How Arcane Writes MORAL AMBIGUITY (9 Methods, 4 Rules)

I still can't believe they reached such heights of characterisation with what started as a HARLEY QUINN KNOCKOFF

I find it really interesting of how Arcane uses these mixed emotions, understandings, and 4d characters. When I saw Silco hug Powder, I saw it as empathy, that he was upset with how the world has treated them and wants revenge for both him and Powder. While my friend, she saw it the other way, that Silco was just using Powder to turn her into a “monster”/Jinx. I find this very peculiar to see, you don’t really get these different perspectives/arcs in quite a few shows.

I’m living purely on your Arcane content while I wait for season 2

Can we talk about the Viktor diffusing Chomper grenade scene while Jayce and Viktor are talking about war? That was so symbolic and foreshadowing and aligns with the central theme I think most people missed other than Viktor and Jinx are both engineering geniuses

Okay, can Jinx be a character representation of Zaun? I've been thinking about this for a bit. But it's almost as if Jinx and Zaun have matching arcs. First Zaun is under Vander's control/influence, but after his death it's Silco calling the shots. Vander lets Piltover be in charge of the "younger sister" city, but after Zaun gains distance from her "sister" with the help of Marcus, Zaun becomes a wilder and freer place. Yet as Zaun is relying on Silco for its' wellbeing, Zaun is struggling between the dependence of the crime lord and sister city, not knowing from where to pull its identity. Yet finally, Zaun is able - not to be granted its idependance by an outside force - but actually taking it for itself through violence and embracing its own chaos away from the identity provided by Piltover. Let me know your thoughts.

Watching your analysis on Arcane with morally ambiguous characters is really helping me when writing my own morally gray characters. So thank you so much

also hearing those analysis really helps me to see how and what to write in my own stories for them to be good. thank you!

I JUST REALIZED SOMETHING. Rule #3 applies to Kino (Mel's brother), by being a ruthless diplomat -- yet being peaceful in talking, being a fox among the wolves, he got himself killed, murdered. By being diplomatic in his approach to power unlike his mother Ambessa, he faced the consequences via death.

I've heard it said that we do need a lot more morally-ambiguous stories and characters and whatnot, and I've also heard people say they want more characters who are evil and unredeemable. I think Arcane does give us both. Redemption implies that the character changes their ways for the better. We get redemption with Jayce and with Mel in that regard (neither were villains but they had that whole political corruption storyline), but the characters we consider villains like Silco, Sevika, and Singed do not go through that. They have moments that endear them to us but nothing that clearly changes their ways for the better. In any other show, with any other writers, Silco's arc would have either swung to making him abusive towards Jinx or his love for her as her father would have made him a "good guy". It takes a certain amount of skill, I think, to strike that balance they manage to do in Arcane. Most shows refuse to strike that balance. Villains cannot do good things unless it's in service to a redemption, and very rarely is the redemption actually handled well. Maybe that's why Arcane feels so much more alive than a lot of shows I've watched. The only other show I'm watching that's hitting that balance in any meaningful way is the Owl House, and it still falls into the abusive parental figure trap with its villain.

OOH when you pointed out the ill-fitting Ambesta scene, I noticed also that Ambesta takes up waaaay less of the frame than the painting. Not only is she silent, but she's less in your face. You can't even see her face in the shot. The shot isn't about her, but about her recognizing Mel, seeing her as her own POWERFUL individual for the first time. No longer is she the most powerful person in frame, Mel has done something far more grand.

What amazes me about this show is that the only criticism I've seen from people is that it's hard to follow who's "bad" and "good" and that there aren't any blatantly "good" people. Such a masterpiece

It's funny to think that the event that kicked everything off was the same event that ended the series. "Give us the girl that caused so much visible destruction and you will be given what you ask." Truly shows that no matter how much people try to change, humanity falls back into its own loop. It makes the same mistakes for what it believes is the right reason, not because they don't learn but because it's a new person making the mistake someone else has. No one is immortal, but if there were some, maybe we could learn.

19:55 I think one point you missed is that the inclusion of relative morality makes the characters stand out as individuals from each other, and as individuals with personalities, they expand our understanding of their world. Characters have different lines that they will or will not cross. And the story challenges them. Because of Vander’s honesty, he won’t turn over someone that didn’t commit the actual crime. Because of Vi accurately listening to Vander’s lesson about responsibility, she is prepared to turn herself in, even if she knows Vander wouldn’t let her. Because Viktor grew up in the undercity, he is more willing to risk getting caught sneaking into Hiemerdinger’s lab, compared to Jayce, who grew up more privileged, and is shocked at the idea. Many, many times, the characters make choices that define their morals or challenge them. But what is considered “good” and “bad” is not clear in this show. Much like in our real world. Earlier, you made a point that Caitlyn and Ekko were on the “good” moral grey spectrum. But a big difference between them is that Ekko would definitely kill to achieve his means, (him stopping his firelight friend from killing Vi implies that they probably wouldn’t be opposed to finishing off enemies), but Caitlyn, even as an enforcer, would not. (Despite her internal conflict to take control of the situation at the tea party). So does it make Ekko “good” that he’s fighting oppression? Or does it make Caitlyn “good” that she chooses not to take lives? They are both defiantly aligned as good and trying to achieve the same goal of peace, but the two characters are written well enough to be distinct from each other and have different personalities. We, the audience know they are good people, but their morals and what lines they are willing to cross makes them compelling characters. Side note: Vi follows Vander’s morals of being responsible and protecting ‘the family’. Vander expanded that definition to mean ‘protect the community’. Maybe Vi will expand her definition of ‘family’ from ‘Jinx’ to ‘the citizens of the city’ in season two. Who knows?

I wouldn't totally condemn Mel for being manipulative and power hungry. She runs an independent city state surrounded by super powers that could invade, or perhaps even revoke its independent status unless it'ss useful being run the way it is. In return, Mel runs a state that doesn't need to brutally invade others, but triumphs through trade. The contradiction though is that libertarian trade city crushes those who don't succeed in it.

Silco is hands down my Favorite character in this series. He's so much more than we were first presented, but he's still also that guy. He's a fallen hero that is still despite everything, trying do what's right, although now through 'villainous' means. And my gosh it's so so nice to see a healthy father daughter relationship...even though neither are mentally healthy... :v

I cannot even begin to express how much I love these analysis videos. I’m usually a silent watcher of most, but I can’t keep quiet when I’m faced with SUCH well-thought out takes like these. From the first episode, I was obsessed with Arcane. I was also obsessed with Game of Thrones (before it went off the rails) and despite loving them for surface-level reasons, I couldn’t understand why I was so blatantly effected by their stories. I think stories as well written as Arcane, especially in terms of gray morality, are on a different level. It feels so different watching them, never knowing what’s gonna happen next. You’ll be surprised, but it’ll make sense. When you take such well written characters and make them the centerpiece of your story, something strange happens. They feel so incomprehensibly REAL. It reminds me when I sometimes take a look at psychology, or ask questions like nature vs. nurture—in the sense that it makes you realize just how unpredictability predictable life really is. There’s so many small things, experiences or perhaps just plain genetics, that contribute to who we are. When you find stories like Arcane, it embodies that, it feels like humanity’s underlying story, and I think that’s what art should be all about. Art oftentimes means taking something ugly and showing the beauty in it, a concept which Arcane establishes perfectly. Somehow, it took all these characters, made them feel REAL (which is a very understatedly difficult task, mind you), and then made the story they all contributed to feel beautiful. It carried stunning art, animation, character arcs, world building, and most importantly: themes. How the writers even began taking so many characters—making them developed, contribute eloquently to a plot, to a theme, and then made most of them LIKEABLE—that’s completely beyond me. Contributing to a MASTERPIECE like Arcane would be a dream, it’s something I strive to be able to do someday. But anyways, these analysis videos are absolutely insane. Somehow, on a routine schedule, you manage to take a show as brilliant as Arcane and dissect it in a way that is comprehensive, educational, entertaining, and correct in all the right ways. It’s amazing. And, not to sound dramatic or anything, but that ending bit of why morally ambiguous stories are important was just what I needed. It’s easy to doubt yourself as an artist, and give up when you don’t see a grander purpose in your work. But, in reality, creating stories can be for far more than simple entertainment purposes. Stories can really help guide people and help them comprehend the realities they face and the judgements they should make based on that. It’s amazing how you managed to explain that and chase that doubt out of my head, because now, as an artist, I feel like my work has been able to find that deeper purpose I’ve been chasing. So, thank you. These aren’t just bits of entertainment, they do so much more. You should be proud. I love your videos so much :)

I also like how this show makes different people feel different things from one scene. Like when you said you felt happiness for jinx in the final scene, for me it was mostly despair. Like the jinx fell somewhere so deep, she already won’t get up. And this costs so much for so many people

It is something I love about this first season of Arcane. It can (and should) be be used in education. As a writing example. As an animation example. As a film making in general example. But also for exploring philosophy and theology. For exploring the relationships between action and consequence. Such a great show.

For the final scene, I felt so much guilt and sadness for Cait primarily. Even though I was not responsible for the probable death of Mrs Kiramman, I still felt guilty. The expression on her face of undiluted pain and fear and sadness shattered me. But then I felt a sense of relief that the council voted for peace; Mel, who is a character I love, had finally made a step away from corruption. And then cut to Jinx, I just felt sorrow and I wanted to comfort her. She was visibly suffering and I wanted to ease that. But then at the same time, she was causing Cait, and subsequently Vi, extreme pain; which brings me back to the start when I felt for Caitlyn’s experience.

What caught me the most off about most of the characters is how human they felt. When you understand their motives and flaws every decision makes sense and become a relatable "I would do that in their position" kind of deal rather than just good or bad but very clearly products of the environment in the story's world.