¡°I¡¯m Still Processing¡±: Arcane Showrunner On Taking Risks And Disappointing Fans
Season 2 was divisive. No one knows this more than showrunner Christian Linke.
Warning: Spoilers on Arcane¡¯s Season 2 ahead!
A spray of bullets. An enormous, bloodthirsty werewolf. Precious characters, lives snuffed out. So ends Season 2 of the League of Legends game-turned-animation Arcane ¡ª in a blaze of heated action. Fans have already been complaining of the show¡¯s frenetic speed and accused it of having a rushed ending, discarding its characters¡¯ lives too easily.
Arcane showrunner and co-creator Christian Linke tells Inverse that he¡¯s still taking it all in and listening to the feedback.
¡°We did approach things a little differently,¡± Linke says, of the more experimental approach the team took to Season 2 compared to the first. He mentions how Season 1 was focused on more human problems, such as the sibling ties between Vi and Jinx, while Season 2 became more conceptual.
¡°We wanted to do something different in Season 2,¡± he says, ¡°And I think not everybody¡¯s happy with that. I do want to listen to that. I do want to learn from that and understand what worked for people, what didn¡¯t work.¡±
Arcane wanted Season 2 to be more conceptual.
¡°I¡¯m getting a range of impressions. A lot of people like it the way it is,¡± he notes. ¡°Some people there, they think it¡¯s maybe rushed. There¡¯s too much going on.¡±
Linke looks apologetic in a video call, days after the show¡¯s finale aired on Netflix. ¡°I¡¯m still processing honestly, but it¡¯s fair, you know? I don¡¯t want to dismiss any of the audience¡¯s feelings.¡±
¡°I¡¯m still processing ... I don¡¯t want to dismiss any of the audience¡¯s feelings.¡±
When I last spoke to Linke, the year was 2021, and he was promoting Arcane¡¯s first season. I asked him to reflect on how far the show has come since then, spawning multiple spin-offs set in distant lands and winning a few Emmys.
¡°An audience is not going to care about this, but this is the first time we¡¯ve done this,¡± Linke says, returning back to the subject of fan feedback without my prompting. ¡°There¡¯s this good old saying, ¡®Art is never finished, only abandoned.¡¯ I think it¡¯s true. We want to get better and keep doing this and hopefully all improve our craft.¡±
¡°I think it¡¯ll take some time for people to process everything that¡¯s going on in the show,¡± Linke says.
In my conversations with Linke along with Arcane writer and Severance producer Amanda Overton, I began to realize there was far more detail to Arcane than meets the eye, and tons of tiny things to glean on a second watch. Perhaps Arcane will be one of those shows that people keep revisiting over time ¡ª at least, that¡¯s their hope.
¡°I think it¡¯ll take some time for people to process everything that¡¯s going on in the show,¡± Linke says, while adding that he doesn¡¯t want to prioritize the writers¡¯ carefully crafted story structure over fans¡¯ opinions and reactions. ¡°Right now, we¡¯re all just in listening mode.¡±
Next games on the to-adapt list?
¡°There¡¯s this good old saying, ¡®Art is never finished, only abandoned.¡¯ I think it¡¯s true. We want to get better and keep doing this and hopefully all improve our craft.¡±
If Linke could adapt another series besides Arcane, the longtime gamer says he¡¯d consider Quake, Starcraft, and Warcraft.
¡°Everyone has the games they grew up with that really defined them. For me, the biggest games that I played back in the day, I really loved Quake,¡± Linke says, ¡°Some dark kind of take on the Quake IP would be interesting.¡±
¡°I¡¯m still waiting for the proper translation of Starcraft and Warcraft.¡±
He also believes there¡¯s untapped potential in some of the Blizzard games.
¡°I¡¯m still waiting for the proper translation of Starcraft and Warcraft. Those were probably the biggest games that I played when I was young,¡± Linke says, adding that if those series were able to occupy an original space and tell unique stories, that would be a sight to see.
