The following contains spoilers for Arcane season 2 Act 2, now streaming on NetflixOne ofArcane’strue strengths as a show comes from the ways the story has brought dark pathos toLeague of Legendscharacters like Viktor and Warwick, highlighting their tragic evolution from good men into their final forms.Arcaneis an ideal adaptation, a fun exercise for long-term fans that never feels alienating to people who’ve never played the original. Using the expansive world ofLeague of Legendscharactersand lore,Arcane’s creatives have fashioned the world in a compelling, romantic, and dark story about humanity and power.
One of the best waysArcanehas done this is by focusing on the characters before they became Champions. InLeague of Legends, there are 168 playable Champions at the time of writing, each with their own unique design and backstory. By leaning heavily into the latter,Arcane’s focus on charactershas found an ideal way to explore these avatars from a human perspective. The result is a show that feels inspired and influenced by the source material without being beholden to it. The tragic arcs of two characters in particular, Vander and Viktor, highlights how this focus makes the show so good.
Vander’s True Fate As Warwick Is More Than Just A Confirmed Fan Theory
How A Good Man Becomes A Brutal Monster
Before being transformed intothe wolf-man Warwick, Vander was established inArcaneseason 1 as a major figure for good in Zaun. His harsher edges may still be under the surface, but he quickly proves to be a dependable and resourceful adopted father to Vi and Powder. It’s that humanity thatgives his return in season 2 as Warwick a greater edge of sadness, as all that humanity has been reduced to a brutal animal. In his first full episode andLeague of Legends, Warwick is a fearsome killer with a limited vocabulary.
Piltover’s “The Gray”: The Profound Meaning Behind Arcane’s New Smoke Weapon
Arcane season 2 introduces a smoke-based weapon named The Gray that holds a deeper connection than first thought to the show as a whole.
Fan theories have long suspected it could be Vander underneath all those fangs and claws, but it’s proven to be an emotionally rich story. “Blisters and Bedrock” doesn’t just highlight the tragedy of Vander’s lost humanity, but underscores it by revealing his failed efforts to make peace with Silco in the first lace. He never wanted to be a killer, even when he was still just a human. Efforts to restore Vander’s humanity are key to Vi and Jinx’s storyline in Act 2, and their failure due to outside circumstancesmakes Warwick’s ferocious attacks as tragic as they are horrifying.
Viktor’s Somber Fate Makes His Game Character More Interesting
The Machine Herald Is Way More Interesting If He Started Out As A Well-Meaning Man
When Viktor is introduced inArcane, as he’s one of the few who believes in Jayce and keeps him from falling into despair. Viktor’s friendship with Jayce is key to both of their survival, with both relying on one another even as their paths diverge. However, their fates were always doomed by their connection toLeague of Legends, whose lore established that the two as bitter enemies. With outlets likePC Gamerhighlighting howArcaneis effectively becoming the accepted lore ofLeague of Legends,the focus on their friendship in season 1 took on a far more bittersweet aspect.
This became even more pronounced in season 2, when Viktor’s embrace of the Hexcore and Jayce’s mission to destroy led the latter to murder the former in cold blood.It’s a harsh moment that sets the stage for Viktor to become more like his videogame counterpart, a cold and unfeeling figure determined to “fix” humanity by convincing them to give up the emotions that once connected him to people like Jayce. The Machine Herald’s new tragic edge brings a harsh aspect to his in-game comments and feud with Jayce.
Arcane’s Tragic Edge Helps Make It Such A Good Adaptation
The Human Cost Of Creating Legends
One of the things that makesArcanesuch a well-constructed adaptation is how it tells its own human tragedies that build on the characters and concepts from the source material.League of Legendsis full of great characters, but an adaptation could easily become overcrowded and unmoored from genuine personality. Instead,Arcanefocuses on the unseen origins of characters like Warwick and Viktor, taking cues from the older lore and using it to tell painfully human stories. Even if Warwick is a muted wolfman and Viktor is a laser-spouting mechanical being, both of them good men corrupted by circumstance.
[Arcanehas] discovered that the key is finding human stories amid the outlandish settings and fantastical battles.
The show embraces the aesthetic and lore of the original universe, but never loses sight of the human element that makes the show so compelling.Arcane, along with other recent videogame adaptations likeThe Last of Us,Fallout,Castlevania, andTomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft, have discovered thatthe key is finding human stories amid the outlandish settings and fantastical battles.Arcaneunderstands the potential depth of Warwick and Viktor’s transformations, and the show’s success highlights how important that human element is to a good adaptation.
Arcane
Cast
Arcane is an animated series set in the League of Legends universe, debuting in 2021. It explores the conflict between the affluent city of Piltover and the oppressed undercity of Zaun. Central to the story are two sisters whose allegiance to opposing sides of a technological and ideological war strains their bond.
