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Crunchyroll's Tower of God Season 2 Ep. 24: "The Cost of Battle" and Ep. 25: "Return of the King" was all action but lacking in real clarity.
Posted in: Netflix, Review, TV | Tagged: Arcane, League of Legends
Arcane Season 2 Act 3 Review: Heartstopping, Heartbreaking Finale
With its final act, Netflix's Arcane cemented itself as one of the best, most beautiful & most well-rounded animated series of recent times.
The final act of Netflix's Arcane includes the final three episodes of the series: "Pretend Like It's the First Time," "Killing is a Cycle," and "The Dirt Under Your Nails." Heading into the series finale, here is where we are at: Jinx is now a symbol of hope for Zaunites; we have lost a few players during the battle that took place; Jayce is back and on a mission, seeming corrupted by Hex; and Mel, Ekko, and Heimerdinger are still missing; Caitlyn is not trusting of Ambessa and after what happened on the last episode, we know Ambessa will not take well to this. There is definitely a lot to unpack and time to go on a ride with me as I watch the last Act. Please take this as a spoiler warning, as I will definitely be diving into what happens.
Episode 7 was a stunner. It was as heartwarming as it was heartbreaking. It gave us a look at how things could have been, though a great price was paid for it. We start with Ekko who seems to have woken up in some alt reality where things went quite differently in the past. As per Heimerdinger, they have been there for over 1000 days. However, while they landed in the past, Jayce ended up in the future where Hextech caused havoc, and everyone has become some sort of Hex-corrupted zombie. I am not going to lie, I really had planned to write as I watched, and two things kept me from it: Netflix's horrible lags and the fact that I just could not turn away for even a second. This first episode had me crying, Ekko and Jayce are my two favorite characters along with Jinx and Viktor. Seeing them in their current settings was a Rollercoaster of different emotions. It is crazy how much we can feel for these characters in just 2 seasons as if they were long friends.
Anyway, episode seven was pure art as both a stand-alone and as a measure of where things stand in the present. It shows what could have been for them if Hextech was never carried through with after it claimed Vi's life, where Ekko landed. However, where Jayce was in the future, we see what happened thanks to Hextech usage, and it was a horrible future. Jayce is reunited with the arcane user who has him three gems. I live for Ekko and Jinx and their beautiful relationship in that AU, as well as for Silco and Vander. This is the life they all deserved. That scene in the dance was just so beautiful. I even wished Ekko would have taken Heimerdinger's words, but I understand why he needed to return. Like Vi, Ekko is also a product of his guilt, and seeing this version of Jinx, I think, dug it in more and more; he felt that responsibility to not give up on her.
Man, I am about to cry all over because Ekko is the best, and Heimerdinger knew it. I enjoyed seeing them live and work with Jinx to get their machine put together. Ekko was definitely on another level. I feel for Jayce and it was not easy to see how he has slowly gotten corrupted. However, he is sent back through Hextech, and the next episode takes us back to the present. I do wonder what it means that we got to see that Jinx did keep the blue Hex balls in this AU.
Episodes eight and nine were a total rush, on the other hand. While the previous episode had us wanting to freeze time, this one took us on a ride and did not give us time to catch up. Vi finally wakes and immediately goes to face Caitlyn as she finds out they have Jinx behind bars. This was another episode that just kept punching our hearts with no mercy. I loved how this episode was a way to show us the most vulnerable side of some of the characters as they own up to their not-so-good sides. We see it with Vi, with Caitlyn— I kinda expected her to deny how she let Ambessa get to her. And ultimately we see it with Jinx as she sets up to break cycles. Did I cry like I was chopping onions? Definitely. I loved seeing how they got closer as sisters or, rather, more accepting and willing to trust each other.
We see how Mel becomes into her newfound family history. I was so happy to see her become more powerful and fight along with Jayce. Things speed up from the moment they encounter Viktor's evolved beings, and everything starts falling into place. We see that what Jayce saw might not have been so far into the future as we might have hoped, and the beings are now being created as Viktor takes over Vander's werebeing. Everything does begin and end with Viktor as we imagined. I love how the story is told, as it really does benefit from a fast pace.
And ugh, the need I had to see Ambessa pay for all the losses along the way as we see so many falls as the war starts. I also must add I owe a humble apology to the Maddie haters out there. I tried defending her, but you were all right. I take back all I said because how was on me. So yeah, sorry. Maddie was my biggest disliked character in the end. I was so happy that Vi and Caitlyn finally got together. I teared up, seeing Zaunites join Piltover in the fight. I did again see Jinx show up with Ekko and how many little details as a nod to Isha. The overall constant details in this show leave me gagged. This show is truly unparalleled when it comes to its visuals. I especially loved seeing Jinx and Vi fight together. Did someone say chopping onions again?
However, the one relationship that left me absolutely in awe was Jayce and Viktor. How Viktor searched for him through time and space because he knew Jayce would be the only one to open his eyes at the end. I love their intimacy and care for one another, like a show of ultimate bro-hood. Like Teen Titans GO! taught us once, "A bro is no bro with no bros." I love how they showed you can be vulnerable and still be a man; how sometimes what we consider our imperfections are part of what ultimately makes perfect and shapes us. It was so beautifully handled between two friends who really knew one another. Did I ship them? Absolutely, but their relationship was deep regardless and I just really enjoyed how everything came together in the end.
Was the ending abrupt? Definitely. It does not take away from my 11/10 because this is one of the best, most beautiful, and most well-rounded animated series I have seen. I wish we would have seen more of the aftermath, but the ending seemed more like a promise than a goodbye and I like that. I do have a lot of questions about Jinx mostly, I think the blue light hint on the raven was a hint as well as the leaving aircraft. I wish Ekko had a happier ending, but I loved that we saved Jinx so many times and did not give up on her. Their interaction before the end healed me and I hope brought some closure. That was definitely one of my favorite moments. I also have some questions about the snippet we get of Singed with Oriana – and Mel taking over her mother's place? There are definitely a lot of hints that things are moving, but I'm not sure in which direction. I hope we someday get a new story out of this universe because I would absolutely love to revisit it.
Arcane Season 2 Act 3
10/10
The final act of Netflix's Arcane includes the final three episodes of the series: "Pretend Like It's the First Time," "Killing is a Cycle," and "The Dirt Under Your Nails." Heading into the series finale, here is where we are at: Jinx is now a symbol of hope for Zaunites; we have lost a few players during the battle that took place; Jayce is back and on a mission, seeming corrupted by Hex; and Mel, Ekko, and Heimerdinger are still missing; Caitlyn is not trusting of Ambessa and after what happened on the last episode, we know Ambessa will not take well to this. There is definitely a lot to unpack and time to go on a ride with me as I watch the last Act. Please take this as a spoiler warning, as I will definitely be diving into what happens.
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