# Arcane (TV series)

Arcane (titled onscreen as Arcane: League of Legends) is a steampunk action-adventure television series created by Christian Linke and Alex Yee. It was produced by the French animation studio Fortiche under the supervision of Riot Games, and distributed by Netflix. Set in Riot's League of Legends universe, it primarily focuses on sisters Violet / "Vi" (Hailee Steinfeld) and Powder / Jinx (Ella Purnell) as they become embroiled in a conflict between their native underbelly of Zaun and the city of Piltover. First announced at the League of Legends tenth anniversary celebration in 2019, the series' first season was released between November 6 and 20, 2021, and a second and final season was released between November 9 and 23, 2024.
Arcane was met with critical acclaim, with praise for its visuals, writing, worldbuilding, soundtrack, and voice acting, though its second season's pacing had a mixed response. Some have noted the series' appeal to both viewers who have never played League of Legends and longtime fans of the game. It was Netflix's highest-rated series within a week of its premiere, ranked first on the Netflix Top 10 Chart in 52 countries, and second on the chart in the United States. Several critics and publications considered it one of the best video game adaptations ever made. In 2022, the series became the first streaming series to win a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program. It also won an Annie Award for Best General Audience Animated Television Broadcast Production.

## Premise

Amidst the escalating unrest between the rich, utopian city of Piltover and the seedy, oppressed underbelly of Zaun, sisters Vi and Powder find themselves embroiled in a developing conflict over clashing convictions and arcane technologies.

## Voice cast and characters
### Main

* Hailee Steinfeld as Violet / "Vi", a Zaunite orphan and Jinx's sister
* Ella Purnell as Powder / Jinx, a Zaunite orphan and Vi's sister
** Mia Sinclair Jenness as young Powder
* Kevin Alejandro as Jayce Talis, a scientist, inventor, and eventual Councilor from Piltover, who is responsible for the creation of Hextech
** Faustino Duran as young Jayce
* Katie Leung as Caitlyn Kiramman, a Piltover enforcer, daughter of Councilor Cassandra Kiramman, and former lab assistant to Jayce Talis, who becomes Vi's love interest
** Molly Harris as young Caitlyn Kiramman
* Jason Spisak as Silco, a crime lord in Zaun, Jinx's second adoptive father, and leader of the Chem-Barons
* Toks Olagundoye as Mel Medarda, a member of Piltover's council who takes an interest in Jayce and Viktor's experiments, and later begins a relationship with the former. She is the disowned heir of Ambessa Medarda from Noxus, and becomes entangled in a conspiracy when she is kidnapped by the Black Rose
** Imogen Faires as young Mel Medarda
* Harry Lloyd as Viktor, Jayce's research partner and former assistant to Councilor Cecil B. Heimerdinger, who is responsible for the creation of Hextech and grows to become obsessed with using magic to perfect humanity, partly due to his physical disabilities. Viktor is originally from Zaun, but lives in Piltover at the start of the series
** Edan Hayhurst as young Viktor
* JB Blanc as Vander, Silco's former brother-in-arms who took part in a rebellion that led to the death of Jinx and Vi's parents, leading him to adopt both of them. He is also the bartender and owner of the bar The Last Drop. In the second season, he is turned into a wolf-like beast named Warwick by Singed
** Blanc also voices Irius Bolbok (season 1), a member of the Piltover council
* Reed Shannon as Ekko, a childhood friend of Vi and Jinx, and the leader of the revolutionary Zaunite group, the Firelights
** Miles Brown as young Ekko
* Mick Wingert as Cecil B. Heimerdinger, a founder of Piltover and leader of the city's council who mentors Jayce, Viktor, and later Ekko
* Amirah Vann as Sevika, Silco's right-hand woman and chief enforcer
* Ellen Thomas as Ambessa Medarda, Mel's mother and a respected but brutal war general from Noxus who seeks to use Hextech weapons against the Black Rose cabal
* Brett Tucker as Dr. Corin Reveck / Singed, Viktor's former mentor, and Silco and later Ambessa's chief scientist, who performs unethical experiments in an effort to realize immortality and save his cryopreserved daughter

### Recurring
#### Introduced in season 1

* Shohreh Aghdashloo as Grayson (season 1), the original sheriff of Piltover
* Remy Hii as Marcus (season 1), the sheriff of Piltover who is secretly a corrupt cop working for Silco, and Tobias Kiramman, Caitlyn's father
* Josh Keaton as Deckard (season 1), a Zaunite thug who works for Silco, and Salo, a member of the Piltover council with selfish interests
* Bill Lobley as Huck, an Undercity inhabitant who becomes addicted to shimmer
* Yuri Lowenthal as Mylo, Vi and Powder's arrogant adoptive brother
* Roger Craig Smith as Claggor, Vi and Powder's strong adoptive brother
* Fred Tatasciore as Benzo, Ekko's adoptive father, Vander's friend, and shop owner
* Mara Junot as Shoola, a member of the Piltover council
* Erica Lindbeck as Elora, Mel's assistant
* Abigail Marlowe as Cassandra Kiramman, Caitlyn's mother and a member of the Piltover council and Renni, a Chem-Baron who works for Silco
* Dave B. Mitchell as Torman Hoskel (season 1), a member of the Piltover council
* Kimberly Brooks as Sky Young, Viktor's assistant who has an unrequited crush on him, and Margot (mute in season 1), a Chem-Baron who provides prostitution services
* Miyavi as Finn (season 1), a Chem-Baron who seeks to usurp Silco

#### Introduced in season 2

* Earl Baylon as Loris, a Piltover enforcer who befriends Vi and joins Caitlyn's squad
* Stewart Scudamore as Rictus (mute in season 1), Ambessa's bodyguard
* Katy Townsend as Maddie Nolen, a Piltover enforcer secretly working for Ambessa
* Lucy Lowe as Isha, a Zaunite orphan adopted by Jinx
* Ashley Holliday as Gert, a prominent member of the Jinxers
* Minnie Driver as Illusionary Sorceress, the mysterious leader of the Black Rose who is at odds with Ambessa

### Guests

* Imagine Dragons as The Last Drop's band (season 1)
* JID as The Last Drop's rapper (season 1)
* Ray Chen as an orchestra concert soloist (season 1)
* Krizia Bajos as Ximena Talis (season 1), Jayce's mother who was rescued by a mysterious wizard in her past
* Mira Furlan as Babette (season 1; mute in season 2), the madame of an Undercity brothel
* Salli Saffioti as Amara, a member of Piltover's merchant guild who is secretly a member of the Black Rose
* Robbie Daymond as Scar (mute in season 1), Ekko's right-hand and second-in-command of the Firelights
* Lenny Citrano as Smeech (mute in season 1), a Chem-Baron who sells cybernetic enhancements
* Lex Lang as Chross (mute in season 1), an elderly Chem-Baron who works for Silco
* Eve Lindley as Lest (season 2), a servant of Salo who is a spy for Mel
* Jeannie Tirado as Felicia (season 2), Vi and Powder's deceased mother
* Keston John as Kino Medarda (season 2), Mel's deceased older brother
The League of Legends character Orianna also appears during the second season.

## Episodes

| Season | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released |
| Season | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released |
| 1 | 9 | 9 | November 6, 2021 (2021-11-6) | November 20, 2021 (2021-11-20) |
| 2 | 9 | 9 | November 9, 2024 (2024-11-9) | November 23, 2024 (2024-11-23) |

### Season 1 (2021)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| Act 1 ||||||
| 1 | 1 | "Welcome to the Playground" | Pascal Charrue & Arnaud Delord | Christian Linke & Alex Yee | November 6, 2021 (2021-11-6) |
| Zaunite sisters Vi and Powder find their parents dead in the aftermath of a battle on the Bridge of Progress. They are taken in by Vander, the leader of the failed rebellion. Years later, Vi, Powder, and their adopted brothers, Mylo and Claggor, break into a Piltover penthouse. Powder steals a set of magical crystals but accidentally shatters one, causing an explosion that destroys part of the building. Fleeing back to Zaun, the siblings encounter Deckard and his thugs; while they beat them in a fistfight, Powder is chased and loses the loot. Vander, now a respected community leader in Zaun, reprimands the children for their carelessness and attempts to resolve matters with Grayson, Sheriff of Piltover's enforcers, and her subordinate Marcus. Vi berates Mylo for calling Powder a "jinx" and consoles her sister. Somewhere in Zaun, crime lord Silco extracts information from Deckard and works with the scientist Singed to test a volatile mutagen, shimmer, on a rat. ||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Some Mysteries Are Better Left Unsolved" | Pascal Charrue & Arnaud Delord | Nick Luddington | November 6, 2021 (2021-11-6) |
| The stolen crystals are revealed to belong to Jayce Talis, a student at Piltover's academy. Piltover's ruling council has him testify about his unsanctioned experiments; Jayce recounts how arcane magic saved his life as a child and believes it can revolutionize Piltover. However, the academy expels him when he reveals the magical nature of the experiments, and his research is ordered destroyed. On the verge of suicide, his beliefs are renewed when Viktor, the assistant of Professor Heimerdinger, offers to help him. In Zaun, Marcus pressures Vander to reveal the true culprits of the robbery, while the Zaunites pressure him to fight back against the enforcers. To protect the children, Vander remains neutral, leaving some to question his leadership. Vi decides to turn herself in. Elsewhere, Silco manipulates Deckard into swallowing a vial of shimmer. ||||||
| 3 | 3 | "The Base Violence Necessary for Change" | Pascal Charrue & Arnaud Delord | Ash Brannon | November 6, 2021 (2021-11-6) |
| Vander stops Vi and offers himself to Grayson instead. Silco intervenes and captures Vander after a heavily mutated Deckard massacres Grayson and her men, sparing only Marcus. Vi, Mylo, and Claggor set out on a rescue mission, leaving Powder behind. In Piltover, Jayce and Viktor secretly experiment with the crystals under the discretion of councilor Mel Medarda and eventually invent Hextech. A flashback reveals that Vander once betrayed Silco and attempted to drown him. In Zaun, the siblings reach Vander but are cut off by Silco. Vi fights off Silco's thugs but is badly beaten by Deckard. Desperate to help, Powder causes an explosion with the stolen crystals, accidentally killing Mylo and Claggor. A wounded Vander takes shimmer to kill Deckard and save Vi but sacrifices himself in the process. After learning from Powder that it was her who had set the explosion, Vi hits her, calls her a "jinx" and walks away. Seeing Silco approach Powder, Vi — guilt-ridden for hitting her sister — tries to return but is ambushed and captured by Marcus. Believing Vi abandoned her, Powder breaks down in Silco's arms. He embraces Powder, vowing, "We'll show them all." ||||||
| Act 2 ||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Happy Progress Day!" | Pascal Charrue & Arnaud Delord | David Dunne | November 13, 2021 (2021-11-13) |
| Several years later, Piltover prospers with Jayce's Hextech technology and celebrates its 200th anniversary on Progress Day. Jayce initially plans to unveil a gemstone-powered device he and Viktor developed but decides against it after Heimerdinger warns of its potential dangers. Powder, now a teenager going by Jinx, smuggles shimmer for Silco, whom she sees as a surrogate father. During one operation, the Firelights, a rivaling Zaunite gang, interfere; Jinx mistakes a Firelight for Vi and has a violent breakdown. Caitlyn, an enforcer and Jayce's childhood friend, investigates the incident. Hoping to regain Silco's approval, Jinx steals Jayce's gemstone and triggers an explosion that kills six enforcers. In response, Jayce is granted a seat on Piltover's council to help protect the city. Seeking answers, Caitlyn travels to Stillwater Prison and encounters Vi, now an adult, imprisoned by Marcus. ||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Everybody Wants to Be My Enemy" | Pascal Charrue & Arnaud Delord | Amanda Overton | November 13, 2021 (2021-11-13) |
| Caitlyn releases Vi from prison to assist her in tracking down Silco. Marcus secretly works with Silco to facilitate shimmer smuggling while framing the Firelights for the Progress Day bombing. Still traumatized by her family's deaths, Jinx refuses to work on the gemstone. In response, Silco brings her to the river where Vander once tried to drown him and performs a symbolic "baptism" to convince her to embrace being Jinx. In Piltover, Mel begins a romantic relationship with Jayce while helping him navigate the political landscape he now finds himself in as a councilor. Viktor grows increasingly desperate to cure his worsening illness through Hextech. Vi tracks down Sevika, Silco's second-in-command, who reveals Jinx's allegiance to Silco. Distracted, Vi is stabbed by Sevika but is saved by Caitlyn, allowing them to escape. Jinx successfully refines the gemstone and constructs a device similar to Jayce's to harness its power. Sevika reports Vi's return to Silco. ||||||
| 6 | 6 | "When These Walls Come Tumbling Down" | Pascal Charrue & Arnaud Delord | Alex Yee | November 13, 2021 (2021-11-13) |
| After Viktor collapses in the lab, he and Jayce begin to study the "Hexcore", a revolutionary Hextech device capable of interacting with organic matter and potentially curing diseases. Heimerdinger deems it too dangerous and orders it destroyed, prompting Jayce to orchestrate his removal from the council. Alone, Viktor seeks out Singed, his former mentor, for help in perfecting the Hexcore. Silco orders Marcus to kill Vi and Caitlyn before they can return to Piltover. Jayce orders a bridge blockade for Piltover's protection. Jinx interrogates Sevika and learns of Vi's return. Vi and Caitlyn take refuge in a safehouse as Vi recovers from her fight with Sevika, but Silco locates them after bribing local addicts with shimmer. After escaping, the pair spot a blue flare—one Vi gave Jinx before their ill-fated mission to rescue Vander. The sisters reunite, but Caitlyn's presence triggers Jinx's mistrust. The Firelights then intervene, steal the gemstone, and abduct Caitlyn and Vi, leaving Jinx behind, screaming in anguish. ||||||
| Act 3 ||||||
| 7 | 7 | "The Boy Savior" | Pascal Charrue & Arnaud Delord | Nick Luddington | November 20, 2021 (2021-11-20) |
| The Firelights' leader is revealed to be Ekko, Vi and Powder's childhood friend. After Vander's death, Silco seized control of Zaun and made the populace dependent on shimmer; the Firelights have been leading efforts to thwart him and rehabilitate addicts. Ekko warns Vi that the Powder they knew is gone and only Jinx remains, though Vi refuses to believe him. Singed provides Viktor with a variant of shimmer to enable the Hexcore to modify his deteriorating body, which Viktor hides from Jayce after the latter unintentionally insults his Zaun origins. Jayce's blockade fuels tensions between the two cities. Caitlyn convinces Ekko to return the gemstone to Piltover while Vi leaves to find Jinx. At the blockade, Marcus stops Ekko and Caitlyn and prepares to kill the latter after shooting Ekko. Seeing this, Vi runs back to help, but Jinx, envious of Caitlyn, unleashes explosives which kill Marcus and his enforcers. Ekko fights Jinx as Vi and an injured Caitlyn flee to Piltover. Ekko nearly defeats Jinx but hesitates to deliver the final blow, allowing her to detonate an explosive near them. ||||||
| 8 | 8 | "Oil and Water" | Pascal Charrue & Arnaud Delord | Ben St. John & Mollie St. John | November 20, 2021 (2021-11-20) |
| Silco finds a heavily injured Jinx in the aftermath of the explosion and realizes she has recovered the gemstone. He brings her to Singed for treatment, during which Jinx hallucinates that Vi and Caitlyn are the ones operating the painful procedure. Singed injects Jinx with shimmer, causing her eyes to glow purple. Ambessa, Mel's mother and a Noxian warlord, arrives in Piltover after the assassination of Mel's brother to prepare her for the brewing war with Zaun. Heimerdinger, now exiled, meets an injured Ekko. Viktor succeeds in healing his body through the Hexcore and is able to run for the first time, but further experimentation accidentally kills his assistant and childhood friend, Sky. Frustrated by the council's inaction against Silco, Vi leaves Caitlyn and partners with Jayce to dismantle Silco's shimmer factories. Armed with Hextech weapons, they defeat shimmer-enhanced soldiers, but Jayce accidentally kills a child worker during the fight. Caitlyn is kidnapped by Jinx. ||||||
| 9 | 9 | "The Monster You Created" | Pascal Charrue & Arnaud Delord | Christian Linke & Alex Yee | November 20, 2021 (2021-11-20) |
| The death of the child, son of chem-baroness Renni, forces Jayce to realize the potential cost of a war between Piltover and Zaun. He brokers a peace treaty with Silco, offering Zaun's independence in exchange for Jinx. Ekko reveals the Firelights' hideout to Heimerdinger. Stricken with guilt over Sky's death, Viktor has Jayce promise to destroy the Hexcore. Silco laments choosing between Zaun's freedom and Jinx, who overhears him. After beating Sevika in a fight, Vi is abducted by Jinx and awakes restrained alongside Caitlyn and Silco in the warehouse where Vander died. Jinx hands Vi a pistol and forces her to choose between Caitlyn and herself. Vi refuses and instead appeals to their childhood, causing Jinx to suffer a traumatic breakdown. Silco breaks free and fires at Vi, but misses. Jinx inadvertently shoots him, and with his dying breath, Silco reaffirms his fatherly love for her. Devastated, Jinx finally embraces her new identity. She weaponizes the gemstone into a rocket launcher and fires at the Piltover council just as they approve Zaun's independence. ||||||

### Season 2 (2024)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| Act 1 ||||||
| 10 | 1 | "Heavy Is the Crown" | Arnaud Delord, Bart Maunoury, Pascal Charrue, Etienne Mattera | Amanda Overton | November 9, 2024 (2024-11-9) |
| Jayce and Mel survive Jinx's rocket attack alongside councilors Shoola and Salo. However, Salo is crippled and the other members, including Caitlyn's mother, are killed. Viktor is also mortally wounded, prompting Jayce to renege on his promise to destroy the Hexcore and instead fuse it with him to save his life. Spurred on by Ambessa, the Council plans retaliation against Zaun, though Mel opposes using Hextech weaponry. While Vi turns down Caitlyn's offer to join the enforcers, she agrees to attend a memorial for the fallen councilors. Renni and her men attack the event in revenge for Jayce killing her son, and the enforcers lack the firepower to hold them back. In the end, Ambessa and the Noxians arrive and kill them all. Afterward, Salo calls for war with Zaun but Caitlyn offers an alternative: she will lead a task force armed with new Hextech arms developed by Jayce and composed of herself, Vi, and enforcers Maddie, Lorris, and Steb into Zaun to capture Jinx, neutralize the remaining Chem-Barons, and end the production of shimmer. ||||||
| 11 | 2 | "Watch It All Burn" | Arnaud Delord, Bart Maunoury, Marietta Ren | Nick Luddington | November 9, 2024 (2024-11-9) |
| Following Silco and Renni's deaths, the remaining chem-barons fight each other for control of Zaun, despite Sevika's pleas for unity. One of them, Smeech, proposes surrendering Jinx to Piltover to end hostilities, but Sevika refuses. Elsewhere, Caitlyn's team raids Jinx's hideout, prompting the latter to flee. This leads her to meet a young orphan named Isha, who she saves from attackers. Jinx is eventually ambushed by Smeech and his men but saved by Isha and Sevika, killing him. In Piltover, Viktor awakes from his coma and, realizing Jayce broke his promise, parts ways with him. Returning to Zaun, he finds that the Hexcore has given him magical powers after he heals Huck, a shimmer addict, inspiring a cult-like following around himself. Meanwhile, the tree at the Firelights' hideout, which they use for food, shows signs of magical corruption, prompting Ekko and Heimerdinger to sneak into the Academy and consult Jayce. ||||||
| 12 | 3 | "Finally Got the Name Right" | Arnaud Delord, Bart Maunoury, Christelle Abgrall | Henry Jones | November 9, 2024 (2024-11-9) |
| As Caitlyn's task force continues their mission, Vi grows concerned by the former's aggression. Ambessa thwarts an assassination attempt on herself by the Black Rose, a cabal of Noxian sorcerers, prompting them to abduct Mel amidst the latter investigating her mother's influence in Piltover. Meanwhile, Jayce brings Ekko and Heimerdinger to the Hex Vault, where Piltover's Hextech is managed, and they discover an arcane anomaly known as a "wild rune". Vi convinces Caitlyn to pursue Jinx together, leaving the rest of the task force behind. However, Jinx and Sevika ambush Vi and Caitlyn. Vi stops Caitlyn from killing Jinx when Isha intercedes. Jinx, Isha, and Sevika then flee, detonating bombs to cover their escape that damage Zaun's air ducts and spread toxic gases throughout Piltover in a chain reaction. Afterward, Caitlyn angrily leaves Vi, and Ambessa convinces the Piltovens to declare martial law, with Caitlyn as commander-in-chief—none aware that Ambessa orchestrated the memorial attack. Elsewhere, Singed is revealed to have created a human-wolf hybrid. ||||||
| Act 2 ||||||
| 13 | 4 | "Paint the Town Blue" | Arnaud Delord, Bart Maunoury, Marietta Ren | Graham McNeill | November 16, 2024 (2024-11-16) |
| Sometime after the declaration of martial law, a joint Piltovan-Noxian force has occupied Zaun, Jinx has gone into hiding with Isha, Caitlyn is now in a relationship with Maddie, and Jayce, Ekko, and Heimerdinger have been missing since their encounter with the wild rune. Caitlyn grows suspicious of Ambessa, who has unsuccessfully tried to conduct her own Hextech research to use against the Black Rose. Meanwhile, Sevika tries to convince Jinx, who is seen as a hero by the Zaunites, to lead a revolt. While Jinx refuses, Isha gets captured at a rally by enforcers led by Ambessa's right-hand man, Rictus, prompting her and Sevika to break into Stillwater Hold to rescue her. Singed is also taken but leaves a blood trail for his human-wolf hybrid to follow, causing it to attack the prison, slaughtering guards and inmates alike, and run into Jinx and Sevika mid-rescue. Jinx fights the creature while Sevika escapes with Isha but is overpowered. Just as it prepares to kill her, however, it recognizes her as Powder. ||||||
| 14 | 5 | "Blisters and Bedrock" | Arnaud Delord, Bart Maunoury | Kristina Felske, Giovanna Sarquis | November 16, 2024 (2024-11-16) |
| Recognizing the beast as Vander, Jinx seeks out Vi, who became a pit fighter following her falling out with Caitlyn. Though skeptical, Vi follows Jinx to an abandoned mine where Vander tracks and initially attacks them. He ultimately recognizes Vi and embraces her along with Jinx and Isha. Meanwhile, Ambessa hires Singed to track Vander, with Caitlyn deducing his true identity as expelled Piltovan academic Corin Reveck whose experiments are all attempts to cure his comatose and terminally ill daughter Orianna. Elsewhere, Mel finds herself in a Black Rose prison where she reunites with her supposedly deceased brother Kino, from whom she learns that Ambessa had an illegitimate child who is their captors' true target. She realizes this 'Kino' is an illusion before being chained, causing her latent magical power to be unleashed. At the Hex Vault, Jayce is released from the wild rune and encounters Salo, who was healed by Viktor, while retrieving a Hexgate core. Scarred by the experience, Jayce vows to destroy Hextech before killing Salo. ||||||
| 15 | 6 | "The Message Hidden Within the Pattern" | Arnaud Delord, Bart Maunoury | Alex Yee | November 16, 2024 (2024-11-16) |
| Viktor and the spiritual essence of Sky investigate the wild rune phenomenon after witnessing Salo's murder. Jinx, Vi and Isha take Vander to Viktor's sanctuary in the hopes he can be healed. Across several days, Viktor begins to draw out Vander's humanity. With Singed's help, Ambessa and Caitlyn track Vander to the sanctuary. Singed attempts to persuade Viktor to give Vander up, but Viktor refuses, seeing that Singed only wishes to save Orianna. While tailing Singed as he returns to the Noxian camp, Vi is intercepted and captured by Caitlyn. Ambessa orders Caitlyn and Singed to reverse Viktor's efforts. It is revealed Vi and Caitlyn have worked together, and they neutralize both Ambessa and Singed. Haunted by his experience in the wild rune, Jayce infiltrates the sanctuary and kills Viktor, provoking a physical backlash from the people Viktor healed, including Vander who becomes uncontrollably savage, killing Rictus. Ambessa recovers and charges into the sanctuary with her soldiers. Isha overloads Jinx's pistol with Hextech gems and sacrifices herself to destroy Vander and the Noxian soldiers, to Jinx's despair. ||||||
| Act 3 ||||||
| 16 | 7 | "Pretend Like It's the First Time" | Arnaud Delord, Bart Maunoury | Amanda Overton | November 23, 2024 (2024-11-23) |
| Following their encounter with the wild rune, Ekko and Heimerdinger find themselves in a parallel universe where Hextech was never invented, Mylo, Claggor, and Benzo are still alive, and Vander and Silco are on good terms, though Vi died during Jayce's apartment robbery. To return home, the two work with this universe's Powder, who never became Jinx, to recreate the wild rune and channel it into a time-reversal device. During this time, Ekko falls in love with Powder but ultimately decides to return to his own universe. Despite the device proving unstable, Heimerdinger successfully returns Ekko at the cost of vanishing himself, his fate unknown. Meanwhile, Jayce is transported to a post-apocalyptic future where Hextech has wiped out Piltover and reunites with the hooded figure who gave him the rune stone as a child. Learning this future is a result of Viktor's actions, Jayce promises to stop him before being sent back by the figure, leading to the events at the sanctuary. ||||||
| 17 | 8 | "Killing Is a Cycle" | Arnaud Delord, Bart Maunoury | Alex Yee, Amanda Overton | November 23, 2024 (2024-11-23) |
| Following the attack, Singed uses Vander's remains to save Viktor. Vi confronts Caitlyn about Jinx's arrest. Caitlyn visits Jinx and admits that she no longer has the energy to hate her. Jinx replies that she did not know that Caitlyn's mother was present at the rocket attack. Having fully come into her magical inheritance, Mel escapes, encounters Jayce and admits that it was she who shielded him. Jayce accuses her of using Viktor and himself. The argument is interrupted by an emissary from Viktor. His request to access to the Hexgate anomaly so that his 'glorious evolution' may be completed is denied. Viktor instead allies with Ambessa to attack Piltover. Sky is farewelled as Singed destroys Vander to regenerate Viktor. Vi releases Jinx, who imprisons Vi. Telling Vi "you deserve to be happy", Jinx departs to "break the cycle of violence", as advised by Silco in a vision earlier. Caitlyn later finds Vi in the cell and comforts her, saying that she planned for Vi to release Jinx, leading to the two having sex. Jayce calls on all parties to prepare Piltover's defense against Ambessa. Mel attempts to negotiate, to no avail, as Ambessa reveals Viktor's forces. ||||||
| 18 | 9 | "The Dirt Under Your Nails" | Arnaud Delord, Bart Maunoury | Alex Yee, Christian Linke | November 23, 2024 (2024-11-23) |
| As the Noxians attack, the Piltovans hold the line for Jayce to dismantle the Hex Vault but are overwhelmed, with Maddie—revealed to be a spy—sabotaging their plans, until the Zaunites and Jinx, who was dissuaded from suicide by Ekko, come to their aid. However, the attack is revealed to be a distraction while Viktor infiltrates the Vault, and the resistance is neutralized by his servants—including Vander, who attacks Vi and Jinx. After Mel kills Maddie, Caitlyn separates Ambessa from the runes she used as protection against the Black Rose, allowing the sorcerers to fatally injure her, after which she dies in Mel's arms. Taking control of the wild rune, Viktor subdues everyone except Ekko, who disrupts the brainwashing using his time-reversal device. Jayce then convinces Viktor to abandon his plan by disclosing his encounter with the hooded figure—revealed to be Viktor's repentant future self. Working together, they destroy the wild rune, disappearing in the process. However, Vander remains feral, prompting Jinx to protect Vi by blowing him up along with seemingly herself. Afterward, Sevika becomes Zaun's representative on the Council, Mel departs for Noxus, Singed successfully cures his daughter, and Vi and Caitlyn ponder their future. ||||||

## Production

Riot Games CEO Nicolo Laurent said it took six years to make the first season of Arcane.
Arcane's production differed from standard industry practice. The idea for Arcane first came from Christian Linke in 2015 after Riot had initially delved into other media to help strengthen the connections players had with the IP such as cinematic trailers and music videos. But at that point, none of the promotional content had any dialogue. Next, instead of finding a new animation studio that specialized in television animation, Riot decided to continue their partnership with Fortiche who had produced music videos for them. Riot also targeted the "adult-minded" animation market instead of more established markets for video game to television animation adaptations.
Arcane was first announced at the League of Legends 10th anniversary celebration in 2019, and is set in Riot's League of Legends fictional universe, In September 2021, it was announced that Hailee Steinfeld, Ella Purnell, Kevin Alejandro, Katie Leung, Jason Spisak, Toks Olagundoye, JB Blanc and Harry Lloyd had joined the voice cast.
On November 20, 2021, following the conclusion of Arcane's first season, Riot Games and Netflix announced that a second season was in production for a planned post-2022 release. In June 2024, it was announced that the second season would be the series' last; the season began on November 9, 2024, and concluded along with the series on November 23. The combined budget for both seasons is reported to be $250 million.

## Broadcast
### Marketing

Riot Games promoted the launch of Arcane through events in their games, including League of Legends, Legends of Runeterra, Teamfight Tactics, League of Legends: Wild Rift, and Valorant as "RiotX Arcane". It launched promotional collaborations with non-Riot games such as PUBG Mobile, Fortnite, and Among Us.
On November 6, 2021, for the global premiere, Riot Games streamed the first episode on Twitch. Some content creators were allowed to co-stream the first three episodes of the series once they received permission from Riot Games, a first for a Netflix series, which also allowed viewers to retrieve in-game drops during the premiere. Drops were only included in the games League of Legends (Arcane Capsule), Wild Rift (“A Single Tear” Emote), Teamfight Tactics (Gizmos & Gadgets Little Legends Egg), Legends of Runeterra (“Fascinating” Emote), and Valorant ("Fishbones" Gun Buddy). The premiere received 1.8 million concurrent viewers on Twitch. On November 21, Netflix and Riot Games announced a partnership with Secret Cinema for an in-person Arcane experience located in Los Angeles, California.

### Release

Originally set for a 2020 release, the show's first season was rescheduled for in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was scheduled for a simultaneous November 6, 2021 release on Netflix and China's Tencent Video, with the series broken into nine episodes, with three episode "acts" being released once a week over three weeks. The same release format was used for the second and final season.

### Leaks

On August 9, 2024, Netflix stated that one of its post-production vendors had been compromised, which led to a number of episodes from several Netflix titles, including three episodes from the second season of Arcane, being leaked online. The leaks have been described as "the worst anime leak of all time" by some media outlets. It was later reported that Iyuno was the source of the security breach. Netflix later issued a statement, saying it would take action against those responsible for the leaks. On November 21, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California issued a subpoena, ordering Discord to provide information of the user that claimed responsibility for the leaks.

### Home media

In June 2024, it was announced that GKIDS had acquired the home video rights to Arcane. The digital copy of the first season was released on September 24, 2024, followed by the 4K Blu-ray on October 8, 2024.
In February 2025, it was announced the second and final season will be released on 4K Blu-ray by GKIDS in 2025.

### Soundtrack

On November 20, 2021, songs from the first season were released on Amazon Music. The series had a different opening theme in China, "孤勇者 (Lonely Warrior)" performed by Eason Chan. The soundtrack of the second season was released on November 23, 2024.

## Reception
### Critical reception

Critical response of Arcane :
| Season | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic |
| 1 | 100% (30 reviews) | — |
| 2 | 100% (33 reviews) | 86 (7 reviews) |

#### Season 1

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating to the first season, with an average rating of 9.20/10, based on 30 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "Arcane makes an arresting first impression, combining a spectacular mix of 2D and 3D animation with an emotionally compelling story to deliver a video game adaptation that could become legendary." The series also became Netflix's number-one show in November 2021, setting the record as Netflix's highest-rated series so far within a week of its premiere, ranked first on the Netflix Top 10 Chart in 52 countries, and ranked second on the chart in the United States.
Writing for IGN, Rafael Motamayor called the first season of Arcane a "classic in the making, and the nail in the coffin of the so-called video game curse." He noted that the show worked for fans of League of Legends and newcomers, saying that "the character stories are what keep you engaged episode after episode; the lore is just icing on the cake." He also praised the voice cast, highlighting the performances of Leung, Purnell, Aghdashloo and Steinfeld, calling the latter performance the show's standout. Praising the animation, Motamayor called it the "most stunning piece of animation since Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" and compared it to Invincible in terms of episode structure. He concluded by saying that Arcane "delivers a killing blow to the idea that video games cannot be masterfully adapted... with compelling characters, an endearing story, and fascinating lore and worldbuilding, as well as striking visuals," calling it a "once-in-a-generation masterpiece" and giving it a 10 out of 10 rating.
Andrew Webster of The Verge praised the "fantasy-meets-steampunk world" and how no knowledge of League was needed to understand the show. Despite calling Act 1 "a fairly typical fantasy tale" he lauded the animation, saying that "each frame looks like a gorgeous piece of hand-painted concept art; in motion, it's like nothing I've ever seen" and that "it's also a world that feels lived-in and fully realized." Matt Cabral of Common Sense Media called the first season "visually stunning" and that it "features the sort of nuanced characterizations, thoughtful storytelling, and rich worldbuilding typically associated with big-budget, big-screen epics." He also took note of the blend of fantasy, steampunk and sci-fi with emphasis on how the story puts a "fresh spin on the heavily recycled premise." Cabral concluded that viewers didn't need to have played League to appreciate the show.
Reviewing the first four episodes of the first season, Tara Bennett of Paste enjoyed the way that "[the creators] purposefully made an adult animated drama that unflinchingly utilizes violence, adult language, and very dark storylines when needed to make the lives of the large ensemble cast resonate." Bennett favorably compared the series to Game of Thrones, Shadow and Bone, Castlevania and BioShock. She was also positive about the "nuance and subtle facial movements" of Fortiche's animation combined with the performances from Steinfeld, Jenness, Purnell and Spisak. Bennett called "Enemy" by Imagine Dragons "infectious" and that the show is "the new benchmark for what can be done when it comes to successfully translating worthy videogame universes into a different medium."
Many publications considered the series one of the best video game adaptations.

#### Season 2

On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season received a rating of 100% based on 33 reviews, with an average rating of 8.90/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Expansive in scope while hurtling towards the endgame at a rollicking pace, Arcane's second and final season is a supremely satisfying capper to an epic saga." Review aggregator Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the second season a score of 86 out of 100 based on seven critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
In a more critical review for the Reactor magazine, Kathryn Porter wrote that "With Fortiche at the helm of the animation, Arcane will always look incredible no matter how good or bad the writing is," but that although "everyone lands where they are supposed to by the time the series concludes... it is how they reach those conclusions that feels a little hollow in the wake of a far superior first season". Rafeal Motamayor of IGN heavily praised the first two acts of the season, but was more critical towards Act III, saying, "It retroactively makes the entire second season feel lacking, because what’s set up in previous episodes is either ignored or ends up amounting to very little." Erik Kain also criticized the season's pacing, criticizing Act I for its dialogue and the lack of Silco in the narrative, and describing Act II as "narrative whiplash".

### Accolades

Arcane became the first streaming television series based on a video game as well as the first video game adaptation to win both Annie Awards and Primetime Emmy Awards, as the former became the first streaming series to both win the most awards from the same nominations in a single year, and to sweep the Annies with nine, while the latter won Outstanding Animated Program, becoming the first Netflix series to do so. Arcane also won the inaugural category Best Adaptation (awarded to media based on video games) from The Game Awards 2022.
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
| Annecy International Animated Film Festival | June 18, 2022 | Best Television Production | "When These Walls Come Tumbling Down" | Nominated |
| Annie Awards | March 12, 2022 | Best General Audience Animated Television/Broadcast Production | "When These Walls Come Tumbling Down" | Won |
| Annie Awards | March 12, 2022 | Outstanding Achievement for Animated Effects in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production | Guillaume Degroote, Aurélien Ressencourt, Martin Touzé, Frédéric Macé, and Jérôme Dupré (for "Oil and Water") | Won |
| Annie Awards | March 12, 2022 | Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production | Léa Chervet (for "The Monster You Created") | Won |
| Annie Awards | March 12, 2022 | Outstanding Achievement for Character Design in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production | Evan Monteiro (for "Some Mysteries Better Left Unsolved") | Won |
| Annie Awards | March 12, 2022 | Outstanding Achievement for Directing in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production | Pascal Charrue, Arnaud Delord, and Barthelemy Maunoury (for "The Monster You Created") | Won |
| Annie Awards | March 12, 2022 | Outstanding Achievement for Production Design in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production | Julien Georgel, Aymeric Kevin, and Arnaud Baudry (for "Happy Progress Day!") | Won |
| Annie Awards | March 12, 2022 | Outstanding Achievement for Storyboarding in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production | Simon Andriveau (for "When These Walls Come Tumbling Down") | Won |
| Annie Awards | March 12, 2022 | Outstanding Achievement for Voice Acting in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production | Ella Purnell (for "When These Walls Come Tumbling Down") | Won |
| Annie Awards | March 12, 2022 | Outstanding Achievement for Writing in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production | Christian Linke and Alex Yee (for "The Monster You Created") | Won |
| Annie Awards | February 8, 2025 | Outstanding Achievement for Animated Effects in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production | Guillaume Degroote, Aurélien Ressencourt, Adam Bachiri, Guillaume Zaouche, Jérôme Dupré (for "The Dirt Under Your Nails") | Won |
| Annie Awards | February 8, 2025 | Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production | Tom Gouill (for "Killing is a Cycle", "Heavy is the Crown", "Finally Got the Name Right", "The Message Hidden Within the Pattern", "The Dirt Under Your Nails", "Pretend Like It's the First Time", "Blisters and Bedrock") | Won |
| Annie Awards | February 8, 2025 | Outstanding Achievement for Directing in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production | Arnaud Delord, Pascal Charrue, Bart Maunoury (for "The Dirt Under Your Nails") | Won |
| Annie Awards | February 8, 2025 | Outstanding Achievement for Editorial in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production | Nazim Meslem, Gilad Carmel, Roberto Fernandez (for "Pretend Like It's the First Time") | Won |
| Annie Awards | February 8, 2025 | Outstanding Achievement for Music in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production | Ryan Jillian Santiago, Alexander Seaver, Simon Wilcox (for "The Dirt Under Your Nails") | Won |
| Annie Awards | February 8, 2025 | Outstanding Achievement for Production Design in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production | Arnaud-Loris Baudry, Julien Georgel, Faustine Dumontier, Charlotte O'Neil (for "The Dirt Under Your Nails") | Won |
| Annie Awards | February 8, 2025 | Outstanding Achievement for Storyboarding in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production | Joséphine Meis (for "Killing is a Cycle") | Won |
| Billboard Music Awards | May 15, 2022 | Top Soundtrack | Various Artists | Nominated |
| British Film Editors Cut Above Awards | April 29, 2022 | Best Edited Series: Animation | Ivan Bilancio, Gilad Carmel, Roberto Fernandez, Lawrence Gan, Martin Jay, Benjamin Massoubre, Ernesto Matamoros Cox, Nazim Meslem, Emmanuel Pilinski, and David Ian Salter | Won |
| Dorian Awards | August 17, 2022 | Best Animated Show | Arcane | Nominated |
| Golden Reel Awards | March 13, 2022 | Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Non-Theatrical Animation | Brad Beaumont, Eliot Connors, Alexander Temple, Shannon Beaumont, Alexander Ephraim, Dan O' Connell, John Cucci, and Alex Seaver (for "When These Walls Come Tumbling Down") | Won |
| Golden Reel Awards | February 23, 2025 | Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Non-Theatrical Animation | Brad Beaumont, Eliot Connors, Stephen P. Robinson, Alexander Temple, Andrew Kierszenbaum, Sebastien Najand, Alex Seaver, PJ Pascual, John Cucci, Dan O'Connell (for "The Dirt Under Your Nails") | Won |
| Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards | August 14, 2022 | Best Streaming Animated Series or Television Movie | Arcane | Won |
| Hugo Awards | September 1–5, 2022 | Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form | Christian Linke, Alex Yee, Conor Sheehy, Ash Brannon, Pascal Charrue, and Arnaud Delord (for "The Monster You Created") | Nominated |
| Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | September 3–4, 2022 | Outstanding Animated Program | Christian Linke, Marc Merrill, Brandon Beck, Jane Chung, Thomas Vu, Jerôme Combe, Melinda Wunsch Dilger, Pascal Charrue, Arnaud Delord, Alex Yee, Ash Brannon, Conor Sheehy, Barthelemy Maunoury, and David Lyerly (for "When These Walls Come Tumbling Down") | Won |
| Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | September 3–4, 2022 | Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation | Brad Beaumont, Eliot Connors, Shannon Beaumon, Alex Ephraim, Alexander Temple, Alex Seaver, Dan O'Connel, and John Cucci (for "When These Walls Come Tumbling Down") | Nominated |
| Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | September 3–4, 2022 | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation | Bruno Couchinho (background designer) (for "When These Walls Come Tumbling Down") | Won |
| Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | September 3–4, 2022 | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation | Julien Georgel (art direction) (for "Happy Progress Day!") | Won |
| Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | September 3–4, 2022 | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation | Anne-Laure To (color script artist) (for "The Boy Savior") | Won |
| Saturn Awards | October 25, 2022 | Best Animated Series on Television | Arcane | Nominated |
| The Game Awards | December 8, 2022 | Best Adaptation | Arcane | Won |
| The Game Awards | December 12, 2024 | Best Adaptation | Arcane | Nominated |

## Other media
### Future and spin-off series

Spin-offs featuring characters from other regions in the League of Legends universe are in development.

### Prequel novel

A prequel tie-in novel written by C. L. Clark, titled Ambessa: Chosen of the Wolf, is due to be published on February 18, 2025. The novel is expected to focus on Ambessa Medarda before the events of the series.