The final episodes of “Arcane: League of Legends” may have hit Netflix six months ago, but fan fervor for the Emmy-winning series isn’t anywhere close to dying down.
In a sold-out May 10 conversation with Variety at Alhambra’s Gallery Nucleus (which currently houses a collection of “Arcane” concept work as well as tribute artwork from over 30 artists), the creatives behind “Arcane” unpacked the epic final season and teased what may be next for some fan-favorite characters.
The series’ emotional final moments between sisters Jinx (Ella Purnell) and Vi (Hailee Steinfeld) were conceived more than six years ago when “Arcane” was first workshopped, said screenwriter and co-executive producer Amanda Overton.
“Originally, it was supposed to be one season. It was nine episodes. The big battle that you saw during Season 2 was actually the end of Season 1. And after they finished the writers room, we made the decision to move that and make the second season that story. We’re going to spend an entire season now earning that,” she said. “That first version was a tragedy, because they didn’t get to resolve any of their issues. In Season 2, we got to give them that.”
Vi and Jinx in ‘Arcane’ Season 2.
COURTESY OF NETFLIX
Jinx and Vi’s sisterhood was always a guiding light in the series, but another relationship greatly benefitted from the extra room the second season provided: Caitlin (Katie Leung) and Vi. Season 2 concludes with the young women together after finally admitting their feelings for one another (and enduring countless ups and downs as the war between Piltover and Zaun raged on). Their developing relationship also included a steamy love scene that became the most-captured moment in Netflix history.
“I wanted the conflict around them getting together to be central to the story, but not be the story. I was tired of the conflict and the drama being, ‘I’m gay,’ or ‘I’m coming out.’ We did away with all of that through the world-building of the show, just saying that this isn’t a world where there is homophobia,” Overton said.
“Arcane” co-director and creative director of Fortiche Production Barthelemy Maunoury said getting the couple’s first kiss just right was one of the animation team’s most important tasks. “Everyone at the studio was very excited to work on that. Animation takes a lot of time. We animate a half-second a day, so we usually avoid long shots. That’s the longest shot of the show: 40 seconds. It took the animators three months to animate it, but we knew we had to make it great.”
When asked a fan-submitted question about the future of Caitlin and Vi’s relationship, “Arcane” showrunner and executive producer, and head of Riot Games’ animation studio, Christian Linke declined to elaborate.
“Well, that’s a tough one. I have to say no comment, because … you never know. That’s a shitty answer, but it’s in your favor,” he said to rapturous applause from the audience, made up entirely of die-hard fans. Linke has previously teased that, while “Arcane” has ended, there’s more to come within the universe. It’s safe to say that fans would be pleased if a spinoff following Caitlin and Vi materialized.
Caitlyn and Vi in ‘Arcane’ Season 2
COURTESY OF NETFLIX
Overton eagerly shared her own ideas for where the beloved couple could go next. “These characters are very young in the show. They’re like 20 or whatever. We haven’t seen Vi, or frankly Caitlin, become adults yet. The show was them becoming adults,” she said. “Now they get to ask themselves, ‘Who am I when I don’t have anyone to protect? Because all she did the entire show was try to protect someone besides herself.”
Overton elaborated, “Figuring out who Vi is and what she wants, and how she fits into being a cop, and who she decides to fight for and why — those are stories we have not yet explored at length. Is she a gumshoe investigator? Are they a crime-fighting duo? Do they go out to the wider world and encounter other champions? That would be dope and fun. I want Vi to get to see more of the world.”
