‘Arcane’ Season 2 Episode 8 Review

For the penultimate episode of ‘Arcane’, the show sets the board for a final battle that promises to be as spectacular as ever.

After all the alternate dimension and time travel stuff from the last episode, we’re back in the “real” world, and the show doesn’t hold back in preparing for the finale, finding time to squeeze in a few last minute surprises.

One of the most unexpected is the revelation that Mel Medarda actually possesses magical ability, which, if I’m honest, does seem to come out of nowhere, though a rewatch of season one with this in mind might prove otherwise. It’s still not clear what Ambessa’s history with the Black Rose is all about, but this certainly adds another interesting element to the show as we reach the final episode.

Having Mel on their side is definitely going to be an advantage for Piltover considering what Ambessa is cooking up. Not only does she command the army she brought from Noxus, but she’s also working with Viktor to “evolve” people into a new form of powerful, ultimate life. 

With only the enforcers to defend against them, Jayce calls on the people to help in the fight. So often in this show, it’s the small details that have a big impact. There’s not really time at this point to start introducing new characters, but just those few small moments showing the pianist who takes up arms and joins the fight is enough to really show the devastating effect conflict has on ordinary people. It manages to do so much with so little, and always in a powerful way.

It’s a good thing the show can be so economical, as I feel things are being cut down to the limit to fit in everything. I feel like it could have done with another season, or at least extending to twelve episodes, to give everything more time to breathe, and focus on some of the characters a little more.

Regardless, the second season of ‘Arcane’ has still managed to provide for some of the most impactful storytelling this year, building up to what will hopefully be a fitting conclusion. There’s a lot of possibilities for what could happen. Caitlyn put Jinx in jail, but now she’s escaped, which means she might not be there to help them out in the next episode.

Whatever happens, it looks like there’s definitely going to be a huge fight, probably the biggest the show has done so far, but if there’s one thing about ‘Arcane’, you can never second guess just what’s going to happen, and with this being its finale, all bets are off.