The Message Hidden Within the Pattern

Arcane has become the most successful example of the animation genre for me with its this episode. This episode packs everything. Hope, despair, the chaotic nature of humankind to show us what it takes for human life to be turned upside down is a single unexpected variable.

The art and music direction the show used to make us experience this is at an unattainable level. While watching the episode, the motivations and experiences of all the characters are so intertwined with you that you cannot feel hatred towards any character at this point (except maybe Jayce, but I'm sure he will be on solid ground too)

As a League of Legends fan who has seen game adaptations unsuccessfully reflected in the cinema many times, I think that what has been done here is at a level that is very difficult to break again.

The animation is better than any other animation I have ever seen... It's better than anything Disney or Pixar has ever done, and it's not even close. The exact same goes for the audio, which is extremely effective..

The story is truly something special the way they play on your emotions is epitomized in this episode. This is an extremely emotional episode and by the way the voice actors are ridiculously good in this show. I really can't nit pick anything unless you want to say the story is a bit fast paced in places. I can't wait for them to do more of these shows in the rest of the world. Very hyped for what might be the greatest animation of all time, certainly the best game adapted show of all time, by far.

I really can not put together the words for how I feel right now after watching this. This is on the same level as The base violence necessary for change in every aspect and could even exceed it in many ways as well. I'm trying my best to not give too much away about the episode because it is one you have to see without reading anything about before watching. The soundtrack, animation, writing, voice acting, and just every little detail is beyond great. The last 15 minutes of the episode put me through a blender of emotions and I was just sitting in shock with tears in my eyes by the end of it while the credits rolled. I don't want... I need the next 3 episodes now!!

Arcane is on a terrifyingly promising pace right now and is showing absolutely no signs of slowing down as we're reaching the final act of the series.

A part of me was worried after season 1 that Arcane would be milked by Netflix due to its popularity, but with only 1 more season a part of me was worried that maybe it was too soon. But simultaneously I knew this meant that Arcane would have 0 time to waist and be able to go all out with this 2nd and final season, and that's EXACTLY what has transpired so far and it's amazing to witness.

Given that 1x3 was so great I wondered if Arcane would start hot again this season, and given that this is it I should've known. And now the 2nd act does even MORE and sets the bar even higher, and sets the stage PERFECTLY for the final episodes.

I'm not trying to be a prisoner of the moment, but I think we'll look back at this one day as TV history. This act is the most non stop brilliant TV I've seen since Breaking Bad's final season and I'm praying that they stick the landing next week.

It's hard to stomach the fact that we have to say goodbye to this show in just 7 days, but I'm extremely grateful that such a masterpiece isn't getting milked to death but instead getting it's time to shine and set it's legacy, and be forever remembered as hopefully one of the greatest television experiences of the modern era.

(Edit: January 1st, 2025) - After finishing arcane and mulling for over a month, sadly I don't think the final act lived up to the standard of what I was hoping for. I think the entire 2nd act as a whole is the highest point of season 2, but the overall experience of act 3 and the many off-putting moments in act 1 make me look at the whole season in a different light knowing the payoff. I still love this episode and the amazing parallels it made, especially to my favorite episode of the series (1x3), but as a whole I think arcane season 2 completely missed the top tier category of the wire's, breaking bad's, AOT's and BCS's of all time great final seasons. I'm glad that many people still loved it but as a whole I think the execution could've been much better and more fleshed out, and in retrospect with the full context of the entire season it's sour to reminisce on this episode knowing the full context of the season and where it goes. This episode just doesn't have the same punch knowing the full story.

While I stand by my assessment that Act I of Season 2 had some pacing issues and made some unfortunate jumps in story-telling hidden by all too frequent music video styled montages, I realize that it was the compromise which got me to this amazing Act II.

This act almost feels like an end-of-life final lecture given by a great philosopher. The amazing thing is that we are being treated to subjects which are deep and meaningful but we get to see them through the lense of emotion rather than intellect. That is an amazing feat of narrative skill which is artfully supplemented by near perfect music editing and directing.

This is nothing short of great art. It is touching and thoughtprovoking and it shines all the more brightly when compared to the emotional slop and writing hackery that poses for "modern media" in recent years.

Thankyou! Thanks for treating me like an adult with your gift of a story rather than preaching to me like I am an immature child.