By the end of Season 1 of “ Arcane, ” both the utopian, steampunk city of Piltover and its straight-up punk undercity of Zaun had seen better days. Season 2 of the Netflix animated series, which incorporates the champions and settings of the “League of Legends” games as the backdrop for its story, doubles down on its commitment to property damage, brightly colored mayhem, and new and exciting Hextech weapons that cause both. Grandiose and complex fight sequences would be a challenge for anyone, but leveling them up is particularly tricky if you want that expansion to boast real narrative and emotional stakes.
As much as Studio Fortiche’s gorgeous animation and the cast’s sharp voice performances open the door into Runeterra, the show’s unseen elements — its sound and its music — hook us into the world of “ Arcane .” And the show’s creative team doubled down on these, as well. The original songs created for Season 2 were utilized in extended, wordless setpieces that allowed Studio Fortiche to incorporate emotionally expressive, strikingly different animation styles.
Whether it was a painfully flat, charcoal funeral for Caitlyn’s (Katie Leung) mother or the rainbow lighting–packed showdown between star-crossed sisters Jinx ( Ella Purnell ) and Vi (Hailee Steinfeld) near the end of Episode 3, “those songs are always king for Riot,” re-recording mixer Andrew Garrett Lange told IndieWire. Serving these kings (nine of them in Arc 1 of Season 2 alone).
