u/busysleepingsorry

Don't lie to yourself you know you would.

Its no secret that Jinx has a tendency to be in high places. She's constantly in the rafters, and her workshop is right in the middle of a bottomless pit. I've grabbed what I think are all the examples of her being in a high place. Brackets with numbers refer to that picture number (5,8) = picture 5 & 8

What's interesting is that it contrasts younger Powder's relationship with heights. Powder notably is very nervous making the jump in Ep 1, Sleeps on the bottom bunk, and while she is in the rafters in Ep 2, she's not at all confident being up there (1,2,3). While AU Powder has the same hideout location as Jinx, the guard rails are a massive difference (6,12,14).

I'm gonna try dissect why. And I think I've found 4 reasons why - and I easily think it is multiple of these.

1 - Its obviously a safe place for her. She feels more comfortable being out of sight and able to spy in on others (5,7,9,13). I'd argue the workshop being isolated and elevated is an extension of that (6). This is confirmed with her in the arcade instinctively retreating into the rafters when the enforcers arrived (10). However, this is contrasted by her lighting the flare and standing on the pillar in the Vi vs Jinx fight (8,11), given that she is in a high place, and actively drawing attention to herself. I think the flare scene represents stepping out of her comfort zone to reach out to Vi, and I think the pillar represents her indifference to dying. She wouldn't complain if she was shot, but she'd go out swinging to try take Vi out for her betrayal. I love that she actively brings her workshop - her safe place - to the final fight (16), and that that becomes the symbol that the Zaunites fight behind - implying maybe that Zaun as a whole is now her safe place.

2 - She's still mentally stuck in the ep 3 explosion (4). I don't think I have to justify this one lol. But I do find it quite interesting that she becomes almost fascinated with being in high places only after this explosion where she was notably falling from the blast. The only contradiction to this is that she doesn't really change in this regard when she begins moving on from this trauma in S2A2 (12,13) - but ig its an 'old habits die hard' kind of thing, or its because she's accepted that these things have happened to her, its part of who she is but she won't let it weigh her down anymore. (I think her having all her personal items in the workshop blimp confirms this)

I do wanna say that I love that she has the only elevated house in Viktor's commune. Its like it was made for her.

3 - Part of it, I think, is that she's trying to mentally distance herself from Powder. Powder was weak and scared of heights and that's why Vi abandoned her, so Jinx cannot be weak or scared of heights because Silco or someone else will abandon her. I think this is highlighted by the contrast between her in the rafters as Powder and as Jinx (3,5). She also distances herself because Powder slept in the bottom bunk (2), and therefore Jinx must be high up. On top of this, she gets rescued from falling by Vi (1,17). This first time was because she was weak and afraid (and mostly young) and the second time she's grown since. She isn't weak and afraid anymore, but she's still being rescued by Vi - which I think is symbolic of her growth during S2 - given that at this point she's internally a mixture of Jinx and Powder. This is contradicted by earlier in S2 where isn't mentally distancing herself from Powder anymore - but I think Jinx projects Powder onto Isha (even though I see Isha as a little Vi instead) and so she's still not Powder so doesn't have to worry about Powder's struggles.

Btw while writing that paragraph I realised that (1,4) parallel each other and symbolically foreshadow the ending of S1E3. During the explosion, Vi isn't there to rescue Powder while she's falling, and so Powder falls indeed

4 - I partly think her workshop is a nod to her indifference to dying in S1. I don't think she'd complain if she accidentally fell off. I mean she dangles her legs off the edge (6) and she seems to be looking for the right time and place to die (end of Jinx vs Ekko and Jinx vs Vi). This is confirmed by AU Powder having guard rails around the workshop (14) preventing something like this happening. I think this is also confirmed by her actually trying to take her life this way (15) showing us she's known about this and has probably has thought about it in the past. The only issue with this is that her workshop still has the falling risk in S2E4, but I think this is 'old habits die hard' and procrastination. I can totally see myself putting off installing a safety railing for months because survivorship bias.

I do think its a mixture of all 4, but do tell me what you think, or if there's another reason why this might be the case. I am all for infinitely dissecting Arcane because I just can't get enough of it. Its been 4 months now and its still all I think about (not that I'm complaining lol, I dedicate so much time to rewatching and reading fanfics, and I've gotten all of my friends through S1 now - just waiting till uni break to continue with S2)

Lowkey Ekko sold by rewinding time

This line just works so well on many levels. I love it so much.

It narratively makes sense for Finn to say this, because he knows Sevika is standing right behind Silco about to swing her blade, and it suits Finn's character to say this because he is a bit overconfident

What neither of them know is that Sevika has switched sides and is about to kill Finn instead of Silco. Once this happens, a first time viewer would assume this line no longer matters because Silco has just avoided death and the person that said it is now dead, but death ends up catching up to Silco later that day regardless. But, he ends up dying for very different reasons to why Finn came to kill Silco (even though Silco ends up leaving a massive power vacuum)

While this scene and Silco's actual death happen in the same episode, they are spaced apart by about 20 minutes of very engaging and plot heavy content obscuring the connection. Silco also gets a lot of deep character exploration with his talks to Vander's statue and with Jayce. It feels hard to believe that these events even happen in the same day

So, I was at a pipe organ recital earlier today, and I noticed a feeling of unresolved sexual tension between the organist and the page turner. It took me a bit to piece together that the organist was busy fingering the organ while the page turner just stood to the side watching. And when the organist finally finished, the page turner just walked off like he couldn't handle it

If you think about it, the organist gets all the attention and glory while the page turner just stands still and watches, and leaves right when its over. The organist does all the hands and feet on stuff, while the page turner very occasionally assists (like bringing a glass of water or something). The organist hardly pays attention to the page turner - they are just an afterthought compared to how focused they are on touching the organ.

Makes me wonder if the page turner actually enjoys it or not.

Also ignore the rubbish video quality lol, family is hogging the wifi

But tbf that god awful mustache and sideburns ruins his chances already. Istg Mylo is the only person of the original gang to have a Glow Down. Claggor, AU Powder, Jinx, Vi, Ekko all get Glow Ups. Even Vander ngl

I should disclaim that people shipping Jilco actually makes me very uncomfortable. There's no way I'd actually go and search the internet for relevant fanart.

Vi is absolutely my favourite character in S1 Act 1. I love how sassy she is, and that she absolutely walks the talk. She isn't afraid to take a hit and will keep swinging until she wins. Her relationship with Powder is very heartwarming (and absolutely heartwrenching on a rewatch), and I love that she defends Powder from Mylo without fail.

While the tone of Arcane was set with the bridge scene, I would not have complained if we just spent a season with Vi and the gang going on missions to topside and walking around The Lanes.

Of course, I'm sure I wouldn't have felt the need to watch Arcane if it didn't masterfully subvert expectations in episode 3 (I would have known about it though, cause I used to play Valorant and avoided League stuff like the plague lol)

ok maybe being a little sleep deprived doesn't help, but I could genuinely get lost staring into her eyes for hours.

I'm having such intense 'do I want to be her or be with her' rn. In the wise words of our lord and saviour Silco: "Jinx is Perfect".

I would be so bad for her because I would be far too quick to forgive her for her actions, because I mean how can you look at that face and earnestly say she did something wrong

Jinx truly is an artist

I recently saw this idea mentioned by this video essay. While I don't 100% agree with what she says, I think she makes some very interesting points worth considering around Jinx's character arc and ending. But, to make this post transformative, I want to delve a bit deeper into this symbolism and what different aspects represent.

So, the record gets lowered into place and spikes in the centre hold it in place. Then, the record with Vi and Jinx on it starts spinning clockwise. I think these respectively represent being lowered into the cycle of violence (as in its not something that happens in ideal scenarios), getting trapped into this cycle, and specifically clockwise represents the passage of time or even generations. Although, the other records could also represent the previous and future generations also stuck in this cycle. I think the gears on the disc also represent the passage of time + being cogs in the machine

Other things of note that I'm not fully sure of (but will have a go at) are: what Vi going up and Jinx going down represent, this apparatus actually being upside down the shot before, and what the alternate timeline cycle with Powder and Ekko represents. I'm interested to hear others interpretations, but here's mine:

I think Vi and Jinx going their different directions to supposed to reflect Jinx's descent in Season 1. I wouldn't necessarily say Vi ascended in S1, more that this contrast is supposed to highlight Jinx's descent - especially given they start at almost equal levels (in fact Jinx starts slightly above Vi, I wonder if that means anything). But, given enough time, Jinx rises again and Vi descends as we see at the start of Season 2 Episode 5, and it inverts again later in S2E8 with Jinx descending and Vi rising, until Jinx finally takes the step to free them both from the cycle (which is such a beautiful way to conclude this theme for the sisters).

Obviously Vi being absent from the AU means its not her and Jinx's story but Powder and Ekko's, but I think their cycle is Powder being stuck in the monotony of life, constantly being told by Vander and others to push herself, and ending up finding the will to do just that, because she needed it. We obviously know little about AU Ekko, so its hard to theorise why he's involved.

Tbh I have no clue why the apparatus is upside down. Maybe its about the show trying to present a different perspective, presenting these characters from the bottom up instead of top down.

Half of these are probably reaches, but I still think the first few are absolutely intentional. I love how rich this show is with visual symbolism (among 100 other things)

The real question then is: what does the text "A NETFLIX SERIES" actually represent. What is a 'netflix'

If you really think about it, its never her fault anyone dies. People know she's dangerous and so should treat her with caution, but they don't and get too close to her grenades bullets and massive nuke shot from miles away. She never aims to hurt anyone, but some people misfire on accident and Jinx is just unlucky with how many bullets of hers hit actual people (she's not called Jinx for nothing).

I always see people condemning Jinx for being a mass murdering terrorist, but like, murder and terrorism implies intent. But like have you seen the show? She just walks down the street and everyone has spontaneous heart attacks around her (I mean I can't blame then I would too). She is merely in the vicinity of all these people dying. Would you blame a 9/11 survivor for killing everyone else who died in the attack? No. Didn't think so.

So then, the real question is why do people actually accuse Jinx of this if she isn't to blame. I think it boils down to jealousy ngl. We all want to be Jinx (if you don't you're objectively lying) and they are all in denial. They choose to condemn her because they try to distance themselves from her to suppress that desire.

I mean the music itself isn't bad quality, it never is. It has the 'Get Jinxed' chorus chord progression, and the weird rising tones associated with Shimmer.

Whenever I'm listening to the score album, I get confused whenever this track comes on because it doesn't really feel like Arcane. I just think it feels too unserious for a fight like this, especially for our first time seeing the anti-magic stones in action. The synth sounds I just don't think work here. The only other time I can remember synths like this in the score is the Ekko Powder bonding montage and it works really well there (Collaboration).

But maybe its supposed to reflect Jinx's unseriousness in this fight, but idk I feel like something else could have done the same thing but fit better within the show's tone

The score track is called 'A Deep Cut' if you want to listen to the music in isolation btw