One ofNetflix’s most acclaimed animated shows everis about to reach its long-awaited conclusion withArcaneSeason 2. Taking place in the vast and expansive world of the hit video game franchise,League of Legends,Arcanebrings the signature art style and over-the-top concepts to the game to the animated series in spectacular fashion. However, what setsArcaneapart from other video game adaptations is its remarkable dedication to telling a powerful story with immense thematic weight along with complex and nuanced characters.
Season 1 ofArcaneended with a literal bang, with the character of Jinx (Ella Purnell) completing her evolution as one television’s greatest villains and blowing up the Piltover Council. It’s a jaw-dropping cliffhanger ending that leaves the fates of characters like Jayce Talis (Kevin Alejandro) in question, but make no mistake. Many heroes and villains fromArcanewill be back for Season 2, and you’re able to read about their dramatic stories so far right here.
Hailee Steinfeld
The closest thingArcanehas to a main protagonist is Vi, voiced byHailee Steinfeld. Sinceher breakout role in 2010’sTrue Grit, Steinfeld has enjoyed a well-deserved career in film and television. While Vi probably doesn’t view herself as a hero, Steinfeld has plenty of experience playing them, having previously played Spider-Gwen in theSpider-Versefilms and Kate Bishop inHawkeye.
Vi and her sister Powder (later known as Jinx) lost their parents years ago during a deadly riot involving the affluent nation of Piltover and the destitute nation of Zaun. Thankfully, the two sisters are taken in by a kindhearted rogue named Vander (JB Blanc) finds the young girls and decides to raise them as his own. However, tragedy strikes when Vander’s former friend turned rival, Silco (Jason Spisak), makes a play for control over Zaun. The resulting fight sees Powder accidentally kill Vander and her adopted brothers in an explosion, leaving her older sister Vi horrified and disgusted. In her passion, Vi abandons Powder and leaves her with no one but Silco to comfort her.
Years later, Vi ends up in prison, living with the lifelong regret of abandoning her sister. She gets a chance at redemption when Vi is released by an Enforcer named Caitlyn Kiramman (Katie Leung), who is investigating the spread of a dangerous drug called Shimer throughout Zaun. While helping Caitlyn with her investigation, Vi eventually finds Powder, but is shocked to see she is now the murderer and terrorist known as Jinx. Vi tries time and time again to reach her sister, but she’s helpless to stop Jinx from doing something unspeakably evil.
Ella Purnell
The anti-thesis to everything Vi stands for is embodied in her own sister, Jinx, voiced by Ella Purnell. Purnell has become a powerhouse in the world of television, starring in hit after hit show over and over again. Examples includeYellowjackets,Sweetpea, andanother stellar video game adaptation,Fallout.
At a young age, Powder was given the nickname of Jinx as a result to the belief that she caused bad luck for the group. She always strived to prove herself as more than a naive kid, but sadly, Powder’s nickname would eventually be proven right. Using some mysterious blue orbs she and her siblings found in Piltover, Powder tries to save her family from Silco, only to end up killing her and Vi’s adoptive family in the process. Powder is gutted that Vi, the one person who always looked out for her, seemingly abandons her, pushing her into the arms of Silco, who takes her under his wing as his own adopted daughter.
Powder eventually abandons her name as Powder altogether to become Jinx - Silco’s most feared and powerful follower. While she is a certifiable genius inventor with a brilliant intellect, Jinx’s mental stability only deteriorates over time, feeling that she’s unable to trust anyone around her. The finale of Season 1 sees her kill Silco after suspecting he’d betray her, while she uses her newly developed super weapon to blow up Piltover’s capital, and its council members.
Katie Leung
Caitlyn Kiramman
Vi’s closest companion (and perhaps something even more) is Caitlyn Kiramman, voiced once again byHarry Potterfranchise star Katie Leung.
Despite being born in nobility, with her own mother (Abigail Marlowe) being on the Piltover Council, Caitlyn Kiramman always wanted to do something more with her life. That’s why she decided to join the ranks of the Enforcers, even though her friends and family advised against it and her co-workers don’t take her seriously. Cait eventually gets her chance to prove herself when she tries to expose Silco’s crime empire, forming a close bond with Vi in the process. Sadly, Cait’s investigation ends in tragedy, as she’s helpless to stop Jinx from using her new weapon, the targets of which are her mother and her close friend Jayce (Kevin Alejandro).
Reed Shannon
Reed Shannon, the star ofThe Wilds, returns toArcaneas Ekko - the unexpected rebel leader seen in the show.
Ekko was a close friend of Vi and Jinx when they were younger, always helping them out whenever he could. When Vi went missing and Jinx turned to the dark side, Ekko watched as his home was being corrupted and transformed by Silco. As he grew up, Ekko had enough and became the leader of the Firelights - a new underground faction that is fighting the tyrannical rule of Piltover on one side and the criminal conspirators of Zaun on the other. Ekko is very nearly killed in a massive battle with Jinx, but he’s thankfully found and aided by Heimerdinger (Mick Wingert).
Mick Wingert
Heimerdinger
Veteran voice actorMick Wingertreturns as the former leader of Piltover, Heimerdinger.
Despite his short stature and cute appearance, Heimerdinger is one of the oldest and wisest residents in all of Piltover. He watches his pupils, Jayce and Viktor (Harry Lloyd), become pioneers with their new Hextech, but he becomes increasingly concerned that these new developments could be turned into weapons of mass destruction. Heimerdinger is eventually pushed out of the council entirely despite his words of warning, leading him to see what life is really like in the cities he once governed.
Harry Lloyd
The fate of Jayce is currently uncertain after Jinx’s attack, but we do know that his partner in crime, Viktor, is still at large, voiced byThe Theory of Everythingstar Harry Lloyd.
Viktor originally grew up in the more desolate parts of the city, being exposed to all sorts of harmful chemicals at a young age. As a result, Viktor has been ill for most of his life, and whatever disease he may have is slowly killing him. Desperate for a cure, Viktor combines his revolutionary Hextech with some forbidden knowledge courtesy of the sinister doctor Singed (Brett Tucker). The result starts to partially heal Viktor, but the full cost of his experimentation remains to be seen.
Ellen Thomas
Ambessa Medarda
OneArcanecharacter will be getting a greatly expanded role in Season 2, that beingEastEndersstarEllen Thomasas the fearsome Ambessa Medarda.
The mother of Piltover council member Mel Medarda (Toks Olagundoye), Ambessa Medara is known far and wide across her home nation of Noxus as a ruthless warlord. This reputation caused Mel to distance herself from her mother to pursue more diplomatic pursuits, much to the ire of her mother. Ambessa prefers action over diplomacy, and if Jinx truly killed her daughter in the Season 1 finale ofArcane, then you better believe that Ambessa will seek vengeance.
Part 1 ofArcaneSeason 2 premieres on Netflix on Saturday, November 9th, 2024.
Set in Utopian Piltover and the oppressed underground of Zaun, the story follows the origins of two iconic League Of Legends champions and the power that will tear them apart.
