One of the most enrapturing things about the final episode of Arcane’s first season is how the story
situates almost all of its major characters in positions where they are forced to make a huge
choice. Jinx is stuck between the two sides of herself, Silco is given an ultimatum and
must prioritize either Jinx or his life’s dream, Jayce must decide whether to carry on with his
crusade or relent, Viktor must choose what to do with the volatile power of the Hextech core, Vi
has to pick what to do with Jinx’s ultimatum AND chooses the alternate of Jayce’s decision as well,
Sevika must choose whether or not to side with Finn. Some of these decisions are difficult, some
are easier, but all of them are huge, defining moments for these characters and their stories.
And the one key decision that I haven’t mentioned is one of the most interesting ones - the choice
thrust upon Mel Medarda by her mother between choosing warfare and returning home to take
her place as Noxian royalty, or doing what she believes is right and avoiding conflict
at all cost. Now, that description boils the choice down into key components but
doesn’t really provide much context, nor does it communicate why exactly this choice was so complex
and defining for Mel - and as is the case with Arcane so often, the devil is in the details.
From the time she was a little girl, Mel was raised in the politically brutal world of Noxus
and was taught that to survive in this world, one must be absolutely cutthroat. And yet, from the
beginning, her inherent nature just never allowed her to fill those shoes. Eternally sentimental,
heartfelt and compassionate, pragmatic but not ruthlessly so, constantly looking for amicable
solutions and consistently trying to avoid bloodshed, she had the clever political mind
to become heir to her family but was never cold enough to do what needed to be done
in her mother’s eyes. To succeed, she was to be both a sly, cunning fox, and an authoritative,
relentless wolf, and she could only ever bring herself to achieve one out of two. Aa a result,
in what seemed like punishment for not having what it takes, Mel was exiled and shipped off
to Piltover, where her sensibilities would be more suited. And yet despite the unfairness of it all,
despite her burning anger - she constantly felt this magnetic yearning back to her blood.
This nagging love and need to feel accepted, towards a family and culture that’s raised her
roughly, but nonetheless provided her with enough of a home for her to feel that way.
And so after rising her golden boy up the ranks and becoming one of the key benefactors behind
the Hextech revolution, Mel is essentially at a crossroads when her mother weighs
anchor in Piltover. Here she is provided with the opportunity to feel the love and acceptance she’s
desired forever - but what that requires of her is to promote war, which goes against her very nature
and what she knows is right - not just for her, but for her city, and her partner.
What we have here is a tug of war internally - does she side with blood, family and her roots?
Or does she listen to her true heart, does she cling to her sentimentality and honest ideas?
I can’t speak for anyone else, but for roughly half of the series I had problems placing
exactly where Mel’s motivations had basis in. Due to the strongly established desire
of hers to rise of the ranks in her family introduced in her first scene in episode two,
her relationship with Jayce kept me guessing as to whether she was just using him or genuinely
cared for him - or a mixture of both. I kept grappling with that until episode 6, where we get
the first sequence of proper internalization for her that I was convinced was totally genuine and
where it was made clear that she deeply cared for him, and further episodes continued to go along
this trajectory to emphasize the type of person she really was. And from there we can then go
backwards and apply what we know about her to see how close to her heart the things she was saying
were. Or maybe if you’re not a dunderhead like me, you realized these things in the first place.
This line is important not just for emphasizing her genuine goals for a prosperous Piltover,
but for conveying how much she dislikes what the Medarda family has come to represent.
She’s repulsed by what her family and Noxian culture stand for. War, cutthroat pragmatism,
subjugation by power and force. And yet, one of the most defining and indicative images of Mel is
of her gazing with such emotional, wistful longing at the painting that represents her original home.
She has always been at odds with what they stand for, and he has rightfully
felt very much betrayed - but despite that she cannot help but feel this love for them
and this need to be accepted by them. There is a dualism here - a genuine love that she
can’t shake for the Medarda household, and a vehement ideological opposition.
And so in my opinion, her goals to continue to innovate and influence as established in
the beginning of the series are not just done to benefit Piltover, or just become a more impressive
Medarda in the eyes of her mother and family - I also feel as if a part of her wants to prove them
wrong. These are complex feelings she has, and one single act or behaviour can imply multiple things
about Mel given her situation. It’s just one of the many ways in which Arcane builds natural,
believable, substantial and multidimensional characters psychologies with so many layers and
facets. But for me, the most prominent facet is once again, this heartfelt warmth. A warmth that
was proven to be so strong that it was liable to melt even the iciest of hearts - which ends up
being revealed as the real truth as to why she was exiled to the much less brutal Piltover.
This nagging sentimentality - the exact words I’d use to describe her consistent love for her
family despite how they treated her - is maddening for her mother, because she feels she must act a
certain way, and Mel’s heart is so honest and infectious that it had the potential to curtail
that. She could not have that, and while her actions in response were cruel, if you try to,
you can understand her point of view. When she arrives in Piltover, her general aura, body
language, confidence, appearance and demeanor are in such stark contrast to all of her surroundings.
And that’s because of how different she really is due to how Noxus has forced her to live her life.
This is how generations of these families are taught that the world must be.
This is what she was born and bred in, this is how she needs to act in Noxian culture,
this detached coldness needed to make the decisions to succeed.
She has to steel herself to make these cruel decisions for the sake of her family,
because ironically, her motivations take root in a very similar sort of heart. That same filial love.
Mel helps build Piltover up through Hextech, she forms a loving and understanding relationship with
Jayce, and overall is going along a trajectory that suits the type of person she really is for
the first time in her life. But her mother’s arrival, the glimpse of heart beneath the cold
exterior, and the parallel we can see between them breaks all of that momentum, and forces her
to make this choice - which I honestly see as a good thing for her personally despite the internal
conflict it brings about. Mel has been carrying the dregs of this tug of war all her life, and
there comes a point where one must decide who they really want to be. I mentioned the dualism and
contrast between her yearning for family and her repulsion from the methods that will earn her what
she yearns for, and yet up until this point, she’s stood on the precipice, without properly picking a
side. But she can’t do that any longer. Though of course, that choice is desperately tough for Mel.
It represents all that she’s wanted since she was a little girl - to be the heir, to be embraced,
to feel that irrational, nagging love requited in her eyes. She just needs to say yes to war.
Yet in an immense show of strength, she ruins the painting that always represented that yearning to
return home, she removes her family ring, and dismisses it all to stay true to herself. Mel
has grown to despise conflict and everything it brings about. She hates what it does to people
and societies, and she views the importance of sticking to her ideals, doing what’s right and not
thrusting Piltover into blood and chaos to be more important to her than her blood. She has concluded
that cannot be a wolf. And that’s okay, because this world has ample need for foxes of her ilk.
In this sense, Mel is nature over nurture, hanging on to her sense of self despite being given all
the reason and environmental stimulus to change. It’s an admirable conviction, and more than
aything, it’s a conveyance of the potential idea that perhaps, even in a world as dark as this,
the desire for peace through mutual understanding could bring about true change. But as we all
know.. that possibility was shattered the moment it seemed as though it would come to fruition,
and it’s a devastating blow that leaves us with absolutely tragic and haunting imagery
and thoughts of what could have been. I don’t know what happens next for Mel in the story,
but in one way or another, I cannot for the life of me imagine that it’ll be good.
Many thanks for watching.