Arcane’ Season 2 Episode 2 Review

In the second episode of ‘Arcane’ season two, we’re taken down to the Undercity, to see how they are coping with the death of Silco and the repercussions of Jinx’s attack on the Ruling Council.

While the deaths of the councilors is the most important event for Piltover, in Zaun, the death of Silco is having a huge effect, not just on the city, but on Jinx. He might not have been the nicest of guys, but he helped to keep the other mob bosses in line. Now, with him gone, they are fighting for who gets to control the lucrative trade in the drug Shimmer. There’s violence on the streets, gang warfare, and no clear leader to take control of the crisis.

Equally important is the effect it has on Jinx. After Vander was killed, Silco became something of a father to her. While he used her to further his own ends, he was still the closest thing she had to family, and with him gone, there’s no one left to help keep her destructive nature under control.

Speaking of Jinx, it’s good to see her back after she was absent from the first episode. Along with Vi, she’s one of the most important characters in the show. She’s still as unhinged as ever, and Silco’s death has only made her worse, as she’s now responsible for killing two of her father figures, even if it was by accident.

I wonder where her teaming up with Sevika will go? The two aren’t what you’d call good friends, but she’s probably one of the few people in the city she can still trust, as they both worked to help Silco with his plans. They don’t work badly together, either, and the death of Smeech only leaves more room for them to take up the top position among the gangs.

While it’s the namesake of the show, the power of the Arcane is still as unexplained as ever. After almost dying in the attack on the Council, Viktor was placed inside the Hex Core to save his life. Now he’s awake and it’s taken over his whole body, repairing it. I get the feeling this is going to be one of the most important new plot points introduced in this season. He’s able to heal Shimmer addicts, which makes him powerful and potentially dangerous, especially as he’s now living in the unstable Undercity, where so much power could be used for a lot of different things.

Much like the first episode, things are building up differently than in season one. There’s less tight character development, and it feels more like these episodes are establishing the state of play before things really take off. Granted, things have to be done differently as there’s already a pre-established story and characters to work with, but it’s just not quite as engaging as those first few episodes.

Seeing as this show is structured in three arcs, three episodes a piece, I’d expect the next entry to really up the stakes, and that could be when things start to get better. It’s not to say these episodes are weak, but I guess one of the problems with having such a good first season is it’s very hard to match, never mind exceed.