Every time Silco speaks, you can't help but listen. Such a captivating character.

As an animator that sequence between jinx and ekko is one of the best animation sequences in animation history. The story, the character art, the style and character animation meld into pure magic.

Fun Fact, in the official game and the card game, Ekko has custom lines for Jinx "I use to have a crush on you, until you started talking to the guns" and "Powder, I miss you so much"

Ekko keeps telling Vi throughout the episode that Powder is gone.. and then by the end you can tell he finally sees her again.. so heartbreaking.

Jinx was humming the same song that she sang at the opening scene of the first episode

My favorite episode of the entire series. That sequence before Ekko and Jinx fight is iconic.

Marcus is an example of someone who got himself into a bad position because he was a dick and then when he was trying to make amends for his actions he wasn't smart or brave enough to actually figure out a way out and just kept digging himself deeper. His death is a tragic one, not because he didn't deserve it, but because he failed to overcome his own flaws in order to follow the right path which he clearly saw and wanted to reach.

That bridge scene gets me every time

So many people think Heimerdinger's this really wise guru when Jayce was right about everything he said to him. If he was as great as everyone claims he is then there wouldn't be so many problems with Piltover and the Undercity. Even if he stopped Jayce from inventing Hextech, Silco would have just continued producing more and more dangerous versions of Shimmer and things would have ended up even worse without something to stop him. Heim never cared to find out what was going on in his own backyard and the guy had hundreds of years to do so.

I like Jace's arc. It really shows how his idealism is corrupted by the system he lives in.

"there is always a choice" Grenade scene, only had 1 wire, and while he didn't know for sure if it'd stop it or not, it definitely seemed like Viktor was considering letting it explode so that no weapons could be made by themselves and the Bridge fight scene hurts real bad with the context of Ekko having feelings for Powder before her changes

also if vou notice in the past episode jinx is always on high alert trying to avoid death. But in the scene in episode 7 when ekkos is on top of her, her face relaxes and smiles. She doesn't move away from the bom she stays right under ekko, like she wanted to die. Jinx has been dealing with trama for years and by her self. Most people think about actually committing suicide. The fight between ekko and inx was the same play fight they did when they were kids so it must have been a nostalgic moment for her. So why not die in the arms of her childhood best friend? Plus in the game it was mentioned that ekko had a crush on powder when they were kids. And the arcane enemy music video shows there were a lot of scenes of ekko and powder together as kids.

So little bit about the fight since you asked what was happening, it is a game they played as kids yes, but also in the game Ekko's ability is to turn back time for a few seconds and learn from mistakes. Now in Arcane he has not yet developed the thing that lets him do this, but it is a reference to his fighting style as well. Also little tidbit of lore knowledge and why Jinx calls him boy savior, he had a crush on her when they were kids, and when she went with Silco he tried many times to rescue her, though how do you rescue that which does not want to be rescued? The quote from the game is like, I used to have a crush... until you started talking to the gun.

I get that Imagine Dragons isnt for everyone, but the hip hop song at the start and the intro song have nothing in common.

Shimmer became a problem under HEIMERDINGER'S watch. The undercity fell under decay because of his aloofness. Jayce may be rash sometimes, but Mel was right when she said Jayce did the right thing. Everybody in an elite position in Piltover needed a serious wake-up call. I also think many people go WAY too hard on Mel. She wants Piltover to succeed and prosper. She doesn't want war. She doesn't want violence. But she will also prioritize defense in the immediate even if it might have terrible long-term consequences. She wants to guarantee Piltover's survival, no matter the cost. And I don't think Jayce is really being twisted that hard to agree with her--he has become the de facto head of the council, and by extension, the city. It's pretty clear he would feel like he was betraying his responsibility if he didn't prepare for the worst. But I honestly think one of Jayce's biggest blind spots, at least until the beginning of the final episode, is that he places too much esteem in Piltover itself. It gave him opportunity, and allowed him to advance via merit, but it almost cast him out, too, just as it has left so many of its own citizens in the shadows. Piltover is a product of Heimerdinger's idealism, but Jayce has a completely different worldview that he tries to mold to live up to the legacy of the city. What he really should have done is come out swinging, breaking wrenches just like he did in inventing HexTech. He finally realizes this is the solution in the final episode, but by then it's too late. Marcus wasn't planning on being a crooked cop. He just wanted to get Vander. He hated the guy, thought he was the same "scum" as the rest of the undercity "rats." He didn't like Grayson's deal with him. Plus, he thought getting the arrest would look good for his professional reputation. What he didn't count on was Silco killing Grayson. That made him unwittingly and unwillingly complicit in the murder of the chief of police. And now Silco has something on him. If Marcus ever brought Silco to justice, he'd lose everything.

I think folks go a little too hard on Jayce.. he doesn't have an omniscient perspective like the audience.. he's a good guy, but misguided and distracted, but he never enacts an action that isn't something he thinks will be for the greater good..

Echo and Jinx fight is one of the best the last 15 years of animation TV or movies. It was beautiful art telling a story.

I think Marcus's last thoughts were regret. He was already there with Kaitlin. "Tell my daughter I'm *sorry*". In his last moments he's apologizing for his weakness. He knew what the right thing to do was so many times but he chose self-preservation over doing the right thing, maybe even using his daughter's life as justification. It's not a redemption, but it does complete his arch: a man doing the wrong things for "family" filled with regret. (Because it was always selfish; prestige, power, safety et cetera) It's a mirror. Xander and Vi, Silco and Powder, Marcus and his daughter, Kaitlin and her parents, Jace and his, the medarda family. There's so much subtext and commentary about family. Looking forward to the final episodes from ya! (I could write a thesis over this series, it's that well done)

Silco choking everyone with Zaunian air while he stands there unaffected and berates them for growing complacent and weak under his reign is *such a fucking power move.* Easily one of the best in all of fiction. Even Tywin walking up the stairs can’t beat this moment.

Yeah, this is one of the best animated sequences in any recent show, 10/10.

Marcus is such an underrated character. He is the most real, the most realistic character in the show. He is a good man who is trying his best to do the right thing, but always fails to do so, because he has so much to loose. His position, reputation, his daughter. People want to believe that in his situation they would do the right thing, truth is, most people would do what he did, just take coin and instead of doing the right thing, do best they can. It is unfortunate that so many people dismiss Marcus as just crooked cop, when he is so much more.

You guys kinda missed the evolution of Marcus' arc. He got paid off to help silco, i assume capture Vander, was pissed when his boss that he respected got murdered, he hid Vi away in prison where Silco didn't know about her, Silco basically had him and his family under constant threat of death, you saw the daydream of him blowing himself and Silco up with Jinx's grenade. Marcus wasn't a good dude, but there was a lot more to everything.

I don't think Marcus was in it for the money. I think the offer of money helped him make the bad decision to make a deal with Silco in the first place, but I'm not even convinced he kept most of it after throwing the bad away when the deal went south. He kept the bloody coin as a reminder of what he did, but did he even take back the rest of it? Maybe. But once Grayson died it wasn't worth it to him anymore. My sense is past that point Silco had him in his grip. He'd just been in on a deal that got Grayson killed, I don't know that he believed he could fix anything by coming clean about it. We can see that he thought about sacrificing himself to take Silco down, but he had a daughter - he couldn't leave her alone. I fully believe he would have pulled the pin on that grenade in the earlier episode if he wasn't a father. He wasn't a good person, but I think he wanted to be. And his single worst decision shaped all his options past that point. I feel like there's something very tragic about that.

I forgot how young Ekko is. He became a great leader very early in life.

Great episode. The Ekko time-sequence is awesome.

"Ugh it's exhausting. We get it," she says doing her damnedest to ignore all the nuances of an incredibly complex relationship unfolding between two deeply troubled characters

The thing to think about re: silco and marcus - silco threatened Marcus's daughter. He made a show that he'd be able to get to his daughter's room at the same time he was giving Marcus the order to do something about Caitlyn. The implication is clear. And I don't think this is the first time, either. When silco left, he also the room, he also dropped a card on ren's tower (clearly on purpose) and said "accidents happen", implying that he'd make whatever happened look like an accident

Viktor saying "Jayce will understand" to the doc, only to return to a blockade ordered by Jayce to keep out the "dangerous" people of the undercity. The writing is fabulous!

you guys are a little hard on jayce and a little soft on heimerdinger i think. to put it this way, piltover was founded by heimerdinger and he has been in charge for hundreds of years. he has presided over a situation where there is a clear two tier system of haves and have nots. the city of progress is stagnant when it comes to solving the issue of the undercity and its their responsibility as the government to fix it. in my opinion jayce was right when he called out heimerdinger that 'humans dont live for centuries' and they cant wait decades to test things when jayce has already proved that hextech can work. the poor needed help decades (if not centuries) ago and heimerdinger seems so flippant and not urgent at all when it comes to addressing it.

I always felt at the ending it was powder trying to finish herself off rather than jinx trying to kill ekko

Ekko is my favorite character. It's not about politics, money, or power, it is about protecting the vulnerable. Piltover and Zaun aren't heaven and hell, they're two different kinds of corrupt. Chaotic demons and lawful devils. But yeah, this episode is amazing... and I really do find myself coming back to that scene between Ekko and Jinx a lot, even outside of re-watching the show. A fun thing that was pointed out a while ago... the mechanical firelights seemed drawn to weapons specifically. So, since Caitlyn traded her gun for the medicine for Vi last episode, she kind of wound up saving herself. Also, Powder was never innocent. Don't forget that her first self-defense instinct when she was cornered was to chuck something that was meant to be a nail bomb at another kid, and then in the next episode, she's telling Vi about all of the other bombs she made to help with taking out the enforcers. She has been cracked since early childhood. A lot of that is the traumatic environment that she grew up in... but yeah. It is brutal... but... the seeds were there.

This is the episode where it goes from great to epic. That Jinx and Echo fight at the end is one of my favorite things from any show. It only gets better from here too!

I love how the show does parallels Ekko made the choice to heal seconds before Medarda made the choice to respond with violence in fear.

The more I watch people react to this show, the angrier I am about Heimerdinger. Yes, he's a very cute, wise little man that we all want to protect and we all hate Jayce for pushing him off the council. But let's not forget that he was a founder of Piltover. He FOUNDED a "city of progress" that runs off of basically slave labor, where half of the population is uber-wealthy and living in the lap of luxury, at the expense of the other half living in extreme poverty and filth. Viktor wouldn't have systemic health problems if Heimerdinger was a better leader. Jinx and Vi wouldn't be orphans, Vander would be alive, Silco wouldn't be a criminal, etc. Yeah, maybe delving too deep into magic could bring ruin like he says, but for half of his citizens this city is already a living hell. For all his mistakes, I'm glad Jayce kicked him out so he could go see what his city is really like.

That battle lives rent free in my head

"Ugh it's so good!!" 😂 Yes!!! I love how you were talking how the animation was more subdued and i was just waiting for the Ekko X Jinx fight scene!! 😃

I get CHILLS everytime I watch Ekko vs Jinx. This is my favorite episode of the show

I'm glad a show like Arcane and animated movies like the Spider-Man films and the TMNT film take animation into some new directions. I've gotten really tired of that sanitized Pixar/Dreamworks generic style that's been the mainstay since Toy Story.

If you watch the Ekko cinematic that Riot made for his character's introduction to League of Legends, the mural does come back into play. It's just... a little different, mostly because this series hadn't been fleshed out at all when that video came out in 2015. I think the scene from the show is meant as a nod to people who have kept up with the lore and also gives lore knowledge to those who don't have it.

Since I saw the preview that you already did episode 9......that mural in Ekko's hideout doesn't really come back into play BUT if you watch the champion trailer for Ekko for the game it DOES. Additionally there is a short comic about why some of the people on the mural are so important to him and why he preserves it. =)

Jinx didn't take the shot, though. She did when they used to play games, that is how Ekko still saw Powder inside even though he said Powder is gone.

Marcus didn't work with Silco just for money. He did it because he hated that Vander stood for the under city and Silco offered to kill Vander and pay him. It was supposed to be a win win

Awesome reaction of my favorite Arcane!!!!!😊😊😊😊😊

In the video game, Ekko has an ability to kind of go back in time a bit, so the scene seems to be sort of a play on that ability. Very cool design.

Ekko and Jinx grew up together in the Lanes, in the LoL game it is even suggested that Ekko had a crush on her.

viktor was gonna let the bomb go off, when he paused when he was cutting the wire. Also can't wait for them to see those other scenes with silco gonna be glorious.

Marcus shouldn't be forgiven for what he has done but we should understand he is a product of his environment. Catline was able to see through the tribalism, but that is because she grew up with smart wealthy parents and she was also naturally much smarter than Marcus.

Yes, the mechanical butterflies on the bridge were Jinx's creation as bombs. However, if you think back in episode 4 Progress Day, you catch a glimpse of a real mechanical butterfly. Also, in another episode you see Jinx tinkering with one of the mechanical butterflies most probably her attempt to make those bombs.

Jinx is more Schizoaffective and Borderline Perspnality Disorder than DID actually. She`s also a talented ventriloquist in the Game which was implied with her mocking impression of Silco which will eventually become the "Fishbones" voice.

It’s crazy how many people who I’ve seen react to this show never look at things from Piltover’s POV. People from the Undercity blew up an apartment building, killed the former Sheriff and a few other enforcers, blew up 6 other enforcers (nearly 7 but Cait survived), and stole technology that’s extremely powerful and can be used to create nuke-level weapons….of course Piltover should create their own countermeasures!

We nearly there 😢🔥

My favorite episode!

When Viktor disarmed the granate he didnt hesitate cause he was unsure if this was the right wire. He was unsure cause only him and Jayce are able to weaponize hextech and if the granate explode they both die. When he turns and says: "There is always a choice." gives my chills everytime. Also the hexcore react to organic matter and Viktor tries it with plants. They always dies because they are not resillient enough. With shimmer he made his body reslliant so he can stand the hexcore. Whatever happend to him ;-)

I like how over half the end talk was about Marcus and how much they hate them. It's easy to look at someone else's decisions and say 'You should just do the right thing'. As if either of these two would stand up for 'what's right' if someone like a daughter's life was on the line.

The thing with Marcus is that he's a single father, he wants to do the right thing, but that'll end up with him in jail, or in the ground, leaving his daughter alone.

Echo beat her a**👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

Why don't you think about Marcus as a character a little more. That's all I can say. Lol.. Like.. It's clear you don't like him, fair, but also it's a bit deeper than what you have him credit for.

Re: the mural y'all have finished the season so this isn't a spoiler that the mural hasn't come back up but I'm fully expecting someone to attack the firelight sanctuary and damage the mural. Either that's the wall they explode to get in, or it gets caught in the crossfire or something

Yeah, Marcus is a tragic character. He got in bed with Silco because he was a hot head, and then immediately got implicated in the murder of his mentor. Not much chance to escape without losing everything.

Lil star wars Luke skywalker/darth vader vibes with Vi trying to save jinx...

The fact you called it so early still super impressive. Had to bite my tongue not to spoil it 😂

As someone with complex PTSD, bipolar disorder, depersonalization (dissociation), and a past (thankfully long past) history of psychosis, I can say that it is VERY EASY to identify with Jinx.

You two were worried about Breaking Bad/Barry messing Arianna up emotionally. Arcane is arguably on the same level emotionally.

the scenes are all good but ari face at the end hurts my heart, I went thru the same thing. the emotional gut punches are real, I hope you got a big hug after that 🌊🫂

Yeah Jinx can change, but not back into Powder. She would become a new version of herself.

Im really hoping they pick up Blue eye Samurai, if they like this animation style. its a sleeper animation on Netflix. with an amazing story. its like Kill Bill Meets Afro Saurai, with a little Disney Mulan sprinkled into a very adult animation, with writers from the Marvel movie, Logan.

I was sitting on this one for weeks now. Good Job Arianna. As you said it I was like "how the fuck did you figured that out?"

Man half animal is ras vastaya like elf but animal half human for region ilonia

"Evil magician", I think I get what Maple meant. Silco appears to have a good sense of performance, purpose, and considers his audience in his actions. Magic, or illusion, is a competitive sport with people's perceptions and Silco appears to apply the same sort of premeditation when threatening people.

👍🏾

The lies...

These reactors miss so much.

4:46 "...he's been using his voice incorrectly, I feel like." Classic. A man does the best he can in a completely fucked situation, and he still gets taken to task for it by the ladies. The dude almost single-handedly made Piltover a global power. And while he's made some blunders after the fact, big ones even, it's just kind of annoying to hear. My man Jayce is trying to walk the tightrope between progress and security, truth and politics, power and restraint. But no, he just needs to "do better". Just because bad things come of a decision in the short term doesn't mean its a bad decision. In fact, it's often the opposite. Good decisions pay off dividends later, and bad decisions tend to pay off right away. I'm not even defending Jayce's actions, I'm just saying I think its unfair to box him in as "the problem", when, if you recall Episode I, his fundamental value as a character is he wants to help people with magic the way it helped him. Meanwhile most of the other Councillors are only out for their own gain. And no matter what you think about Piltover vs. Zaun, the fact remains that the lanes DO harbor criminals and actively encourage bad behavior, and they are as much to blame for their lot as Piltover is. So I dunno. Hard to blame him and the other Councillors for looking down on that sort of thing. Particularly after Jinx BOMBED Progress Day and stole HexTech components. Then at 16:30 you say "HE'S SO EASILY MANIPULATED". Why do I get the feeling you feel this way simply because it differs from your own personal feelings on today's political climate? I don't know why the two of you are this suspicious of Mel. Yes she's manipulative, but I always read her feelings for Jayce to be complicated, if not genuine, from the get go. Even before she made her move, so to speak. Her and Jayce have shared many intimate moments up until this point, without any hint of manipulation. Yet when she makes a valid point, you assume she's just trying to seize power. This is hilarious cuz it gets disproved the very next episode. And Jayce is justified in taking Mel's point seriously here, manipulation or not. You both say the lanes are at a disadvantage already. But...Piltover doesn't have HexTech weapons. Right? If Zaun gets them first, that would PUT PILTOVER AT THE DISADVANTAGE, wouldn't it? So it makes sense to develop your own defenses NOW, so you're not caught with your pants down WHEN the undercity uses their new HexTech weapons. I also have to point out that you girls go off about Jayce, while Viktor is performing technomagic without any supervision, help or even an idea of what will happen, using a HexCore that can THINK and seems to crave organic matter. And if you only knew anything about what Viktor becomes based on the game, I would hope you'd think twice about which dude is committing the greater sin here. XD The fact that these casual moral statements were your knee-jerk reactions? I just think it says a lot about your characters, and less about Jayce's or Mel's. TL;DR Grow up you two. XD

"silco and Vander are not the same thing" Honestly they are, Silco is just equal to the earlier younger version of Vander before the children changed his heart.

Great reaction

Hey guys! I'm really enjoying your commentary, but I did just want to warn against the way you throw psychological terms around a little recklessly. Particularly BPD, cPTSD and DID are pretty poorly understood by most people, and misrepresenting them like this can both be offensive to people who do have these diagnoses, and may be confusing or dangerous to people who struggle with symptoms similar to what these characters are going through and might be led down the wrong path. By all means call out individual symptoms you recognize (although those are also often misrepresented), but please leave the diagnosing to professionals. We're also taught to avoid doing things like diagnosing fictional characters for these same reasons. They're not our patients, they can't be held to human standards, and it's not appropriate to label them as such. Anyway, I hope this is helpful, and I'm glad you're enjoying the show! It's very dear to me

Wait, this isn't Stranger things? :)

Comparing Imagine Dragons to King Push is a terrible injustice.

Jace is basically a very smart Himbo

Well, that fight scene was cool. Just to say something positive about the adaptation of Ekko.

The Marcus hate lmao.

Wdym they have advantage? Zaun has shimmer. Good luck fighting against those monsters without hextech.

One thing to remember about this show is that the game it's based off has 160+ playable characters. This translates to a LOT more people having 'plot armor' than you'd usually expect, both on the bad and the good side.

Lol Marcus is the most decent character in this show .. he isn't a good guy but he also isn't a bad guy and he has good intentions and he always try to do the good thing for his people , he is a good father and cares about the police officers that work under him .... i really dont get the overhating thing you got for him ... without him vi would have been litterlly dead , he protected her from slico ..... but i guess that doesn't matter because he got blood money and a character can't have flaws in your eyes.

wow whoever did that autotune on arianna, good job

Shits about to get real. Also, the show changed it’s theme song just for you guys! Also, good call Arianna. And I know Mel has her agenda, but I think she genuinely cares for Jace.

Just wanna note at 15:45, Poor Jayce. Man got friendzoned by Cait and the only time she really mentions him is when SHE needs something. I didn’t forget the way she threw homie’s flowers!

After arcane you guys need to react to attack on titan, it’s amazing!!!

I mean. A lot of people coming to Marcus' defense are missing the fact that he's largely responsible for his own situation. When Grayson was still Sheriff, Marcus had a huge bug up his butt and downright prejudice against the Undercity, believing in his superiority and nobility and decency while *taking literal blood money* and committing state-sanctioned violence against people for the crime of *disrespect.* Mathematically, at the time, it would not appear he *had* a daughter. So Marcus made a deal with the devil believing himself the moral superior. It turns out the devil is the devil, and instead of doing the right thing, he just kept digging his own grave. The easiest solution - don't betray Grayson in the first place. Your boss, who is clearly grooming you to be her replacement some day, who is carefully trying to walk you from the lofty heights of your own self-importance into the delicate, ugly truths of the real world. A person who he KNOWS is good and is trying to do the right thing. Nope. Gotta jump up that corporate ladder. Gotta get the respect he "deserves." Gotta seize those "opportunities." Marcus is the quintessential ACAB example. He's a garbage rotter who deserves what he got and whose daughter deserved better. I'm not saying it'd be easy, but you gotta learn from those mistakes, my guy.

Ekko can rewind time a few seconds. It's one of his abilities. He got shot, but he turned back time and avoided it.

Th Ekko V Jinx is a breathtaking splendor within absolute perfection, not just in the visualization but also in storytelling, which is why this masterpiece show is so rightfully renowned.. sheeeeeeesh 🥹👊🏻