The Most Heartbreaking Vi Moment In Netflix's Arcane

Netflix's "Arcane" is the rare video game adaptation that works. It spins a tale of magic, technology, corruption, and class conflict on the streets of Piltover, a city divided into the wealthy Topside and the less fortunate Undercity. At the emotional center of "Arcane" is the love and tragedy between sisters Vi (Hailee Steinfeld) and Powder (Mia Sinclair Jenness). As young girls, they watched their parents die at the hands of Piltover's enforcers, but things only got worse from there.

At every turn Vi has faced hardship and heartbreak: Just as she is about to successfully save her adoptive father Vander (JB Blanc) from crimelord Silco (Jason Spisak), Powder unleashes her magic monkey bomb. The explosion destroys their little family, separating the sisters for years. When they're finally reunited, Vi is shocked at how much her sister has changed: She's quick to pull a gun, more than a little unhinged, and apparently hearing voices in her head. Still, Vi believes that Powder isn't too far gone. Still, Vi holds out hope. That is, until things get worse.

In the Season 1 finale, Vi's little sister, now going by the name Jinx (Ella Purnell), kidnaps Vi, Silco, and enforcer Caitlyn (Katie Leung) to hold a perverse family dinner. She forces Vi to choose between her and Caitlyn: It's a set up, to see if she can still be Powder or if she's irreversibly changed into Jinx, but it hinges on her demand to be the only person in Vi's life. Well, put enough people and weapons in a room together and things go awry — after threats are thrown around, Silco ends up dead and Vi's heart is broken.

Ever since getting out of prison, Vi's had two entwined goals: Get rid of Silco and get her sister back. After she struggled to reconnect with her little sister, she thought killing Silco would solve the problem. But then Jinx does the job for her, shooting him in a moment of panic, and it only serves to solidify her commitment to being Jinx. Now, Vi knows that the story isn't as simple as Silco turning Powder into Jinx. It's clear that there's no going back to how they used to be — by this point, Powder is lost to her. It's almost as if she died, but that would be less heartbreaking than her becoming the volatile, powder keg of a person who hurts anyone and everyone at the snap of a finger.

To add to the pain of the moment, Jinx says to Vi: "I thought maybe you could love me like you used to, even though I'm different. But you've changed too, so here's to the new us." Whatever their relationship is going to be, going forward, they now both know it can't be what it once was. Every time Vi looks at Jinx, she will see the sister she loves and yet know that their bond is irrevocably damaged. Jinx cements this fact by powering up Fishbones, her shark rocket launcher, and shooting it directly at the Piltover council — firmly framing the two of them as enemies.

Vi has a difficult path ahead of her, now. She might have to fight against her own sister in Season 2, because despite the fact that the two of them still care about each other, they simply can't give each other what they want.