- Christian Linke says he "understands and respects" Arcane fans' complaints over its "rushed" second season
- The show's co-creator admits some of the issues are "a symptom" of the show's two-season format
- Linke added "it's always nice to have more time" to develop a show that everyone loves
One of Arcane's co-creators has vowed "we will learn from it" after fans criticized the award-winning show's "rushed" second season.
Speaking exclusively to TechRadar after the final three episodes of Arcane season 2 aired last Saturday (November 23), Christian Linke acknowledged that Arcane's second and final season wasn't to everyone's liking. He also revealed that the show's primary creative team "want to learn" from this season's mistakes as they continue to work on Arcane's sequel projects, which are currently in development.
Linke's comments come in the wake of numerous fan complaints about one of the best Netflix shows' sophomore outings. A major criticism among viewers has been this season's pacing and narrative structure, with many describing it as being faster paced than its more methodical, character-driven predecessor. Add in grievances over the superfluous introduction of new characters, the side-lining of major supporting characters, and the minimalist approach to some key storylines, and fans haven't held back in their evaluation of the animated series' last installment.
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With season 2's final three episodes – read more about them in my Arcane season 2 act 3 ending explained piece – bringing this particular story to a close, Linke and company have had time to reflect on what worked and what didn't. And, while Linke "understands" and "respects" the opinions of those who weren't totally enamored with this League of Legends (LoL) adaptation's concluding chapter, he's also keen to point out how "hard" it would've been to please everyone.
"I understand them," Linke told me when asked if he accepted those criticisms. "I also respect people feel that way. We need to listen and learn from it.
"We're making this for an audience of people, not just ourselves [but] it's hard. On one side, the vast majority of people seem to like the way that it is, which is great. There are also some people saying it's rushed [and] there's too much going on, and I understand that.
There's a specific pace and a specific way we did things in season one... we wanted to do things a little differently in season two
Christian Linke, Arcane co-creator
"There's also a flip side to that opinion," Linke continued. "There's been a good amount of fans asking 'why isn't Camille, who's part of Piltover, in the story?' or 'why isn't Blitzcrank in there?' or 'where's Twitch?' – like, where do we include them or other LoL champions? There's an economy to animation and it's always nice to have more time, but this is the time we had [to make this show].
"For people who tuned in to watch season two, having loved season one, I can see how they could've been disappointed, because there's a specific pace and a specific way we did things in season one. Yeah, we changed it for season two – we wanted to do things a little differently in season two. So, yeah, I understand that, I respect that, and I want to learn from that."
Linke's comments about having "more time" are sure to pique the interest of some readers. Before season 2's initial launch on November 9, rumors spread that Arcane was supposed to run for five seasons – speculation Linke and fellow creator Alex Yee played down to me by saying it was "never the plan" for the series to last that long. Nevertheless, fans will be equally intrigued by Linke also suggesting that season 2's problems were a "symptom" of the Netflix show being a duology rather than a much larger multi-season project.
"I think part of the issue is it's a symptom of Arcane being two seasons long," Linke added. "I don't know if fans would've had that feeling if it wasn't for season one having a slower pace. But, it's a learning for those of us who are making this stuff, and we want to learn from it. We don't want to make something that's jarring, so this is all part of the learning process."
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