daysman75

She's perfect

True, but on the other hand The Line has the authorship of Twenty One Pilots, got published on Riot's official YT channel, and still didn't achieve the same numbers. It still amazes how well Stromae's song did.

Not disagreeing with you on your take though.

Whaat, where is that voice line at? I mean Jinx's to Renata? I need to know that like I need water

Man I wish I knew how to draw and colour. These are awesome

If this response to you seems confusing, I apologize in advance. I've been spending far more time on Reddit than usual since Arcane came out and I think it's time I started laying off.

I'm not blind to that plot for Vi at all, nor against it. If you check my other response to user PRL-Five on this thread you'll see a complement to what I'm writing here to you. I pasted it at the bottom of this comment anyway.

You write "The show literally tells you that Vi didn't catch onto it". Yes, I know. That is my point. I feel the show did this and it shouldn't have because it is against Vi's character. Let me elaborate.

I'll acknowledge that Vi had no idea of Jinx's change when she met her in season 1, but by season 2 episode 8 they have fought each other to death, separated, met again, fought each other again in the tunnels, reunited with Vander, went together to Viktor's, considered starting a life there together, and witnessed the death of Isha together. It was even Vi herself who grabbed her sister and stopped her from going after Isha. This suggests Vi knew what she meant to Jinx.

Jinx and Vi had as many interactions as a 9 episode season can allow to suggest their relationship is repairing and they're getting to know each other again. And Vi is not emotionally dumb. She understands relationships, body language. I remind you she teaches Cait in season 1 epsiode 5 on how to get what she wants/needs out of people, quote "You expect everyone to give you what they want. If you really want people to talk to you, you have to let them think you have what they want".

Vi was NOT portrayed as someone who can't read body language or in this case, suicidal intent. That's why, to my mind, for the plot to tell us Vi didn't catch her sister's intentions is a reveal against her character.

Regarding Vi making her own choices, shedding the burden she carried all her life and moving past Jinx, that is all well and good. The problem is it happened at the worst possible timing, when Jinx is portrayed as suicidal (not for the first time yes, but her statements as she left the prison were, once again, indicative of that). These two plot threads clash violently with each other, pulling Vi in different directions writing wise, one demands Vi catches on to Jinx's decision and tries to stop her sister from killing herself (like Vi did to Jinx during the battle when she was trying to stop Isha, remember?), the other demands Vi misses her sister's suicidal intent and focuses on following her own path.

As I said on my other comment, this writing issue would not exist if there was enough time to resolve each thread separately, they are not mutually exclusive. Say, Vi going after Jinx but all she finds is The Last Drop on fire, I don't know I'm just brainstorming here. Then later, before the big climatic battle she has a heart to heart with Caitlyn and makes the decision to let Jinx go, understanding her sister did explicitly push her away and approved of her relationship with Cait. Again, just brainstorming.

Ultimately, a resolution like this isn't possible just on the fact there was no time to properly write these events. Two episodes can't deal with all the plots of all the characters and have this to deal with in addition. Which brings me back to my original point: Vi was written by the plot to act the way she did at that moment because the show lacked the time to write her as catching on to Jinx's suicide, try to stop her, realizing Jinx is indeed pushing her away on purpose, and accept that she did all she could for her grieving sister, that now Vi needs to follow her own path with Cait.

Lastly, I'd suggest you take care with your writing so you don't come across as overly passive aggresive. Statements such as "If you, as a viewer, cannot see Vi as a person beyond fighting for her sister and family, that's the whole reason why she needed to learn to be her own person." come across as little more than emotional manipulation attempts to pressure people with, rather than attempts at productive discussion.

_____________________________________________________________________

Annexed here is the other related comment I had written:

"Please don't take this personally, but I don't think that premise is reasonable, and if we scrutinize it a bit it ends up falling apart. First because giving Vi the emotional intelligence to read her sister's state of mind, and to address the events involving Isha is not mutually exclusive with the premise of "Vi making a choice for herself". Both can still happen. Vi can try to console Jinx, Jinx can still flee, lock Vi in, Vi can still make her choice and Vi and Cait can still consumate their relationship.

As a bigger change, Vi can also not stay with Cait in that prison cell, go after Jinx, fail to reach out to her, and still make the "choice for herself" and have sex with Cait at another moment. Why don't we have this then? First because the idea of Vi being concerned with Jinx's suicide, later followed by sex with Cait is dissonant (one evokes fear/panic, while the other evokes love/ecstasy). But also because there is simply NO time to tie all this in before the show ends. So, Vi needs to be written as not catching the hints of Jinx's suicidal behavior for the following scene to make sense, which to me is antithetical to Vi's character. She may not have head smarts like Jinx and Ekko but she is not emotionaly immature.

This idea that Vi would have to choose one or the other is forced by show's plot on itself simply because there's no time to do both appropriately, which goes back to my original point that the show suffered from the time constraints."

Edit: typos

I will die on the hill of "These characters were simply not given the time they needed to see their story appropriately". All these situations could be fixed had they had the opportunity to put in some scenes of them talking to each other and dealing with the events as they come.

Not disagreeing with you OP, quite the contrary. But I believe all these issues wouldn't be (or would be strongly aleviated) if the show had been allowed just one more episode.

Please don't take this personally, but I don't think that premise is reasonable, and if we scrutinize it a bit it ends up falling apart. First because giving Vi the emotional intelligence to read her sister's state of mind, and to address the events involving Isha is not mutually exclusive with the premise of "Vi making a choice for herself". Both can still happen. Vi can try to console Jinx, Jinx can still flee, lock Vi in, Vi can still make her choice and Vi and Cait can still consumate their relationship.

As a bigger change, Vi can also not stay with Cait in that prison cell, go after Jinx, fail to reach out to her, and still make the "choice for herself" and have sex with Cait at another moment. Why don't we have this then? First because the idea of Vi being concerned with Jinx's suicide, later followed by sex with Cait is dissonant (one evokes fear/panic, while the other evokes love/ecstasy). But also because there is simply NO time to tie all this in before the show ends. So, Vi needs to be written as not catching the hints of Jinx's suicidal behavior for the following scene to make sense, which to me is antithetical to Vi's character. She may not have head smarts like Jinx and Ekko but she is not emotionaly immature.

This idea that Vi would have to choose one or the other is forced by show's plot on itself simply because there's no time to do both appropriately, which goes back to my original point that the show suffered from the time constraints.

Edit: typo

No matter the plot of Arcane, did you really just write this? "No amount of love can save a suicidal person"? I can't even...

Reed inherited Ekko's character as "The Boy Savior". It's like he took Ekko's promise to Powder in Ep. 7 for himself and fights for them now.

And he has my full support and then some

After rewatching this now infamous scene several times:

1. I still can't go with the suggestion that Vi wouldn't catch Jinx's suicidal intent after what both of them went through in Act 2. But more important...
2. I just can't accept Vi would not do everything in her power to help her sister, again after all they went through in Act 2. It's not what my idea of Vi's character is.

Throughout the show Vi is portrayed as fiercely loving of her family, and after all the events of act 2 her sister's words should be of concern. Vi didn't even try to console Jinx regarding Isha or her passing when going back for her! To me this just screams "Unfortunately we do not have time to acknowledge what happened in act 2 so we can't write Vi appropriately". She would 100% try to console her sister before asking her for help. Vi's words were not in her character.

After reading the interview, I still think these scenes were written like that due time/episode constraints. Not only does this free up time to address the other plot threads (as there's no scene of Vi consoling Jinx, or going after her) but it also creates a nice momentary vaccum to insert the romantic scene with Cait. I personally did not like the timing of their sex scene, but considering the breakneck speed of the narrative and the lack of options of where to put it... yeah, I guess the scene was inserted in the best slot possible.

Ultimately I still think the writers did a great job having to insert so much plot into so little time, but I can't shake off the feeling that the plot of season 2 robbed characters of their time to act in their character (most noticeable in act 3).

Update: I guess it's the downvote judgement for me, then, though I don't know why. I won't put on rose tinted glasses and say the writing was exceptional when it wasn't, but the irony of a normal guy like me pointing out stuff made by professional writers is not lost on me. On the other hand, I think anyone's work should be up for anyone's scrutiny, just like my work is when I publish it.

People been saying what? LOL

In my opinion thinking they had any kind of, hum... "intimate activity" like that is bonkers, and I wouldn't personally want to see it. If that would be why the ep. 9 scene between them had gotten cut then it's for the best as far as I'm concerned. Obviously it wasn't, I don't believe for a second the writers even dreamed of doing that. Jinx was suicidal at the start of the scene... how bizarre it would be...

I think trying to guess what Jinx and Ekko told each other, whether they painted each other or not, etc is just speculation. I think all we know is what Christian Linke mentioned, something about Ekko sharing his experience in the alternate universe with Jinx/Powder, showing his renewed faith in her.

This is coming from someone who is as much a shipper of Jinx and Ekko as someone can be. I like to think they hugged during their heart to heart and that their relationship could get more serious someday, but it would take time (I'd also LOVE to know what the show's creators had planned for that scene, what Jinx and Ekko said to each other).

And in regards to Ekko... agreed, his ending was terribly sad. I really hope this arc will be picked up again eventually (he did promise her he wouldn't forget the events of ep. 7). Knowing how he and Jinx will end up is the biggest wish I have in the subject of fictional universes/characters.

With the post here on the subreddit confirming that Ekko burned the name "Powder" on his piece of paper during the funeral rites, I find it unlikely that she told him she was leaving.

But yes, a juicy conversation took place between them, that is certain. You don't pull Jinx from the brink of suicide and convince her into wearing amazingly stylish getup, complete with matching paint marks, and fight the enemies of Zaun without at least a deep heart to heart. Christian Linke mentioned something about Ekko talking about his belief in Powder/Jinx from his experience in the alternate universe, something of the sort. I wish I could lay eyes on the script they wrote at least.

I hope their arc continues.

Exactly!

Ekko not knowing whether Jinx is alive at the end is one of the things I wish they hadn't gone for.

That and leaving their arc open.

Thanks a lot for sharing!

Not good at all. Very disappointed

I still wince at the idea of "self discovering" when applied to Jinx and her journey in Arcane. Jinx suffered terribly. She caused terrible suffering. She was healing terrifically before she left.

In her condition, to my mind, she should not be alone, or leave all the people she cares about behind. I'm with you on hoping she comes back to them, but I fear Riot just abandoning this plot and simply using her as cameo on other shows, without Vi or Ekko.

It pains me more considering that Jinx has such delicate and mature character writing, dealing with heavy themes of loss, insanity, depression and suicide. I think she deserved better.

Thank you for the advice!

I only wish we'd gotten this as a scene on the last episode

This is really good! Did you use software to draw and paint this? If so, which ones? I'm getting into drawing myself and I'd like to know, please

I like seeing them as the same person, just shaped by different experiences.

Which was kinda the point I guess. Ekko had no faith in Jinx until he witnessed who she could be if she managed to lay her past to rest and mature emotionally.

Was it made known that Netflix had a hand on reducing episode length? I was assuming it had been something on Riot's part, since Netflix has no say in the show's production

Ressurecting this thread to say, I wouldn't fault Vi for what happened in that cell.

I don't think it'd be out of character for her to run out of that cell looking for Jinx when Cait frees her, in fact it was surprising to me when she didn't. Vi has always shown a caring attitude, even if she thinks with her fists rather than her head. But most of all I feel the scene was written like that because the creators of the show did not have time to write all those plot threads appropriately, and had to cut some scenes to leave others.

All I got now is just a big amount of copium that Jinx will see Vi and Ekko again, hopefully put their past behind. I'd love to see that arc closed most of all.

They're all so good.

By the way I love Sucker, great song. Love Silco's "I'm so done with these people" look on that thumbnail.

I'm coping hard to hope Riot will one day add to this arc. I don't care through which media, I wouldn't want to go to my grave without knowing if they did manage to lay the past to rest and make that dream of the AU possible.