Cinepals - ARCANE 2x3 "Finally Got The Name Right" Reaction & Discussion!

Episode Date: November 12, 2024

Arcane is back on Netflix after three years with it's second (and final Season). Piltover is left reeling after the events of the first season. Will they be able to recover and will Vi and Jinx ever be able to reconcile? Arcane season 2 stars Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit, Pitch Perfect 2, Hawkeye) as Vi, Ella Purnell (Fallout, Yellowjackets, Army of the Dead) as Jinx, Kevin Alejandro (Lucifer, Southland, True Blood) as Jayce, Katie Leung (Harry Potter series, The Foreigner, Locked Down) as Caitlyn, Harry Lloyd (Game of Thrones, The Theory of Everything, Manhattan) as Viktor, Toks Olagundoye (Castle, The Neighbors, DuckTales) as Mel, Amirah Vann (Underground, Tracers, A Jazzman's Blues) as Sevika and Ellen Thomas (Eastenders, Johnny English Reborn, Mrs Harris Goes To Paris) as Ambessa. You can watch the cut down reaction to this movie (and many others) on our YouTube channel https://www.YouTube.com/@Cinepals and the full length reaction is available on our Patreon page https://www.cinejump.com SOCIAL MEDIA ~MICHAEL BOOSE~ Instagram: @BooseIsLoose ~ACHARA KIRK~ Twitter & Instagram:  @Acharakirk  YouTube:  @Achara  ~CINEPALS~ YouTube: @CinePals Insta: https://instagram.com/TheCinePals Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheCinePals

Senna. Pals. All right, you guys, we are continuing forward with Arcane Season 2, episode Trace. Thanks so much for coming back. Here we go. Damn. Yo, what? Oh, no.

Is this the creature? Oh, no. The mutation? He's doing it to himself. Finally, is he the perfect form? What have you created, Doc? It's been years in the making. Uh-huh.

Oh. Damn. Shit. Dang. What a... I knew it. I knew it. Did I not call it from the get-go?

Yeah, you did. You did. I was just trying to give her the benefit of the doubt. Full-staged coup. That totally makes sense. It seemed to be where the evidence was pointing. I just was like, I don't want to believe it, though. You know, but it makes sense.

Oh, sorry, my question was, because when Jenks shot off that missile, right? Yes. It seemed like, because it ended before we really saw what happened. It just, it cut to black, right? And then the season one was over. Okay, okay. And so we didn't see what exactly transpired in that moment. Was it a situation where that just happened to kill three people?

And then Mel's mom took advantage of it? Yes. Or was it that Mel somehow engineered something? Because it's like she took out Caitlin's mom, which gave Caitlin the rage, which she is then manipulating and taking advantage of. I think Mel's mom is very smart and very opportunistic. Yes, I agree. Like she can smell blood in the water. And so I think she was already coming to Piltover in an effort to figure.

figure something out, get hex tech so they could defend themselves against the Black Rose Witches or whatever, right? You know, pay that debt. And so this opportunity fell in her lap where the council is in disarray and she happens to know how to build back

a nation after it's crumbled because she's done it to so many other nations before. Right, right. I think that's my thing. I don't think she specifically engineered like the death of key players in the council. I think she's just capitalizing on this golden opportunity in ways that only

she could. Okay. Because I wondered for a second if the destruction happened and it didn't actually kill anyone and she's the one that like actually executed those people. But I mean either way it's the function is the same. The results is the same which is she is vying for power.

Yeah, yeah. In a very nefarious manner. But it's super interesting as well that we finally get to see what it is that she's running away from and just how formidable they are you know that was really terrifying because yeah what would scare a woman that is as strong and powerful as her and it's like yeah the magic yeah the magic that can take over people how do you how do you win against

that yeah i mean these are things that were hinted at in season one and we didn't really get the full scope of no like we only saw a little fraction of what's going on and so the the camera's backing up quite a bit to show us a lot more now yeah because like the the show is called arcane right and so like the first season is really setting up this like arcane magic but when I hear arcane I think of things that are like ancient and uncontrollable and they're trying so hard to contain this magic to combine it with science and and make it serve their purposes and here in season two it's like no no no this is wild magic you can't tame this and you didn't fully understand what you were doing and the consequences and they're only just starting to see it all comes light right now this really is this

really is like a what do you call it a allegory allegory for you know human technology and stuff like that for sure because it's one of those things that we just can't seem to resist it's like and it's like you can't be controlled once you've unlocked it's a pandora's box yeah it's Pandora's box, absolutely. Yeah, it's like, you can't put it back inside. Once the knowledge is out there, you know, even with the best of intentions, like with Jason Victor, it's like, yeah, but ultimately people are going to use that knowledge, use that technology for whatever advances their goals.

Right. Yeah. And it's one of those things, it's like, no matter how hard you try and squeeze it tighter and tighter into the box you want it to fit in, the harder it's going to fight and the more it's going to find ways out. And that pressure is going to build, resulting in the, like, kind of rising wild ruins from the depths. Right. Because it's always going to be what it is. You know, it's like that is the nature of the thing. What are your predictions, both of you, with Victor? Does he become like a do-sex machina character in the end of the show? Like, what

happens with him? Because he's clearly a very powerful character. And I have no idea where that goes. I mean, I have no idea where any of this goes. No. They've left us in a really good spot where I'm so damn curious and I have no idea what's ahead. I'm going to abstain because I am familiar with Victor's lore. Oh, okay. Okay, good. Well, thank you. Don't say anything. As a character in the game. So again, you know, this is a very in-depth interpretation and I think sort of taking bits and pieces from the already established very deep game lore

and then turning it and molding it into a concise story and world lore. So I'm not sure how much of it fully tracks one to one with the in-game lore but I am familiar with who Victor is and so I'm gonna abstain.

I'm not really sure just yet. I mean I get the sense I mean we already saw that in the previous episode that he is turning into some sort of godlike Messiah person. But I feel like... It's like a shepherd. Yeah, he could amass an army just of people that he's helped.

Disciples, followers, believers, yeah. Yeah. The whole thing with Jason science is interesting because most of his sciencing is striking stuff with a hammer. Yeah, it's true. He's like down in the deep underground with that void of magic and stuff that he doesn't understand and he goes and strikes it with. hammer just hit it with a hammer but this is what I find so beautiful about it though because

it's like yes he is that guy who's all about science and technology but his his roots and his origins lie in the hammer that's from his father right forging and forging and stuff like that and so it comes together and it's like ultimately you are who you are and it's also interesting as well like the things that we're learning about the the the kiramans and like katelyn's legacy too right like how how is that going to come into play with everything because like so far yeah we've seen how how they used what's they called the gray right you know um there's got to be so much more that the key can unlock can can either of you explain the gray to me because i don't fully understand it it's it's noxious fumes from mining okay so it's it's basically as they were mining

or strip mining whatever the resources they're looking for in the lanes and down in the fissures, it started releasing a gas. It's like a heavy gas or something like that that caused lots of health problems and stuff. Standard problems that you run into with large scale mining and mineral refinement, essentially. So it was filling the fissures. What I find interesting, kind of to your point, Achara, is that Caitlin's family legacy, seems to be the only family that's done anything beneficial for the people of Zahn. Right.

They created a filtration system that at least got rid of the vast majority of the gray. And people were able to live and breathe. Now, it still seems like it affects people. I believe that's what the like kind of crazy sort of cancerous affliction that the people get eventually is. It's either that or it's a long time addiction to. shimmer. I'm not sure which one it is. But, you know, there's still obviously some ill effects of living in Zahn and in the lanes. But her family heritage is helping the lanes. Caitlin's family created the ventilation system. That is their legacy. And then also in an

interesting kind of dichotomy, it seems like their legacy is also the enforcers keeping peace in Piltover. So, like, they are kind of part of the oppression of the people of Zon, but they're also like part of the saving and the ability of the people is on to live well the solution anyway or the solution yeah yeah and it's so it's so fascinating as well right like how the the privileged can sit up there in their nice houses in their towers and they're perfectly safe and then as soon as all of the afflictions that have been plaguing the people down below come back to them suddenly they're like oh now it's a problem yeah because we're suffering now we gotta do something about it I mean, that just, that seems to be happening a lot ever since, like, the invention of the steam engine.

It's like, there's, like, stuff that humanity is doing and pursuing, and then, like, 50 years later, oh, my God, all of that is wrecked us. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We literally caused a whole species of moth to generate, to rapidly evolve to have all black because of how the amount of coal smoke we were putting in the air. Yeah, there's, like, a Veritasium video or something out there that explains how, like, this one dude is responsible for millions of deaths. because of like the way he used oil or something like that in order to stop the explosions in cars

or whatever it's called. I'm saying it all wrong. It's some kind of, it's some kind of a, it's not called combustion. It's called something else. It's the knocking. He was doing something with oil to stop knocking and then like that ended up creating a lot of pollution. I am saying this all kinds of backwards and wrong,

but if you look at Veritasium of that video, you'll find what I'm talking about. And I just learned the other day about how like turmeric powder has like led to a lot of people having like some bad stuff in their blood because like at one point there was a shortage of the material or the ingredients that help create turmeric powder. And so they like the actual turmeric root. Yeah.

Yeah. And so they just painted this stuff and started selling that. And then that just became part of the practice. And so all throughout the diaspora of like that area like Sri Lanka and whatever, they've been using turmeric powder and that is the one like the exclusive thing that has been leading to toxins in people's blood. Wow. Isn't that crazy?

Yeah. No, I mean, it is crazy, but also not crazy, because the extent of human greed. Yeah. Yeah. I might have, like, finagled, I already call it, fucked up some of those specifics, but if you look up the, if you look up the news reporter story on it, you'll know what I'm talking about. This is like me working and like hearing this new stuff at the same time. So, but yeah, like, it's just a, it seems to be a cyclical theme in humanity right now.

And it's just, it's like really scary. You know, and it makes you think a lot. But that's why, like, I really enjoy the show, because while it is, like, you know, entertainment and it's fantasy and there's magic and everything, the themes that they're covering are very much, you know, very relevant to humanity and the things that we go through all the time, you know? Do you get all of this in the game? No. Okay. Like, the game is a PVP online multiplayer, like battle arena.

It's like none of this. If you don't specifically seek out the lore of the characters and things like that, you get none of this. Okay. The game does not look like the show, nor vice versa. Okay. But the fights and stuff, I will say, like when I watch the way they've interpreted the fights in this and the characters and like just how cool each one is in their own, like, character set. I'm like, I can totally see how this would be really cool in the game. game because it's like, yeah, you know, you could, you could play as Vi, and she's really great

at, like, punching and stuff like that. Yeah. But equally, if you wanted to play as Echo or something, like, he's, he's so agile and cool. So they've all got, like, their different strengths. I have enjoyed seeing how they interpret their actual abilities in game into the show. I believe, it's been ages since I've played, but, like, the shark rocket launcher that she uses at the end of the first season is jinx's like ultimate ability.

Oh, okay. You know, Echo, Echo, Echo, they interpret Echo's ability to basically rewind a few seconds in the game back to like his health and stuff like that. They interpret that as him like kind of predicting the fight.

Oh, yeah. And predicting through the outcomes and being able to rewind back. Yeah. They do a really, really good job. And in all of the fights, especially the kind of iconic characters of depicting their ability, and their iconic abilities from the game in a really cool way in the show. Yeah.

That still makes sense. So at the end of season one, I said it's the best video game adaptation I've ever watched. I agree. But I'm saying that without knowing the game, I'm saying the effect it has on me because I've watched almost every single video game adaptation that has been made that I can think of anyway. And this is by far, like, this continues to be the best one. I know a lot of people really love The Last of Us, but like it doesn't touch Arcane.

It doesn't come anywhere near it. I think this show benefits from the fact that, like, the actual. actual game is not played for the story. Like, there's a very deep lore, as I said, but that's, you could play the entire game and get, like, to a professional level and never know anything about the lore. Right. And so it benefits from something that I've always kind of talked about of, like, movie adaptions of books, movie adaptations of short films are always going to be better than

long novels, because there's so much there, and everybody shows up looking for, like, their favorite part of the novel to be put in, right? So, like, with narrative video game adaptions, like The Last of Us, you're going into it being like, I love this narrative. Yeah. And now I want to see that truthfully recreated on screen. And they're never going to nail it as good as your feeling of the show. Right. However, here we have a video game that has a deep lore and sort of a really great world, but it's all kind of loose.

It's parts. It's piecemeal. It's kind of the Simmeralian sort of thing, where it's establishing lore just to give fruit and flavor. Yeah. then they can take it and render it down into something that is a specific narrative. We're not going into this having a preconceived notion of the narrative, so we get to watch it and experience these characters and experience these interpretations of these characters with sort of a virgin take on it.

Sure, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, without any, what do you call it, preconceived desires or anything like that. Yeah, exactly, exactly. It's just like it's really fresh. Yeah, that's the word I was looking for. too. Sometimes when I see the, I don't know, the

Piltover soldiers armor and their guns and stuff, it reminds me of StarCraft, like the Protas. Yeah, they do kind of look protossy. And after you said all that, I'm like, dang, we could really use a Starcraft show like this. Like, that'd be pretty cool. But I don't know if people pay, I think people do pay more attention

to the story there, but I think most people get wrapped up in like the online PVP stuff. Yeah, for sure. So, anyway, this is a great episode, I will say, just comparing one to one, Episode three of season one was, this was strong. Please don't get me wrong because I know people come after me. But episode three of season one hit me so much harder emotionally.

And it just had such an effect on me more than this one did. This I still very much enjoy. But if I'm comparing them one to one, like I did like episode three of season one better, you know, if we're following the same beats. Yeah, I mean, I think there was a lot more emotionally in the beginning of season one. I mean, not to discount any of, the emotional stuff that that Caitlin is going through, right?

But yeah, I think there was there was something about the very beginning of season one where it's just like establishing the family dynamics and the loss there. That feels very different. I think we were supposed to kind of get the same feeling of the split of powder and vi with Caitlin and Vi. I think we were supposed to get a similar effect. And I felt it to a certain degree. agree it wasn't the same because we're talking about sisters versus potential lovers yeah um it is sort of like oh my gosh like you guys are always so close and then it just keeps getting wrecked um and

you clearly like each other so much so damn it why can't they just be happy yeah i i it's like i almost wish that there was a moment for them to uh enjoy each other more so that we could feel the the tear between them even more um but anyway we got what we got i i very much enjoyed it you guys Thanks so much for hanging out. I'm Jabby Coy. This is Michael Loose and Achara Cook. Peace out.