League of Legends: 5 things we want to see in ‘Arcane’

4. Get political without taking sides

This show is meant to be targetted towards teenagers and young adults, so I think it would be wise to use the world of Piltover and Zaun to ask to some important questions about the real world. Piltover is a city of opulence, built by advanced technology, but did that come at a cost? Did overvaluing progress cause the people to lose their sense of morality and justice as a result? Does the rigid structure of class and family honor cause people to miss opportunities for friendship?

In contrast to Piltover, Zaun is depicted as more of a lawless slum world. So how do they feel about their life when the people of Piltover have it so well? What is the relationship between Zaun and Piltover, both among the citizens and by the government?

There are a lot of opportunities for Riot to hold a mirror to our society here, and they don’t necessarily need to endorse one ideology or the other. It should still definitely be something in the background, though.

5. Set up the future

Much like the MCU, Riot now has a unique opportunity to build up their Runeterran world with Arcane. The show can not only be used to explore what we already know about Runeterra, but also to reveal aspects of the world of League of Legends that we didn’t know.

Maybe a future champion could be teased or shown in Arcane, without us even knowing it (similar to how some have found future champions mentioned in the lore stories of existing champions). They could also introduce concepts that will be a part of their new IPs like the fighting game, Legends of Runeterra, and others to tie the games together. And the show could be an excellent opportunity for Riot to gauge what types of characters and storylines people gravitate towards, so they could adjust their plans for League of Legends proper.

Above all else, Riot’s goal with Arcane should be to make a good, well-written, unique story that can exist independently and be compelling to anyone who has no idea what League of Legends is. But for those of us who are die-hard fans, the show also presents some incredible opportunities to show us more than we ever knew was out there.

Arcane will be available to stream in 2020.