Recently, we got to chat with Arcane Season 2 showrunners Christian Linke and Alex Yee, and we talked about the latest season’s story, including its real-life parallels.
Without getting too deep into spoiler territory, Season 2’s first act shows the dire consequences of the Season 1 finale for Piltover and Zaun. Specifically, it has caused a shift in Piltover’s policy towards Zaun. Given what happens even in the first three episodes of Season 2, it’s hard not to draw parallels to current real-world conflicts. While Piltover and Zaun’s dynamic has already reminded some of real-life conflicts even back in Season 1, the events in Season 2 seem to reflect these more clearly.
As such, one of the things we asked Linke and Yee if current events have influenced the new season’s story. Along with this, we asked them about how the story and the characters developed over the three years that Season 2 was being made.
Arcane Season 2. Hailee Steinfeld as Vi in Arcane Season 2. Cr. COURTESY OF NETFLIX © 2024
Season 2’s story, specifically Piltover and Zaun’s conflict, I think might strike a chord with many people around the world, especially in light of various events happening. Would you say that the current state of the world informed some aspects of the series’ story, themes, or message?
CL: Even when we started developing Arcane, it’s only gotten worse, you know. This idea that you have this one people that is divided into sides, and they argue, and they get to a point where they can’t even get their neighbor’s perspective anymore. To a point where it becomes an open conflict.
In many regions, you have this experience. It’s not like your neighbors are going to just go away. You have to figure this out – figure out how to coexist.
I think there’s a weird generational thing going on where it feels like the further away the last big world conflict is, the less people really care about compromise and [trying to] make it work
AY: As the pain of outright conflict fades, the pain of compromise [increases]. Suddenly, people hit this boiling point with compromise, and then you have conflict again. Then you have, this pain of conflict, right? And it’s when it hits a boiling point that it’s like, okay, whatever, at whatever cost, we need to figure out how to make peace again.
I don’t know if that’s what we were shooting for, per se. I think it may just be that it infused. I don’t think commenting on the real world necessarily was the point, but I think it’s hard for it not to infuse.
What I hope is that there’s also a message in [Arcane] that’s kind of like, it’s possible to find your way back to your family, and that it’s possible to choose your family. At the end of the day, Piltover and Zaun will still be there with each other and will have to resolve that.
I think it’s in there, but I hope it doesn’t feel too hopeless, even though we are tough on the characters one might say.
Arcane Season 2 (L to R) Ella Purnell as Jinx and Hailee Steinfeld as Vi in Arcane Season 2. Cr. COURTESY OF NETFLIX © 2024
Season 2 sees many of the main characters go through a lot of development. Which of these characters would you say was the most difficult arc to write?
CL: I think a really interesting character but also thus challenging to explore is Jinx. Because for all of season one, there was someone there to kind of inspire her to be a certain way. First, it’s her big sister who is there to be like ‘We’ll figure this out.’ Then Jinx had Silco who was there to be like Do this, do that to become the most potent version of yourself there. This is what I need you to do.’
Suddenly Jinx is thrust into season two with this silence, and suddenly she has to figure out herself. Who is she going to be? Who she’s supposed to be? What does she want to be? What does she not want to be? We felt that void as much as she did when we started thinking about this season. And so, I would say with that one was, you kind of grow with the characters.
AY: That’s a tricky question because I think the thing is, in the way that we were developing the story for so many characters, the problem is never just solving one character’s story. Really, it’s solving one character’s story in a way that correctly impacts the other character’s stories.
It’s kind of like, you move one thing and it’s like,’ Ah, definitely solves this character, right?’ But then it breaks a couple of others [stories]. So, the trick of it was just trying to find ways that we could be able to guide all the [character] stories to what felt like a fruition of what they were set out to be.
Arcane Season 2. Ella Purnell as Jinx in Arcane. Cr. COURTESY OF NETFLIX © 2024
You mentioned in a previous interview that you had a specific story in mind, hence why Arcane Season 2 is the last one. Over the three years, it was being made, were there any major story changes that happened?
CL: I wouldn’t say that we had the specific story always in mind. It’s just that I think we had a story that we wanted to tell, especially between the two sisters and the two brothers (Vi and Jinx, and Jayce and Viktor). There was always an endpoint that was clear for both of these, though I think that there never was a specific, detailed story. You kind of just need to know where you’re going.
AY: It’s kind of like saying we want to reach that mountain peak over there, right? But the entire journey there, it’s just whatever, the terrain is throwing at you. I will say, with season two, we did introduce a couple more characters and a couple more story elements that definitely added some extra layers of complexity.
I think in the broadest sense, we kind of stuck to the thing that we initially wanted to do. But really, even down to the final episode [there were challenges]. I think the final episode was actually quite a bit of work amongst a lot of people to really figure out exactly how to slot those pieces together.
Arcane Season 2 Act 1 is now streaming worldwide, on Netflix. Acts 2 and 3 will be released on November 16 and 23, respectively.