Review by srahs
It’s safe to say that I'm obsessed with Arcane.
From countless reaction and analysis/breakdown videos to unhealthy fanart consumption, there aren't many shows in existence that elicit this kind of response from me.
One of my most anticipated shows of 2021 turns out to be absolutely fucking incredible in nearly every way. I imagine some people had concerns or pessimism because of the well-known curse of videogame adaptations, with them being shit or forgettably average most of the time. In my case, I chose to remain cautiously optimistic and it looks like I chose right.
The setting and intoxicating atmosphere are complemented by Arcane's art style, the story is great, the music is wonderful, and the animation is LITERALLY flawless. When people mention "every frame a painting" when describing cinematography, they will now be able to pull any frame from Arcane and hang it on a wall, It’s that beautiful.
There are very few shows I could confidently call a Masterpiece on this planet, especially since most of the things I see rarely score above a 6 or 7, but Arcane is easily a Top 5 tv show nearly but not quite edging out Avatar: The Last Airbender (which is a big deal because that's my #1) and solidifying itself as the best animated anything I've ever had the blessing of seeing.
It will be a herculean task to top anything done in this season and while I pity the staff knowing the pressure they must feel on accomplishing just that, I have every confidence that Riot Games and Fortiche Production will be able to do it and do it well, if not better.
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@srahs I just finished the show and I'm about to be in your position. I'm gonna binge the hell out reactions and fanart.
Review by filmboicole
Truly interesting premise and the execution is almost great. I really appreciate the deep dive into psychosis the series boasts, the subtle turnover from sane to "undone." It's a well written turn many other writers should see.
However, I take issue with the ending of this season. Cliffhangers are tricky. They have to be done just right. But what makes them particularly difficult with shows like this is they must balance not only the literal payoff, but also the emotional and metaphoric weight of the show. And here is where Undone lost me. Purdy and Bob-Waksberg spend the entire season carefully crafting the subtle and nuanced switch from believing in Alma's ability to seeing her on the verge of a break in desperate need of professional help. The emotional arc here is beautiful and satisfying. It shows how slowly, naturally, and easily illness approaches. How much easier it is to believe in the fantastic than the reality, because here it stems from an unwillingness to process trauma and pain. It's relatable. But it also boasts extremely good character arcs from the supporting characters, primarily Camilla and Becca--but not really because they change. The arc is in how Alma (and, in turn, the audience) perceive them. They shift from overbearing and borderline insufferable, to compassionate (even if they perhaps could learn to express it better). The writers have put an extremely careful eye to developing the arc and it works.
But then comes the cliffhanger ending: is Alma actually schizophrenic? Is her father going to walk out of the cave? The answer, of course, needs to be no. If he does, there are more issues that arise than are solved. I suppose none of these are so big that couldn't be wrapped up with another season's worth of content, but I'd argue that another season will actually diminish the impact of the one that already exists. It feels as though we could be heading to a retread of the same arcs we've already seen. It might not happen though. Purdy and Bob-Waksberg have proven their writing mettle over numerous years of excellence on Bojack. But it does make me nervous. Particularly considering that indulging Alma's illness could have problematic implications similar to those presented by Legion's depiction of mental illness.
But on a completely subjective level, I just felt like the writing had so brilliantly shifted to showcasing Alma's mental state as the series is titled. A cliffhanger undermines this for what, to me, feels like nothing more than a just kidding... unless?
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@filmboicole Perfect review, I completely agree! I loved how everything was coming Undone in the last episode, wish they committed to it. I really hope Season 2 is just as good...
I am super mixed on this series/season.
Episode 1? Fucking fantastic! It still is my favorite episode in the series. It's nothing but character build up, and I love it.
Episode 2 to 8? Good shit. The pacing is way too slow, and some cliffhangers are pretty shitty, but what this sets up and tries to execute is honestly good. I was ready for the finale.
Episode 9 to 12? Meh. Not a fan of a lot of stuff here.
The thing that pissed me off the most was the fact that they completely abandoned the conflict between Gwi-nam and Eun-ji. For me, they had the 2nd most interesting conflict in the story (after Na-yeon's internal conflict), and yet they decided to use Eun-ji to alert the military to the existence of hybrids in order to not end the show in episode 8, and just made Gwi-nam run after Cheong-san for god knows how many episodes. It gets tiresome after a while. Gwi-nam and Eun-ji both survived after being bitten by zombies, and yet they never clash again in order to resolve the conflict that was set-up in episode 1.Either way, weak 6/10. Na-yeon was my favorite character.
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@alexandredemi7 Great review! There's a lot of stuff they build up to yet never go through with. Na-yeon is definitely in my Top 3 favorite characters, along with Mi-jin and Nam-ra.
Shout by Lineage
From everything I see people say about this show and how it's essentially one of the greatest shows, I expected that to be the case for every episode, every season, in the sense that it's one of the greatest shows in every single episode and season. While I found this season good and enjoyable, it didn't give me the impression of this show being as great as everyone says. I still believe that this show is much, much better, from the second season onward to the end. I'm just not feeling that "Breaking Bad is one of the greatest shows of all time, if not the greatest" vibe, yet. From this season alone, anyhow. I have no doubt it gets better.
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@legendaryfang56 I completely agree. It's good, but I'm still not getting that feeling I get when I watch something really good, like when I watched seasons 1-3 of Attack on Titan or the first 2 seasons of Walking Dead. I plan on watching Game of Thrones after this, and I'm afraid of it being similarly underwhelming. I hope Breaking Bad gets even better in Season 2.
