At the heart of the show are the plethora of interesting and highly complex characters, from the supposed heroes of the show who constantly dip their toes in acts morally ambiguous in nature, to the relatable villains. None perhaps are more memorable than the season one antagonist Silco - but what makes him the perfect villain?
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Ever since Silco first appeared in episode one, it was clear that Arcane were doing something special. While perhaps not as meaningful as Ekko’s introduction, he appears in the usual nefarious way villains are shown, shrouded in darkness, making for a terrifying introduction. He embodies three of the most crucial elements in animation to create a great character: physical animation, overall design, and voice actor performance.
The most notable part of Silco’s character is the smooth yet quietly threatening dulcet tones of Jason Spisak (known also for his role in the cosmic horror film Intersect), who does a masterful job at voicing the villain. Almost everything he says throughout the show demands attention, forcing everything to listen carefully to him, his words carefully chosen and purposeful, always riddled with subtle threats: in many ways they are his primary weapon. This performance was great as it not only managed to convey the quiet intimidating softness of Silco, but also allowed for the character fits of emotional outburst, moments where his calm facade slips to reveal the tortured soul beneath.
There are even moments, despite everything he has done throughout the show, that audiences are moved and feel great empathy for the man, no moment more striking than in his final moments where he admits to Jinx that he would never have given her to the authorities in Piltover, and that he truly did love her like a daughter.
Going hand in hand with the voice acting is Silco’s demeanor, and his overall physicality. He holds himself in such a way that shows him to be the ruler of Zaun, upright and with a sharp sense of pride and power, but these moments slip. Much like his occasional vocal slips, his physicality changes, acting more desperate and manic, especially in moments that revolve around Jinx, but perhaps more memorably in moments where he completely loses control.
It’s in these moments it feels as though a switch has been flipped, and the calm facade that normally cages the beast within shatters, allowing the monster that dwells within free reign. He goes from an almost godly figure of control to an unhinged madman in the space of a few moments where things do not go his way, sometimes to the extent where he struggles to breath and froths at the mouth. Much like Jinx, these moments show an incredible amount of relatable humanity, a wild and untamed anger that bubbles to the point where he can not control himself, flailing around like an animal.
Like many from the show, his character design is masterful, but with Silco the show’s creators did something special. Everything about the way the character looks is designed to convey his purpose, from his tailored suits reminiscent more of the people of Piltover than Zaun, all the way to his unique facial scarring, and of course, his eye. His clothes show he is a man who dreams of power, the reds, blacks, and golds laced within them showing his affinity for strength and rule. The scarring however is what really sets his character aside, not only being visually interesting and unique, setting him aside from the rest of the characters, but it acts as a constant reminder for what his character is fighting for.
Throughout the show it might be easy to things that the entire Piltover vs Zaun conflict is all about power and control, and while this is true in many senses, it’s also about retribution for the terrible way Piltover has treated the people of Zaun (or the undercity, and Zaun is still part of Piltover at this point). His scars are a result of the horrific pollution, the dirty water and the thick clouds of smog the main city pollutes that undercity with constantly. His scar is in the open, and while he does apply makeup to it to tune down the severity of it, he wears it with pride, a reminder to not only him, but those who see him, of his twisted justification for what he does.
It’s with this hat trick that Arcane managed to do what a lot of other animated Tv shows and movies fail to do: create a perfect villain. Everything from the way Silco walks to how he holds himself in certain situations make him a fantastic achievement from the creators of the show, his ability to instill fear in everyone and anyone, character and audience alike, is great, but how he does this all while still showing emotional vulnerability and multiple cracks in his clam facade make him truly special. While there are high hopes for the second season of Arcane to be just as good as the first, it’s sad to say goodbye to Silco, the show seeming odd without the stylish master of threatening undertone.
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