Arcane Season 2 kicks off in style with a premiere episode that answers many questions and sets up an action-packed season.
Warning! This article contains spoilers from Arcane Season 2, Episode 1.
After three years, Riot Games’ League of Legends animated series Arcane is back, and it does not skip a beat. Season 1 set the bar high for video game adaptations and animated series alike, but somehow Arcane Season 2 manages to not only meet that standard but raise it further.
The first episode in Arcane Season 2, titled “Heavy is the Crown,” is directed by Etienne Mattera and Barth Maunoury and is written by Amanda Overton, who penned Arcane Season 1’s fifth episode and has also contributed to shows including Severance and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. The season premiere was released as part of Act 1 of Arcane Season 2, and it set up the action of Arcane’s second and final season in glorious style. The Piltover Council: Who Lives and Who Dies?
Arcane Season 2 Episode 1 „Heavy is the Crown
Directed by
Etienne Mattera and Barth Maunoury
Written by
Amanda Overton, Christian Linke & Alex Yee (creators)
Based on
League of Legends
Streaming on
Netflix
The most pressing question lingering from Arcane Season 1 was which council members would survive the missile that Jinx fired in the final moments. The opening of Season 2 doesn’t delay the answer. Straight away it’s revealed that Jayce and Mel are alive and unharmed, but those around them are not so lucky. Salo and Shoola have both been injured by the blast, as has Viktor who Jayce quickly takes back to the lab and uses the mutated Hexcore to try and heal his friend. Hoskel and Bolbok weren’t so lucky, both perishing in the explosion, but perhaps the most tragic death is that of Cassandra Kiramman.
Set to the raw and soulful tune of Freya Ridings’ “I Can’t Hear it Now”, a funeral plays out in flickering, sketchy greyscale, using color sparingly to highlight characters, like Caitlyn, who is swimming in a sea of grief.
