Arcane 2x03

I would like to point out that the opening title sequence contains many references to various famous stage plays. See if you can figure out which ones.

Oh Jinx. "I just can't seem to die." In season 1, Vi was the angry one, the one ready to resort to violence at the drop of a pin. Now it seems she's the only one holding back. Mel's mother is a tactical genius. Appointing Caitlyn as the head of the army gets her the support of many who would've balked at anyone else. But she also knows that Caitlyn's hate for Jinx, and everything in the Undercity by extension, makes her easy to manipulate.

Great reaction. This episode is just beautiful. As gorgeous of the first season was, they really did step up the animation. Ever since the 4th episode last season, it was obvious the Vi and Jinx fight would come and it did not disappoint. The animation, the colors, the action, the music, the emotion, it was all there. At least for me, it was not about rooting for a side, you just wanted them to make it through. You talked about the music video intros. They really set the tone to the episodes this season. They do a lot of storytelling too. The animation catches you up to what has been happening since the last episode. In this case, it showed that the enforcers were using the grey to basically gas the undercity so they can clear it out and take control. Not ideal behavior. So when Jinx directs it back up topside (with a little added color, in true Jinx style) it comes across as a terrorist attack. Although it kind of is, you can't condone topside's actions either. How will it be viewed by both sides of this fight? Lastly, you spoke of how hard it is to watch. I hope you are still having a positive experience with the show, even if it is not happy. To me, it is so beautiful and the characters are so well developed, that i still am amazed and enjoy the show. But no question it can take a toll on you. You need to pick a happy show to replace it. Small recommendation for One Piece Live Action, which just will make you smile.

Once again, I love your reaction to this fantastic show...😊 In the beginning Caits mom repeats what we could see the last episode in her archive. It is interesting that it has been the Kirammans that installed this system, making them one of the few houses from Piltover that actually did something for the people in the Undercity. Caitlyn kicks all that to the dirt and uses this per se good invention for her vendetta against Jinx.💔 "Can I do the right thing for the wrong reason? Is it bad that I'm making friends with my demons?" This applies so much to Caitlyn. She turns a good invention bad, she studies it and sees what it will do to people who are forced to breathe it in (deformations, sicknesses, hallucinations) and does it anyway. She truly is making friends with her demon. Her demon is Jinx and she starts behaving as bad as her. 😭🙈 The dark aggressive Graphic Novel style is so cool and so frightening. It mirrors perfectly Caitlyns state of mind. How they plow through the underworld to find Jinx and fight all the gangs and destroy shimmer factories in passing. Only Jinx is smart too and starts to install traps for them and begins to re-route the air through the vents to Piltover. DETAIL: Caitlyns gun has a net-grenade that throws an electric charged net (you can see yellow flashes when she shoots it). That kiss - that kiss for all the wrong reasons. 🙈 It was meant to be a reassuring kiss, to declare to each other that nothing will change, but for me it came across as desperate, clinging to something that has already passed on. Vi feels Caitlyn change and tries desperately to stop that so she wouldn't lose her too, by making her promise not to change. And even though she tells Caitlyn that Powder is gone, it is written all over her face that she could never ever kill her sister. I think Caitlyn doesn't believe her fully, either. 🤔 Caitlyn, seeing Vi so unexpectedly vulnerable, is touched though and tries to tell Vi (and herself) that she is still the same, that she has everything under control. Both know, but are unwilling to admit, that they are lying to themselves and each other. Jinx/Powder drew her whole life at those pillars, this was her testament she wanted to leave for the world. As was the colorful smoke Sevika activated. It was meant to be Jinx' final farewell. That's why she was so unhappy with Sevika activating them, it was supposed to go different. Well, she always loved a spectacle. 😄😨😭💔 The hexgate is a monster of a building, a giant tower built above and under ground. And the old tunnels must be close to this gate, when you see how much the anomaly affects the fighting women. When Jayce touches the anomaly everything turns upside down. The hextech starts glitching and makes most of their weapons useless. Cait had the brilliant (and brutal) idea, to press her glitching gun into Sevikas face, because she still has those hextech scars and that hextech reacts to the glitching hextech in Caits gun and hurts Sevika massively. That's why Caitlyn is able to free herself to go after Jinx. Caitlyn fought so full of hate and rage...😱🙈 DETAIL: Jinx grabbed Isha, curled up with her beneath the altar and protects the little girl with her body. A second later Sevika is doing the same for the two of them. The trio really became a strange little family... 💖😊 Cait knew Vi was right in that she had lost her way some time ago and became more like Jinx than Jinx herself. Her frustration, her hurt, her feeling of being betrayed by Vi and her anger won out and she hits Vi. You can see that the rational part of her immediately regrets it, but that part has no saying in her head right now. So she leaves. Vi does not break down because Cait hit her that hard, but because she realized in this moment, that she had lost Caitlyn, probably for good. Now she has absolutely no one and no goal to aim for. 😨😭💔 Caitlyn gets her "Darth Vader moment" (thanks to Ambessa and her ploys) and completes her transformation. As you could see, Ambessa meant for Salo to be the puppet she could steer from the backseat, but she changed her mind when she saw how easily Caitlyn overpowered Salo in the council. She knew immediately that this determined girl from one of the most important houses in Piltover will prove to be much more useful than Salo...🤔

I had the pleasure seeing Fever333 live (the band performing the song at the start of this episode) in 2024, the lead singer really brings the energy