Why does Vi and Caitlyn's Arcane Relationship Work?

Vi and Caitlyn's relationship in Arcane has been criticized by many viewers, and I don't agree with their arguments. Let me defend these two and hopefully change your mind and show you the natural progression of their relationship.

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Merch!

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Questions? Leave a comment or,
Twitter - @A_FlyingWalrus
#arcane #writing #Vixcaitlyn
Intro 0:00
Vi 0:49
Caitlyn 3:19
Together 5:17
The Two Scenes 7:07
Contrast 9:39
Arguments Against 10:15
Closing Thoughts 12:08

[AFlyingWalrus]

I'm happy to learn that apparently, I was misinformed, people are enjoying this relationship, and the arguments against it were a vocal minority.
Side note
You can argue Vi opens up to Jinx when she sees her, or to Ekko when reunited. But neither of those are on the same level as sharing your guilt and shame with someone as she did with Caitlyn

[crab]

Here's a neat detail: The gun Caitlyn gives up wasn't just her only form of protection, it was her gun that she's had since she was a kid. It's present in the first large painting we see of her and her family. It's a pretty important personal item.

[ERElement]

Ive never seen a dude talking about a lesbian relationship feel so natural

[BlackShardStudio]

Get you someone who looks at you the way Vi looks at Cait when Cait is showing empathy.

[sashameri]

"When you are sheltered growing up and you meet somebody that opens up the world to you and expands your narrow vision to what life could be and what life could offer, that in a way gives you freedom to explore your own identity. You begin to asociate those positive experiences with that person"

Dude I think you just made me realize why I am so in love with a certain somebody in real life lol

[rashimalviya]

I have never been so comfortable with a dude talking about lesbian relationship... Cause they always make it creepy by fetishising them.
But i love the way you talked about them .... Like just two people who works really well with each other romantically.

[jslyster]

ALL OF THIS!!!! This is exactly how I looked at the developing relationship between Vi and Caitlyn. This wasn't a romance. It was the spark of a romance. The prelude. At no time did I find myself thinking, "Huh?" These two went through hell together. Along the way they came to trust each other and to realize that the other felt the same way (Caitlyn looked genuinely surprised when Ekko said, "Vi says I can trust you.").

[vitya]

I honestly can't believe how someone could think this was forced.
Cait and Vi literally have everything that is important in a relationship and sure, they didn't have much time but it's there, and we can see that.
PS. That part about melting under someone's touch? I felt that.

[BiMeSum]

I LOVE THIS!!
And the 11:55 "SO you're saying theres a chance?!" is SPOT on lmaoooo, the animators nailed the expressions SO WELL, one could actually hear it through Vi's expression.

[PricklyAlpaca]

We're all incredibly weak for this pair and you did a great job at explaining why ✨

[mathies]

From what i've seen, this is the mildest take of them all lol. Like 90% of the people I've seen love Violyn, the Arcane Subreddit is crazy over it, not a lot of complaints at all.

[ukumayu]

People say this was FORCED? WHAT? nothing feels more right than Vi and Caitlyn

[tTaseric]

The thing I was most worried about with Vi/Cait was that it could have been another Catradora. A truly fantastic build-up with amazing characterisation and honest story-telling over the course of the show only to come to fruition in the last episode so we don't actually get to see how their relationship evolves past that.

I think one issue might be the fact that we weren't told there'd be a Season 2 until after Act 3 aired, so a lot of people saw Vi and Caitlyn's slow burn and assumed it would come to fruition in Episode 9, which obviously may not have worked considering how carefully written their relationship was up until that point.

The fact that Caitlyn and Vi didn't actually get together in Season 1 has me really hopeful that they're actually taking their time and are prepared to not pull any punches when writing their relationship like how so many other shows often do.

[Kurogane]

A thing I really liked in the French dubbed version was that at first, Vi and Caitlyn talk to each other using the "you" translation of "vous", which when used to adress one person is very formal, if not cold it at least establish distance. At first Vi sees Caitlyn as a mean to an end to find Powder. And Caitlyn obviously realizes that Vi has informations about or at least can lead her to the source of the Undercity's crime organization. It is a simple yet clever way to reinforce that their relationship is indeed very formal and not at all requested/sought out. It also highlights that Vi isn't in her element : she is on Caitlyn's territory so to speak, while she remains in Stillwater/Piltover.

Vi's first uses the "tu" translation of "you" during the "You're hot Cupcake" line ("T'es sexy Cupcake") with an abbreviated forme [ T'] which indicates even less distance, it's a very familiar way to speak, kind of like a "ya" I guess in English. Caitlyn's also uses the "tu" when she speaks again to Vi when she asks her if she ever says thank you. At that point, it indicates that both women have at least broken the ice between themselves. Vi because she has admitted that she find Caitlyn's attractive, Caitlyn because she probably realize Vi left her at the brothel so she'd be safe while she pursued her vengeance.

It was really a great surprise when I listened to it in French recently, and I wonder if other languages have that kind of things :) !

[brityi_sviter]

In my opinion, people who say that their romance is rushed and unrealistic have never had a romance like this in their life. Periodt.
Me and my significant other went through something similar in the beginning of our relationship, and we were fucking screaming watching Vi and Caitlyn interact on screen, just because it resonates with us in a very personal way. Also because it's gay, yes.

[MaUri-trop]

I love how vi solves her problems cos it's just VIOLENCE. And cait its much more diplomatic and solves things in a more smart way. They complement each another. Riot it's making this relationship more deep and meaningful, not like, they're gay love them. Every thing in this series is deep, meaningful and always has a twist that makes you jump out of your chair. I feel really identified with cait because I'm also a misfit in a way or another. I grew up in a Catholic school but I never believed in those God things, plus I'm bi so I got bullied a lot because of that. Also my fathers expext me to be a lawyer or a doctor just like them and well because art will not bring bread to your home. And with Vi. I feel her. Cos I'm very impulsive and agresive. I'm much of a punch and then ask the questions. Plus I use a rifle xd and I do boxing. In just a comment it's really difficult to explain the stuff that this series made me feel and understand about myself. I would love to make a video or something to explain the grateness of this series but I'm to shy xd.
Hope u get me and thanks for reading this long comment. :)

[shamanahaboolist]

There's so much more than just the moments shared that make Vi and Cait work. Arcane shows you Cait finds bonding with the feminine easier but that she's not a materialistic girl herself. Vi's psychologically already imprinted with an emotional bond to Powder who exhibits very similar characteristic qualities to Cait. Jinx is almost a broken version of Cait. They're both highly intelligent and deductive, find strength in their obsessive determination to succeed, have blue hair and are both great shots. Vi exhibits strong masculine energy tempered with some femininity, Cait is the Yang to Vi's Yin, Cait being mostly feminine tempered with certain masculine qualities that Vi respects and aggressively adopts herself.
To me Vi and Cait's relationship isn't even vaguely gratuitous. It's one of the most natural and understandable attractions I've seen on a screen and develops at a good pace. They're attracted but too distant in their starting points to actually have started anything and that's great.

[graymalkin]

A friend of mine who is a psychologist once told me that the dynamics of a relationship actually change more for the person doing someone a favour than the other way around. Somehow our brain seems to work like this: "Oh... I saved their life... apparently I seem to like them." Our affection towards somebody strengthens with every nice deed we do for them. If the other party doesn't act in a similarly nice fashion this often leads to a "Look at all the stuff I've done for them and how ingratious they are."- scenario. (Compare: The whole nice-guys don't get the girl- concept).

[valentinogal]

8:05 The soft caress, is something I only would do to someone I loved and was trying to comfort. Literally can hear the butterflies in both Vi's and Caitlin's stomachs. That soft look Cait gives Vi. The hug on the bridge with both really leaning in to snuggle and teary eyed 😢🥺 and the way Vi catches Caits hand after she caresses her face and gives a lil hint of a smile. Not to mention that when someone hugs you that close with their eyes closed it's because they mean so much more than a friend to you. Yup... These two at the very least have a crush on eachother. In my opinion the only reason anyone would open up about themselves to anyone in that vulnerable manner especially if they are suppose to be enemies is because they have strong feelings for eachother and a longing to be touched or held by that person. Their chemistry jumps right at you through the screen. Down to the way Cait gets nervous when Vi is too close to her face. You can fight me on this but I know I am right because I work in the behavioral health field and know certain behavioral traits that stand out when two people (or animated characters) have strong feelings towards eachother.

[NuttsnBolts]

So I remember being on a Contiki tour with people for about 2 weeks and saw people who had no affiliation with each other start friendships and the typical relationships. That's in two weeks.

What I believe a lot of viewers do underestimate is how down to earth and somewhat realistic the story of Arcane really is considering Vi and Caitlyn's relationship reached a point of relationship, but not yet lovers given their situations. They never did anything to really cement that lover title, but there was surely enough to be tastefully romantic.

As for Mel and Jayce... Oh yeah. That's totally a Contiki Greek isles hookup.