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‘Arcane’ Season 2: Hailee Steinfeld on Vi and Jinx Sisterhood and Feud

Vaseline November 9, 2024

This article contains important character or plot details.

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

That’s because any hopes that the old Powder (Mia Sinclair Jenness) still exists were blown away with Jinx’s brutal attack on the council at the end of 2011. ARCANE’S first season. After killing her father figure Silco (Jason Spisak), Jinx fires a huge missile at Piltover’s governing body just as they complete a vote for peace with sister city Zaun.

In season two of the critically acclaimed animated series, which premieres with Act One on November 9 – followed by Act Two on November 16 and Act Three on November 23 – Vi comes to terms with Jinx’s destructive act, which left both cities in the towards war.

“Vi is really struggling with the loss of her sister,” Steinfeld tells Tudum. “(She also realizes) that she now has a responsibility to take care of what she feels she has created.”

It’s a problem that Vi can’t just get herself out of, even if she really wants to try. A sneak peek released during Geeked Week 2024 showed the usually pink-haired vigilante with black locks and grungy makeup as she vented her frustrations in the fighting pit.

Hailee Steinfeld as Vi in season 2 of 'Arcane'.

“One of the first images of Vi this season that really stood out to me was her in the ring,” says Steinfeld. “She went through it, and what 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 if they went through what they went through.”

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

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

Katie Leung as Caitlyn as Hailee Steinfeld as Vi in season two of 'ARCANE'.

The positive thing is that Vi doesn’t have to handle all of this alone. She teams up again with Caitlyn (Katie Leung), a Piltover enforcer who lends her support.

“Their relationship is so beautiful and so complex,” notes Steinfeld, adding that there is a lot of push and pull between the two characters. “One minute they might be standing for the same thing and agreeing on it, and then a conflict arises.” However, Vi leans on (Caitlyn) a lot and trusts her and almost surrenders to her, and they make a great team.

Act one of ARCANE Season two debuts on Netflix on November 9, followed by Act Two on November 16 and Act Three on November 23.