as soon as i finished s2 of arcane i knew i wanted to hear your takes on it. any opinions as to how they handled caitlyn’s arc, vi’s story, and the development of s2? i would love to hear anything you have to say about this season!!
also - the end of this season has me scouring Ao3 for some fics to fill the void. have you had any recent one shot or fic ideas now that the show has ended? i’ve been dying for a hurt/comfort and really soft sex type of story for cait and vi. maybe something where cait is taking care of vi after the events of 206? lord knows they could both use the comfort and vi deserves to be loved and taken care of. i know you would write that beautifully.
or if you have any recs for fics along those lines? 👀
as always, thanks for your incredible work both inside and outside of fandoms! love hearing from you! <3
Omg hiii! I appreciate that you care what I think haha!
Let me preface this by saying that the criticisms I have for the writing of s2 does not take away the love I have for this show and what it's done for animation as a medium.
Now, with that said...
S2 was a mess.
I said this on twitter, but I think the writers had a lot of ambition — too much ambition — for the amount of episodes they had to wrap this story up cohesively. This AMAZING show suffered because of corporate greed and not having enough time to flesh out character arcs and plots from s1. I think it started off promising. I was really excited to see how they would handle the Zaun/Piltover conflict, Vi's journey toward healing and forgiving herself for her past mistakes, Jinx's descent and then return as a hero, as well as Caitlyn's descent and redemption arc.
Instead we got... that.
There's one word that keeps twirling around in my head: commitment.
The writers lacked commitment (and a diverse writing room) to properly handle the Piltover/Zaun conflict. S1 had such a good starting point, whereas in S2 it's like they diverged from the path and forgot the finish line existed. Sitting Sevika at a table with her oppressors who will most likely tune her out and outvote her on everything is NOT a solution. Why not a complete overhaul of the council? Make it an even split? Instead it's the same people who never gave a fuck in the first place, and Sevika, who helped get half of the population of Zaun hooked on shimmer in the first place. Like what???
They failed to commit to Caitlyn's villain/dictator era. When episode 3 happened, I was skeptical about how they would handle it. And after watching the entire season, I had every right to feel that way. They make her so unapologetic and blasé about gassing Zaunites and letting Ambessa unlawfully arrest people. That's not my Cait from season 1. Does grief change people? Absolutely! But once it settles, you should be able to look back on what you've done and feel remorseful. Cait's lack of remorse was jarring. Her inability to apologize or outwardly own up to everything she did was OOC. You know what could've been the perfect moment for that? When Jayce gathered Piltover and Zaun in that room and she was standing right across from them. Why not have Sevika or Scar call her ass out and hold her feet to the fire? Lay out the facts of what her grief looked like to the innocent people of Zaun who had nothing to do with it? That would've been the perfect time for her to say something.
They failed to commit to Jinx and her story as a whole. At its core, this show was centered around two sisters growing up impoverished and oppressed, constantly separated, but always finding their way back to each other. Jinx is such a heartbreaking character used for trauma porn. Episode 6 fucked me up so badly but I THOUGHT it would lead to something big for her character. Like her stepping into this unwilling hero role and working with Ekko to lead Zaun into a better future like the one Ekko saw in episode 7. BUT LOL NOPE. Instead she's suicidal and self harming while her sister is fucking the oppressor in a prison cell. DA FUCK?
And lastly they failed Vi's character in every possible way. From putting on the badge in the first place to not exploring the depth of her character. She's basically a passenger in s2. Has no agency. Used as a punching bag (literally). And treated as an afterthought. I'm so pissed. There should've been a lot of conflict in act 1 between her and Cait. You mean to tell me Vi, who HATES enforcers. would willingly let her situationship gas her people? Fuck no. Absolutely not. It does not make sense, narratively speaking. Her ending did not make me hopeful. Even if Jinx is alive and moving on from Vi to "break the cycle" that does nothing for Vi's character. She is without family once again, and I fear it would lead to an unhealthy codependent relationship with Cait. Like she'll never be able to voice opposing thoughts or feelings without fear of Cait leaving her AGAIN.
As for the Caitvi relationship. This is tough. On one hand, I was happy to see a lesbian s*x scene in animation for an awarded television show. But on a heavier hand, it rings hollow after everything I've said. Much like the Piltover/Zaun story, Caitvi had a good starting point in season 1. I did have my issues with it because, as a Black woman, seeing someone oppressed get with a cop does nothing for me. But I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt because I believed the writers knew what they were doing. But I was wrong again. CaitVi is unfortunately one of the weakest points of S2. The writers did not COMMIT to their conflict. It's barely glossed over and then Caitlyn gets rewarded with s*x. And this is why I could never commit to them as a couple. At least not in canon. I liked them in s1 and the idea of what they could've been to each other in s2. And it looks like I'm going to have to find that elsewhere, unfortunately.
Overall, it all comes back to what I said in the beginning: lack of time, a diverse writing room, and corporate greed. I'm disappointed, but unfortunately not surprised. I hope the writers can learn from their mistakes moving forward.
As for fanfiction, I have actually not read any yet! So I don't have any recommendations for you. I need some for myself! I'll get back to you if I find any good ones.
Sorry for the lengthy post! I really just needed to get this all out and I feel so much better.
thank you for the response!! i was finding that a lot of fans takes on twitter were based in expectation bias when their headcannons were not fulfilled. in other words, certain criticisms didn’t come from a place of objectivity and dissecting the story, but from a place of things not going the way they wanted after being knee deep in fanfics for 3 years. so i truly appreciate and really agree with your takes.
i think the show would have really benefited from a third season, or at the very least another act. i understand the writers want to explore other parts of the league universe but it felt unfair to rush this plot and these characters to get there. lack of commitment to the characters and their stories couldn’t be more true.
caitlyn’s arc HURT. she was such a likeable character in s1 and she feels totally different this season. i can see how some of her redemption is cultivated through actions but i don’t think it was nearly enough. she owed vi an apology and their needed to be very obvious remorse. there wasn’t nearly enough for the scale of her actions in acts 1/2. to me, caitlyn’s line to jinx “no amount of good dead’s can ever undo our crimes” kind of feels like the writers wrote that line to excuse themselves from having to write anything that would actually redeem her. don’t even get me started on her inability to see how wrong it was to push the enforcer role on vi… any previous anti classist/anti police brutality messaging from s1 were not addressed at all in s2. they turned the piltover/zaun conflict into a both sides thing where instead caitlyn’s redemption could have been a really great time to highlight and talk about those issues again this season.
i agree on all fronts about vi. her relationship with both caitlyn and jinx was handled so poorly i don’t even know where to start. the writers totally lost sight of the plot (two sisters) and totally neglected the aspects that made caitvi so special. their trust and communication and willingness to learn and understand is what drove the story forward and served as a way highlight the piltover/zaun injustices. i was shocked by vi becoming an enforcer, but her letting cait gas the undercity with no objections was such a betrayal to her and EVERYTHING her character stands for. we finally had a mainstream butch character who is just knocked down time and time again. vi loves hard and protects her family and to me it ultimately felt like she was punished for having too big of a heart. i wish they treated her character more tenderly, and you’re right, more agency would have been a really great way to do that.
i feel the same about jinx. her character was mistreated and wasn’t handled with the care she deserved. i thought we may be getting somewhere with isha and her stepping into the role zaun needs her in. but it was torn away just as quickly as it was given to us and i can’t really think of a reason why this benefited the story?
a lengthy reply on my part as well but i really appreciate your opinion and thoughts!
I want to talk about Caitlyn's line "You really think I needed all the guards at the Hexgates?" and how much of an admission of her love for Vi it is. A playful admission, full of light-hearted snark, but an admission nonetheless.
This is Caitlyn telling Vi that she trusts her, trusts that her decisions are the right ones to be made, trusts that Vi is right in saying that Jinx has changed.
This is Caitlyn telling Vi that she's letting go, that she's finally putting her love for Vi over her grief for her mother and her hatred for Jinx.
This is Caitlyn telling Vi she believes in her good heart, that she's fallen in love with that good heart.
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