I’ve talked about Mel’s white dress in relation to Jayce’s clothes here, and I’ve also talked about her alternate outfit. But there is still more to milk on this topic and that’s what I’m going to do. One last time.
I’m sure you’ve noticed I haven’t yet talked about her theatre outfit; let’s call it - helpfully - the “romance dress.” Unlike her other dresses, this one is unique to this episode and the budding romantic subplot in particular, but this change of attire appears to be thematically significant as well, because it’s in this episode that we finally start seeing more of the woman hiding beyond the elegant, yet somewhat frigid veneer of power and unattainability.
As perhaps her most formal wear in the show yet - rightfully so, it is opera night, after all - this dress is more decorative than the others. It marries the colour scheme of her “social call” black dress and the more intricate lace designs found on the bodice of her everyday white outfit, and reverses Mel usual colour palette by making it chiefly black with white details rather than vice versa. And so we get this sleek black dress with decorative cream-coloured - or perhaps pale gold stitching (a similar colour and pattern seem to have been used on the hems of Jayce’s sleeves) - similar to the subtle stitching patterns on the bottom of her white dress, while adding white lace details around the slits on her thighs and the white fabric used on the back of her skirt, both details that are lifted off her “social call” dress, with some extra white embroidery on her sleeves and back. Even the lace details on her bust appear to be turned inside out.
For Mel, the predominance of black in her colour palette usually stands for two things: the presence of her family and breaking face - usually through displays of emotion that can be as subtle as the soft smile she gives to Jayce upon arriving at her party in ep. 4 or the longing gaze she casts at his painted face on a passing blimp and rolling her eyes at guests in the same episode, to the hostility with which she greets her warlord mother in ep. 8.
As such, this dress presents an almost perfect union of the two styles. From a storytelling perspective, this can be used to signal an upcoming change in Mel’s life. A unification of her ambitions as politician and the desires of the woman underneath this public persona. Tonight, Mel will do something unprecedented: she will - after possibly years of quiet pining - make a move on Jayce.
We’ve established that the change of outfit is significant from a story-telling perspective, but not only as far as the romance is concerned. In the theatre scene, Mel does some more uncharacteristic things. In an unexpected show of altruism (of which she does several over the course of the show, actually), she sets out to help Jayce from a tight spot (again) even though it could potentially come at a risk at discrediting herself in front of her political rivals. She expressly distances herself from her colleagues and then mentors Jayce on how to placate each of them, starting with a merchant Amara.
Though we see her roll her eyes at Amara at her party earlier, in ep. 4, she goes even further here - vocally expressing her contempt for these political players, the depths of her frustration with the people she’s had to work with for nearly a decade. She’s showing Jayce a part of herself that he likely does not yet know, a part that could very well end her political career if Jayce wasn’t as trustworthy as he is. Jayce, though, seems immediately intrigued by the gossip, in spite of his hesitance to engage in the political games personally.
[Mel] Oh, look at those two stooges.
[Jayce] Councilors Hoskel and Salo. Don't they hate each other?
[Mel] Hmm. But they share a taste for the finer Noxian spirits, technically an illegal import.
And then later, on the balcony of his apartment, she tells him:
[Mel] It's only a matter of time before those old fools on the Council officially accept your research.
And then a more intimate sort of sharing happens at that balcony. And no, I don’t mean that kind of sharing. What happens is that we get the first glimpse of Mel as something other than a politician. Here, with Jayce, Mel has her first moment of genuine vulnerability, her usual confident poise seems to have eroded and she gets uncharacteristically fidgety and nervous when she says:
[Mel] The Medardas usually only take from the world. We're not often in the position to give anything back.
This woman, who has been taught to hide her humanity and spent the better part of her life making good on those teachings, drops the facade and opens herself to Jayce, confiding in him that she would like to do things differently from the usual modus operandi of her family. All because this warm, idealistic man appeals to the parts of herself that she was forced to keep buried - the brilliant young girl who wanted to rule through affluence and diplomacy and hesitated to sentence a princess of a rival nation to death. Who had been taught to “get ahold of herself” and not display undue emotion for it is a weakness to be exploited by rivals. But with him she can finally be herself. And given that there are no longer any artificial obstacles such as differing social and political status between them that would lend any intimate connection an uncomfortable power imbalance (just compare to how Ambessa behaves around basically everyone to how Mel acts with Jayce), she allows herself to take one more risk and kisses him at long last.
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Who's your favourite Arcane character? Mine is Jinx 100%
YOUR AN ARCANE FAN AS WELL
Vi hands down Vi.
jinx is my child (as can be seen in the vi headcannon i wrote.) but Vi.
Vi can get it anyday of the week, any hour and any minute.
Like i love her too muchhh at ths point. I love how she develops and how even though she sucked at the end of arc 1 she justs wants to be there for her sister.
The deadnaming was not a yes for her though. But seriously Vi can Cupcake me up anytime and I'll say thank you fr.
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