With all the hubbub about Season 2 of Arcane finally releasing and changing everyone’s brain chemistry, it’s time for me to finally admit my truth: despite efforts from smarter friends, I slept on it. For far, far too long.
I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve never really been a League of Legends girlie. One of my best friends is a devoted fan, who will (with great enthusiasm) readily take hours waxing lyrical about all the champions, how they all relate to each other and which ones are objectively the hottest (which is really the most important metric, no?).
I was reminded over and over from friends, colleagues and even strangers on the internet that the best point of entry for someone like me would be to watch Arcane. And yet, even having worked for Netflix at one point, I just never found myself gravitating towards it.
But recently, SugoiCo very generously sent GamesHub a copy of the Arcane: Season One Collector’s Edition to check out, and I figured given the new season just finished up, it was about time I gave in to the suggestions. Turns out not only am I completely eating crow, I’m also taking my first steps into a whole new universe.
The thing I love most about diving into a new show or game is the intricacy of the lore. I’m one of those people who will sit down and meticulously go over every single entry of a codex, or dive deep into YouTube analysis videos that go more in-depth than your ninth grade English teacher with a Ted Hughes poem.
Now, I’m not going to talk specifics about plot points, because I truly believe the best way to experience it is to just dive in with no context, much like I did. But what I will say is simple:
Arcane is the type of series that grips you early. From the meticulously designed art style to the audio, every element has so clearly been fine-tuned and perfected. The characters – especially Hailee Steinfeld’s Vi – are so incredibly well crafted that they feel real, and that’s even before you get too deep into the existing lore of some of League of Legends‘ mainstays.
Everyone that recommended Arcane was RIGHT
As is only fair, once I properly kicked off my Arcane journey and was well on the road to being obsessed, I had to come back to the people who had recommended it to me, head bowed in deference, to apologise for not taking them seriously sooner.
I began with Courtney Smith, the best friend I mentioned earlier in this piece and the person most likely to get me to ever play League of Legends, and asked her why it meant so much to her that I had finally given Arcane the shot it deserved.
“As someone who loves League of Legends, and by extension, Arcane, I’m so glad that the show has introduced the world of Runeterra to people who wouldn’t normally engage with it,” she said. “Seeing Steph, my best friend and Sims tragic, enjoy a franchise that I hold near and dear to my heart – that, let’s be honest, she would never actually play – is so precious to me because she, and many others like her, can finally understand what the heck I’m actually talking about.”
She’s right about so many things – I probably won’t ever be a League player, for instance. But she’s also right that it’s been wonderful to see so many people begin to engage with such an intricate story. Being late to the party means I’ve been able to have a lot of fun mentioning, “oh, I finally caught up with Arcane” to people whose reactions 100% of the time were immediate excitement.
But my apology tour was not over, because I had to check in with the person who actually managed to get me to sit down and watch: my friend and GamesHub‘s resident Neva-obsessive, Reece Jones. Little did I know, in addition to some valid commentary on how wonderful the show is, I would also be utterly read to filth.
“Arcane is a modern marvel of animation – there isn’t a beat it doesn’t hit. Animation, acting, sound, and vibes are all on point the entire time,” he said. “Watching with Steph, however, was the only thing that could make the experience worse though, as she did her best to break the record of most questions asked per minute in a TV show.”
What can I say, I was INVESTED.
And I was WRONG
I can admit when I’m wrong about something. It doesn’t happen very often, but I can – and I was wrong to sleep on Arcane. This is a show that stacks up to every single recommendation it gets, which says a lot given how rare it is to find something that will statistically land for everyone.
Every frame offers something incredible, every line of dialogue feels like it hits you directly in the face with one of those cartoonishly oversized mallets, every arc feels fully realised in the most human way. It’s an absolutely iconic show, and I am happy to have finally caught the train – even if it was particularly late.
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