The 10 Most Memorable Moments in Arcane, Season One

Key Takeaways

• The show Arcane features standout scenes like Vi and Jinx’s reunion, Jinx lighting a flare, and their emotional rooftop chat.
• Arcane’s poignant moments showcase character development, storytelling, and animation, culminating in impactful scenes.
• Unforgettable moments like Jinx’s mental breakdown, Vi abandoning Powder, and Jinx firing Fishbones set the stage for a compelling second season.

Arcane is arguably one of the best video game adaptations of all time, with an excellent, well-told story backed up with fully fleshed-out, relatable characters. Based on heroes from the League of Legends game, and set in the same universe, Arcane is a dark fantasy show that features incredible animation and brilliant voice performances too. Because of how great Arcane is as a show, there are various memorable moments throughout its nine-episode run.

The show has had many great moments that are memorable in their own way, and the scenes in this list are worth mentioning thanks to how impressive they are in terms of storytelling, character development, animation, and general awesomeness.

Spoiler warning: We’ll be diving into some crucial scenes from Arcane season one, so there are plenty of spoilers inbound.

10 Vi and Powder’s Rooftop Chat

From Episode 1: Welcome to the Playground

• Occurs during Act 1
• Characters involved: Powder and Vi

This is a more muted moment from the show. After young Vi’s Piltover heist goes terribly wrong, her sister Powder feels guilty and is branded a “jinx” when she loses their stolen goods. Vi meets Powder on the rooftop and points out all the areas in the city where she, Mylo, and Claggor (Vi and Powder’s adopted siblings) all experienced failure at different times. This scene is a great example of the close bond that Vi shares with Powder, and how she wants to comfort her and show her that everyone makes mistakes.

The scene is also important for the story, as Powder shows Vi her stolen Hextech crystal. When Powder asks if she should show Vander, Vi insists that they keep it a secret. Had Vi allowed Powder to give the crystal to Vander, the entire series of tragic events that occurred later could have been avoided.

The scene ends with Vi telling Powder that one day, the city is going to respect them. The foreshadowing here is subtle, but telling, making for an excellent addition to the narrative of the series.

9 Jinx Lights The Flare

From Episode 6: When These Walls Come Tumbling Down

• Occurs at the end of Act 2
• Characters involved: Jinx

In episode six, Jinx realizes that Vi is back in town. She takes the flare that Vi gave her before the disastrous plan to save Vander and heads to the highest point in the city. Jinx lights up the flare and waits to see if her sister responds.

Set to the song “Guns for Hire” by Woodkid, Jinx holds the flare high as blue smoke soars into the air. As she waits, visions of Mylo and Claggor haunt her, clinging to her back as she holds the flare. This scene is a great depiction of Jinx’s ever-declining mental state, showing that she can’t think of her sister or her past without being reminded of the trauma that comes with it.

The guilt she feels from accidentally causing the death of her adopted family is palpable, and the show manages to make this clear despite Jinx simply standing still holding a flare. The animation is great too, with the bright blue smoke acting as a stark contrast to the murky tones of Zaun.

8 Vi and Jinx Reunite

From Episode 6: When These Walls Come Tumbling Down

• Occurs at the end of Act 2
• Characters involved, Jinx, Vi, Caitlyn, and the Firelights

Following on from her scene with the flare, the moment when Jinx and Vi finally reunite is also memorable. The change in Jinx when she comes face to face with Vi for the first time in years is clear. She seems to become Powder again. When Vi goes to hug her, she immediately drops the Hextech crystal that everyone is so desperate to get their hands on. None of it matters when she is reunited with her sister.

Jinx’s instability instantly becomes clear to Vi when she asks, “Is this real?” Her hallucinations have become so prominent that she can’t even tell reality from visions. Vi attempts to reassure her, but when Caitlyn appears, the reunion becomes tense. Powder immediately switches back to Jinx as she points her minigun at Caitlyn in disbelief that her sister would pair up with an enforcer. Vi again tries to reassure her, and is almost successful, until the rebellious Firelight gang shows up.

The fight scene between Jinx, Vi, and the Firelights is awesome to watch, but it also acts as Vi’s true introduction to Jinx. Vi watches in horror as Jinx seems to enjoy trying to kill the Firelights. Vi was fighting for self-defense, but Jinx loved every minute of the violence. It’s her shock at her sister’s actions that leaves Vi vulnerable, leading to the Firelights knocking her and Caitlyn out, kidnapping them, and taking the Hextech crystal.

As well as being an important story beat, the moment where Vi and Jinx are reunited not only demonstrates the character development of both sisters but also the realizations that they have about one another. Vi not only realizes that Powder is struggling to differentiate reality from her hallucinations, but that she has become ruthless and violent beyond belief. Jinx, in turn, realizes that Vi is in league with an enforcer, leading to a feeling of betrayal.

What’s also clear is that both girls still love and care about one another, as Jinx tries to save Vi and refuses to shoot when she’s being kidnapped and Vi lets her guard down when trying to get through to Jinx. All this is done within a short scene, which is all the more impressive.

7 The Bridge

From Episode 1: Welcome to the Playground

• Opening to the show
• Characters involved: Powder, Vi, and Vander

The opening of any piece of media – be it a television show, a film, or a video game – is crucial, as it sets up the tone and can draw in or turn off the audience. The opening of Arcane is heartbreaking, but it also sets up the conflict of the series excellently.

The show opens with enforcers quelling a rebellion on the bridge between the technologically advanced overground city of Piltover and the impoverished undercity of Zaun. The animation is fantastic here, as the dark, smoky reds and orange hues perfectly depict the war-torn environment.

A little girl is heard singing. This is shown to be Powder, who can’t be more than five or six. She is holding her older sister’s hand and covering her eyes as they cross the bridge. Vi spots Vander as he is attacking an enforcer, and she wordlessly looks to him for help. Vander glances over to the body of a dead woman, Vi, and Powder’s mother.

Vi breaks down in tears and Powder comforts her, clearly too young to grasp the severity of the situation, although the tear stains on her cheeks suggest that she is not entirely oblivious to it. Vander throws down his gauntlets after witnessing Vi and Powder’s grief before picking them up and carrying them back to Zaun, unwilling to fight and lose more people to the senseless war. Vi looks back to Piltover once more with an angry expression, foreshadowing her future desire to reignite the war.

This scene is tragic, showing two little girls seeing their dead mother firsthand, but it also sets up the conflict between Piltover and Zaun as well as Vander’s reluctance to start another war. There is also a subtle nod to Vi’s impending desire to fan the flames of rebellion in the future. So much of the story is set up, and plot points are foreshadowed, all within a small scene with no dialogue. That’s how you do an opening.

6 Jayce and Vi Team Up

From Episode 8: Oil and Water

• Occurs during Act 3
• Characters involved: Jayce and Vi

There are so many epic fight scenes in Arcane, but one of the best in the series has to go to the team-up between Jayce and Vi. After Vi and Caitlyn are unsuccessful in their attempt to convince the Piltover council to take action against Silco, Jayce partners up with Vi and the two decide to take the fight directly to Silco via one of his Shimmer factories.

Jayce and Vi arm themselves with the weapons that League of Legends fans will recognize instantly, as they are the ones that the characters use in the game. Jayce uses the Mercury Hammer and Vi uses her iconic Atlas gauntlets.

Not only is this a fantastic fight scene with amazing animation, but it also becomes tragic when Jayce accidentally kills one of the child workers in the factory. The situation acts as a harsh reminder of the reality of the undercity, which Vi bluntly tries to convey to a disheartened Jayce. Topside and the undercity clash in an epic battle, but they also clash internally as Jayce’s blindness to the true struggles of Zaun is finally lifted.

5 Jinx’s Twisted Tea Party

From Episode 9: The Monster You Created

• Occurs at the end of Act 3
• Characters involved: Jinx, Vi, Caitlyn and Silco

The penultimate scene of the series finale puts Jinx in a position of power as she kidnaps Vi, Caitlyn, and Silco and puts them at the table of her somewhat unconventional tea party. Jinx tells Vi to choose between her and Caitlyn, but Vi refuses and tries to remind Jinx of their childhood to bring her back to her old self.

This has a severe effect on Jinx, causing her to have a PTSD panic attack as she remembers what happened to her family. Silco is enraged by Vi’s attempts to sway Jinx, arguing that Jinx is no longer Powder and never will be. During Jinx’s breakdown, Silco attempts to shoot Vi after freeing himself. Jinx shoots at him, accidentally killing him while still not completely aware of her surroundings. As Silco dies, he tells Jinx that she is perfect and that he never would have handed her over to the Piltover council.

So much happens in this scene, and it’s wrapped up with beautiful animation that gets particularly intense during Jinx’s mental break. Silco’s death is also particularly emotional, as it’s clear that both he and Jinx loved each other like father and daughter. Silco accepts Jinx for who she is now, but Vi is blind to who she has become and is still desperately appealing to any remnants of Powder that are left.

Following this scene, both Vi and the audience can now see that, unfortunately, most of who Powder was is now well and truly gone. Jinx is all that remains, and Silco knew that long before Vi.

4 Ekko vs Jinx

From Episode 7: The Boy Savior

• Occurs at the beginning of Act 3
• Characters involved: Ekko and Jinx

The most impressive animation sequence in Arcane comes during the fight scene between Ekko and Jinx after Jinx kills numerous enforcers. As the fight begins, a story unfolds within the animation, which switches between Ekko and Jinx in real time and Ekko and Powder as kids. The fight parallels a game that they played as kids, which is shown through changes to the animation. Set to the song “Dynasties and Dystopia” by Denzel Curry, Gizzle, and Bren Joy, the audience sees that Ekko often lost to Powder when they were children. However, he uses her tendency to pull the same moves to best her in the real fight, dodging her gunshots and gaining the upper hand.

The fight ends with Ekko about to claim victory, but hesitating when he sees remnants of Powder in Jinx’s defeated expression. Jinx sets off one of her makeshift bombs, wounding herself severely and causing a hurt Ekko to flee. Not only is the animation fantastic, but the torn relationship between Ekko and Jinx is also apparent, as is the suggestion that Ekko did try to bring Jinx back around at some point when she refers to him as “the boy savior”. Their fight is also a great representation of how the characters have matured differently. Jinx uses the same moves she always did, while Ekko adapts and is victorious because of it.

The final moment where Jinx detonates a grenade is all the more heartbreaking. Ekko can’t bring himself to kill his childhood friend, while Jinx would rather kill herself and take Ekko with her than continue. With incredible animation and heart-wrenching storytelling, all set within a fight scene with little to no dialogue, there is no doubt that the fight between Ekko and Jinx is one of the best moments in Arcane.

3 The Monkey Bomb

From Episode 3: The Base Violence Necessary for Change

• Occurs at the end of Act 1
• Characters involved: Powder, Vi, Vander, Mylo, Claggor, and Silco

Act one of Arcane ends with tragedy, as Powder attempts to help her family by following them on their mission to rescue Vander. Powder’s various explosive devices have all been unsuccessful so far, but she creates a monkey bomb with the Hextech crystals that finally do the trick. Unfortunately, it works a little too well.

Just as Vander, Vi, Mylo, and Claggor are about to escape, Powder’s monkey bomb creates four enormous explosions. The explosions kill Mylo and Claggor and wound Vi and Vander. Vander takes Shimmer in a last-ditch attempt to save Vi, but he dies shortly after.

This moment is shocking, to say the least, as not only do we see two prominent characters from the show’s first two episodes die, but their deaths are caused by their young, adopted sister, who was trying to save them. In the blink of an eye, Powder kills her entire adopted family. Powder is thrown from the warehouse, smiling as she falls as she thinks she has succeeded in saving her family.

2 Vi Abandons Powder

From Episode 3: The Base Violence Necessary for Change

• The ending to Act 1
• Characters involved: Vi and Powder

Following immediately from the monkey bomb scene, Vi sobs for Vander when she is approached by Powder. Powder proudly proclaims that her monkey bomb finally worked, before she sees Vander’s body and Claggor’s goggles and realizes what she has done.

Both girls start to break down, as Powder continuously repeats that she was only trying to help. Enraged, Vi punches Powder and calls her a jinx, saying that Mylo was right to call her that. Powder sobs and screams, begging for her sister to stay as Vi walks away.

Everything about this scene is painfully heartbreaking, from the subtle expressions on Vi and Powder’s faces to the voice acting of Hailee Steinfeld as Vi and Mia Sinclair Jenness as Powder. No one is in the wrong here. These are two children who just witnessed the loss of their adopted family, accidentally caused by one of them. It’s a horrific situation, and all the audience can do is watch as Vi and Powder’s sweet sisterly bond is torn to shreds.

Vi attempts to return to Powder, who has been intercepted by Silco but is taken away by enforcer Marcus before she can do so. The scene is the epitome of strong storytelling and character development, but the turmoil between the sisters is what truly makes the scene incredible and devastating.

1 Jinx Fires Fishbones

From Episode 9: The Monster You Created

• The ending to the show
• Main characters involved: Jinx, Vi, and Caitlyn
• Secondary characters involved: Jayce, Viktor, Mel, the Piltover Council, Sevika, Ekko, and Heimerdinger

The final scene of the show tops our list of the most memorable moments from Arcane, as not only is it an epic way to conclude the first season, but it also sets up the entire next season.

After Silco’s death, Jinx finally accepts herself for the person she has become. Using the Hextech crystal, Jinx powers up her iconic Fishbones rocket launcher (which she uses in League of Legends) and fires it at the Piltover council building. Sting and Ray Chen’s emotional “What Could Have Been” plays and the audience sees various characters from across the series and where they are at that moment, such as Sevika, Ekko, and Heimerdinger, and the council – including Jayce, Viktor, Mel and Caitlyn’s mother- as they are about to agree on the establishment of a peace treaty with Zaun.

Jinx once again destroys the hope for a happy ending, but this time, she doesn’t do it by mistake. The scene ends as Jinx’s missile smashes the window of the council building. A war between Piltover and Zaun is inevitable thanks to Jinx as she fully embraces her role as a villainess. With season two due to release soon, only time will tell where Arcane will go with this story. One certain thing is that this was a hell of a way to end the first season, as the show goes out with a bang in more ways than one.