We’re back at it again with the Arcane content while it’s still hot. The show has received such high praise from not only the League of Legends community and critics but also from people who are not directly related to the source material. This is largely because Arcane, in itself, is a masterpiece that can be appreciated even if you have no knowledge of the game. Today, we’ll be talking about the best scenes in Arcane and the moments that we simply can’t forget about because of how good they are.
[SPOILERS AHEAD] The Best Scenes in Arcane
There are 9 episodes in Arcane and each one has such powerful moments that have stuck to us even weeks after finishing the show. We’ve chosen what we think are the best scenes in Arcane based on how impactful they are to the story and how they’ve managed to move us to love the show. Unfortunately, there are so many good scenes that it was extremely difficult to choose just 10 to add to our list of the best scenes in Arcane but we still managed to narrow it down anyway.
We only included scenes in the show so we didn’t really include the other media pieces such as the music videos and teasers. The list includes dramatic moments and fight scenes that we thought defined the series and made it such a masterpiece. The animation in these scenes and the writing are extremely good that we simply couldn’t contain our emotions watching it and always stunned us at how a TV series could move us so much. Without further ado, here are our top 10 best scenes in Arcane:
10. Caitlyn and Vi’s Breakup(?)
Caitlyn and Vi‘s relationship has been extremely vague throughout the series and the progression of how they went from distrusting strangers to lovers was extremely fast-paced. Regardless, we appreciated the moments where they were flirting with each other (even though Riot Games may not confirm it) and added romance into the stories. Out of all the characters in the show, Caitlyn and Vi’s relationship may be the most supported one since it is deeply valuable to the fans.
Seeing as how the fans loved the love affair between the Rich Princess of Topside and the Thug of the Undercity, it was only natural that it broke everyone’s hearts that Vi chose to end their relationship (again, WE KNOW THIS FOR A FACT EVEN IF RIOT DOESN’T CONFIRM IT) because she thought that they’d never amount to anything more. Vi says that they’re like Oil and Water; never destined to be since they’re from totally different worlds. Hopefully, Season 2 will prove that love always wins. <3
9. Heimerdinger Gets Voted Out of the Council
Heimerdinger was such an annoying character in the show. His scenes always involved trying to prevent Jayce and Viktor from making Hextech available to the people since he doesn’t believe that something great can be done so soon. He’s pretty much antagonistic but his adorable attitude made it tolerable enough for him to be a well-liked character. He also stood as the only character in the council with a clear moral stand since all the other seemed like they had ulterior motives.
Despite Jayce getting angry at Heimerdinger’s non-approving attitude, the Progress Day scene made it clear that he still values his advice and knows that he speaks the truth because of his experience. This is why when Jayce decided that the only way for him and Viktor to accelerate the progress of Hextech is to vote his mentor off the council, it felt like such a huge betrayal moment. Heimerdinger’s voicelines and facial expressions brought so much life into the character that you just couldn’t help but feel bad.
8. Powder Begs Violet to Stay
Every scene in Act I was an absolute piece of art and we could have taken a lot of moments there and slapped in our list of best scenes in Arcane but it was all encapsulated into one moment. Vi has always shown that she cared for Jinx and will not let anyone or anything change his opinion or expectations of her sister. Powder was such a fragile marshmallow in Act I that even the viewers wanted to step in to protect her from anything that the world will throw at her.
When Powder finally decided that she won’t be the burden of the group anymore and decided that she was going to help, every viewer problem planted their face deep in their palms because they knew what was going to happen. Regardless of the fact that Powder killed half her family, we still cared deeply for her. This is why when Vi finally broke and called her a JINX too, it was tough for the viewers. When Powder begs for Vi(olet) to come back, the surge of emotion was perfect to make us want more in Act II.
7. Silco Takes a Drink with Vander’s Statue
In Act I, Silco ridicules Vander because he had become soft ever since he adopted his 4 children. From the Hound of the Undercity that did everything to protect The Lanes and went to war against Topside to a pacifistic bartender that didn’t even dare raise a hand against a single enforcer. Despite being betrayed by Vander, Silco says that he held so much respect for him since he was willing to do anything for the Undercity. Until he decided to choose his family over the fight.
When Jayce offered Silco to give up Jinx in exchange for his ultimate goal – to create the nation of Zaun – he realized that he was in the exact same situation. Despite being such a hardcore villain in the past acts, we saw little by little that Silco had a soft-side from Jinx. That’s why Silco came back to Vander’s statue to take a drink with his former brother, whom he now realizes he had wronged. It was such a powerful moment because that’s the first time Silco shows his humanity to the viewers.
6. Jayce & Vi vs the Turbo Chemtanks
We can’t talk about the best scenes in Arcane without mentioning the top-tier fight scenes. Among these fight scenes, Jayce and Vi invading the chembarons’ shimmer outpost has to be one of the best in the series. This is the first time both Jayce and Vi are seen with their signature weapons which are the Mercury Hammer/Cannon and the Hextech Gauntlets. Needless to say, just seeing the weapons is enough to send any League of Legends fan screeching joyfully but the fight added to the epicness of the scene.
The Turbo Chemtanks were also a treat for League of Legends players because we finally got a solid look at one of the items in the game. Aside from the hammering and smashing, the part where Jayce transforms his hammer and goes all-out ballistic on the base was such a powerful moment. When he hit Renni’s son accidentally, he realizes that armed war isn’t what he wanted. The emotions are difficult to describe so the best way to really explain it is through Jayce’s eyes when watching that specific scene.
5. Ekko’s Flashback Fight with Jinx
Speaking of fight scenes, there’s nothing more awesome than a fight scene that’s depicted in the most realistic way. Most of the viewers of animated fights expect something that lasts 30 episodes with 18 fillers and flashbacks in-between them. In Jinx and Ekko‘s fight, it probably lasted around only 8 seconds (screentime) but is probably one of the best-depicted fights in the entirety of animated television history. This scene was so masterfully constructed that it felt like we watched 30 minutes worth of content.
Ekko’s emotions and the flashback to their childhood added a layer of thrill to the fight that we absolutely loved. Even though the length of the fight was short, it wasn’t in any way unsatisfactory. In fact, that 30-second fight scene (with flashbacks) probably described the entire episode. The scene was so realistic since not everyone has superhuman tenacity that can withstand getting hit by a bat. The emotional moment between Jinx and Ekko at the end was also nothing short of beautiful.
4. Vi and Sevika’s 2nd Brawl
Yes, ANOTHER fight scene. What can we say? The best scenes in Arcane involve a lot of masterfully animated brawls between characters. As we mentioned in our Arcane Character Tier List, Vi has the best fight scenes in the series. The best fight scene in the series was Sevika and Vi’s 2nd brawl at the bar when both women finally received upgrades to their arsenal – Vi with her Hextech Gauntlets and Sevika with her Chemblade.
The fight was an all-out brawl with no BS token scenes in-between. Every punch had so much depth that viewers could probably feel every hit land on their guts. The part where Vi pauses to take a drink while Sevika was knocked down was a really nice touch. We could probably watch these two master fighters go at each other for hours at a time and be massively entertained but every fight must have its conclusion. And who doesn’t love it when the fighter you bet for stands up after getting knocked down to take the fight?
3. Viktor Interrupts Jayce
Now, this is a scene that all of you definitely remember. In Act I, Jayce was depicted as a helpless rising scientist with ideas that could change the world which are brought about by the fact that he had a magical life-changing event during his childhood. The Hextech project was innovative so when Vi and company destroyed his workplace, we genuinely felt sad for the man. The enforcers and council confiscating his research was heart-breaking even more.
Jayce contemplating giving up life was such a mature topic that Arcane managed to depict masterfully. This is why when Viktor stopped him to encourage his research be continued, it was a turning point that we, as the viewers, really loved. The quote: “If you want to change the world, don’t ask for permission” is easily the most powerful line in the entire series. The scene following this event where Jayce and Viktor float in the hextech field was also magical and is one of the best scenes in Arcane.
2. Silco Tells Jinx That She’s Perfect
Silco and Jinx’s relationship was extremely vague for the majority of the later Acts. There were some disturbing moments where it felt like Jinx and Silco had an inappropriate relationship due to the way they act but it turns out all of that is attributed to Jinx’s daddy issues and declining mental state. Despite those weird moments, the show continued to explain Silco’s love for Jinx (as a daughter) and how much he really cared for her despite everyone around them wanting her gone.
Silco may have been depicted as a dangerous mob boss that would sacrifice anything for the creation of Zaun in the show but it turns out he wasn’t ready to give EVERY thing he has. When Jinx thinks that Silco was ready to give her up for the sake of his dream, the conflicting emotions were unraveling and despite it being a confusing moment, it was actually clear. This is why when Jinx chooses Vi over Silco, our hearts were broken when he revealed that he would never give her up for anything. Even calling her perfect despite being so broken.
1. Viktor Runs For the First Time
One of the most underrated scenes in the entire series is actually the most powerful one in contrast to anything else in the show. During his childhood flashback, Viktor was revealed to already be a cripple who loved to tinker with simple mechanisms. He was always alone and so, he build his own toys, one of which being the boat. In the flashback, it is seen that he tries to run after the boat that’s sailing downstream but he trips and falls, since he’s a cripple, and ending up losing the toy.
In Act III, Viktor decides he was ready to do anything to beat his illnesses. He managed to use shimmer and the power of the hexcore to alter his body. When his leg becomes transformed, he goes to the docks and throws away his cane to run as fast as he can with his new body. In this scene, it is shown in the background that he outruns the ships, symbolizing the boat that he had as a child. However, when he stopped running, we see that he does not feel any joy because too much was sacrificed for this very moment. This will always be at the top of our best scenes in Arcane.