November 12, 2024 • 48 mins
Start up your chainsaws, spin the slot machine on your newly made arm, and dive deep into Zaun with us! Jason and Rosie harness the Arcane to recap the first three episodes of Arcane Season 2. They’re joined by Aaron to discuss the show’s confusing pacing, the introduction of new characters, and the production woes behind the scenes of this second season.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Warning.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
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.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Hello, my name is Jason. Hello, what it is Jason Kosio.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
And I am Rosie Nut.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
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.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
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,
(01:20):
and we will be tapping in the XRV production council
to share their thoughts on the show.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
Stepping out of the air lock.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
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
(01:48):
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.
(02:09):
Jase finds Victor badly injured.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Guy Cat can't catch a break.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
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.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
We'll talk about talk.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
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,
(02:55):
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.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
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.
Speaker 4 (03:32):
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.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
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
(04:04):
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.
(04:27):
There are one hundred and forty characters in League of Legends,
and Aaron went through every single one and he does
not know.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
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.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
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
(05:12):
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
(05:35):
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
(05:55):
I guess the Enforcers like her, and it's nice.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
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.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
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
(06:44):
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
(07:06):
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
(07:29):
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.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
No security, No security at this memorial. No security apparently
in Piltover, at the various points of entrance and egress down.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
To the underworld.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
How is this possible when you've got like all your
surviving heavy hitters in one room and the forces of
zon can just.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
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,
(08:22):
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
(08:43):
your stuff?
Speaker 3 (08:44):
I want to I want to ask a question.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
And I know that.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
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?
Speaker 1 (09:03):
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
(09:27):
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
(09:47):
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.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
Who are these animals? How could they have done it?
Speaker 2 (10:05):
Have you not been paying attention, babe, everything that's been
happening this whole team.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
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
(10:32):
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
(10:53):
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
(11:16):
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
(11:36):
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
(11:58):
listen to a message from our sponsors while we take
a break.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
M Okay, we're back. Can I ask you?
Speaker 2 (12:19):
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.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
Boom boom boom boom boom gone, why don't we send
them down there?
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Uh, that's that's just what she asked.
Speaker 3 (12:43):
Yeah, we'll we'll talk about that later.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
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.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
The the This moment with Silko and Jinx felt a
little oz and mom, didn't.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
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.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
Yeah, it was, I mean from Silko side, it was
certainly like the various very obvious father dag yeah things.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
That was actually one of them.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
That was I thought was one of the best like
emotional subplots of the entire season.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
One was that I actually felt.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
Bad when Silko Yeah, me too, me too.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
But this was it was just it struck me as
a very weird tone because she's cradling his face and
it was anyway.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
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.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
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.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
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,
(14:47):
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
(15:08):
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
(15:29):
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
(15:50):
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.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
There's like a bubble gun checking this out. Kids made
of Canadon that makes bubbles.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
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.
Speaker 3 (16:27):
Love him through his own facility has complete access.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
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.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
Now somehow hex Tech is drifting.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
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
(17:10):
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,
(17:33):
she gets ambushed by Smeach back again. Sevika saves her.
Jinks has built Sevika a sick new arm.
Speaker 3 (17:40):
Great video.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
It's so yeah, please, I mean I think Legal Legends
people will understand how this arm works.
Speaker 3 (17:47):
But it seems to have like a.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
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
(18:13):
of the slots. And so I guess I just don't
understand like how the power of the arm works.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
I guess like the arm is probably like the answer
is probably like hepsac, you know, but I may be.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
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.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
A League of Legend lowheads tell us, Aaron, Aaron, I'm
cooling as it works.
Speaker 5 (18:47):
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.
Speaker 3 (18:56):
Around me.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
Oh, okay, very insting, very interesting.
Speaker 3 (19:02):
Because I was like, how is this armworking in this fight?
That looks really cool?
Speaker 1 (19:05):
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
(19:29):
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
(19:51):
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
(20:16):
the podcast pumping. Messages from US posters and We're back.
(20:37):
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
(20:58):
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.
(21:21):
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,
(21:43):
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
(22:05):
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.
(22:25):
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
(22:46):
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.
Speaker 3 (22:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
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,
(23:19):
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
(23:41):
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,
(24:02):
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
(24:25):
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,
(24:49):
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
(25:10):
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.
(25:32):
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.
Speaker 2 (25:40):
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
(26:01):
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.
Speaker 3 (26:13):
Systems of the tunnels.
Speaker 2 (26:14):
I cannot polluted piltover like and flooded with noxious chemicals
and drug air.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
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
(26:42):
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
(27:05):
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
(27:27):
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
(27:48):
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,
(28:10):
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,
(28:34):
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,
(28:54):
so you have to wait another week. Jason, your feelings
about Kaye season two, Act one?
Speaker 2 (29:01):
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
(29:22):
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?
Speaker 1 (29:39):
About with Zon?
Speaker 3 (29:40):
Are we going to go after.
Speaker 2 (29:43):
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?
Speaker 3 (29:52):
Is crazy? It's I think.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
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
(30:19):
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.
Speaker 3 (30:33):
Moving the ball forward story wise. Anyway, that's what I think.
What did you think, Crazy?
Speaker 1 (30:38):
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
(31:01):
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.
Speaker 2 (31:19):
Your thoughts, Your thoughts on Chapter one, Season two of
Arcane thus far.
Speaker 5 (31:24):
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
(31:45):
fake out post credit scene every episode was too much.
I totally could have had.
Speaker 1 (31:49):
That so at exactly, I don't.
Speaker 5 (31:54):
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.
Speaker 2 (32:20):
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.
Speaker 3 (32:30):
Are they gonna do? Throw that stuff away?
Speaker 2 (32:31):
We needed to figure out a place for all this stuff,
and that's why you have this kind of hodgepodge, a
weirdly paced.
Speaker 1 (32:40):
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
(33:01):
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
(33:23):
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.
Speaker 5 (33:39):
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.
Speaker 1 (33:52):
That feels like it's gonna be like a fan fave grouping.
Speaker 5 (33:55):
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.
Speaker 1 (34:05):
Saying, the standing that you have to like team up
with the people who are.
Speaker 5 (34:10):
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
(34:31):
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
(34:52):
could be the leads of future shows.
Speaker 2 (34:54):
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.
Speaker 1 (35:14):
That's most staggering an anime series of old time by
us a staggering long margin.
Speaker 2 (35:20):
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
(35:43):
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.
Speaker 3 (35:57):
This is a first time.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
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
(36:20):
money three and four times per episode, four and.
Speaker 1 (36:26):
Always per episode.
Speaker 2 (36:28):
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.
Speaker 3 (36:36):
Like these are not like indie artists.
Speaker 2 (36:38):
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.
Speaker 3 (36:47):
Wish we were getting five seasons and not just two.
Speaker 2 (36:49):
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.
Speaker 1 (37:03):
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.
Speaker 3 (37:18):
Like it, But how about cheaper artists, how about less
fine artists?
Speaker 1 (37:22):
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
(37:43):
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?
Speaker 3 (37:57):
Can I come back equivalent?
Speaker 4 (37:58):
No?
Speaker 1 (37:59):
No, But the thing is on YouTube, nobody's paying the money.
Speaker 2 (38:01):
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
(38:22):
kids don't know what's good.
Speaker 3 (38:25):
They'll watch, you know, like they don't know.
Speaker 2 (38:28):
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
(38:49):
you want to do, you don't have to spend that
much money.
Speaker 1 (38:52):
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.
Speaker 2 (39:05):
They just don't know what they No one excites them,
but they don't know that exactly.
Speaker 5 (39:11):
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.
Speaker 2 (39:18):
Musician are in your thoughts, your thoughts about the music
drops and the general costs and the disappointment of like
only having two seasons.
Speaker 5 (39:27):
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.
Speaker 3 (39:43):
Uh, like we haven't I was going to seen the scenes.
Speaker 1 (39:47):
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.
Speaker 5 (39:57):
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
(40:18):
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.
(40:41):
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.
Speaker 3 (40:54):
Anybody heard of Jesus?
Speaker 1 (40:56):
You know? So you see just curing people.
Speaker 5 (41:01):
Now, and they do have like a music video to
start every single episode so far, which felt like a lot.
Speaker 2 (41:09):
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.
Speaker 3 (41:27):
I mean Sting is a songwriter on one of these.
Speaker 2 (41:31):
This is like top dollar stuff that you're paying for
and it's three four times an episode.
Speaker 1 (41:35):
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.
Speaker 5 (41:45):
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.
Speaker 1 (41:55):
Also huge names.
Speaker 5 (41:56):
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
(42:20):
the episode two video opener where it's like.
Speaker 1 (42:24):
You see ken the pools water.
Speaker 2 (42:27):
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.
Speaker 4 (42:37):
And.
Speaker 2 (42:40):
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
(43:01):
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.
Speaker 3 (43:16):
Like we get it.
Speaker 2 (43:19):
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
(43:42):
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.
Speaker 1 (43:51):
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.
(44:11):
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.
Speaker 2 (44:28):
Is it's just the frustration of like, this show is
going to be over now it's.
Speaker 1 (44:35):
Six episodes, and also it costs two hundred and fifty
million dollars plus.
Speaker 3 (44:39):
You know, so we gotta get more for our money.
Speaker 1 (44:41):
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
(45:01):
important because it's part of the context of the industry
and how and why these shows get made or don't
get made.
Speaker 3 (45:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (45:09):
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.
Speaker 1 (45:24):
Higher. I did, I got higher. I got that too.
Speaker 3 (45:29):
Yeah, okay, So any closing thoughts.
Speaker 5 (45:32):
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
(45:53):
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.
Speaker 1 (46:08):
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?
Speaker 5 (46:16):
Whose shield Guy?
Speaker 3 (46:18):
What is hurricane?
Speaker 1 (46:20):
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.
Speaker 5 (46:28):
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
(46:51):
why would you give that away?
Speaker 1 (46:52):
I don't know.
Speaker 5 (46:52):
That seemed to be an incredible visual moment that didn't
have a true story aspect yet I know I was like.
Speaker 1 (46:58):
Is it meant to be Shima or a version of
Shimmer and then she's gonna get That's.
Speaker 3 (47:02):
What I thought.
Speaker 2 (47:03):
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.
(47:27):
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
(47:48):
then Extras returns with our reactions to the first episode
of Doune Prophecy on HBO.
Speaker 3 (47:53):
Max, and much more.
Speaker 1 (47:55):
Glad of your content.
Speaker 2 (47:56):
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
(48:16):
Boo Zafar. Our producers are Carmen Laurent and Mia Taylor.
Our theme song is by Brian Basquez.
Speaker 1 (48:25):
Special thanks to Soul Rubin and Chris Laude, Kenny Goodman
and Heidi Our Disco Moderata
Warning.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
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.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Hello, my name is Jason. Hello, what it is Jason Kosio.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
And I am Rosie Nut.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
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.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
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,
(01:20):
and we will be tapping in the XRV production council
to share their thoughts on the show.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
Stepping out of the air lock.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
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
(01:48):
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.
(02:09):
Jase finds Victor badly injured.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Guy Cat can't catch a break.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
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.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
We'll talk about talk.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
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,
(02:55):
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.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
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.
Speaker 4 (03:32):
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.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
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
(04:04):
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.
(04:27):
There are one hundred and forty characters in League of Legends,
and Aaron went through every single one and he does
not know.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
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.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
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
(05:12):
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
(05:35):
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
(05:55):
I guess the Enforcers like her, and it's nice.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
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.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
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
(06:44):
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
(07:06):
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
(07:29):
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.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
No security, No security at this memorial. No security apparently
in Piltover, at the various points of entrance and egress down.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
To the underworld.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
How is this possible when you've got like all your
surviving heavy hitters in one room and the forces of
zon can just.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
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,
(08:22):
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
(08:43):
your stuff?
Speaker 3 (08:44):
I want to I want to ask a question.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
And I know that.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
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?
Speaker 1 (09:03):
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
(09:27):
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
(09:47):
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.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
Who are these animals? How could they have done it?
Speaker 2 (10:05):
Have you not been paying attention, babe, everything that's been
happening this whole team.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
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
(10:32):
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
(10:53):
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
(11:16):
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
(11:36):
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
(11:58):
listen to a message from our sponsors while we take
a break.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
M Okay, we're back. Can I ask you?
Speaker 2 (12:19):
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.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
Boom boom boom boom boom gone, why don't we send
them down there?
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Uh, that's that's just what she asked.
Speaker 3 (12:43):
Yeah, we'll we'll talk about that later.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
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.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
The the This moment with Silko and Jinx felt a
little oz and mom, didn't.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
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.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
Yeah, it was, I mean from Silko side, it was
certainly like the various very obvious father dag yeah things.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
That was actually one of them.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
That was I thought was one of the best like
emotional subplots of the entire season.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
One was that I actually felt.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
Bad when Silko Yeah, me too, me too.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
But this was it was just it struck me as
a very weird tone because she's cradling his face and
it was anyway.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
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.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
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.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
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,
(14:47):
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
(15:08):
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
(15:29):
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
(15:50):
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.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
There's like a bubble gun checking this out. Kids made
of Canadon that makes bubbles.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
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.
Speaker 3 (16:27):
Love him through his own facility has complete access.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
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.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
Now somehow hex Tech is drifting.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
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
(17:10):
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,
(17:33):
she gets ambushed by Smeach back again. Sevika saves her.
Jinks has built Sevika a sick new arm.
Speaker 3 (17:40):
Great video.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
It's so yeah, please, I mean I think Legal Legends
people will understand how this arm works.
Speaker 3 (17:47):
But it seems to have like a.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
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
(18:13):
of the slots. And so I guess I just don't
understand like how the power of the arm works.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
I guess like the arm is probably like the answer
is probably like hepsac, you know, but I may be.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
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.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
A League of Legend lowheads tell us, Aaron, Aaron, I'm
cooling as it works.
Speaker 5 (18:47):
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.
Speaker 3 (18:56):
Around me.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
Oh, okay, very insting, very interesting.
Speaker 3 (19:02):
Because I was like, how is this armworking in this fight?
That looks really cool?
Speaker 1 (19:05):
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
(19:29):
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
(19:51):
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
(20:16):
the podcast pumping. Messages from US posters and We're back.
(20:37):
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
(20:58):
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.
(21:21):
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,
(21:43):
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
(22:05):
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.
(22:25):
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
(22:46):
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.
Speaker 3 (22:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
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,
(23:19):
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
(23:41):
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,
(24:02):
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
(24:25):
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,
(24:49):
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
(25:10):
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.
(25:32):
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.
Speaker 2 (25:40):
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
(26:01):
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.
Speaker 3 (26:13):
Systems of the tunnels.
Speaker 2 (26:14):
I cannot polluted piltover like and flooded with noxious chemicals
and drug air.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
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
(26:42):
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
(27:05):
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
(27:27):
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
(27:48):
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,
(28:10):
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,
(28:34):
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,
(28:54):
so you have to wait another week. Jason, your feelings
about Kaye season two, Act one?
Speaker 2 (29:01):
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
(29:22):
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?
Speaker 1 (29:39):
About with Zon?
Speaker 3 (29:40):
Are we going to go after.
Speaker 2 (29:43):
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?
Speaker 3 (29:52):
Is crazy? It's I think.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
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
(30:19):
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.
Speaker 3 (30:33):
Moving the ball forward story wise. Anyway, that's what I think.
What did you think, Crazy?
Speaker 1 (30:38):
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
(31:01):
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.
Speaker 2 (31:19):
Your thoughts, Your thoughts on Chapter one, Season two of
Arcane thus far.
Speaker 5 (31:24):
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
(31:45):
fake out post credit scene every episode was too much.
I totally could have had.
Speaker 1 (31:49):
That so at exactly, I don't.
Speaker 5 (31:54):
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.
Speaker 2 (32:20):
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.
Speaker 3 (32:30):
Are they gonna do? Throw that stuff away?
Speaker 2 (32:31):
We needed to figure out a place for all this stuff,
and that's why you have this kind of hodgepodge, a
weirdly paced.
Speaker 1 (32:40):
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
(33:01):
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
(33:23):
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.
Speaker 5 (33:39):
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.
Speaker 1 (33:52):
That feels like it's gonna be like a fan fave grouping.
Speaker 5 (33:55):
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.
Speaker 1 (34:05):
Saying, the standing that you have to like team up
with the people who are.
Speaker 5 (34:10):
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
(34:31):
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
(34:52):
could be the leads of future shows.
Speaker 2 (34:54):
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.
Speaker 1 (35:14):
That's most staggering an anime series of old time by
us a staggering long margin.
Speaker 2 (35:20):
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
(35:43):
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.
Speaker 3 (35:57):
This is a first time.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
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
(36:20):
money three and four times per episode, four and.
Speaker 1 (36:26):
Always per episode.
Speaker 2 (36:28):
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.
Speaker 3 (36:36):
Like these are not like indie artists.
Speaker 2 (36:38):
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.
Speaker 3 (36:47):
Wish we were getting five seasons and not just two.
Speaker 2 (36:49):
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.
Speaker 1 (37:03):
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.
Speaker 3 (37:18):
Like it, But how about cheaper artists, how about less
fine artists?
Speaker 1 (37:22):
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
(37:43):
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?
Speaker 3 (37:57):
Can I come back equivalent?
Speaker 4 (37:58):
No?
Speaker 1 (37:59):
No, But the thing is on YouTube, nobody's paying the money.
Speaker 2 (38:01):
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
(38:22):
kids don't know what's good.
Speaker 3 (38:25):
They'll watch, you know, like they don't know.
Speaker 2 (38:28):
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
(38:49):
you want to do, you don't have to spend that
much money.
Speaker 1 (38:52):
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.
Speaker 2 (39:05):
They just don't know what they No one excites them,
but they don't know that exactly.
Speaker 5 (39:11):
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.
Speaker 2 (39:18):
Musician are in your thoughts, your thoughts about the music
drops and the general costs and the disappointment of like
only having two seasons.
Speaker 5 (39:27):
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.
Speaker 3 (39:43):
Uh, like we haven't I was going to seen the scenes.
Speaker 1 (39:47):
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.
Speaker 5 (39:57):
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
(40:18):
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.
(40:41):
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.
Speaker 3 (40:54):
Anybody heard of Jesus?
Speaker 1 (40:56):
You know? So you see just curing people.
Speaker 5 (41:01):
Now, and they do have like a music video to
start every single episode so far, which felt like a lot.
Speaker 2 (41:09):
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.
Speaker 3 (41:27):
I mean Sting is a songwriter on one of these.
Speaker 2 (41:31):
This is like top dollar stuff that you're paying for
and it's three four times an episode.
Speaker 1 (41:35):
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.
Speaker 5 (41:45):
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.
Speaker 1 (41:55):
Also huge names.
Speaker 5 (41:56):
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
(42:20):
the episode two video opener where it's like.
Speaker 1 (42:24):
You see ken the pools water.
Speaker 2 (42:27):
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.
Speaker 4 (42:37):
And.
Speaker 2 (42:40):
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
(43:01):
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.
Speaker 3 (43:16):
Like we get it.
Speaker 2 (43:19):
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
(43:42):
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.
Speaker 1 (43:51):
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.
(44:11):
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.
Speaker 2 (44:28):
Is it's just the frustration of like, this show is
going to be over now it's.
Speaker 1 (44:35):
Six episodes, and also it costs two hundred and fifty
million dollars plus.
Speaker 3 (44:39):
You know, so we gotta get more for our money.
Speaker 1 (44:41):
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
(45:01):
important because it's part of the context of the industry
and how and why these shows get made or don't
get made.
Speaker 3 (45:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (45:09):
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.
Speaker 1 (45:24):
Higher. I did, I got higher. I got that too.
Speaker 3 (45:29):
Yeah, okay, So any closing thoughts.
Speaker 5 (45:32):
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
(45:53):
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.
Speaker 1 (46:08):
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?
Speaker 5 (46:16):
Whose shield Guy?
Speaker 3 (46:18):
What is hurricane?
Speaker 1 (46:20):
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.
Speaker 5 (46:28):
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
(46:51):
why would you give that away?
Speaker 1 (46:52):
I don't know.
Speaker 5 (46:52):
That seemed to be an incredible visual moment that didn't
have a true story aspect yet I know I was like.
Speaker 1 (46:58):
Is it meant to be Shima or a version of
Shimmer and then she's gonna get That's.
Speaker 3 (47:02):
What I thought.
Speaker 2 (47:03):
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.
(47:27):
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
(47:48):
then Extras returns with our reactions to the first episode
of Doune Prophecy on HBO.
Speaker 3 (47:53):
Max, and much more.
Speaker 1 (47:55):
Glad of your content.
Speaker 2 (47:56):
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
(48:16):
Boo Zafar. Our producers are Carmen Laurent and Mia Taylor.
Our theme song is by Brian Basquez.
Speaker 1 (48:25):
Special thanks to Soul Rubin and Chris Laude, Kenny Goodman
and Heidi Our Disco Moderata
Hosts And Creators
Jason Concepcion
Rosie Knight
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