that Jayce is prioritizing the lives of future citizens over the people he could help now, except...

Before Mel suggests that Jayce, a scientist who's familiar with the technology and is proficient enough in social situations and public speaking that Heimderdinger allowed him to give the annual Progress Day speech, should be elevated to the position of councilor and specifically given the responsibility of tracking down the person who stole the hexgem, the two options were:

a) do nothing about the fact that the hexgem, which is extremely powerful and can power almost anything (including weaponry) has been stolen by someone willing to kill six people to get it

or

b) shut down everything powered by the hexgems so that they can't be accessed by the thief until they find the missing hexgem

The council controls all of the activities of hextech and has the ability to control if, when and how the technology is used, which would include the distribution of hextech into the hands of the people. Considering the fact that the council is already highly wary of magic and currently believes that the stolen hexgem will likely be used as a superweapon, there is a zero percent chance that the council would approve of mass producing hextech to distribute to the people, especially for people of the undercity, who the council likely perceives as inherently more dangerous or less worthy, or both. Jayce being a councilor and taking his duties as councilor seriously gives hextech its only chance at independence (as Mel put it: "With that comes the potential to shape your own destiny") and distribution to the people living in the undercity. Which would only be possible if 1. Jayce gives the council the reassurance they need that the technology will be safe in the people's hands by addressing or catching the thief and 2. Jayce having a vote himself increases the chances that a motion to distribute the technology would get passed. Meaning that Jayce needs to take his duties as councilor seriously to achieve his and Viktor's dreams of helping the people, and he is just as concerned as Viktor is. Even if Jayce gave up his councilor duties/work to achieve the ultimate form of hextech with Viktor (like Viktor wanted him to) that's the perfect medicine/healing technology, it wouldn't mean anything if none of it could get to the people because the council believes it's too dangerous.

Anyways I just can't quite figure out why Arcane is sort of framing Jayce as someone who's prioritizes Mel/his councilor work over Viktor/helping the people while showing that Jayce's councilor work is important to helping people and dedicating multiple scenes to show that Jayce does hangout with/work with Viktor.

[shimmerofstars]

I want to see the Arcane characters expand their social circles a bit. Half of the relatively major characters have like... one (1) friend that they genuinely trust and can be vulnerable with. Like, of the still living, major characters, we have:

Jinx: no one [Silco is dead and all her interactions with Vi involved feeling threatened by her or threatening her]

Vi: Caitlyn

Caitlyn: Vi and Jayce and maybe(?) her parents

Mel: Jayce

Jayce: Mel and Viktor and Caitlyn

Viktor: Jayce

I just want them to have more than... one friend abdshfljhdlkj

[shimmerofstars]

No

Mel's main love language is not gift giving. It's touch.

What Mel gives to Jayce is the wealth and political power to buy any lavish items or materials he wants himself. Essentially, she wants to give him the social standing so he can stand with her, not be carried by her.

The only time we see Mel give a gift it is to gain the favour of a fellow councilor, Hoskel, and he isn't even someone she at all likes. And, importantly, she gives him a children's toy. She's mocking him!

With someone she does like thought... In episode four, Mel talks to Jayce about Progress Day. In it, she touches his chest and smooths his shirt/jacket a bit.

In episode five, when she warns him about the dangers his investigations have brought, she touches his shoulder when she's reassuring him.

Later, in the same episode, when Mel and Jayce are discussing their dreams and legacies, Mel brushes the back of her hand against his.

Then, when she goes to kiss him, she intertwines that hand with Jayce's and places her other hand on his chest, then up to his shoulder, neck and the back of his head.

I could go on and on- she wraps her arms around Jayce when they're having sex, when Jayce seeks comfort in her and puts his head in her lap, Mel rests her hand on his shoulder, when Jayce goes to his forge after feeling guilty about removing Heimerdinger, Mel... kind of hugs him? Idk someone tell me if this counts as a hug

And then there's this

Like, her thing is physical touch!!!

[shimmerofstars]

I can't get over how Ekko's reaction to enforcers in the undercity, knowing that they're searching for a couple of kids, is to to lean against the wall and go: well, hello while saluting them

[shimmerofstars]

Part Three of Jayce, the council, and Mel’s involvement (part one link, part two link):

The night of the opera house. Loud organs play Phantom of the Opera.

So let me start by recapping a few points that I am making in these posts. Which I recognize some may be an “agree to disagree” scenario and that’s ok. (For more details look at the previous posts, linked above).

Mel initiated Jayce’s promotion to councilor to give him control.

The council thus far have been deciding what Jayce and Viktor focuses on these past years.

Jayce was getting more frustrated with it. He vents to Viktor about it and then pulls Mel out of a party to vent to her about it.

Mel’s motives for backing Jayce may have started out for political reasons but it’s also for personal reasons.

I’ll be getting into this more. But she actually does believe in Jayce’s vision for the future while also recognizing how lucrative it is financially.

Other council members mainly see the financial boon.

Thus, their investment of Jayce is only surface level as long as he keeps putting money in their pockets. Not Mel though (and maybe Heimerdinger). Will be expanded on in this post.

Jayce has ambition and has been gradually getting drawn into politics over the years due to his technology.

The elevated House status matches the level of achievement he’s done in finding a scientific way to handle magic - something that has never been done before.

So what does the opera scene tell us about Jayce, the council, and Mel?

It starts with Mel bringing to Jayce’s attention of the target on his back.

Back in the previous episode, Jayce (not yet a councilor), gets a glimpse of the inner council’s concerns revolving around the trades and economy that will be affected if the Hexgates are closed rather than the safety of the people of Piltover after Jinx sets off a bomb and steals a hex gem/his journal (see part two).

It’s a peek behind the curtain. During the opera, Mel gives him a better look, even explains some of the motives of the other councilors and the jealousy of Jayce’s power over his technology.

They’re probably even more so now that he’s on the council and not just in the lab. They no longer have the authority to order him what to focus on with his tech. Jayce now has a voice in the decision making.

But there are compromises, pros and cons, to this councilor position.

Jayce poking into the shipments has agitated the other councilors.

Remember I said that the councilors (most of them) are willing to back Jayce as long as he keeps money in their pockets (unknowingly to Jayce before now but was still happening)?

And in part one I suggested that the council could potentially replace Jayce and take over hextech if they find him difficult?

Jayce and Viktor already did the hard parts: they made the hexgates and stabilized the hex gems. The council would just need a scientist(s) to create devices that are compatible with the gems.

This is what Mel is warning him. And the story backs up Mel’s concern by bringing in Amara.

Amara gives money to the academy but she’s also shipping things through the hexgates which was one of the flagged shipments Jayce marked.

And Amara is not happy. Look at how she’s glaring at Jayce. She even tells Mel with Jayce right there that Councilor Bolbok thinks they could forget about Jayce and go another way.

It’s only been a day (or two at most) and the councilors are ready to ditch Jayce (and possibly the hexgates) for something more profitable.

Jayce will lose a lot if that happens. Status, funding for his lab, possibly banishment out of pure pettiness from the councilors. Things aren’t looking good.

So the thing I like about Jayce is also what gets him in trouble repeatedly: he wears his heart on his sleeve. He also isn’t discrete. When he’s worked up he doesn’t filter.

When he went looking into those shipments it should have been a quiet investigation into who’s shipments those are, are they worth perusing or leave it alone, etc. but instead enforcers went banging on people’s doors.

Then again, was that really Jayce’s fault? Was Marcus trying to get him in hot water with the councilors by being loud about the searches? Marcus would have been the one in charge of the enforcers. I don’t know. It’s possible.

I think that Jayce has the heart and the charisma to be a councilor but he needs to learn about compromises. Even as a scientist he needs to accept compromising. But that’s why I think Mel steps up to help him, to teach him.

But does Jayce want to be in politics?

Just before Amara comes in, Mel is talking to Jayce about the councilors, pointing out Hoskel and Salo in the same opera box talking even though they hate each other. Then she points out Amara being a patron of the academy.

Jayce responds that he doesn’t want to compromise the hexgates. Mel tells him he doesn’t have to but, exceptions need to be made.

He’s been getting a little worked up and he responds: I never wanted anything to do with politics. You pushed this on me.

Did she though?

Yes, she’s the one that suggested making him a councilor. But as I’ve said in part two, Jayce has been gradually getting pulled into politics with hextech and even before that when he was in the academy, having gained councilor Cassandra Kiramman as a patron.

Plus, having a scientist on the council in a city of technological advancements doesn’t sound that far off. Heimerdinger is on it already and he’s the professor of the academy. So why can’t Jayce be both scientist and councilor?

So I think that Mel had a part in Jayce entering politics but she’s not the sole reason he’s in politics. Personally I think he’s feeling overwhelmed at the moment. He speaks his mind especially around Mel and Viktor.

Jayce may not have wanted to be in politics, but he needs to be.

If he wants control over his tech, if he wants to make his dream of hextech being for everyone, he’s going to need a foot in the council.

And he needs to make compromises. More importantly, he needs support especially financially. You can’t build anything without money to buy supplies. He knows this already from the academy.

I think that’s what he’s thinking when he’s composing himself and Mel is calming down Amara and convincing her to not abandon Jayce and his tech.

Jayce makes up his mind and decides to talk, starting with Amara.

By the way, Kiramman is also one of the councilors Jayce goes to talk to during the opera so she too had some flagged shipment. The only person Jayce doesn’t go to is Heimerdinger (but there could be one or two others).I’m curious what it is she’s shipping or receiving.

Well, Jayce also doesn’t talk to Mel about flagged shipments. But she’s been behind his vision of hextech for years anyways.

I also want to point out that later that night, he’s no longer agitated about the councilor situation. He even tells Mel she’s a great teacher and he couldn’t have done it without her (they were talking about hextech). I’ll share pics in another post. But like I pointed out, he has no filter around Mel. He would have said something if he was still agitated about the situation.

One last thing to address here.

Wouldn’t it be better for Jayce if he just stayed in the lab?

So he can be oblivious and ignorant like 300+ years old Heimerdinger? Just creating things and other people taking advantage of it with Jayce none the wiser or worse, choosing to ignore it?

I’m sorry but I don’t like that idea. In a kinder setting other than what Arcane is, Jayce as just the scientist might have been ok for me. But that’s not the case.

Plus, the show makes a point of having these two scientists (Jayce and Heimerdinger) face the results of their creations.

Jayce, as a councilor, finds out what people do with the hexgates.

Once Heimerdinger is asked to retire, the founder of Piltover goes to the Undercity and sees the results of his neglect.

I don’t think this parallel was an accident. Even if it was unintentional, it’s important. We’ve seen it in other stories.

Take Iron Man for example. Just creating weapons and getting money. In the first movie Tony says he just signed papers and didn’t ask questions. Later, he’s attacked by his own weapon. A consequence of just plugging away in the lab. (Though I think he also just chose to ignore the details. He had reporters coming up to him all the time).

These two stories are different, I know, but it’s still why I don’t want Jayce just in the lab while all of this is happening around him.

(Part four link)

[shimmerofstars]

It’s time for another controversial (?) opinion about Arcane! This one is kinda half-baked tbh, full of random tangents and some oversharing about my personal life, but I don’t really care, because there is a character my brain has suddenly decided I really need to talk about right now- Mylo.

Now, full disclosure- I really did not like Mylo at first, and I’m not quite sure if I do even now- he reminds me of a lot of people I have bad memories with, so I was hesitant to open up to him as a character at first. But one thing is certain; all opinions aside, it is completely, and absurdly unfair how much the fandom villainizes him. Mylo was a child, just like the rest of them, and even disregarding the fact that the way he teased Powder was more of a sibling-banter type thing rather than any kind of serious harassment, it’s clear that none of his actions towards her overall held actual malicious intent- that he didn’t really mean to hurt her, or think it would have that big of an effect. He was just irritated and jealous, and I dare say, he had the right to be. As someone who relates heavily to Powder as well as the way that she reacts to her environment, I understand how she must’ve felt whenever Mylo belittled her that way, but we, as the viewers, still need to understand that we are viewing this story through Powder’s perspective- through the lense of a young, and highly sensitive person. Therefore, her interpretation of the events may be different from the way they actually unfolded, seeing as the story doesn’t exactly offer every point of view possible. When Mylo called her a jinx, he was taking his own frustrations out on Powder, who was, in fact, partially to blame. That was still a bad thing to do, for various reasons, but implying that he did it specifically to push her buttons or to make her feel insecure is just taking that entire situation out of context. I may not like him very much, but c’mon, Mylo deserves better than the way most of this fandom treats him.

[shimmerofstars]

Part two of Jayce, the council, and Mel’s involvement (part one link):

This is more Jayce focused.

Jayce is now a councilor and he’s definitely nervous about it, we saw that when Mel proposed elevating House Talis.

Higher house = more responsibilities, more expectations plus another field of study (politics) that he hasn’t been a part of.

Or has he?

Let me go back to before he’s a councilor.

The council decided to give Jayce the honor of making the Progress Day speech instead of Heimerdinger (Heimerdinger himself tells Jayce that he was in favor of Jayce giving the speech).

During the second half of the speech Jayce moves away from the podium and is very animatedly talking to the crowd and fireworks go off and he’s lingering on stage, waving and smiling as the crowd cheers.

He may not have been the one to put his face on everything and his House banners on stage but who told him to go that hard on a speech? Plus, who is this “we” when he says “we vow”? Him and Viktor? Them and the council? (Even in his trial he was very passionate talking about hextech).

Shoot, this may not have been a political campaign but it sure looks like one.

And Jayce is drawn into it. He was even drinking a mug that has his face on it (without grimacing about it). If he objected to the attention he would have complained about his face being on everything, even his mug. But he doesn’t.

Two things I want to reiterate:

You don’t get into the top 3% of the academy without ambition.

Jayce went into the academy already set on magic despite it being a big taboo.

See, this is why I want a Jayce Talis week so we can analyze his character in the series. I feel like his ambition is underplayed in fandom and how he actually likes speeches and the adoration (when it goes well lol).

Viktor is the one that doesn’t like the idea of giving speeches. (Maybe from bad experiences in front of crowds?)

Not Jayce. Jayce is the charismatic one of the lab partners. Jayce gets excited about the future, about the possibilities.

And we see Jayce adapting to his new title. He goes and tells Marcus to look into the shipping discrepancies - Jayce even corrects Marcus’ address to him as “councilor.”

When he learns that Caitlyn’s parents talked to the enforcer office about removing her position with the enforcers (nearly getting killed the night of Progress Day), Jayce offers her a position under House Talis.

The first things he does with his new position is to protect. But he’s also turning over rocks with little to no discretion. Subtlety is not his strength. He rolled low for stealth.

Which leads us to the opera night, the next post since this is long and I got a lot of pictures for that.

But I will say that as Mr. Talis, pre-councilor position, people weren’t respecting him as much as they should have. For the man that discovered a way to combine science and magic he gets a lot of disrespect.

We got the enforcers calling him a boy when he’s like 30 years old the night of Progress Day. They’re unimpressed with his speech.

And then after Progress Day when Mel suggests elevating him to councilor we got Councilor Bolbok calling him boy.

To which Mel counters, saying he’s a scientist like Heimerdinger is. Unspoken is the fact that despite being a scientist Heimerdinger is on the council so why should political experience be a factor for Jayce if it wasn’t a factor for Heimerdinger?

So while Jayce hasn’t been a part of the decision making side of politics, I argue that he’s already had a foot in politics as the symbol of the city.

Heck, the moment he got hextech working he was pulled into politics.

Or even since his time in the academy and gaining Cassandra Kiramman’s patronage. Was that not political maneuvering? She gets to tell everyone he’s her protégé (even introducing him to the stage to give the speech) and he gets funding?

In any case, his technology is tied up in politics, therefore Jayce is too and has been gradually getting pulled further into it.

Except now he has the House status that matches the level of achievement he has brought to the city.

(Part three link)

[shimmerofstars]

I saw some confusion and debate on what Jinx meant when she told Vi "you changed too."

Since Jinx then cuts to vi and to Caitlyn in the same moment I think it's implied that Vi's change is in her willingness to trust, protect, befriend (and more) with an enforcer. In the past they hated enforcers and topsiders but her sisters new GF is both.

[shimmerofstars]

In today’s episode of minor visual storytelling details that I find so cool, I bring you this scene:

When Jayce braces himself for the political play and starts buttering up Amara, he puts one of his arms behind his back. And while this is a rather classic dignified pose, it’s also symbolic - the arm that he’s placing behind his back is the arm he wears his hexgem bracelet on. In doing so, it’s as if he’s momentarily setting aside his values and dreams - represented by the bracelet - in order to save his career and possibly his neck.

[shimmerofstars]

Part four of Jayce, the council and Mel (part one link, part two link, part three link):

This is more Mel and Mel/Jayce focused.

I’m trying not to repeat points I’ve already brought up but I find it fascinating how levelheaded Mel is and yet at the same time she has these bursts of emotional talking/touching when she’s dealing with Jayce.

It comes down to her interest being initially political and then a heck ton personal.

For a good chunk of the series you don’t know what motivates Mel, what’s her backstory, until her flashback puts things more into place. Which, given how she hides behind a mask of niceties as a politician, it’s not surprising that she keeps her thoughts private.

There are glimpses of attraction and partiality to Jayce prior to the opera night and definitely before we see her nightmare flashback.

Just about every scene with Mel and Jayce she’s sharing lingering looks with Jayce, he’s looking at her when she’s got her head turned around.

The fundraiser she’s separated herself from the party to stare at his face on the blimp.

Then when Jayce pulls Mel aside to vent about Heimerdinger she smoothes his ascot/tie, and later finger steps up his chest as she’s leaning in, his eyes slightly widening and he swallows.

So attraction, check.

However, if it was only physical attraction Mel (or Jayce) was feeling they would have 1) slept together before the time jump and for Mel in particular, 2) slept together when Mel was higher in rank than Jayce, not when they were equals.

But point two is more of something Mel’s mom Ambessa would do. And remember, Mel was exiled for not meeting Medarda standards.

I want to point out that during this point, Progress Day, Mel is only touching his clothes, not direct skin contact.

I personally think that they’re both into each other but they both are aware of the social status differences (Jayce seeing her as out of his league, Mel not comfortable initiating something more concrete because hey, she’s not like her mother and would rather wait for them to be on the same level).

But oh do they eye each other and tease meanwhile.

Jayce was even checking over his appearance in the mirror before meeting her at the opera house.

The political interest Mel has in Jayce has also already been seen, she thinks hextech is a good investment. That was clear earlier on.

However, making Jayce a councilor isn’t a political maneuver in Mel’s favor. Not entirely.

Trying to make sure hextech stays funded? Yes, political.

Getting him control by making him councilor? That wasn’t needed politically.

If Jayce just stayed a scientist the council would continue to dictate what he and Viktor work on next. Making him a councilor just puts a wrench in that. He can vote and suggest other projects. He can argue.

As I’ve said before, the council could just remove Jayce from working on hextech or just move onto the next big thing if he proved to be an obstacle in their businesses. Jayce and Viktor did the hard work already of making the hexgates and stabilizing the gems.

So what’s the deal with Mel?

Mel is interested in hextech because it’s part of Jayce’s vision of the future.

For Mel, it does matter that it’s Jayce behind hextech.

Because she’s emotionally attached to him. She likes him. She is slow burning, slow falling for him all these years and he for her, whether they realize the extent of it at the point of Progress Day and the Opera scene, maybe not. But it’s still there.

(Images below Mel talking at the opera house before Amara shows up).

And I think that Jayce sees what Mel is trying to do for him when he’s composing himself before talking to Amara.

Later on the balcony Mel tells him he did a good job and he says it’s because he had a great teacher.

And Mel responds:

Just look at his expression. A smile and some fondness maybe??

And what future is it that Mel likes, that Jayce promotes even after the time jump, even during the Progress Day speech, even after he’s a councilor now and even after smoothing over ruffled feathers at the opera house, when he learned just how much money could be made with his tech?

He’s still saying the same thing.

And Mel responds, while looking at him, that the Medardas usually take from the world and are not usually in the position to give back.

(Her support of his dream, to empower the people, is how she’s hoping to give back.)

While saying this, she initiates the first, direct contact. A gentle bump of her hand against his.

He’s helping her as she’s helping him. A partnership. But is it only in business? Is there something else here? 👀

He looks down at their hands, at her soft touch and then looks up at her directly.

And now, when they’re both equals, both on the same page, she looks at him for a moment, threads their fingers and kisses him.

And waits, and puts her hands around him once he starts kissing back. (Curse the gif/images limit!)

🎶This is the night, what a beautiful night. And they call it bella notte.🎶

This was brought to my attention so I don’t take credit: their first night together is at his place.

Mel’s place has the huge painting above her bed. When she wakes up and the camera backs up, there’s no painting there. Plus the back pillows are green with gold trim and the sheets look like a mauve/lavender color (the Kiramman’s house colors are green and purple, his patrons. See Jayce’s speech when his house banner is up and the Kiramman’s with the keys).

It also makes more sense for it to have been Jayce’s place because of the messenger/servant/whoever delivered the news to Jayce that Viktor was in the hospital.

[shimmerofstars]

One thing I think it's interesting that the writing in Arcane grapples with, to no immediately obvious conclusion, (that has led to at least one dubious take I've seen that it has "incoherent politics") is the tension between violence and stagnation.

---

Because on one hand, Arcane shows violence as a force of change, but almost always for the worse. Vander's uprising ends in countless undercity deaths at the hands of the Enforcers, and the orphaning of our girls. The fight with Deckard's crew ends in Milo blaming Powder for losing the loot and either starting or worsening her sense of ostracization.

The fight in episode 3 might have resulted in Vander's rescue if not for Powder's bomb, but honestly? I don't know how far they would have gotten with Shimmer-juiced Deckard still after them, and for all Vi's prowess he completely mopped the floor with her and Vander both, until Vander became the bigger monster. Even in the best case scenario, I don't know that the outcome would have been much different.

Episode 4's Firelight attack ends in most of them dead and Ekko fleeing, and a traumatic episode for Jinx. Episode 5 has the first round against Sevika, which ends with Vi stabbed through the gut literally and emotionally. Episode 6, they manage to escape Silco by dropping a sign on him but not much more than that, and the following battle against the Firelights ends with Vi kidnapped again and Jinx falling deeper into paranoia. Ekko's stand against Jinx in 7 does let Cait and Vi escape, but without the reason they were trying to get back to Piltover in the first place, and both combatants wind up badly wounded and further traumatized, in particular necessitating medical attention for Jinx that results in her infusion with Shimmer.

Another debatable case is Episode 8, which does finally convince Jayce that war isn't the answer and to push to grant Zaun their independence, but it still takes the death of a child worker and the forcible suppression of countless others to even open his eyes in the first place. Plus, I have seen some argue that he swung too far in the opposite direction instead, giving up on the Undercity and being willing to hand it over to Silco despite also seeing the conditions at the refinery he was running, rather than trying to find a more constructive and reconciliatory solution. (I'm not entirely sure I agree with this take, but I still felt it relevant to bring up.)

Hell, my friend has argued that the second fight between Vi and Sevika is the one exception to this rule, but honestly, even if we leave out Jinx's kidnapping her immediately afterwards, the fight on its own was ultimately pointless and unproductive, a waste of energy that had no real impact on the bigger picture by this point while losing Vi one of her gauntlets and leaving her too exhausted to fight back against her third abduction. And of course, the standoff between Cait and Jinx ends in Silco's death, which despite everything else he's done, still just hurts Jinx and leaves her alone once again.

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On the other side of the equation, there is stagnation. With the undercity, first there was Vander. He did his best to keep things stable and steady, but that also meant that the undercity was trapped in place, under the heel of the Enforcers and under the oppression of Piltover. I love the man, I understand why did what he did, but Silco and Sevika weren't wrong when they criticized him.

But of course, under Silco, things got worse instead of better. He had all his long-term plans and whatnot, but in the meantime Shimmer became like a drug, giving people momentary pleasure or escape but ultimately leaving them even more destitute and their health and bodies in jeopardy to boot, as we saw with all the people in the abyss. In the short term everything became worse, and we'll never even know if his longer-term goals would have led anywhere, since he won't live to enact them and he only even got a shot at declaring independence ahead of his plans because of Jayce's offer.

On the other side of things, there's Heimerdinger and the council. Obviously, Heimerdinger's later opposition to Viktor's Hexcore research wasn't entirely unfounded; though we have yet to see the full consequences of that, knowing that Viktor must eventually become the Machine Herald we see in the game at least gives some idea of what's coming. That being said, while the show has yet to truly delve into the source and implications of the hex-crystals, I think it's safe to say that Heimerdinger's initial complete dismissal of the research was premature, and his later insistence on holding back too much was in direct opposition to Viktor's ideal of helping people who needed it right now. Again, there could and would have been consequences to just handing out hexgems like candy, given everything else already set in motion by that point, but it also denied all of the possible good they could have done.

And then there is the rest of the council; where Heimerdinger is small-c conservative and mostly oblivious to the struggles of the Undercity until his walkabout in Act 3, the rest are Conservative, corrupt, and uncaring about their constituents.

Mel's arguably the best of a bad bunch, but even then, as her mother points out she's still fairly complicit in the state of the undercity. Plus, it's made very clear that the line between her genuine good intentions and feelings for Jayce, and her Noxian upbringing to destabilize and control, is incredibly blurry and there is probably more overlap than she'd like to admit. I love her, but she's like a Game Of Thrones character who wandered into the wrong universe, and that ultimately negatively impacts the direction she leads Jayce and his hextech dream as she pushes him into politics.

And on that note, even as Heimerdinger obstructs the spread of hextech for good purposes out of at least some valid fear of the consequences, the rest of the council clearly pervert it into further fueling their own wealth and greed first and foremost. Once again uncaring at best, actively opposed at worst, to letting it be used or halted in any way that would benefit the lower classes and/or hurt their own bottom line, because either outcome would threaten their feeling of power. Unlike Vander maintaining stability despite the class divide because of the fear of what could go wrong otherwise, they maintain stability for the class divide.

---

So in the end, what is the solution? Violence brings change, but that change either makes things worse or just doesn't matter, with few meaningful benefits in the long run. On the other hand, stability brings stagnation, that either maintains a bad situation or lets it grow even worse over time.

There's a hint of Arcane's theorized answer in Episode 7, with the Firelights' hideout, and Cait's line "this city needs healing", but for better or worse that's all we get for now, with the exploration of how to enact such a thing on a larger scale being too big to get into right now, while Arcane is still in the middle of looking at how everything breaks first. (I feel/hope that is something that will be shifted toward in future seasons, though.)

Because in the end, the question of which is better, between violence or stagnation, is the wrong one to ask. Both have led to the situation being what it is now, both have played their part in shaping these characters into who they are. Both the systemic and personal instances of both have led to Jinx being failed again and again and again despite all the love held for her.

And with her rocket sailing across the city, right into the council's windows, the choice has been made for everyone. Stagnation has gone on too long, made the differences irreconcilable, and cannot last any longer. Violence isn't the answer either, it won't make things better... But it's here now anyway, and all that can be done now is see what happens and face the consequences.

[shimmerofstars]

I realllllllly love when Mel gets to be vulnerable in arcane. She's spent years of her life in her home country torn by war only to be placed on a different battlefield of diplomacy, maipulation, and deceit. She's always poised and always logical and always looking for the next move. but. but she can't live like that forever. so we see where she lets her true feelings known in brief fragments. when she meets Jayce on the balcony. when she smacks wine out of her mothers hands. when she paints gold over her mostly red canvas.

to me its just so delicious when characters who've had to be cunning their entire lives show what they really feel

[shimmerofstars]

We all know there’s a ton of parallels/juxtapositions in Arcane but I want to put these two sets of images/sentiments side by side.

Two ideas of legacy:

Jayce, wanting to continue building up Piltover like his father did.

Mel, wanting to do the opposite of what her family has been doing: To give instead of take.

[shimmerofstars]

Another cool visual storytelling detail comes up in ep. 6, during Heimerdinger’s speech. While he’s talking about vigilance and accountability, his eyes are shut. He’s blind to the corruption and suffering around him. And then Jayce speaks up, forcing him to open his eyes - foreshadowing the eye-opening journey that Heimerdinger is about to embark upon in the undercity.

[shimmerofstars]

Put on your tinfoil hats, bois, gals and pals, because we’re going on a conspiracy ride, a short one but tumultuous nonetheless.

Now repeat after me: Elora is sus.

In fact, I think that she’s a Noxian spy. And let me tell you why.

Let’s start at the very beginning, with Mel’s very first scene, because I want to call your attention to a very specific detail.

In their introduction both Mel and Elora are wearing white attire - in colour theory this is the colour most frequently used to represent purity and innocence, but also peace and moral goodness. The colour is often also associated with new beginnings, and they are both, at this point, starting over in Piltover.

We don’t have the exact time frame for Mel’s exile other than that it lasted over a decade and that the timeskip might be somewhere around 5-7 years (not even the writers themselves have a definite answer), but it’s clear at this point that Mel is still just establishing herself in the city and that she has been appointed to the council only recently - as evidenced by her glaring gap in knowledge regarding Piltover’s anti-magic policies and much lesser political pull than we see her exact later on. It is quite obvious that Mel at this point is still motivated by proving herself to her mother and returning to Noxus at her earliest convenience, with Elora - likely a Noxian herself - following along.

After the timeskip, Mel’s actions remain more or less the same, but her motivations seem to have changed significantly. The plan of winning back her mother’s favour did not work, she is sceptical and a bit jaded, but she continues promoting her vision for Piltover regardless, finding fulfilment in helping the city progress. Notably, Mel’s wardrobe does not change; while she switches dresses on a few occasions, she still keeps to her iconic white dress in the majority of her scenes.

Elora, however, now seems to be showing her true colours so to speak, dressing herself in red - one of the primary colours on the Noxian colour palette. 

While Mel appears to be straying further and further from her initial objectives and instead starts to embrace Piltover as her new home; Elora’s wardrobe seems to be signalling the opposite - that she is a loyal servant of Noxus. Elora is, quite literally, a turncoat, her loyalty seemingly no longer lying with Mel, hence the contrasting colour palettes.

Now you might be wondering whose ass I pulled this idea from and my response is quite simple: the ass is called the script and it’s, in fact, not an ass at all. 

This manifests as a couple of lines that most of the audience would dismiss as throwaway, but if Arcane has taught me anything, it’s that almost everything is significant or will be at some point. Anyway, in their scenes, Elora is consistently bringing up Mel’s family, in one way or another trying to remind Mel of her original goal in Piltover - the approval of her mother. In fact, we find out in ep. 8 that Mel actively despises her mother and nigh immediately rejects Ambessa’s (albeit a very manipulative and transactional) attempt at reconciliation.

Now let’s take a look at those lines. First, we have ep. 4:

284: 00:20:23 –> 00:20:24 [Elora] Fundraiser’s going well. 285: 00:20:26 –> 00:20:27 Your mother would be proud. 286: 00:20:28 –> 00:20:29 Hmm… Would she?

Here, Elora seems to be gently reminding Mel why she’s doing all this, but Mel appears to have resigned on ever garnering her mother’s attention, dismissing Elora’s remark. But the conversation becomes even more interesting when the subject turns to Jayce:

289: 00:20:36 –> 00:20:38 The only one actually worth my time is him. 290: 00:20:39 –> 00:20:41 The golden boy. [Elora chuckles] 291: 00:20:41 –> 00:20:44 Ah, he’s won Piltover’s heart.

Mel, with a chuckle, notes that Jayce has won over Piltover. But as she says so, she continues to gaze at a passing blimp with his painted face for some moments until Elora directs her attention to Jayce himself, entering the scene. Clearly the show is conveying more than is said.

A similar exchange happens in ep. 5:

332: 00:20:51 –> 00:20:52 He’s been quite the investment. 333: 00:20:53 –> 00:20:55 Indeed. Better than expected.

Now this to me sounds like almost textbook example of deflection. While Elora does not ask her question directly, she appears to be probing Mel about her relationship with Jayce, which at this point we know is still strictly professional; however, Mel behaviour is already starting to betray her attraction to him. She avoids answering Elora’s inquiries about her feelings even as she stares at Jayce, or his likeness, with quite obvious heart eyes.

It’s interesting that even though the show casts Elora into the role of Mel’s shadowy confidante, informant and a possible spy, it would appear that Mel avoids confiding in her. Typically, a character of this ilk would be privy to such personal details, but not so Elora. Before initiating her relationship with Jayce, Mel seems to lack any familiar relationships in Piltover (going as far as dismissing other socialites as not worth her time) with the exception of Elora. Yet there are barely - if indeed any - hints at friendship between the two. It is all quite tepid. I suspect that this is actually because Mel knows that Elora is reporting all of her goings-on to her mother, as I shall demonstrate in a bit.

Now, why would Mel tolerate such a thing, you ask? Well, because the spy that you know about is far less dangerous than the spy that you do not. If Mel were to send Elora away, the next person sent to spy on her might be more covert. Moreover, her mother’s spy or not, Mel has uses for Elora, and the awareness of the connection between the two allows Mel to control the information flow somewhat. After all, Elora is present during Mel’s every single outing except for the council meetings, or her private moments with Jayce. And whenever Elora is not around, Mel is free to truly be herself. Notably, Mel’s first night with Jayce happens at his abode (you can read all about that in my sextech analysis), away from Elora’s prying eyes and ears, and here we see Mel break her public persona for the first time, confiding in Jayce that despite her conqueror upbringing, she would like to be a giver like him and lead society to enlightment.

And yet, when Ambessa Medarda arrives in Piltover, she appears to be incredibly well-informed in spite of Mel’s best efforts to deny her feelings for Jayce, immediately calling attention to the fact that Mel and Jayce are romantically involved (not just to Mel, but also to Jayce himself), moreover, that he’s considering building hextech weapons even though Mel had only asked him to arm Piltover in the previous episode:

193: 00:12:31 –> 00:12:34 Your Jayce Talis has turned his eye to Hextech weaponry. 194: 00:12:35 –> 00:12:36 [scoffs] I knew it.

332: 00:20:32 –> 00:20:35 [Mrs. Medarda] I see why this province and my daughter have fallen for you.

Given that we know Mel despises her mother and has not talked to her in over a decade, it is very suspect that Ambessa seems to be privy to the details of her daughter’s personal life. In fact, at this point, Ambessa likely has a better grasp on Mel’s feelings for Jayce than even Mel herself. So how does she know? Because, as I’ve said previously, Elora has relayed the information to her. 

Ambessa’s arrival appears to be incredibly convenient - not only has she arrived just in time to ask Mel for a hextech weapon to use against her political rivals, but possibly also to put an end to this new liaison that could potentially tether Mel to Piltover for good. Notice that Elora is very deferential, bowing throughout most of the scene, even though Ambessa addresses her in a cordial way.

Now that we’ve gotten the textual evidence out of the day, indulge me in a bit of theory-crafting. My theory is that Elora is a hostage of sorts to the Medardas (think Theon Greyjoy from A Song of Ice and Fire or Game of Thrones), her return to Noxus - to her home and family - might actually be conditioned by Mel embracing the Medarda philosophy and so ending her exile. It then makes sense why she would keep reminding Mel of her family, the once intense need for Ambessa’s approval, and attempt to gauge the true depth of Mel’s affections for Jayce. Without Mel, she can’t go back to her home.

Or - and I find this possibility especially intriguing - Elora is not only spying for Mel and on Mel for the Medardas, but also spying on the Medardas for a third party. And Noxus is certainly not lacking for interested third parties. Perhaps Elora might even be an important player of the game herself.

All in all, I’m really interested to see what s2 has in store for her, regardless of whether my conspiracy theories ultimately end up disproven or not.

Until then, remember: Elora is sus.

PS: Picture the kinds of reports Elora has sent Ambessa over the years, with these two idiots yearning for each other from afar. Ambessa probably received a fullblown 100k+ pining/unresolved sexual tension fanfic that we all deserve and some of us need 😏😂

[shimmerofstars]

Jinx and Other People’s Responsibility

Full disclosure: I’ve had two glasses of wine so please forgive any narrative misgivings on this journey here

I know we all want Jinx to like, be happy, have therapy, feel loved, and all that good stuff–but what I *really* need from season 2 is for Jinx and the people around Jinx *cough* Vi *cough* to stop holding Jinx’s ability to change as someone else’s responsibility. 

Jinx is a victim of personal circumstances and oppressive systems. Yes.

Jinx is almost as much a product of her circumstances as a product of who she is; an even split of nature vs nurture where no one is sure which side of the vs. lit the first match. Yes. 

Jinx was repeatedly harmed by those who loved her and left without support. Yes.

But–and this is a lesson I think I need to rant on because it’s so true to real life–individuals *cannot* save other individuals. Especially from themselves. It is no one’s job to “fix” Jinx. It’s not even in another person’s capability to “fix” Jinx. Only Jinx can fix Jinx. 

Actually, it reminds me of that Steven Universe song:

I don’t need you to accept me, I accept me. 

I don’t need you love me, I love me. 

But I want you to know you can know me. If you change your mind. If you change your mind. Change your mind. 

I have no doubt we’re about to watch Vi fumble around through more grief and guilt, but the truth is that, even in season 1, Vi, as an outside person, is completely incapable of getting Jinx to change–only Jinx can change Jinx. “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.” The only actual way to help someone like Jinx, the utmost an individual who is not Jinx can do to get Jinx to fix Jinx, is to hold space and offer support as Jinx asks for it (y’know, the therapy and healthy relationship-building stuff I don’t think we’d ever see in an action show). 

I think I need to wine-rant on this because of that damn line. “But silco didn’t make Jinx, you did.” Because it’s not gd true, Powder’s memory of Vi might have been her tool in shaping Jinx, but no one individual made Jinx but Jinx (again, not lifting blame from her circumstances and environment, but to lay the full blame at another character’s feet is just irresponsible to that character). 

And I think the tragedy in the trauma of her inability to be responsible for her actions is a huge part of her core struggle with her mental health–when we see her freak out over the hextech gem2.0 she runs away whimpering about how “it was a mistake.” 

It’s what makes her story so heartwrenching (for me), is that the one thing she needs, a sense of agency, is the one thing she cannot allow herself. Which is a big part of why she pins her validation on others.

(needing Vi to tell her she’s ready, needing Silco to see her strong/valuable, etc)

Idk what point I need to drive home to feel fulfilled with this rant, except maybe that I want the fandom to not apply Jinx’s logic to their own lives? We all have agency (not over everything, but we all have it) and our willingness to hold ourselves responsible and accountable to that agency can be the difference between chronically victimizing ourselves versus being the strong-protagonist of our own story. 

Idk. Hug your pets. Have some wine, like me. Don’t try be someone else’s savior–the only person we’re actually able to save in any traditional hero-context is ourselves. 

[shimmerofstars]

Part One of Jayce, the Council, and Mel’s involvement:

I have wanted to talk about Jayce on the council and Mel’s motives for getting him there for a while now. There’s so much to look at. But overall, I find that Mel getting Jayce on the council was about giving him control.

Why? Mel believes in the future Jayce Talis offers, at first politically, and then also on a personal level.

In the beginning Jayce is dependent on the Kiramman’s for patronage and then later at his first trial he’s at the mercy of the council. He could have just lied, per Heimerdinger’s suggestion earlier on about his magic studies, but Jayce is honest to a fault. He truly believes in his vision of magic being the future but not just for certain people, but for everyone regardless of status. He thought his impassioned speech would sway the council but he still gets kicked out of the academy (though he did skirt out of banishment at least), loses not only the patronage of Cassandra Kiramman but is shunned so he can’t even talk to Caitlyn, and he feels betrayed by his mother calling him insane during the trial to save him (but also damaging their mother-son relationship).

Later on in the series we find out that the success rate of students in the academy is only 3%. So highly competitive, expensive to attend, and basically one shot to succeed. I can see why Jayce would put his name on every page - theft has probably happened in the academy with stakes that high. No wonder Jayce was so devastated that he nearly took his own life.

I’m bringing this up because of his second “trial” after Progress Day when Jinx takes the hex gem.

But first, I want to go back to Progress Day. I already have a post discussing (link one, link two, link three) this but just a quick recap - we see Jayce venting to Viktor about having spent years making the hexgate and stabilizing the hex gems per the council’s orders. He wants to work on the “magic for the common man” concept he’s had for ages. He’s getting restless.

Though Jayce and Viktor do make prototypes. Heimerdinger comes into the lab, sees what they have and tells them to keep working on it for a couple of years more. It’s not ready for a reveal. Which of course frustrates Jayce so much he goes to a fundraiser, makes a beeline to Mel, and pulls her aside to vent about it. This doesn’t seem like it’s the first time he’s done this.

Heimerdinger seems to be an annoyance to Mel too but I digress.

Let’s speed up to the day after Progress Day, after Jayce decided to wait on the reveal of the prototypes and Jinx caused chaos. Both Viktor and Jayce are before the council as they discuss the severity of the hex gem being stolen. Viktor makes to stand up but Jayce signals him to stay seated and takes full responsibility for the tragedy (he didn’t have to, btw. As lab partners they share equal blame but also where was security? They couldn’t all have been investigating the fire. But anyways).

Jayce is once again before the council.

His suggestion to suspend hextech (also the lab and refineries, not just the hexgate) does not go over well.

The first and loudest protest goes to Hoskel who, years later, is still struggling to solve a child’s toy (I added just bc I think it’s worth noting that the animators did this). He complains about the hexgate being closed will spoil his wine being sent to the Noxians. Shoola has a more sensible concern about the city’s trade business and the jobs that would be lost.

Things are falling apart for Jayce again.

There’s a couple of seconds of Mel considering something and then her expression changes. I believe this is when she came up with the idea to make Jayce a councilor. But I really do think that she knew it was gamble. She could see that, if put to a vote, Jayce would lose in his proposal. I want to note that during this session of the council I did not observe her having that smile she sometimes has when she finds something amusing or she’s charming someone.

She knows the severity of what’s happening and she’s trying to fix it.

(Text in subtitles below is not Mel talking fyi)

I also think that Jayce is in danger of getting booted out of the city with how upset most of the council is - for a worst case scenario. There’s still Viktor of the hextech partners so losing Jayce wouldn’t be so bad for them. (When Jayce was running late for the Progress Day speech, Viktor remarks that they had asked him to give it instead). Also, Heimerdinger brings up the point that suspending hextech would sacrifice Jayce’s work. So at the very least, Jayce would lose his status for sure. he might still have the forge but it sounds like his future as a scientist is at risk.

This is all happening pretty fast.

And Mel speaks up and proposes that Jayce be added to the council to look after the hexgate.

Shoola’s response is what really cemented the idea that Mel is gambling on this play. The council has always had seven seats and to add another isn’t heard of. Especially when they’re upset with Jayce’s proposal. Mel is a character that operates in the background. She doesn’t draw attention to herself unless she wants to. Yet that’s what she’s doing by bringing up an “irregular” and unheard of proposal.

And that’s how Mel redirects the council to voting on another topic: whether Jayce should be on the council or not. and not on the potential topic of voting on his demotion/getting kicked out of the city.

So why would Mel stick out her neck, yet again, for Jayce Talis?

First time, she distracted the guard so Jayce and Viktor could sneak into Heimerdinger’s office and try getting hextech to work.

We come back to Mel being intrigued by Jayce’s ideas for the future politically at first. I’d argue she was also intrigued by Jayce himself. In another post somewhere I think I’ve brought up the idea that Mel might have been there at Heimerdinger’s office at the same time Jayce and Viktor are to grab Jayce’s journal. We don’t know for sure. But if she was, she could have easily turned them in yet she doesn’t. She gives Jayce and Viktor the chance to succeed in the hextech prototype. With her resources I’m sure she could have hired a secret team of scientists to figure out Jayce’s journal.

But she doesn’t do that.

In this second instance, years have passed. Jayce clearly goes to talk to her (or vent lol) so they are somewhat comfortable around each other. More than acquaintances at the very least. Again, Mel could have just given up on Jayce and focused supporting Viktor and finding another scientist to work on hextech. She could have stayed silent in this council session.

But she doesn’t.

She speaks up and gets him on the council. The very council that had the power to order him and Viktor. He now no longer has to stand before them and wait on their judgment. He can proposal and vote. His voice has more power in this arena. He’s on her level of House status. (There’s pros and cons to this position but I’ll get into that in another post).

If all Mel wanted was a puppet she would have left Jayce in the lab or just switch over to another scientist.

The amount of work and attention she has invested in him is deeper than politics.

(Part two link)