Warning.
Today's episode Katay's spoilers for Arcane season two Acts one, That is the first three episodes of the Arcane television program on Netflix.
Hello, my name is Jason. Hello, what it is Jason Kosio.
And I am Rosie Nut.
And welcome back to xay Vision, the podcast where we dive deep in your favorite shows, movies, comics and pop culture. Coming fromind our podcast where we're bringing you three episodes a week every Tuesday and Thursday, and extra episode on Wednesday.
There is episode in case you didn't guess from the spoiler warning and our incredible singing. We are talking about Arcane season two episodes one, two, and three Act one, and after we do our speed recaps, because there's a lot of dense Arcane law, we will also be talking about an overview of some of the production struggles, our thoughts, and we will be tapping in the XRV production council to share their thoughts on the show.
Stepping out of the air lock.
Now, Arcane season two, Episode one, Heavy is the Crown. And if you thought that agn All Along had many needle drops, oh baby, prepare yourself. It's a show of needle drops. Obviously you're gonna get your big imagine Dragon's Enemy opening song, but you will get many more songs. We open in the media aftermath of Jex's hex infused rocket hitting the council chambers. Jason Mellerer alive. That was
a big question mark there, but they're there. Other members of the council are injured or dead, including Caitlyn's mum, Missus Kiraman. That's going to cause some problems going forward. Jase finds Victor badly injured.
Guy Cat can't catch a break.
You know what, he's in the hex tech. We kind of saw him. Was he dead? Was he alive? But you know what, now he's he's getting healed hopefully. Then there's a funeral for Missus Kierman. Things move fast after a Jinx terrorist attacks. That's sum question of this.
We'll talk about talk.
About that musical montage, new art style. Obviously, Counselor Salo he's got plans. He wants to smashes on to pieces. He's got the mysterious ambssa, Mel's mother pushing his wheelchair. They want to punish the under City and go to war. Mel and Caitlyn argue that with Silko dead, the under city is leaderless and they should take advantage of the division. Unfortunately, Mel loses the vote two to one. But is it
really unfortunate due to what happens next we'll see. Mel's mum suggests the council present a unified front for the invasion, and melagrees, as long as they don't use hex tech. Mean everyone else is using hex tech.
I let'll just stop us here for one second to big one comment. It is crazy that we're having a debate, a debate which will continue after the next Zon attack. We're having a debate about whether or not to go to war with Zoon after Jinx nuked the fucking council. Guys, time to go in Jesus, why are we talking about.
Awmongering must begin now if we kind of start now, Shure a hex gem at the council and killed one of the council, It's time for a war.
Caitlin blames herself for not taking the shot on Jinks, which will become a reoccurring issue. And Caitlyn's mother left her the Kiraman key. Now this is very cool. We get to see a little history of the Kureman's and what the key might do Caitlyn seeks solace in Viola, who now admits that Powder is gone and Jinx has
taken her over. Vy wants to go on a mission with the Power Gauntlets and fix this, and Caitlyn says, no more rogue missions, but you can become a car here's your badge, here's your I'm an enforcer, and VI's like, I'm not doing this. I'm gonna go get drunk with the bearded guy. Discord users, if you know who the bearded guy is is tell us, because he is really important. There are one hundred and forty characters in League of Legends, and Aaron went through every single one and he does not know.
Yes, and we're and we are not League of Legends players, and I think one of them. One of the strengths of our kene is is that you don't need to know any of that stuff. The show is great without that. But we're have been we've been mystified trying to figure out who this guy is.
Jas, the hunky himbo who wanted war and now he's like, ah, what was bad? He wants to be able to keep victory of live with the hex Tech, and he's been able to do it. But he doesn't really understand how he's got survivors guilt due to sky dying because of his Invictors hex plans. Mel tells Jase about the council meeting and says, like, you go talk to Caitlin and see what's going on, because we don't know what we're gonna do. As Jason said, you probably should have just
sent some people down there and stopped it. Caitlin is sitting in the courtyard and she's thinking again and again about the shot she didn't take on Jinx. This is obviously gonna become a big stopping point for the Will Caitlin and Vi ever get together crowd? And Jace wonders, is y right, Like, will the hex tech works? Should she let her get those famous gauntlets? And she said, hex Techs may keep us alive, Jase, but it's not what will save us. Junior Officer Maddy Nolan, another new
character for Arcane, finds Violet. Turns out Violet is a bit of a legend among the Enforcers. Interesting. Interesting because I feel like she's a bit of a rogue, but I guess the Enforcers like her, and it's nice.
It's nice to hear that that Caitlin has been talking up by and being exactly. She was amazing when nobody wanted to do anything, she went and took on Silko alone. She's so courageous and brave, and I think this is a This is a big factor in VI's later decision to spoiler mild spoiler join up exactly.
Which you know if you've seen the trailer, you've seen that. And her bearded vagrant companion, who I must say is very burly and muscly, so we get it. He's going to be useful. He overhears and I guess he's in. Now he's in the team. So Mel holds a memorial for missus Kierman and kind of the people who died in the Council. And in case you weren't sure that there was going to inevitably be a war, Violet notices that there are strange mastered people at the mountain. They
get here and guess what. It's the Ken Barons with hex Tech infused armored soldiers and are really big boy and they are attacking a memorial, so pieces it's it's out of the question. Caitlin is attacked by a hex Tech armored soldier VI obviously saves her. Jason is being pursued by Rennie with a very cool all govermented chainsaw, terrified, really cool chainsaw. We do. If you are wondering whether the action and the art style stands up to season one,
it does. And these big action sequences. The way they use the color of the hex Tech against the kind of you know, washed out colors of Piltover is very cool. The counselors are all hiding. The biggest boy pulls out Junior and Maddie Nolan.
No security, No security at this memorial. No security apparently in Piltover, at the various points of entrance and egress down.
To the underworld.
How is this possible when you've got like all your surviving heavy hitters in one room and the forces of zon can just.
Like walking, just walking, dressing up as an auntie. I feel like there's big problems in Piltover. Jase finds a hammer wink wink, very popular Jace weapon in the games, his Mercury hammer. So bash is Rennie, but she's got shimmer strength, baby, and everybody is on racks, everybody is fighting. She cuts Chase across the back their own forces everywhere, and then Violet's mysterious companion jumps in and manages to protect them, kind of showing his loyalty to Piltover and
his new drinking buddy. Kaitlin gets off a few well placed shots, but not well placed enough. Rennie proclaims for my son, but come on, get are you're gonna tell your stuff?
I want to I want to ask a question.
And I know that.
Listen, schats Aaron and a Boo. We've done a tremendous job covering Arking season one. Check those episodes out. I have a question for Rennie the chem Barren, why was your fucking son working in a factory?
Thank you? Oh my god. I was trying to bring this up, like that's what you're gonna do. You're gonna set You're gonna have your own son be the lookout for your drug factory. Like that's on you. That is that's on you. That is not on Jason, even though he did rush into that, but that is on you, absolutely on you. And then we get this big hex text blast as VI knocks her off with Jason's hammer and looks super cool, and there's kind of this big
fight Violet can't get the hammer to reload. Jase helps her, but at the last second, a big spear and it's the Noxian Army. Baby yes, and Bessa stands in for war regalia with them, and this was obviously her plan from the beginning. She slits Renny throws her to the side. Noxi has saved the day. Isn't that gonna work out for them? Caitlin just can't believe they attacked during a memorial Jason, can you believe it? Have they shown themselves to.
Who are these animals? How could they have done it?
Have you not been paying attention, babe, everything that's been happening this whole team.
And also like they are all on this like insane drug that like doesn't many were taking and it's not like it's not like they're not like, oh, they're ill. And it's an addiction that this is like a fictional drug that makes you into like a superhero hard they are powered up, it's like and she's feeling the grief
of Kaitlinn's feeling the grief of losing her mother. Even though Miss Kierman kind of sucked, Caitlin knows she shouldn't have pushed the enforcer bad John Violet, but it's she knows if she goes after Jinks alone, one of us comes back in a box. So they got a team up. The lesbians have got a team up together, and Caitlyn uses the Kierman key. I do think this is one
of my favorite things about this episode. You kind of learn about, You get some good ones like Lore, like Strange plague outfits like history, the Gray told over these really beautifully illustrated kind of slide show, and the Council is meeting in secret. Caitlin's like, Bro, I'm on the Council. I'm going into Zorn, I'm gonna locate Jinx, I'm gonna eliminate the Shim operation. I'm gonna root out anyone who is still loyal to Silko. And why will I be
more successful than anyone else? Well, we've got a few surprises of our own, and what it is is that Navy Junior Officer Maddy Nolan new character and Shield Guy also new character. Ah here they've got special Forces looking like Cammi from Street Fighter, and then they have Violet and she's also down for now with her badass corntlet and the episode ends with Victor's body flinching. He's still alive. Oh wait, that's not actually the end, and we will
talk about this more. Cut to Sins traveling in the snow to a cave with two wolves, and just like Sins, you are going to be on a journey with us as we talk about Arcane Act one. And so let's listen to a message from our sponsors while we take a break.
M Okay, we're back. Can I ask you?
I want to ask one question that we don't need to answer right now. The Naxian Army and AMBSSA like one shot these Zohnian big boys like with the spears.
Boom boom boom boom boom gone, why don't we send them down there?
Uh, that's that's just what she asked.
Yeah, we'll we'll talk about that later.
I'm like, that's season two Power Season two, Yes, episode two, watch it all open. There's music, there's imagic dragons, and now is monologuing to Silko in the waters. Then there's another musical montage where the casbout.
The the This moment with Silko and Jinx felt a little oz and mom, didn't.
It, oh baby, which I actually found very interesting because I had never found I had never gotten that vibe from the relationship before. I definitely got the adopted father vibe, but this time was very love.
Yeah, it was, I mean from Silko side, it was certainly like the various very obvious father dag yeah things.
That was actually one of them.
That was I thought was one of the best like emotional subplots of the entire season.
One was that I actually felt.
Bad when Silko Yeah, me too, me too.
But this was it was just it struck me as a very weird tone because she's cradling his face and it was anyway.
Jinks like chill out. She obviously has guilt, but it's yeah. And now the music musical montage where we kind of see each of the kem Barons fading away from the table after their death. Jink saves a little kid from gang members, not particularly for altruistic reasons, but it will become very important.
She points a gun at him and is like, day you feel that, like you feel the fear of like it can all end of the second of Idolatry. It's like Jinks, Jinks, come wow, your sister, chill out.
Her wanted posters are all over the alleyway and the kid decides to follow Jinks and this will be like an important point going forward. Smeach, perfectly named Smeech is putting his next move to remove the maning keem barons as they divvy up what's left of Silko's empire. His accountant worries about hitting Margo and cautious story. You know, I'm like, I just need you to know that that
Smeach has an accountant, That's the most important thing. Sa Vikier is holding a meeting with the other kem barons, urging them to put aside their squabbles, and Smeech is like, I will be you a new arm if you deliver me. Jink Sevikia is like, eh, I'm gonna set and guess what Jinx is there in the rafters. They connect over how much they used to do for Silko and Jink's leaves. But Smeech was hiding out waiting. That's not gonna end well for him. Now Victor is hearing voices through the
hex tech blob he is in case thin. He's managed to pull himself out, and now his body's looking like a skeleton and a T one thousand and he's looking very strange, and this is going to be the start of something the fans will know about in the Glorious Revolution. Jase offers him clothes because he's like, you must be called no Jase. He is like a hex techy. He's hex Jesus. Like Jase plans to resign from the council, and Victor's like, I don't care. He's like you thought
I was your friend. Now I'm just living hex tech. I gotta put on this cloak and take out my gandal staff and we got to be on our way. Echoes firelights are taking more refugees but hymen, and one of them is Heimerdinger, who's like entertaining the kids.
There's like a bubble gun checking this out. Kids made of Canadon that makes bubbles.
Echoes worried about, like the leaves are kind of look like they're being poisoned, which we can recognize looks like hex tech or like there's purple and blue on it. Heimerdinger and Echo decide the best thing to do is to do a heist. And I love this because I.
Love him through his own facility has complete access.
But he's also like, fuck that I'm not part of them anymore. Man puts on a mask, makes up code phrases and Jase obviously catches them and confirms that yeah, it is. It is Hex's Tech.
Now somehow hex Tech is drifting.
Somehow hex Tech is drifting to somehow hex Tech returned, you know. And now we see Messiah Victor and he is walking through the underca hearing Sky's voice, whom he is now by the lab assistant that he killed with his experiments, and he sees footsteps a light before him. And guess what group of vagrants follow him, including our tragic buddy Huck. And you're gonna know what happens next. But Jinks, first of all, hiding an old arcane, sees the Enforces through the smoke. Uh oh, it's Vi and
her other crew. Let's say Aaron made up this great name Seal Team Kiss. Jinks has shot a Violet, but she can't take it and it's a lone tear drops and falls on Violet's hand. Jinx escapes, but as she runs, she gets ambushed by Smeach back again. Sevika saves her. Jinks has built Sevika a sick new arm.
Great video.
It's so yeah, please, I mean I think Legal Legends people will understand how this arm works.
But it seems to have like a.
Random power generator, Like that's kind of like a one arm bandit style, Yeah, a mechanism, and I guess I don't understand how it works. Like my understanding of gambling with those types of machines is you have to have like more than one symbol like hmm appear in each of the slots. And so I guess I just don't understand like how the power of the arm works.
I guess like the arm is probably like the answer is probably like hepsac, you know, but I may be.
But it's like the the the boxing glove appears in the middle and then she has the boxing glove power, but like another time, like a mushroom appeared in the middle and there was nothing. So like I don't I am people who understand League of Legends get it.
A League of Legend lowheads tell us, Aaron, Aaron, I'm cooling as it works.
I don't know how it works. But I also think Civika is not another character in Legal Legends, so there's no game lore as far as I can tell.
Around me.
Oh, okay, very insting, very interesting.
Because I was like, how is this armworking in this fight? That looks really cool?
We have it looks incredibly cool, and it's a really bad idea because it's kind of this casino luck of which slot machine kind of powers you get and it does look really cool. So eventually she kills Smitch smeech Jackpot, and then we go back to Victor and guess what Victor is curing lepers? But he is curing them with hex Tech energy and essentially replacing their skin with like
Hextech armor skin. And once the vagrants and the crew see it happened to Huck, then they start to bow down to Victor and it's clear that he's going to be going around curing the people who are addicted to Shimmer by replacing their skin with his Hextech And this seems absolutely unhinged to me, Victor, but go for it. Another ending fake out. It was not the end, even though that would have been a big end. Now we
catch up with Cinched again. He's killed the two headed wolf Boo and extracted its fangs and eyes, but has somehow kept the double heart pumping, just like we keep the podcast pumping. Messages from US posters and We're back. Arcane Season two, Episode three, finally got the name right. Using the Kiraman key, Caitlyn lends her family devised the ventilation system to isolate the Gray Seal team. Kiss finds he not smeeches old account, and I told you the
account would be important. Tied to a propeller in a ventilation system. He really, he reveals, and this is actually a really good evil plan Jinx planning to reroot the ventilation systems. Caitlyn's like, fuck this, I'm actually done with it. Now we're We're going to war. Amara, a member of Piltover's Merchant Guild, seeks an audience with am Bessa to settle a debt. She's actually a witch. Love this threatening ambssad that even in Piltover, her kind is still watching
her and she'll never succeed. This basically confirms Ambssa's suspicions. She overpowers and kills Emara and a Bessa wants to prepare for war. Her girl God warns that Salo isn't ready, she doesn't care and they should involve Mel, but am Bessa thinks Mel, She's like, keep her out of it. I love my family and Bessa's big on family, but she's always making strange decisions. Violet tries to convince Caitlin
that they should travel just as a pair. I'm like, guys, just kiss first of all, and then get an army, because please, the rest of the team is going to get hurt. Violet knows her sister is gone. No, you don't look first of all, that's my big thing. I love my sister. Even if she turned into Jinks, I would still be repping her. I wouldn't. But Violet, you just gotta stop lying about the fact that you know
Powder is gone. You don't every time, you just keep seeing And she's like, Caitlin, please don't change like everyone else. And finally, finally we get a kiss about time way too long, and best of visits Salo, who's being attended to by lest no kisses here. She just chokes him out and drops him on a table and gives him a concussion. She's like, mate, She's like, this is what will happen to you if you don't do what I'm saying. Go get the families of influence because we're about to
have a meeting. Mel meets with Less backstage unless is like your mum is crazy. She's like please, like I'm o one out, like your mum's got problems. Mel Is like, well I can stop her, so don't worry. And Lester it's like, here's you. You can't. You don't know what she's got. You can't, we can none of us can stop our mums. Lest gives Mel a new cocktail spiked with shimmer. Uh oh, I feel like everyone's getting into the shimmer business. Not a good idea, everybody.
Yeah.
Ah. Jace, he's exploring the wild Ruins with Echo and him a Dinger. This is a fun trio, explaining that the arcane is everywhere and the wild ruines might be a reaction of overuse of hextech. Heimerdinger says, oh, ball suck. It's fantastic. Now, I will say we have been talking about this hypothetically before this and working out now, Abou says, and he's correct. I'm sure that they said the arcane in the first season of Arcane, but they are bringing
up a lot more. Now, what is the arcane? That's what we've got to talk about that afterwards, because like we don't know. Jace, Echo and Heimerdinger are now on a little fun adventure, they go deep underground to see what the heck Skates are doing. They reach the Gemstone Mesh base, where they have a fail space. But while Echo and Jace argue, Heimerdinger notices the Arcane's influence and suddenly the wild Rune appears and envelops the room. These
are some really trippy visuals, guys. I know we're doing like this is obviously an audio recap, but I'm saying, if you've watched the show once you have had your spoilers, put it on and just like go through the visuals because the hex Tech stuff and the hex Gate stuff here starts to really push the ideas of what made this show great in the first season, which is like different styles of animation used on top of each other, unexpected colors, beautiful landscape. So Violet and Caitlin reach a
chamber littered with Jinx's graffiti. She just can't help telling people where she is. Jinx blames Violet for betraying their roots and working with the enemy. Caitlyn takes a shot, but it was just a reflection. You did not kill your girlfriend's sister. Jinks appears behind Violet, and as Caitlyn lines up a shot speaker ambushes her. Everyone in this fight is out for blood. Great fight scene. Also, just like a huge moment in slow mo, in this show, you get the Jinks so much Lomo and also big
like jinks Vy moments. Here the wild Room reacts to Jason or the hex Tech. Now we're back with them and the weaponry short circuits, and we kind of get these glimpses of what the Heck's tech could do and what it shouldn't do, and it's very interesting. Caitlin blows off Jinx's middle finger. I don't know if these family Dinners are going to be good in the future, and
Violet jumps on her, ready to finish her off. But Isha, the little kid that Jinks save told you that kid would be important, grabs a gun, gets in between Jinks and Violet, and Caitlin fires a bullet to knock out the gun, but v will not let Kate show shoot Jinks. She says, for here fear of hitting Esha, but also I think it's because that's your say. Jason's like, he's just killer I.
Am how much more. Listen, no one wants to see a little kid get shot. This is a kid with a gun. That's pointing a gun at one of your squad members. This is a kid with a gun protecting the terrorist of this underworld that not only like murdered the council in an unprecedented attack, but is part of the group, you know, attached to the group that later attacked the Memorial like and is up to no good down here, planning on rerooting the ventilation.
Systems of the tunnels.
I cannot polluted piltover like and flooded with noxious chemicals and drug air.
I know not. And guess what, Just take the shot. Just Caitlin, your mom's dead too? Is that adding all furity to you? I have Violet and Kate, they're not It's not going well for them. Savika activates a propeller gens jettinis in cat and via way and setting off their plan and then we see and pilt over the vents all explode with very colorful explosions. Is this the great? Is it a glitter bron pank? Is it shimmer? You
know what? We're not gonna find out right now because we go back to Caitlin and Violet, and Caitlyn is like, I never should have expected anything different from you. Like, and then she hits over with the butt of the gun in the stomach and Violet crying alone and the kiss it's over. They kiss, and now they're broken up and it's going to be bad for everyone. Mel And and Laura have been spying on Sailo as well as kind of like, what wise, where's my brother gone? What's
going on with that? And a Laura is overcome with the witch's magic and whispers Black Rose as Mel is overtaken and disappears very interesting. She drops the cocktail lest gave her good No shimmer for you. And then this is the big moment at the end here, which kind of sets up how this scene is going to end, but also I would assume kind of teases how the rest of room Terra will come into it. Sailo and
am Bessa meet with the remaining families of influence. She beat him up and he bought the families there, and am Bessa says, look Zorn night, assassin's killed. Amara. Wrath must be met with wrath. She urges them to declare martial law, and she and her Noxi and soldiers will be at their disposal until all families are safe, and then she's like, so we got to get a new leader. And obviously Sailor's sitting up in his little chair and he's like, I'm ready, but me here we go go.
She's not talking about you, Sailoh, She's talking about Kaitlyn Kierman, and this is her plan. From the beginning, we get flashbacks of Ambassador and her troops. They're scheming, and by the end of this even junior Officer Maddie Nolan is pounding her chest with the idea of war, though interestingly, our bearded vagrant shield guy is not having it and walks away, which makes me think he has some kind
of history with Ambassador and Noxia. Anyway, very good, strong ending, but it's not really the ending because we got to go back to Singe. Do we hear heavy animal breathing. Blood is coursing through his vials into singed body, and he's attached to some kind of massive creature suspended above him. And that is the end of Act one of Arcade season two. You will get the next season next week. Once a week, I mean the next act once a week,
so you have to wait another week. Jason, your feelings about Kaye season two, Act one?
I think that they took it up a notch with regards to the animation style. With regards to the action, I might here's my one note, and while we'll discuss this with the group as well, I think the pacing is needs to be faster, in particular because due to the outrageous costs over runs of production of this show, we're only getting season two. See it's over after season two.
And I think the fact that it took three season three episodes to open season two of debate about like are we going to attacks on should we go to war?
About with Zon?
Are we going to go after.
Like two devast like incredibly devastating attacks that either on their own would be enough to be like yes, then the fucking troops and what are we waiting for?
Is crazy? It's I think.
I love all the side plots, but like those should be pruned down, and just in general, like I feel like we should have opened up season one Caitlin and the Strikeforce and v are in the tunnels and we start from there. It's just too much talking about doing the thing. And this is where I feel like you really feel that they must not have had a lot of material written and ready to go when production ramped back up, because this is just like a lot of slow mo and needle drops and not.
Moving the ball forward story wise. Anyway, that's what I think. What did you think, Crazy?
I know, I think you make some really good points. I love seeing this back on a screens. It's really really beautiful. I love the will they won't live Caitlin and I. I love Seat Jinks and Vie back together.
But yeah, I do think it's really interesting because seeing as it is adapting a game that is not necessarily a narrative heavy game in its game play, it does end up almost feeling more like it's adapting like a campaign, and that's why they're so much like talking and plotting, kind of more like your vox Markina or something like that. Very interesting, and let's call in our own seal team Kiss to discuss the events of Act one, Aaron.
Your thoughts, Your thoughts on Chapter one, Season two of Arcane thus far.
I thought the ending of episode three was incredible and one of almost maybe even better than I thought the end of season one was. I loved the little twist with Caitlin being, you know, in charge of everything. And I'm a fan of the Wolf of Wall Street chest pounding as much as the next guy, and so I love seeing that with everyone. I did think the the fake out post credit scene every episode was too much. I totally could have had.
That so at exactly, I don't.
I didn't care enough about Singed from season one to need an update on him every single episode, And if they are building him up to be the big bad, I needed more of him in season one. Also, along the lines of what Jason was saying, maybe they didn't know that they were going to do that with him, and so now they're trying to make up for lost time. Yes, and yeah, give us. I think what happens is they had.
Animatics and production material left over from season one, and as production ramped up for season two late and delayed, and they didn't have enough writing, what.
Are they gonna do? Throw that stuff away?
We needed to figure out a place for all this stuff, and that's why you have this kind of hodgepodge, a weirdly paced.
It makes a great point that originally the show was set to be five seasons. Yeah, and then they had to shrink it down to two. Now. I think at first a lot of us were like, ooh, you're saying you're gonna end it off to two seasons. That feels like a kind of brave creative choice where you obviously know you're telling the perfect story. We now know that that is obviously a production decision, so I think we
asked starting to feel a little bit of that. I also want to say, though, I think if you loved the first season of the show and you were just vibing on it, and you love the music and you love the vibes, I think you're just gonna love being back in this world. I do think it's like a very specific space, and I think if you are committed to it, this second season does feel a little bit
less accessible than the first. Is like one of my biggest critiques because I knew so many people who never played Legal Legends, who don't watch animation, who loved the first season of Arcane. I don't necessarily know if when they jump into this second season unless they've rewatched it and kept up with it, I don't know if it's necessarily going to be as much as an easy jump in.
I do love the almost Game of Thrones esque treatment of characters, where we have so many characters in the show that we can start playing with the pairings, and like you mentioned in the recap, I love love jas Heimerdinger and Echo.
That feels like it's gonna be like a fan fave grouping.
I also love Jinx working with Sevika, like that relationship changing from being so antagonistic to Jinx without even Sevika asking, she just made her this new arm that, like you were.
Saying, the standing that you have to like team up with the people who are.
We relied so much on Silko and he's gone, What do we do now we have no place in the world kind of But like you mentioned the game, the game has over one hundred and forty playable characters, and as you kept mentioning, we have the Shield guy who we still don't know who he is. We have Junior Officer Maddie Nolan. We have the Navvi esque character of Seal Team Kiss that we never get a name for.
There are so many characters from the game they could be introducing, And if they actually want to make this this big expanded universe where they're making other League of Legend run Terra shows, wouldn't you want to be introducing some of these one hundred and forty playable characters that could be the leads of future shows.
You mentioned Game of Thrones, and I think that's an important point to jump off to talk about the cost of the show. A recent Variety article pegged the entire cost of the show at something like two hundred and fifty million dollars, which is staggering.
That's most staggering an anime series of old time by us a staggering long margin.
The first nine episodes of season one came in at something like eighty million per The second batch of nine for this season are coming in at one hundred million per and so, and that's on top of Riot Game's own sixty million of its own money that it put into promoting the series, which is excellent and listen, and that's clearly why they're ending after only two seasons of a planned five. I'll just say that. I mean, we
mentioned it it up top all the needle drops. I if you're looking for money to cut and.
This is a first time.
This is like the first project of this type for Riot This is the first project of this type for the French animation studio whose name I'm forgetting, So I get it. There's a lot of like newcomer stuff here that said, don't spend music licensing top dollar music licensing money three and four times per episode, four and.
Always per episode.
You don't, Yeah, you don't need to do it three four times per episode for artists that are that are kind of expensive.
Like these are not like indie artists.
These are like mint tier artists that you're paying like significant dollars for. And these are the kind of things where I'm just frustrating because I.
Wish we were getting five seasons and not just two.
As we're ramping up to introduce a villain whose arc is clearly going to be curtailed because we're only like in the back six episodes of the entire story.
Yeah, I will, I will say I agree with you. I also think that for some viewers the music is too much. We know that Joelle is definitely in that camp, Nick is in the same cap Like that just just does not do it for them. Now, I will say, I.
Like it, But how about cheaper artists, how about less fine artists?
You know, get there, get them some exposure, pay them like not a million dollars, a million dollars. I love the one composer with an incredible score. But I will say something that we are or we all have in common here is we are all over the age of twenty right now. And I'm just gonna say, my niece is five and my nephew is ten, and all they watch on YouTube are like edits of video games or movies, and they're just set to popular songs. So in that way, this is like trying to can I do it?
Can I come back equivalent?
No?
No, But the thing is on YouTube, nobody's paying the money.
Yeah, But can I can I answer that? And I do think this is a conversation we've had. I'd love to get Aaron's take. It does clearly seem like season two they're are aiming at a younger audience. And that said, and and no disrespect to any of our like age fifteen and younger fans that might be listening. But like kids don't know what's good.
They'll watch, you know, like they don't know.
And it's one thing to like take the stylistic forms of YouTube and other platforms and put that into and use that to mold our cane. But like they don't know a good top dollar music artist from like a bottom door, Like they don't They simply don't, Like, you don't have to make it that good. If that's what you want to do, you don't have to spend that much money.
That's true to do this that they watch are like really busted, like like yo, like nature kids breaking news. Jason Conception says, ohol kids have bad taste. They just don't.
They just don't know what they No one excites them, but they don't know that exactly.
So Yeah, I do think someone is gonna make that TikTok edit with the clips from the show set to whatever's big budget name.
Musician are in your thoughts, your thoughts about the music drops and the general costs and the disappointment of like only having two seasons.
I mean, as a musician, I'm never opposed to musicians getting paid as writers, performers, whatever. That more said, you could have licensed the song from these artists instead of asking them to write a piece specifically for the show just to appear in the trailer.
Uh, like we haven't I was going to seen the scenes.
Yeah yeah, yeah, Aaron. What was some of the artists you were talking about who have recorded songs specifically for the show that have yet to actually appear in the show.
So Ashnico does a song, uh the Around You Blue, all Around You, very Jinx coded, like perfect match of things. But you know, we could have had that maybe in a Jink scene, but Jinx's character is so much darker and more somber this season. We have not seen Jinks like off the edge, like going crazy. And then also we have this beautiful song that is sung by Cheryl Lee Ralph, who you probably know from things like Sister Act two or Moesha or potentially as Barbara in Aviod Elementary.
She's incredible, but she sings this song that like that could have gone in any number of places in these first three episodes, and instead we're getting like I couldn't. There were a couple spots the music with Victor becoming Jesus, like really two on the nose, We get it, We know what you're referencing here. If we don't need like these choiry strings of Jesus.
Anybody heard of Jesus?
You know? So you see just curing people.
Now, and they do have like a music video to start every single episode so far, which felt like a lot.
And again this is to your point, this is not existing songs that are licensed for this which is cheaper. This is original music that has been created for this show, sometimes with like songwriters.
I mean Sting is a songwriter on one of these.
This is like top dollar stuff that you're paying for and it's three four times an episode.
It does scream like music video game exact. So will like make sure that you get some sting in o Kane. I really think the kids are gonna love Sting like, which is anat song.
The Sting song is actually in season one, but also season one has it had push a t on the soundtrack. This is like a great collection of artists but.
Also huge names.
Oh and my other thing we talked about the pacing. If you're gonna have these montage music videos at the beginning of every episode, use that to tell us a little story, get us like faster as opposed as opposed to just here I am remembering my mom and hears uh, you know the different art styles and yeah, so your point on that, Like there's one of I think it's the episode two video opener where it's like.
You see ken the pools water.
Yeah, and then it's and then it morphs into this uh you know music video execution telling us that now Silko's like lieutenants are fighting each other.
And.
Uh, you know, it just feels like a double beat to me, Like we get it. We've just had the conversation that, like the gangs are disunited. We had it in episode one that they're going to be at each other's next fighting for control of the lanes. We just heard Jinks in the baptism scene where she's uh, you know, mourning Silko saying that, like, these two big gangsters are
fighting for control of the lanes. We don't then need an entire music video that like takes us through like oh, Silko disappearing and now this person disappearing, and now these two already and you know, like ready disappearing, and now these two already each other's next.
Like we get it.
But again, I think this all comes back to the fact that, as is reported in this Variety story that after delays, they didn't have when they came back and had production, they didn't have writing done. So they clearly were having to tread water in a lot of different areas and find reasons to include various different animations. And I just think there's a lot of repeated beats that could have just been beat out once you hit us over the head with stuff.
I think you make a good point. Also, I wonder if this is that kind of that hard jump from season one being so accessible and everyone like this is great. I love how easy it is for me to jump in to then trusting your audience enough in season two to not necessarily do the same repeated beat stuff that made it really easy to get into in season one.
But I still didn't find this. I think, like if somebody was like just watching a random episode of this with their friends, I still don't think this season is particularly easy to get into. But those repeated beats are like very very clear. Yeah, it definitely an editorial guy, No, no, no, this.
Is it's just the frustration of like, this show is going to be over now it's.
Six episodes, and also it costs two hundred and fifty million dollars plus.
You know, so we gotta get more for our money.
Like yeah, and also this is you know, this is that conversation as well of like is streaming sustainable? Like people love TV shows that are on Netflix, and Netflix are well known for occasionally they'll cancel, you know, a popular show. That's something that's happened and I think that these kind of conversation about budget and production stuff are important because it's part of the context of the industry and how and why these shows get made or don't get made.
Yeah.
One more comment, because the two hundred and fifty million figure that is in this Variety article, the exec who is quoted in this article does not confirm that that is indeed the number, which leads me to believe that it's actually higher.
Higher. I did, I got higher. I got that too.
Yeah, okay, So any closing thoughts.
Aaron Closing thoughts, I, having just rewatched all of season one and really getting into it, I'm so happy that it's back. When we get new stories after two three years whatever it was between the end of season one and season two. It's great to see things again, loving the outfit changes for everyone, and we're getting advancement of some of these storylines, albeit slowly. I'm excited to see
what the final six episodes are. But I do think at the end of this I really love the high at the end of episode three, but there was a little bit of bumpy road to get there.
Mm hmm, Okay. Let me ask you both, what are your biggest questions for like the next act, Like going into the next act, what's the thing you most wanted? Shield Guy?
Whose shield Guy?
What is hurricane?
Yeah? You know arcane? What is the arcane? That's the biggest question, I think, And also who is shield guy? We need to know, guys.
I also want to know that I felt like I was stupid. I rewatched the scene to make sure when Jinx sets off the bombs and we get the colorful smoke going into Piltover, I expected it to be the gray and everyone just kind of kept different going, Yeah, there didn't seem to be the gray, And I don't know if it was just a warning shot and she's gonna you know, like reverse the duct system later, but why would you give that away?
I don't know.
That seemed to be an incredible visual moment that didn't have a true story aspect yet I know I was like.
Is it meant to be Shima or a version of Shimmer and then she's gonna get That's.
What I thought.
I was wondering if it was like I was wondering if it was like flavors of Shimmer, like you know, like different Kem Barons factory Shimmer, factories like popping off into Yeah, into piltover I. I same as you, Aaron. I have a lot of questions about what comes next with that particular plot. Well, that's it for today's episode. Coming up on Extra Vision this Thursday, we're breaking down
the cinematic future of the DC universe. Then next week we're you know, gonna rub a little dirt in our hands and cress the wheat as we celebrate sword in Sandals weeks starting with a Gladiator rewatch on Monday, two thousands, Gladiator Arcane Season two, Act two on that Tuesday, and then Extras returns with our reactions to the first episode of Doune Prophecy on HBO.
Max, and much more.
Glad of your content.
That's it for this episode, Thanks for listening. X ray Vision is hosted by Jason Kensumsion and Rosie Knight and is a production of iHeart Podcasts. Our executive producers are Joelle Smith and Aaron Kaufman. Our supervising producer is a Boo Zafar. Our producers are Carmen Laurent and Mia Taylor. Our theme song is by Brian Basquez.
Special thanks to Soul Rubin and Chris Laude, Kenny Goodman and Heidi Our Disco Moderata