Happy Progress Day!
A fair amount of time has passed between episodes 3 and 4, with big changes in both Piltover and Zaun. The episode itself begins with a celebration – Progress Day – as Piltover looks set to welcome the city turning 200 years old. As the sun rises, Heimerdinger speaks to Jayce about the Progress Day speech. After Jayce’s Hexgates have reinvigorated the city, he’s going to be the one to give the speech this year. Despite initially being so hesitant about using magic, Piltover sure have taken to using this dangerous tech quickly. Celebrations get underway, with crowds gathering to join in the Progress Day celebrations. The Hexgates have advanced all aspects of life here, as some slick scenes help to show this in all its glory. Heading down to the docks, the Firelights show up, intending to track down the Shimmer and burn it all to the ground. Powder though, shows and turns the tables. She’s a proficient fighter now, having honed her explosive skills and combined that with some solid fist fighting and Silco’s twisted ideology. However, her real weakness is still Vi. When one of the Firelights happen to sport pink air, Powder immediately believes it’s Vi and hesitates. Now, Powder and Silco are pretty close, and with the Hexgates and progression on technology, the Under City is being left further and further behind. Powder is now going by the alias of jinx too, and left to her own devices she’s paranoid, talking to herself and completely unstable. As part of Progress Day, Jayce and Viktor have been working on Hextech gemstones, fortifying the exterior to avoid being smashed to bits. It also means this technology can be used all over the colony to speed up developments, including the mines or with artists. There’s obviously a lot of dangers with this but Heimerdinger is confident it’ll be ready in a decade or so…but the two men don’t have that sort of time. They want it to be ready right now. Jayce contemplates defying Heimerdinger, standing up before everyone and promising to present the Gemstones when they’re ready. Unfortunately, this doesn’t go down well with Councilor Medarda or the other guards, who question Jayce’s credentials. Only, there’s bigger problems at work here. Jinx shows up and steals the gemstones, leaving graffiti on the walls, a fire outside and the Council in chaos. Jayce decides they should close the Hexgates in order to prioritize the safety of Piltover but the Councilors are more concerned about profits. Councilor Medarda, noticing some potential with Jayce, suggests he be elevated onto the council with them. Jinx excitedly returns to the Undercity with the gemstones. Silco is incredulous, unhappy that she’s acted independently of him and knowing this will have repercussions. Now, Caitlyn (the same Caitlyn who was that little girl outside Jayce’s workshop during episode 2) is now an Enforcer and determined to do right by the people. She’s determined to find out who’s responsible for the bombing. That leads to her hot on the trail of Silco and his goons. Heading into the depths of the prison, Caitlyn comes face to face with none other than Vi.
The Episode Review
An agonizing week rolls by and Arcane is back with a bang. The idea to advance time forward between episodes 3 and 4 during this hiatus is a stroke of genius and it helps to show just how far some of our characters have risen – or fallen. Powder — now going by the name of Jinx – is completely unhinged and it seems she’s the catalyst for everything going downhill between Piltover and Zaun. That’s to say nothing of the technological advances either, and oh how the tables turn! After all that chatter about not using magic and progressing forward, Piltover sure has embraced using this technology with open arms. Regardless of its dangers, it seems the city and its councilors are more concerned about profits than safety – and that will undoubtedly be their undoing. However, Arcane does well to keep things interesting and the excellent visuals return for this follow-up with some really slick action sequences. With three episodes released today, let’s not waste any time and jump straight into the next.
