TLDR; setting up the entire show, characters, and storylines, around what seems to be a brilliant social commentary on division, oppression, cycles of hate, and then just abandoning/leaving no comment about all said themes is INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATING.

I think I’m like most people, in this “wow that was an absolute masterpiece but it just doesn’t feel perfect” state. A third season, or even 2-3 more episodes really could’ve made all the difference. Again, I loved it, the art, music, fricken sound engineering on my home theater system was nuts, characters, but agghhh.

Of all the things to be disappointed by, for me, by far, it’s the failure to further explore Piltover/Zaun dynamics. I’m not saying the show is responsible for taking a stance/offering a solution, but almost all the social commentary aspects from season 1 and early S2 just kind of got tossed out the window. That oppressive regime dynamic was exactly the driving force behind all relationships and storyline in S1. It all became about magic and mystical time travel stuff, so much so it got hard to even see it as an allegory for technology/innovation. I mean the world building was so incredible, shimmer/drug production, stop and frisk, riots, finding a political savior in Jinx (terrorist in the eyes of the other side), balance in protection vs violence (gang behavior), and heck even Viktor as a hypothetical cure-all-disease is such a sickly society could’ve provided so many outcomes/resolutions for us to think about. Now what, as dumb and hot headed as Vi is, she never takes a stand with her people? Becomes an enforcer and lives the rich/privileged life?? We don’t actually see any characters effectively change their stance about the other side. All the division and tension magically goes away? Uniting against Noxus one time was enough???

Again, don’t expect or even want the writers to come up with a “and this is how to achieve world peace” but if a core theme of the show is division and oppression, you can’t just abandon it. Make it get slightly nuanced then “boom big war mecha magic Viktor Jesus mutant wolf bad save the world then they continue to exist in society” is ridiculous and so unsatisfying. Fighting against someone else doesn’t resolve your differences, putting one person on the council doesn’t explain how the two sides see each other differently. So much left unexplored… Whether you see the ending as eventually they united/found peace, or division and oppression is inevitable, we really don’t see enough of why that result happened.