Arcane vs Aristotle: Part III
Major vs. Minor Character Arcs
SPOILER WARNING: This section will be filled with spoilers from the first three episodes of Arcane.
AUTHOR NOTE: The thoughts below are based purely on my own observations of the television show “Arcane: League of Legends” and the direct text of Aristotle’s “Poetics” based on the S.H. Butcher translation originally published in 1895. For this deep dive, I was too lazy to place footnotes on every quote, but any time you see quotations, know that the source is Aristotle’s words as translated by Butcher.
Introduction
If you have not read Part I of this deep dive, I recommend going through it first. In this section I will often make reference to terms used in Aristotle’s Poetics by placing them in quotes. (Example: ‘thought’) These words sometimes have a special meaning that carries more complexity than the standard dictionary definition, so I explain their meanings to the best of my ability in that first section.
Part III: Major and Minor Character Arcs
There Are No Small Parts—Only Small Arcs!
Across the three act structure of Arcane, we follow the arcs of several characters working in tandem with each other. Sometimes these arcs run parallel to one another creating allegorical comparisons and other times they collide and influence each other creating plot. The important thing about all of these arcs is that they are being driven by the character moralities that the story reveals through ‘thought’ and ‘action’.
As has been set up in Episode 1, Powder’s character arc is going to become a central focus for the story. We have already gotten the hints I described in the previous deep dive that her internal conflicts are going to (or should) play an important part in the plot to come.
However, knowing that does not mean that other less important character arcs should be ignored. In fact, part of what makes this series work so well is that even many of the minor characters have mini-arcs which demonstrate their personal morality (what they choose or avoid) and the consequences of acting on said morality (plot.) For example, I mentioned in the previous deep dive a significant scene at the end of the first fight between Deckard and Vi.
Vi is incredibly important to the overall story. Her relationship with Powder is the primary conflict/tension driving much of the series. Deckard, on the other hand, only appears in act one for a handful of minutes and then never appears again for the rest of the series.
You might think as a result Deckard’s character would not require much attention from the writers. However, because the writers are letting no small part be wasted, they find a powerful way to use this character to both advance the plot and define one of Arcane’s most important villains, Silco.
At the end of Episode 1, it is revealed that Deckard had been following the kids for Silco. Silco knew the kids were important to his enemy, Vander, and was looking for leverage he could use against him. The explosion which Deckard tells Silco was caused by the kids was a complete accident, but it ends up working in Silco’s favor providing the leverage he needed to get Vander in trouble.
PAUSE HERE!
This scene represents a crucial moment of choice not for Deckard’s character but for the writers creating his arc. At this moment, this could easily be the end of Deckard’s arc. He has served his purpose as a piece of the plot machine revealing a connection between the kids and how Silco hopes to use them against Vander.
End of arc, right? Why waste time with such a utilitarian character when you could use that screen time to develop a more important character such as Silco?
Well, in a brilliant way, the writers of Arcane use Deckard’s character to do just that in Episode 2. However, rather than using him as a simple minded pawn, they create a much deeper impact on Silco’s development by giving Deckard his own mini-arc in Episode 1.
As we saw in the first episode, Deckard attacks the kids to steal their loot for his own greedy motivations. However, Deckard and his buddies end up getting their faces flattened by Vi and company. This is where that important ego moment for Deckard comes into play at the end of the episode 1 fight scene.
In a last ditch effort to win, a defeated Deckard threatens Vi with a knife. This ends poorly for Deckard not because Vi fights him to the ground, disarms him, and kills him in victory. Instead, she stares him down, and Deckard runs away as a coward demonstrating the lower ‘quality’ of his character compared to Vi.
In the last episode 1 scene with Silco, we are also introduced to the half magic/half heroine-like substance known as Shimmer. As demonstrated, when Shimmer is injected into animals, it has a terrifying effect causing them to become violent with supernatural strength.
Makes you wonder what would happen if they used it on a human, right? Well, Silco wastes no time trying that experiment in Episode 2 on our one and only Deckard.
For the human test, Silco could have simply had one of his goons hold down Deckard, stick him with a needle, and see what happens--the results likely being he would become violent and volatile. What this course of action would not explain is how Silco plans to control Deckard as a weapon. In less sophisticated science fiction, this control might be accomplished with a chip in the monster’s brain or simply showing that Silco can miraculously command the dumb beast, end of story.
However, here is when Deckard’s small but significant character arc pays off in spades for the writers. Rather than having Silco force the drug into his guinea pig which would show Silco simply as a forceful brute, the writers use a much more interesting and cunning action instead: Silco manipulates Deckard’s feelings of weakness.
In the actual scene, Silco doesn’t force Deckard to take the drug. He instead hands it to him, and Deckard chooses to drink it himself—despite showing fear of what it would do to him.
By doing so, Silco reveals why he is such a compelling villain and leader in the underworld. He convinces Deckard to overcome his fear of Shimmer with his ‘speech’ alone--proving he has sway over the character’s actions without needinga mind control chip or anything else. In that same moment, Silco reveals his own philosophy of what true power is—a moment revealing ‘character’ in Aristotle’s terms.
“You see, power--real power--doesn’t come to those who are born strongest, or fastest, or smartest. No, it comes to those who would do anything to achieve it.”
-Silco, Episode 2
As viewers, we can believe that Deckard is convinced to take Shimmer because we know by his actions in previous scenes that it is probable he feels insecure about his inability to beat Vi, and he feels it is necessary for him to take a strength enhancer to exact his revenge against her. (‘the law of probability and necessity’)
As the scene is written, we get a much more frightening window into the soul of both characters than if Silco had simply forced the drug on his lackey. It makes the dangers of fantastical substances like Shimmer and Arcane secondary to the more powerful forces of human behavior--forces we can believe would actually convince people to do dangerous things in the real world.
The reason I am making such a big deal out of this tiny character arc is because it is only one example of many throughout the series where the writers expertly create deep and sophisticated characters by treating the small character moments with care and authenticity. Or as Aristotle would say:
“It is not the function of the poet to relate what has happened, but what may happen-- what is possible according to the law of probability or necessity.”
Aristotle, Poetics IX
NEXT TIME: Part IV: The Four Types of Tragic Incidents
In my next deep dive, I will share Aristotle’s four types of tragic incidents and how they can be used to create emotionally cathartic character arcs. And if it’s not too long, I may even get to the all important four types of tragedy I keep yammering about and how they are all used in Arcane’s stunning Act I climax.
Sterling Martin is an artist and designer living in Chicago, IL. His background includes drawing, writing, theatre, teaching, improv & sketch comedy, and whatever else he can get his hands on to be creative. You can find him on the internet at:
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