The ending of Arcane came out last weekend and honestly, I have too much to say about it. Unlike our past two reviews, this is one that may actually affect how you feel watching the last act so proceed at your own risk. It goes without saying, possible spoilers ahead and everything you read today are my own personal thoughts and feelings. I heavily suggest you watch it first then come back to this review to process.
Spin the Wheel
Over the course of the entire second season, I have constantly found myself on the edge of my seat. Now, I find that I am perpetually sunken in and unable to get up. The ending of Arcane Season 2 felt too much like a gut punch and less like an actual wrap up. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it was far from what the creators promised us. We were promised a complete wrap-up at the end. Despite the extended runtime of this act, there are still way too many loose ends and questions.
To put it into a phrase, it felt too much like a sequel build-up rather than a resolution. I love the series of Arcane as a whole and the ending was still cinematic and amazing to watch. It’s the creative choices that the writers chose that get to me. A lot of the moments in the ending had me asking “Why?!” repeatedly. The ending act of Arcane was nothing I could have predicted and it left me reeling.
See where it lands
Now that Arcane is over and they have told us that there won’t be a season 2, It’s easy to wonder what’s next. It’s not guaranteed that we won’t ever be returning to Piltover and Zaun. We unfortunately don’t know when or in what timeline.
The writers have heavily teased Noxus as the next region of focus, especially at the ending of Arcane. I don’t think that’s a bad thing but the ending of Arcane alludes to more stories in Zaun and Piltover. It’s not that it doesn’t feel complete, but it feels more like it’s gearing up for a sequel rather than a new story/series.
I think that at the end of the day, Arcane’s ending suffers from the fact that they introduced too many plot points. That’s not a wrong decision from a creative perspective, but it puts more burden on the ending to tie everything up.
They introduced the Jayce and Viktor conflict, the Jinx and Vi reunion, the Singed storyline, the Medarda and Black Rose conspiracy. In the end, the most important plot point that has been there since the beginning was totally forgotten. The relationship of Zaun and Piltover was alluded to by Sevika taking a seat at the council, but that doesn’t answer anything at all. It shows the start of conversation, but where everything lands after that is totally ambiguous. Then there’s the point of Hextech. After everything, are they still going to use it? That question isn’t answered and I guess we’ll never see an answer.
If You Enjoyed the Journey, More than the End
The show, as a whole, is still something I’d recommend in a heartbeat. The ending, however, is not one I can say was the best. It had an amazing buildup and a jaw-dropping climax but a lackluster resolution. The problem with it is that it’s the series ending. There’s no next season after to answer the cliffhangers and questions we have.
The song Heimerdinger sang in Episode 7 sums up all my feelings perfectly. I came for a League of Legends series, I stayed for an amazing storyline. Personally, I enjoyed every moment of this series and although the ending was not what I thought it was, I’m still happy I got to watch it.
I do have major concerns regarding the lore now that Riot games has made Arcane canon, but that’s a different article. Overall, the ending does not detract from the entirety of the show but what it does is make you wish for more conclusive storytelling. That’s not a bad thing if you’re planning to make another season but unfortunately, they’re not.
So if you ask me what I think about Act 3 overall, I’d say it’s a strong buildup with a weak ending. It’s not bad but it’s not what fans would settle for if you asked them what they’d like to see at the end. I can’t help but exclaim “That’s it??” every time I rewatch Act 3.
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