At the end of ARCANE Season One, Jinx (Ella Purnell) isn’t dead, per se, but Vi (Hailee Steinfeld) is mourning her sister nonetheless.  

That’s because any hope that the old Powder (Mia Sinclair Jenness) still exists blew up with Jinx’s brutal attack on the council at the end of ARCANE’s first season. After killing her father figure Silco (Jason Spisak), Jinx fires a massive rocket at Piltover’s governing body just as they finalize a vote for peace with sister city Zaun. 

Season Two of the critically acclaimed animated series, premiering with Act One (now streaming on Netflix), followed by Act Two on Nov. 16 and Act Three on Nov. 23, finds Vi coming to terms with Jinx’s destructive act, which sends both cities hurtling toward war.

Ricky Middlesworth/Netflix

“Vi is really struggling with the loss of her sister,” Steinfeld tells Tudum. “[She’s] also realizing that she has a responsibility now to take care of what she feels she created.” 

It’s a problem that Vi can’t just punch her way out of, though she’d very much like to try. A sneak peek released during Geeked Week 2024 showed the usually pink-haired vigilante sporting black locks and grungy makeup while taking out her frustrations in the fighting pit.  

“One of the first images of Vi this season that really stuck out to me was her in the ring,” Steinfeld says. “She’s been through it, and one thing I love about this show and the animation is that they don’t shy away from the reality of what these characters would look like having gone through what they’ve been through.”

The image of Vi bruised and beaten up and “tired and just a shell of herself — it moved me so much,” the actor says. “She’s so human in this show and the animation is so real and raw that you feel connected to these characters.”

As Vi grapples with the realization that Powder might be lost for good, “there’s a lot of ups and downs. There’s a lot of heartbreak, there’s a lot of loss, there’s a lot of tragedy,” says Steinfeld. “But in it, there’s a lot of passion and love, and it’s a very emotional season.”

The silver lining is that Vi won’t have to deal with all of this by herself. She’s again teaming up with Caitlyn (Katie Leung), a Piltover enforcer who lends her support. 

Ricky Middlesworth/Netflix

“Their relationship is so beautiful and so complex,” Steinfeld notes, adding that there’s a lot of push and pull between the two characters. “One minute, they might stand for the same thing and be in agreement, and then there’s conflict.” However, Vi does “lean on [Caitlyn] immensely and trusts her and almost defers to her, and they make a great team.”

Act One of ARCANE Season Two is now streaming on Netflix, followed by Act Two on Nov. 16 and Act Three on Nov. 23. 

Watch the Arcane Season 2 “Nothing to Lose” Geeked Week 2024 Clip