I want to vent something about Arcane I’ve felt brewing in me for a long time. And remembering that this site exists and that I technically have an outlet for this venting, I’m going to take a minute to make use of it:
I genuinely think the show as a whole is a masterpiece, including season 2.
I have seen so much disdain for season 2 over the past year online, and it’s honestly become very personally stressful for me, to the point where I am trying to not look at Arcane discourse at all. People are entitled to their opinions, but I don’t know if I’ve ever disagreed so strongly with the popular opinion on something as I have with the takes I’ve seen on season 2.
I am a picky bastard. I analyze everything, overthink everything. There is nothing I repect more than a cleanly told story, and so when I see a story that isn’t cleanly told, I’m quick to pick up on it. This is not a case of me seeing flaws in season 2 and forgiving or ignoring them - I don’t think it’s absolutely perfect. But I genuinely, with all of my brain and heart committed to dissecting it both on first viewing and on rewatch, think it’s an incredible accomplishment deserving of insane respect.
I think the balancing act of characters and narrative it accomplishes is masterful and awe-inspiring. It’s an organizational masterpiece. Storytelling efficiency near-perfected. No shot, no line of dialogue is wasted. It trusts its audience so much, more than most mainstream properties I’ve seen (maybe too much?). It knows just what information to give and what information to withhold or leave up for interpretation. It really maximizes every second it has. And while doing this, it sufficiently balances an insane amount of characters, ideas, and plot, and successfully evokes stronger emotional responses through them than most other media. I will never forget how many times I got chills watching season 2 act 2, and how riveted I was the entire way through - one of the best, most memorable TV viewing experiences I’ve ever had.
Most common criticisms I’ve seen I vehemently disagree with, or at least think the show does a better job with than people give it credit for - the music video montages, the pacing, the character arc trajectories. I’ve seriously considered making a video essay in thorough defense of the season, as I see it.
I will say I understand how this perception of the season happened - with such a long gap between seasons, so many characters and plots, and so many different expectations, the resulting fan reception of it was probably to be expected.
But, truly. I think given 5 years, 10 years, as people revisit the show and see how it functions as one entity, that a reassessment of season 2 may start.
I hope so. Because I love Arcane so much, I love season 2 so much, and it hurts me feeling like I need to barricade myself from so much of the fandom for the sake of my own mental well-being, and to preserve that deep passion I have for the series.
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