League of Legends isn’t known for making people sad, as it usually makes people happy or angry. There’s rarely anything in-between. But what about Arcane? Truth be told, it ticks every emotional response imaginable, and does so each and every episode! Thus, it’s time to get teary-eyed, as I list the 5 saddest Arcane moments from Episode 1: Welcome to the Playground.
Enjoy this League of Legends/Arcane top list, and check out my other lists as well!
5. Powder Overhears Mylo & Vi’s Discussion
Let’s start off with something relatively light, shall we? In episode 1, we see Powder overhearing Mylo and Vi’s talk about her, with Mylo saying “we were twice the person at half her age”. While Vi defends Powder, the blue-haired menace has already ran off, and so she doesn’t hear that part of the discussion. Thus, Powder leaves thinking that Vi agrees with Mylo, and that’s pretty sad.
4. Powder Being Sad About “Ruining Everything”
Following the crazy heist in Piltover, Powder is sad about “ruining everything”, and Mylo’s inability to shut up is the main reason. Whether he’s right or wrong is irrelevant, as Powder is too young to be responsible for their valuable loot. Not only that, but Mylo saying that Powder “jinxes every job” is going a bit too far, don’t you think? Considering how poorly their heist was planned, there’s no world in which Powder is the bad guy in this scenario.
The saddest thing about this scene is that Powder actually believes that she ruined everything and that she is a “jinx”. When, in all honesty, she shoulders no responsibility for what happened. Powder was too young for the job. She did her best. When everyone was fighting, she was tasked with protecting their loot. Thus, the fault lies on Violet, Mylo and Claggor. Not Powder.
3. Powder Witnessing Violence at a Young Age
Powder is a product of her environment; a pure and innocent soul who was shaped by the toxicity, violence and ruthlesness surrounding her. It was only a matter of time before she broke, time and time again, without knowing how to “fix” herself. As if there was anything wrong with her? No. Not at all. She created Jinx to survive, and it all started with the abundance of violence she witnessed at a young age.
So what has lil’ Pow-Pow been through? She has lost both of her parents, seen their dead bodies, and (seemingly) witnesses her big sister in bloody fights on a regular basis. Not only that, but she has ran away from Enforcers, is being put down by Mylo, and actually believes that she’s a “jinx”. Considering that she lives in the Underground, only God knows what else Powder might’ve seen at a young age. I don’t even want to imagine.
Is anyone actually surprised that Powder has problems with her mental health? I doubt it. She is the definition of being a product of your environment.
2. Powder Covering Her Eyes & Singing A Lullaby
Arcane’s opening is excellent, and it’s downright heartwrenching, isn’t it? We see baby Powder cling to her big sister Violet as she sings the lines below.
Dear friend, across the river, my hands are cold and bare. Dear friend, across the river, I’ll take what you can spare. I ask of you a penny, my fortune it will be. I ask you, without envy. We raise no mighty towers, our homes are built of stone. So come, across the river, and find…
Powder (Jinx)
In the midst of violence, destruction and death, we see two blossoming flowers walking together. One of them is Violet. The other is Powder. Together, they see their parents’ dead bodies, and it’s all made 100 times more sad thanks to Powder’s lullaby. It’s tear-jerking to say the least. Without anything else to add, I simply suggest watching that scene, time and time again.
1. Vi Breaks Down In Tears & Powder Hugs Her
What’s more sad than Powder’s lullaby? It has to be the moment that follows that sad song, right? In this moment, we see Violet break down in tears as she looks upon the bodies of her dead mom and dad. Then, Powder embraces her, and Vander realises that he’s responsible for making Violet and Powder orphans.
So what’s sad about this moment? How about the use of silence and facial expressions to tell the story, without a single word? Yes, that’s the reason. If you didn’t notice, after Powder’s sad lullaby, there are no words exchanged in this scene. None of them speak. But the only thing we end up hearing is Violet crying. It’s more than enough to get the point across, isn’t it? And that’s why it’s the saddest moment in Arcane.
I could go on and on about the brilliance of Arcane’s opening, but there’s a time and place for that, and it’s not right now! So with that being said, I simply hope you enjoyed the list of the 5 saddest Arcane moments from Episode 1. For more Arcane lists, check out the archive here!