In the unlikely chance that Arcane‘s second season doesn’t win the 2024 Game Awards for best adaptation, it will undoubtedly be in the running once again for being a work of art meant to hurt anyone who considers themselves a sister. Act two of the Emmy-award-winning League of Legends final season cemented that legacy with a grand flourish through its shocking cliffhanger.
Arcane season two act two takes place roughly three to six months after the events of the act one finale—one that saw Jinx and Sevika battle Vi and Caitlyn; Caitlyn and Vi get together and break up, and Caityln turning full fascist. All the while, Heimerdinger, Jayce, and Ekko went way over their heads tampering with the show’s magic system.
While things start worse than they’ve ever been for Caitvi in act two, life is on the upswing for Jinx, who becomes the surrogate big sister to a mute child named Isha… that is, until its finale, where Isha sacrifices herself to save Jinx from her werewolf father’s uncontrollable rampage (did we mention there’s a lot going on this season?). What’s more, Isha’s sacrifice is underscored by a stirring anthem performed by Eason Chan. TLDR: Isha is Arcane‘s Fartbuckle, and we’re all messed up over her death.
In the second episode of Arcane‘s behind-the-scenes YouTube series, Afterglow, Jinx actor Ella Purnell asked showrunner Christian Linke a burning question that’s been on the minds of every viewer since its second act dropped last Saturday: “What’s wrong with you? Why did you write that?”
“I think it’s a terrible reminder for Jinx that Isha is inspired by the chaos of the havoc and destruction,” Linke replied. “It’s another reminder, ‘You’ll never be able to escape this.’ It’s just so tough, especially when it happens to someone as innocent as Isha.”
As Linke pointed out, Isha is virtually Jinx’s mini-me in that she not only reminds Jinx of the person she once was before turning into Arcane‘s loose cannon, but that she also allows Jinx to be the big sister to someone, in place of her and Vi’s estranged sibling relationship. Much of this palpable domestic drama sees Jinx allow Isha to take more risks than Vi allowed her to partake in, even if that meant Jinx would have to absentmindedly defuse a bomb her mini-me accidentally set off.
Purnell further elaborated on the emotional gut punch of Isha’s sacrifice in act two by explaining the pair’s found family dynamic in her own words. “She’s a jinx. It’s almost a self-fulfilling prophecy,” Purnell said. “There’s a reason Jinx sees a lof of herself in Isha. Isha is a lot like her.”
She continued: “She’s everything Powder wishes Powder was at the time. It’s so heartbreaking because she’s so sweet and so innocent, and you really see a side to Jinx come out when they’re playing together with the crabby robot thing,” Purnell said. “You see this joyfulness, this real inner child comes out. It’s innocent and you start to believe that maybe Isha’s belief in her, Jinx could change. It’s so heartbreaking.”
While Arcane‘s final season has a lot riding on its final act before folks can pass their judgment on whether the show is as rousing a success as its predecessor, its opening does tease that the show will be more Shakespearian in the tragedies ahead of its characters. Look no further than the imagery for Ambessa and Mel Medarda, Jinx, Viktor, and Caitlyn, all respectively referencing famous tragedies like Julius Caesar, Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera, and Macbeth in its opening. Hopefully, Arcane‘s final act won’t end as brutally as its opening theme’s visual inspirations.
The third and final act of Arcane season two premieres on November 23 on Netflix.
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