“Arcane” Season 1 was one of my favorite animated shows. I’m not a “League of Legends” fan (the game the series is based on), but you don’t need to be to get completely engrossed in this world and its rich characters.

Set in the fantasy land of Runeterra, Season 2 continues the struggle between the technologically advanced and upper class city of Piltover, and its subterranean slums referred to as the Undercity, which hopes to become its own nation (Zaun). Spoilers: At the end of Season 1, Piltover’s ruling council is about to grant exactly that to the Undercity, when it is attacked by Jinx (Ella Purnell), a violent criminal whose parents were murdered by Piltover’s enforcers.

Season 2 reveals that about half of the council was wiped out, putting an end to talks of independence for the Undercity. In fact the council, led by Mel Medarda (Toks Olagundoye), orders Caitlyn Kiramman (Katie Leung), captain of the city’s enforcers, to raid the Undercity in order to bring Jinx to justice. She even recruits Jinx’s sister, Vi (Hailee Steinfeld), who has disavowed her actions and understands Jinx needs to be brought to justice. 

However, nothing is so simple in this world. While this is going on, Jayce (Kevin Alejandro) an inventor who brought Hextech (machinery powered by magic), is learning the unintended side effects of his inventions, particularly when it resurrects his partner, Victor (Harry Lloyd), who died in Jinx’s attack.

Victor becomes a messianic figure, gaining new healing abilities through his merge with the Hex core — a magical anomaly that powers Hextech. But there is a catch — he erases the personalities of everyone he “heals,” replacing their free will with a collective hive mind. It’s hinted at that Victor himself is being controlled by an entity beyond his comprehension.

Eventually, Victor becomes the main antagonist, as he seeks to assimilate the world by turning everyone into happy — but mindless — robots. That sounds ridiculous, but the show takes its time leading up to it. Every step of Victor’s descent into apathy is convincing, but it’s clear something is off with him; he’s messed with arcane forces beyond his control.

Ambessa Medarda (Ellen Thomas), Mel’s mother and royalty from the warrior nation of Noxus, also becomes a major foe this season. Spoilers: She’s had her sights on Piltover this entire time and has been been subtly manipulating the political tides to suit her needs. But she also has a major enemy in the Black Rose, a group of powerful sorcerers who capture Mel for a time, who have legitimate grievances towards Ambessa.

Jinx is also rehumanized when she takes on an orphan named Isha (Lucy Lowe), who becomes her surrogate daughter. By any metric, Jinx should not be able to be redeemed for her crimes, but larger events seemingly freeze the manhunt for her, and allegiances change.

Heimerdinger (Mick Wingert) and Ekko (Reed Shannon) also play an integral role this season, though, along with Jayce, they spend notable time in an alternate timeline after they mess with the Hex core. This also occurs during a monthslong timeskip, after which Heimerdinger learns how to sing a delightful folk tune about love, loss and the endless march of time titled “Spin the Wheel.”

This show still has it. While the last third of Season 2 is rushed and could have benefited from additional episodes, it knows exactly how to give satisfactory conclusions to all of its wonderfully crafted characters.

Vi and Jinx find new families, but eventually reconcile when a specter from the past forces them to work together. Caitlyn finally gains control of her own destiny. Heimerdinger loosens up and helps Ekko rise to become the hero of this story, which is worthy of a column itself. In short, Ekko is transported to someplace where everything he could have dreamed of (i.e. a thriving Zaun and his friends and family members are all alive), yet he chooses to give it all up the return to his own world and save it.

The show’s most brilliant moments are whenever Jayce and Victor are on screen. They rushed Hextech out the door to help people, but their enthusiasm became their downfall; this innovation comes with significant cost that only becomes apparent once it’s been in use (it has a corrupting influence). While it does resurrect Victor and heal others, it comes at the price of individuality. It brings forth utopia by destroying everything, good and evil.

I’m conflicted about Jinx’s redemption arc — by all means, she did an unforgivable act, murdering about half of Piltover’s council, including Caitlyn’s mother. By all means, her story should be a true tragedy, yet she is granted a happy ending in Season 2 via Isha and the threat of apocalypse Victor brings, as well as the resurrection of a key character from Season 1. While I appreciate that she got closure with Vi, it does undermine Season 1’s finale, which left viewers in shambles not only because it killed the prospects of an independent Zaun, but brought Jinx to the point of no return.

Aesthetically, the show is as gorgeous as ever. It cost $250 million to make this season, and it shows. Its unique animation style bursts with personality and grit and is one of the few blends of CGI and traditional animation that I like — I often find the former to be jarring and awkward.

However, the show’s score might arguably be its crowning achievement. It blends so many different tones and seemingly incompatible genres, like Wingert’s folk-inspired “Spin the Wheel” and the show’s opening song, “Enemy” by Imagine Dragons and JID, which evokes the angsty pop hits of the 2010s that put Imagine Dragons on the map. One of my favorite songs in the show is “Remember Me” — a melancholic and hopeful tune paired expertly with flashbacks of Vi and Jinx’s father figures, Vander (JD Blanc) and Silco (Jason Spisask), and their mother, Felicia (Jeannie Tirado), when they were young and full of hope to turn things around in the Undercity.

“Arcane” Season 2 is not without its flaws, but it’s still a beautiful series that pushes the boundaries for animation and storytelling. Piltover and Zaun are beautifully crafted, lived in worlds whose class struggles are very relatable to modern audiences, and the people who inhabit them are wonderfully broken. This series portrays remarkably well how good intentions can easily be twisted into something evil by circumstances and luck.

If you haven’t watched “Arcane,” I highly recommend you do so. It transcends its niche source material and its genre. This is one of the few series that can completely captivate people who are not a fan of fantasy and science fiction because of its strong direction and masterfully crafted character arcs, which is a testament to showrunner Christian Linke.

There are purportedly more “League of Legends” shows in the works, but “Arcane” might very well be lightning in a bottle. It will be very difficult to create a series to rival this, or at least be on the same playing field. But I also have complete confidence in this creative team.

“Arcane” Season 2 gets a 9/10