ARCANE: Characterisation of Caitlyn Kiramman

hi there and welcome to this video which is an in-depth characterization of caitlin kiriman from arcane she's not one of the protagonists but in my opinion she's not only very interesting and complex in a subtle way i think her role in the coming season is only going to get larger already in season 1 she plays a rather important part in her own right but especially through her relationship to both vai and jace the more i dig into her character the more i like her because there's so much more to her than just an upper class pilti that falls for a zoronite bad girl i've actually unearthed so much that i've divided my analysis into three major areas equally important to her character arc part one an excellent shot which is concerning her childhood marksmanship and family situation part two serves you right concerning her adult life as an enforcer and her relationship to jace and part three what about us concerning her adventures into the undercity and why caitlyn falls for vi the last part is actually shown in a separate video called why caitlyn falls for vi but it follows the line of thought of this video and if you've seen my other videos you know i'm a fan of caitlin's she's actually featured in all my videos so far especially the deep dive into her shower scene so aspects of her character that i've gone over in detail elsewhere will only be touched upon briefly here oh and i promise i won't fawn over her all the time the very first time we see caitlyn is in episode 2 which is the first time we see jace too while the first episode was the setup for vine powders story arc which is the central story arc the second episode is the setup for the story arc of jace the piltover council and hextech the two setups are even paralleled in the fact that we see the first steps in the perspective of the youngest character the older character being cut so we don't see that person's face till later creating anticipation while powder is the filter through which we see my and the personal drama on the bridge caitlyn is the filter through which we see jace piltover and the undercity caitlyn is looking up at jace admiration apparent on her face as she tags along behind him this admiration is quite different from how powder looks up dubai but there is an element of idolization there in both scenes showing that vi and jace are people to look up to a very short simple and smart way to line up the major characters of the show as well as show how unforeseen events can tear anyone down no matter where you're from it also shows that in the beginning caitlyn and powder are the ones that follow and live in the shadow of someone else but this changes as the story progresses they parallel each other in that way actually i could spend a whole video lining up the parallels and contrasts between caitlyn and powder jinx but i've chosen to give caitlyn my full focus here in this first scene caitlyn is reacting to jace's answer to her question about the undercity to get these she thinks he's brave and adventurous traits that we see her aspire to in her adult life also we get her piltovian view of the undercity as a mysterious and dangerous place that very few topsiders go to the only people who actually seem to venture into the undercity apart from the undaunted jace are the enforcers this probably has an influence on caitlyn's choice of profession later on the next thing we hear is the fact that caitlyn's family is the one with the money not jace himself but kaitlyn grins at what could otherwise have been a barrier between the two the fact that he is dependent on her family's money and not in control of his academic work and that she's probably only with him because of her parents from episode 1 we know that there's a deep social rift between the undercity and topside but inside the span of a few seconds here we find out that there's a rigid social hierarchy within piltover 2 determined by wealth and family but despite this difference in station there's an ease and familiarity between them and in their way they speak to each other i think caitlyn is somewhere between 14 and 16 years of age at this point i base this on her height she's not much shorter than she is as an adult i also base it on the way she carries herself as well as on her understanding of jace's situation this means that jace is eight to ten years or senior and at this point their relationship seems natural almost like that of siblings i say almost because though it is a joke he does voice the fact that they are not related and that there's a difference in their station his statement also underlines the fact that he's the adult and she's the one who's underage by saying parents instead of family so here at the beginning we see the difference in caitlyn and jace's age and social status but also the great familiarity and honesty between the two it is my guess that caitlyn invited herself along here he didn't invite her caitlyn is definitely the one actively following jace but he doesn't seem to mind her tagging along he's not annoyed or bothered by her so the friendship seems genuine if not exactly on equal footing in a way you could say that he doesn't really see her his head is literally in a different place than hers even though her station is the elevated one caitlyn however is drawn to his exciting projects and adventures into dangerous parts of town she doesn't care about the differences i also think it is really interesting that we get so much focus on the door that leads to bai powder and the gang on the other side this location and this event is the pivotal starting point for the rest of the show and only a door separates these key characters that don't meet until much later in time but are connected by fate from this point forward the next time we meet caitlin is to set up her background and family situation as well as expand on her family's dealings with jace caitlin grows up as the only child of one of the richest and most influential families in piltover her mother is one of the few members of the council we see the family dynamic very clearly in the family portrait displayed beneath their house's coat of arms the mother cassandra is in the center standing up while tobias the father is sitting down showing a hierarchy here too caitlyn's mother has a stern expression on her face and her arms are behind the backs of both her husband and daughter showing that she's the one in control the one who leads them or pushes them the puppet master if you will pulling their strings tobias seems to have a more mellow expression and it is him who appears to be the primary caregiver while cassandra is the breadwinner and protector caitlyn is the only one actually smiling on the portrait already here giving an indication of the good nature in her but it's only a half smile it doesn't seem like the mother allows too much gaity caitlyn also has her rifle in hand in the portrait clearly a statement to the fact that being a marksman is a big part of her identity when i first saw this portrait i was surprised by that weapon definitely not something you normally see a fine lady's daughter holding especially at that age but it is an early indication of arcane's versatile way of portraying gender especially women though the family seems posh and traditional like old-school british aristocracy which their accents also indicate the show breaks our western society's conservative norms and rules for how women look and behave and the same applies to caitlin and her mother being an only child in this family has given caitlin a safe childhood with all the opportunities that a wealthy family gives proper clothing plenty of space and nourishment a good education and parental supervision all things that two other girls sorely lacked in their childhood and this contrast is necessary to fully understand how both why and powder act going forward as well as offset the differences and similarities between via and caitlyn when they finally meet caitlyn's parents care for her support her and want what's best for her but they're overbearing and sometimes misguided in their parenting much like vanda the mother seems to want for caitlyn what she herself wants not what caitlyn wants this together with the upper class upbringing and the social rules that come with it has not given caitlyn much freedom vi is oppressed by poverty but is free to roam the undercity and even piltover with very little supervision whereas caitlyn has all the privilege but very little freedom the parental supervision confines caitlyn the only exception is the marksmanship which i will look into shortly we see caitlyn sitting obediently with her back straight ankles crossed and impeccably dressed in a white shirt and cravat blue vest and skirt and a top hat to boot all the hallmarks of a well-bred lady to be totally contained by her family circumstances and the norms of fine society but though she looks and acts apart she's not meek or silent she lets her opinion be heard and it seems that her parents listen to what she says but we find out later that her opinion apparently only matters as long as it's in line with what the parents say jace has been expelled from the academy and comes to explain himself to caitlyn's mother but he finds caitlyn outside who lets him know that her parents won't see him either she has braved the pouring rain in the off chance of catching jace or she's sulking outside because of her parents decision regarding him probably a combination of the two caitlyn is remarkably open with jason this scene it shows not only how deep her bond is with him but also how forthright she is as a person the way she exaggerates when she quotes her father's words your name's no good now adding stress to name shows a dislike for the class divided system in piltover as if a family name could have any importance in picking out your friends she doesn't understand how her father could see jace as a misfit in her mind they are not from separate spheres she probably feels betrayed by her parents who agreed with her about jace earlier but now all of a sudden she's supposed to turn her back on him you can hear how sad she is about not being friends with him and this pushes her to the realization that she's a misfit too the way she sees the world is more like jace honest and straightforward it is full of puzzles and dangerous enterprises that could benefit the world if solved like he said before it's worth the risk so when he says that he'll go back to his family's more mundane enterprises caitlin objects quite strongly because that is not who he is and they both know it this shows how idealistic caitlyn is even at this early age she has high standards for herself and others oh and a big thank you goes out to victor later for keeping these high standards from pushing chase off a ledge in this moment however both of them are trapped shown by the bars in the gate caitlyn doesn't like the politics that made her parents turn on jace but she cannot go against them at this point she is locked inside the gate and the mother has total control of caitlyn's comings and goings and of keeping out the bad influences before i move on i'd like to comment on the red umbrella in this scene it's an attention grabber with the bright red splash of color in the midst of all the dark grayness of the dreary rain and bad tidings it probably signifies that there is more to caitlyn than the calm and collected blue color of her hair and her piltover clothes caitlyn isn't crafted to stand out in the same way as buy and jinx are she blends in with her surroundings she's meant to fly under the radar at least at first but there's more to caitlin there's a fire in her yet to be revealed and the red umbrella can be seen as highlighting supporting and foreshadowing her continued role as that of a misfit in her own society and as a catalyst for change in the beginning of episode 5 we get a flashback that shows more of caitlyn's background and it is full of significant info that tells us something of caitlyn's character let's look at the obvious first her skills with the rifle this is a skill set that she has acquired all on her own this is not something her parents have given her she's worked hard to hone this particular expertise and she likes doing it we see her smiling along the way satisfied and happy with her own precision and hard work above anything else the marksmanship gives her agency a way to control her own life and body without her parents influence caitlin is well trained the exercise gives her strength and stamina but she's not as muscle toned as my whose skill set lies in a rather different area caitlyn is not a sniper hiding and lying in weight and taking out a target miles away never showing who she is no she's running a race playing for sport trying to be first all on her own but she is a sharp shooter always making her mark this tells us that she has precision she can find her target easily single it out and take it out like the sniper she shoots from afar not getting too close to her targets which suggests that she prefers keeping a safe distance making clean controlled shots with as little risk as possible but she is out in the open not afraid of getting dirty we see her lying and kneeling on the ground running through the mud without a second thought we can also infer that caitlyn has quite a lot of patience in learning such a skill it takes large amounts of practice and self-control we see the self-control in her breathing which needs to be calm and slowed in order to make her mark being a good shot i'm an excellent shot furthermore gives her a bird's eye view she can overlook a large area and still spot her objectives far away and quickly after which she zooms in on the detail to take out the target she is prepared before she shoots her shot controlled and thought through the direct opposite of a certain blue haired girl whom caitlyn both parallels and contrasts on so many levels like jinx caitlyn leaves a calling card when she shoots since her bullets are engraved with the family crest we don't know whether this is caitlyn's idea or her parents but my best guess is the parents since we know that family entitlement is not caitlyn's thing but the engraving of the bullet gets quite a lot of focus here so we're supposed to pay attention to it the family crest is orderly and sharp placed perfectly in the middle whereas jinx's bullets look to be doodled on in a rather random fashion so the bullets signify who the shooter is caitlyn is calm and controlled precise and predictable whereas jinx is childish messy dangerous and unpredictable overall caitlyn is a hunter efficient and accurate but i think it is very significant that she doesn't hunt prey be it people or animals she doesn't shoot to kill unlike jinx this shows that in her youth the rifle is primarily meant for sport and prowess a way to accelerate something only she gets credit for caitlyn is not a killer even as an adult she only uses the rifle as a means of disabling her opponents and for protection the only exception is perhaps when she has jinx at gunpoint in episode 9 which i talk about in my analysis of caitlyn's shower scene so in caitlyn's youth the rifle is much more than just a weapon it signifies agency and freedom for her since it's a way to escape the bars and the confinement of her family a way to forgo find society and just run freely through the great outdoors she doesn't do it for glory and attention it is a way to assert herself without the assistance of her family's status which is also why all the joy goes out of her when she thinks grayson has been paid by her parents to let her win we see her brooding on the steps the trophy all but forgotten typical of caitlyn she doesn't accept this but tackles the problem head-on like she did with jace and she asks grayson whether her suspicion is true she's a very proud girl and she wants to get to the bottom of things as soon as possible her reaction also shows that though she's still a child she's growing up fast comparing herself to grayson as if their position as competitors is equal this is also part of what makes grayson laugh a little because she sees not only the cheek and courage that caitlyn has in interrogating someone who's technically her superior but also the intelligent mind and the sky-high standards that caitlin holds herself to which are totally out of proportion with her age this is either caitlyn trying to grow up fast so she can shake her parents influence or an indication of the tough loving caitlyn's upbringing the parents expecting her to behave as an adult at such an early age her reaction to grayson's next comment what are you shooting for only underlines the seriousness of her character how she measures herself in adult terms and not as a child something she has in common with both way and powder grayson's words not only foreshadow the events occurring at the end of episode 5 they also become a sort of mission statement for caitlyn's life this is what gives caitlyn the idea as to what professions you can have that will not only give her purpose in life but will also assure that she doesn't follow in her parents footsteps it is the first step towards lessening their control over her without cutting ties with them we see how both parents are present at the competition's reception and though the mother's not entirely pleased the father is bragging about his daughter's skills so although caitlyn feels stifled by her parents they do love and support her and at least partially accept her as she is so she doesn't want to leave them and she loves them especially her father they seem to be a lot closer than caitlyn and her mother she wants their respect for who she is not shake them off when we meet caitlin after the time gap we see that she has indeed forged a future after her own head by becoming an enforcer she still lives with her parents but the first thing we find out is how her choice of profession is not something her mother approves of the parents are still pulling the strings especially cassandra sheltering her daughter from the real world and controlling her life to a great extent and caitlyn is increasingly annoyed with it jesus exploits into magic turned out to be revolutionary and profitable so he's back in the kiriman family's good graces and it seems that jason caitlin picked up where they left off and have been friends for years caitlyn can be herself with him they are rather evenly matched in intellect if not in station we see jace actively seeking her company over that of the councillors and her mother preferring to talk to her rather than performing in the political dance in this sense they are quite alike at this stage even though it seems the roles have changed from the very first scene in that jace tends to follow caitlyn now not the other way around jace proceeds to tease her like either a sibling or a love struck teenager would do and we see how easily caitlyn can overpower and outmaneuver a larger person though i don't think jace puts up much of a fight caitlyn is both annoyed and amused by his tomfoolery shown by the remarks serves you right pranks are punished in kind especially when she's working even if the circumstances allow a little fun her work ethic demands that she keep working we see that even when she's injured she's restless and working she needs to keep at the problem and she maintains her focus at all times which we also see in the scene with her fellow enforcers which i will look into shortly jace is the only one with whom she shares her desires about her own life they are both in the misfit category as we've seen but this close relationship is disturbed somewhat when he suddenly becomes a counselor elevating him from socially below her to her own level maybe jace feels this changes things for them and suddenly the meaning of the flowers could shift from merely being a get well present to having romantic connotations maybe losing caitlyn made things clear for him at least that would explain his nervous manner since the last time we saw them together at the progress day he was at ease and cocky with caitlyn mocking her good-naturedly but this time he seems awkward with her even trying to take her in his arms somehow caitlyn does not see jason this light at all though she dismisses his advances off hand without a second thought there is no time for idol fancies she's too focused on the great conspiracy and figuring out who the mystery monkey drawing blue head girl is i can't say for sure if jace does fancy caitlyn at this point but she is rather wholesome and yummy and a good friend of his the age difference between them overcome by them both being adults the teasing the flowers and the nervousness can point in that direction though jace shared a significant look with mel before the time gap nothing appears to have happened on that front for many years and what is more he does seem to be very shocked and unprepared for mel's advances later on if he was hoping for such a thing to happen with mel he would in my opinion be much quicker to kiss her back but on the other hand teasing caitlyn could be like that of a sibling and the nervousness because of the bad news he brings which he knows caitlyn will hate and caitlyn does hate his news she abhors when other people however well-meaning make choices for her and not with her her mother meddles and molly coddles her to an annoying degree and now suddenly jace does the same naturally she gets quite angry and pushes jace away abruptly this is not the end of their friendship it takes a lot more to break up years of closeness on their part but she definitely sees it as a form of betrayal both because he tries to bench her behind a desk for her own safety actively taking away her agency which she cherishes above all else but also because he now actively participates in the politics she has tried to get away from most of her life this sudden loss of control is also a major reason why caitlyn makes a rather rash decision to venture into unknown territory right after this point we see that caitlyn has taken grayson's words to heart and in her adult life uses her talents and skills where she thinks they will do the most good and where she can be her own woman the marksmanship of her youth has given her very useful qualities that help her as an enforcer and as a detective the rifled prowess has thus given her strength and stamina authority and independence as well as acute observation skills the rifle has become a tool for control but in the sense that she has control of her own life and her surroundings she doesn't strive to control in order to subdue or be superior instead she strives to satisfy her own curiosity find the truth and help people who need it her methods are not like marxist cruel violent and corrupt but investigative meticulous and compassionate she's a master sleuth spotting patterns and clues where others do not she actively seeks out puzzles to solve single-mindedly pursuing answers to these not seeming to give much room for anything else be it her parents high society friendships or romantic relationships she does her job diligently with no room to dawdle even if the circumstances allow a little slack this shows how much her own integrity means to her that she be seen as hard-working honest and trustworthy she doesn't want to be seen as relying on family privilege wealth or position and yet her boss marcus would probably disagree on the honest part because it seems that her diligency goes above and beyond the call of duty so much that she has a habit of investigating things that she's not supposed to behind his back this shows not only that though caitlyn cares about honor and honesty she's not above breaking the rules to discover the truth which seems to be her guiding principle it also shows that marcus is deliberately keeping caitlyn in the dark and not using her obvious talent for detective work and he has undoubtedly been wise to do so i think she would have found out many clues for the great conspiracy if she had been allowed to go into the undercity before probably even discovering marxist culpability much earlier marcus is also sheltering caitlyn from the more nefarious aspects of the enforcer job probably in cahoots with her mother which means she's stuck with the menial tasks of guarding her mother's tent and going on patrols or guard duty so despite trying to widen her horizon she's still ignorant of how many things work both in piltover and especially in the undercity if we look at the scene where caitlyn is on late night guard duty we find that she's not only a misfit among her peers and family but also amongst her colleagues when we see them on the steps the four other enforcers are taking things easy having a rest chat and a smoke while caitlyn is standing at attention apart from them and with her back turned when she is on duty she is on duty she only joins their conversation when their information is faulty correcting their mistake she doesn't do it because she's a know-it-all but because details matter every good detective knows that and due to her friendship with jace she has first-hand knowledge of this and wants to enlighten her co-workers but they don't care about the details they only see her comment as a way to assert her education and status as above theirs even going so far as suggesting that she should be elsewhere and they laugh at what they see as a stupid attempt at her playing policewoman while at the same time ridiculing the activities that the upper class do the way caitlyn reacts to this with an indulgent half smile tells me that this is not the first time such ideas and slurs have been said in her presence she's certainly being kept at arm's length by the other enforcers her background a huge barrier between them but she tolerates it she only smiles and doesn't talk back or complain about it she just takes it caitlyn is a private person she doesn't talk about herself or her feelings to anyone but jace and her parents so she doesn't explain herself or make the effort of getting to know them or them getting to know her but despite this distance it seems she would much rather bear these honest and mocking remarks then going through the motions at a fine cocktail party putting on a mask and playing the political dance her mother and the other councillors do so caitlyn tolerates her fellow enforcers but has no real connection to them also shown by the physical distance between them this lack of connection is further more evident from her lack of reaction to their deaths that happen shortly after six fatalities are mentioned by marcus in the next episode so we can assume that all of the enforcers accompanying caitlyn die but she doesn't mourn them at the very best their deaths make her dive deeper into her investigation of the great conspiracy but she doesn't mention anything about dead colleagues at any time not even when echo says your people aren't dying all around you so she must not think of the enforcers as her people underlining her role as a misfit both as an enforcer and a councillor's no one seems to be her people jace being the obvious exception but even that relationship is riddled with issues especially when he becomes a councillor so to sum up caitlyn has a safe childhood but is unsure of her place in the world the only thing that really makes sense to her is actively and physically asserting herself through her marksmanship she grows up as an idealistic honest and hardworking woman driven by a need to make a difference to show her worth on her own and to do good in the world she is however quite naive and ignorant about how the world works especially when it comes to the undercity despite the fact that she's good at her job but she's actively kept in the dark by her mother and marcus and so her skills overmatch the tasks she's given and thus she's far from fulfilled in life she does have a close relationship with jace so despite being unfulfilled she's not exactly lonely overall she's a good natures person yet a little too easy for some to overlook confined as she is by her parents her boss and piltover society in general she doesn't feel she belongs anywhere with anyone something or someone is missing okay that was my deep dive into caitlyn before she meets by and travels into the undercity thanks for watching if you liked it please give me a like and a subscribe and i hope you'll join me soon for the video about the life-altering experiences caitlyn has with vai traversing through the undercity and back to caitlyn finds out what it is she has been missing in life and unexpectedly falls in love along the way [Music] bye [Music]

Channel: Tilda Owen

Views: 25,565

Keywords: Arcane, Caitlyn, Arcane Caitlyn, Caitlyn and Vi, Caitlyn Kiramman, League of Legends, CaitVi, Violyn, Enforcer, Jayce, Arcane Jayce

Id: 1czEMKoq8Eg

Length: 31min 32sec (1892 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 08 2022