Act I transitions us back to the world of Piltover, both resolving the cliffhanger from the prior season and establishing the next phase of the show which turns the once pristine world of its elites to a war zone controlled by a dictator. This act is best seen through that dictator, Ambessa Medarda, an engaging character that intrigues the audience through schemes that seek to gain her more control over the city. Yet Medarda also maintains empathy with the audience as she attempts to protect her daughter from her enemies through these aggressive tactics. She continues the trend seen this year of strong and complex female antagonists in media, also seen in Marvel’s Cassandra Nova, by being a figure of strength who has gained her formidable status through strategic attacks while also being vulnerable and paranoid of losing that status in a flash. Capitalizing on the fear of the wealthy and middle class, she uses rhetoric to turn them against the people who are literally and figuratively below them, Zaun, compelling them to support military police raids and give her power over their beloved city.

Act II showcases the attacked, marginalized groups of Zaun and the beginning of their revolt against their oppressors, aligning themselves with the criminal, Jinx, who had been the one to trigger these police tirades. Jinx, a main antagonist of the first season, deals with her own mental struggles of grief over losing parental figures in her life and coping with her sister, Vi, rejecting her and becoming a member of the military police, the organization who had killed their parents. She is a spunky yet true representation of an individual dealing with overwhelming mental struggles as she chooses to isolate herself instead of dealing with the consequences. She is plagued with bright flashes of erratic images that ignite the image of her suffering from trauma, letting the audience understand her pain as the motive for her erratic behavior. This struggle is reflected on Vi who, in the wake of her sister committing heinous acts, chooses to abandon her job and buries herself in aggressive drinking and bar fights, making her unrecognizable from her season one appearance. Only after the two of them realize they are the leaders of the fight against a greater problem within their society that’s the source of the pain they feel are they able to improve their mental health.

A culmination of fanatic creativity and striking sentiments, Act III ends with a bang, resolving the themes of class disparity and the general discomfort of existence with a climactic battle between both forces from Zaun and Piltover against Ambessa and the magical forces she acquired for her army. Each character gains a sense of closure, each of them be freed from the cycle of violence and suffering that they have experienced. Rather than continuing a fight as they strive for a homogenous world, each character only finds peace when they understand that every single perceived imperfection is not something that’s wrong. Masterfully resolving parts of the tension between Piltover and Zaun, the series is able to deliver a heart-wrenching conclusion by addressing the difference between the two societies, showcasing the bravery and good that each possesses.