In the interview, Christian Linke, the showrunner of Arcane, talks about what we can expect from Season 2 of the series about League of Legends. Among other things, the dark tone of the series is addressed and why there were internal discussions about it.
Christian Linke has been working for Riot Games, the studio behind League of Legends, since 2010. He has served as the Creative Director in various roles. For five years, he took on the role of composer for the MOBA and also led a team of composers.
He is now responsible as the showrunner for Arcane and has created one of the most successful series of all time. On the occasion of the announcement that Arcane will end with the second season, Christian gave an interview to MeinMMO.
MeinMMO: We have recently learned that Arcane will end with the second season, and a major shock went through the fan community. The biggest question for many is: Why is it ending with the second season?
Christian Linke: From the beginning, we had a specific story that we wanted to tell. This also includes a specific ending that has always existed.
We are also just people who don’t like it when series don’t know when to stop. We all know those series.
Another reason is that we now have over 160 different characters in our game, and we have only addressed 11 of them in Arcane with the story. We would love to tell more stories. From a creative standpoint, it was time for us to take the next step and tackle more characters.
We were surprised at how many fans there are of Silco
MeinMMO: I’m very pleased to hear that because I also find it terrible when series just don’t know when to stop. What I would still be interested in is. That the ending is already so far planned, I understand that. But have things changed internally after the broadcast that were planned differently?
Christian Linke: No, actually not. The scripts for the second season were mostly already finished before the first season aired. We simply had to do it that way because we had too little time for other things. Normally, with something like this, you also have the opportunity to respond to fan feedback. We were able to slightly improve the animation style or the music and learn from it. I am very proud of what we are doing with the music in the second season. It will be much bigger.
Otherwise, we are simply following the path we set out on from the beginning. There were some surprises. We were surprised that so many people are fans of Silco. Silco, who kills or has people killed in both parts of the city.
We just thought: Okay? We didn’t imagine that when we wrote it.
MeinMMO: I can fully understand that. One must not underestimate how much people love a good villain. Why are characters like Handsome Jack from Borderlands or the Joker so popular? Villainous characters are often interesting, and I think Silco is written well. I also believe it has to do with the loving moments between him and Jinx.
Christian Linke: Our main characters are champions from the game and ultimately all are fighters who fight through the story with fists and weapons.
We thought it would be cool if one of our characters was not a fighter in the traditional sense at all. His weapon is his words. Silco is dangerous because he is extremely intelligent and perceptive. I think that also gave the series a good different nuance.
MeinMMO: Does it bother you a bit that you killed one of the most popular characters from the first season?
Christian Linke: Good question! From a creative standpoint, no.
After all, we told Silco’s story. Silco was special because at the beginning he had nothing to lose. Vander had a family and at some point decided that his family was more important than political ideals. Silco always saw that as a weakness. He told himself that it didn’t matter whether he or one of his people died as long as he achieved his goals. Until one day he realized that Jinx was important to him. She became a person he no longer wanted to sacrifice. Especially not when he eventually got the chance from Jayce and suddenly had something to lose.
This change, realizing that and also learning about oneself happened in the end. That is Silco’s story.
If we had kept him in the story, the story for him would still have been over. Of course, we could have begun a new one for him. But that was the story we wanted for Silco, and that we found very beautiful. And that’s how it should remain.
Jinx has always asked herself whether she is a monster
MeinMMO: Family is always a big theme in Arcane. A strong motive is the sisterly relationship between Vi and Jinx. On the teaser posters, I noticed that we have a mirror here. In the poster for the first season, you can see Vi protectively placing her arm over Jinx. For the second season, you decided that Jinx is looking over Vi and embracing her. How should that be understood?
Christian Linke: On the first poster, the idea was that Vi was trying to protect her little sister from this very dangerous and ugly world. But Powder [before she got the name Jinx] did not turn away, but looked at everything and observed. She always had a fearful but also rebellious look. One always had the feeling that she had to look at it and form her own opinion.
In the second season, Jinx has grown into a very large person. She now also controls more of what happens in the story. I can’t really say more without revealing something you probably don’t want to hear. But internally, we always said that we want to turn everything upside down in the second season. Who the characters are and what they believe in.
In the first season, Jinx always asked herself whether she is a bad person. With the decision at the end of the first season, she more or less says that she is the monster. That is also always in the text of Sting’s song “I’m the Monster you created.” At the end of the first season, Jinx simply accepts that.
The second season then starts with this question and whether that remains the case, as the political ambitions of other characters will also lead to significant events.
MeinMMO: You just mentioned the music and how important it is for the story and the development of the characters. You said that you thought again about how you can get more out of the music for the second season. Can you explain a bit more how you use the music to underscore the story?
Christian Linke: Sure! From the very beginning, it was just interesting for us to have these mini-music videos in the episodes because our relationship with our animation studio Fortiche began many years ago with music videos. That’s why we always wanted to find a moment in each episode where the music takes center stage.
The first season was quite difficult because we were also a new studio. We had never done anything like this before.
The second season has become musically much bigger. We could now dream bigger in the second season and have found many great artists to work with who also want to go further to extremes. We will have many different genres, even more than in the first season.
Recommendation on the topic: Elena Schulz explained on GameStar why Arcane looks unbelievably good.
MeinMMO: It’s exciting that you set something completely new in motion with the first season and had to learn a lot in the process. What were the challenges for you in the second season?
Christian Linke: Many challenges in the second season really came from the story. The characters have simply changed a lot.
That was a huge challenge for our voices. We see many other colors of the characters and fundamental changes that are not always easy to capture. That was difficult. We had to push our speakers into different directions from how they voiced the characters in the first season.
Overall, it was simply difficult to visually capture the creative ideas of the story. That might not be a satisfying answer, but you will understand it when you see it.
We have received internal pushback
MeinMMO: I noticed that the teaser that was recently released has a very dark atmosphere. I found the first season surprisingly dark. For example, you see the body of a child, there is the Yordle mother. Was it ever a topic for you that the tone is so adult and dark?
Christian Linke: From the very beginning, this was something where we received quite a bit of internal pushback. Our game has a specific rating that varies in some countries. There are countries where League of Legends is rated for ages 12 and up. And we were already told that we cannot mess with the rating. Otherwise, some people may not be able to play our game.
Paying attention to the rating and making the series we believed our fans wanted are two very different things. We wanted real drama in the series and stories that have consequences. Our characters should have to make difficult decisions.
It was never the plan for there to be murder and mayhem everywhere. But ultimately, stories without consequences are not real. We also went with our gut, and as hardcore League players, we told ourselves this is the series we want to watch.
Now we just have to make sure that we don’t mess with the ratings in Season 2.
All characters have dark moments
MeinMMO: Can we expect an even darker series with Season 2 if you are still concerned about the ratings?
Christian Linke: I would say the tone remains similar. Visually, we are exploring different directions even more. We are leaning a bit more into the abstract, the dark, but also the comical. One can say that characters that one has known positively only so far, like Caitlyn, are now discovering sides of themselves that explore other emotions. All our characters have dark moments.
MeinMMO: Behind a creative work like Arcane, there is often a message or even several. Is there a message that you have placed special emphasis on in Season 2?
Christian Linke: There are probably many messages. But I always think it’s better when we ask questions. I find it very interesting how Jinx is perceived. What has always been central for us here is the question of whether one can ever forgive a monster. Especially when it is one’s own sister.
Especially as a German who has now lived in the USA for a while. It’s very easy to write someone off. When someone goes to prison, it is often said here that life is over. I hope that in Europe, people try to reintegrate these individuals into society. Politically, everything in the world is currently very explosive and dangerous.
We also have many sides in our story that do not get along. The ones that cannot communicate with each other. And then there are figures that sit somewhat in between. I believe the story is also a reflection of our lives, that of the people working on Arcane. Our various perspectives as a very international team are reflected in that.
MeinMMO: Finally, a personal question. Do you have a favorite character in Arcane and if so, who?
Christian Linke: In League of Legends, my favorite champ is Heimerdinger. There’s no better feeling than defeating someone with Heimerdinger.
Heimerdinger will also have some special moments in the second season. There’s only that because I’m the guy who always plays Heimerdinger, and my team always rolls their eyes. Heimer gets special treatment in Arcane.
MeinMMO: Thank you for the conversation Christian, hopefully again at the start of Season 2!
Arcane Season 2: Release, Trailer and Characters – All info about the last season of the LoL series
