Shortz: Arcane, And The Perfect Action Sequence

Full spoiler warning in effect for Arcane, because we're about to discuss an action scene from episode 7.

As discussed in my previous review, Arcane is ridiculously good. A show full of great characters, excellent acting, and gorgeous action scenes. There is one action scene, however, that really stood out (and believe me when I say that the bar is very high already); Ekko's short bout with Jinx on the bridge between the two cities. It's what I would describe as a perfect action sequence. Not perfect in the sense that it's the best action sequence of all time or anything like that, more that it's perfect for that moment, for those characters, and also happens to be thrilling as hell. These are the things that make an action scene truly great.

Check out the scene here for reference.

Within the short three minutes of the sequence, we are shown everything we need to know about the relationship between these characters; that they were close childhood friends (with their current battle mimicking a game they played as children), that they've both changed (we see Ekko lose their childhood battle to contrast the quick and brutal exchange that follows), that Ekko still has feelings for his enemy deep down (he's tried to convince himself that his friend is gone, but we see his composure break at the end), and that Jinx has fallen farther than we could have imagined, willing to risk killing herself and her old friend rather than lose (or because it's easier than facing the reality of what she's done). All of this is conveyed to the audience with nothing more than the visuals and a couple lines of dialogue, without an ounce of exposition. Heck, I don't think I've even covered every bit of visual storytelling that happens in this sequence, this entire scene is a textbook example of "show don't tell".

On top of this, the soundtrack fits the visuals perfectly, we get a fun nod to Ekko's time travelling ability, and the visuals (although this probably goes without saying at this point) are stellar.

A perfect action sequence.