#caitlyn analysis

(I'm not trying to hate on people who think that Caitlyn is more masc, it's completely okay to have headcanons !! It just bothers me when people act like it's canon despite there being no actual evidence, and this is just my interpretation c: )

Exhibit A: Grayson

A female Enforcer, just like Caitlyn, but she wore trousers with her uniform. Now yes, I hear you, I will concede to the point that Grayson was the sheriff and so maybe the sheriff uniform is just different to the normal officer one... which is why I now propose:

Exhibit B: Maddie

This time a normal Enforcer, not a special rank or anything. Just an ordinary, female enforcer, wearing trousers.

Exhibit C: Gert

Not an Enforcer officially but she did put on one of their uniforms to fight, and, once again, what she put on has trousers. What she put on does seem to be a different style of uniform entirely with more armour, but I think that just further enforces the idea that there are many variants of the Enforcer uniform and it's not a rigid system like 'boys must wear this and girls must wear that'.

Exhibit D: The unnamed Enforcer who tells Jinx she looks like a half-eaten circus tent

Listening to them talk, their voice sounds feminine. And what are they wearing? Trousers.

Exhibit E: Jinx

Jinx steals the unnamed Enforcer's uniform to sneak in, trousers and all, and she's then flirted with by a male Enforcer on the opposite side of the train, implying he was aware that she was a girl and therefore that it's normal for female Enforcers to wear trousers with their uniforms.

Caitlyn was not forced to wear the uniform with a skirt. And even if she didn't choose, there is still no evidence that she actively dislikes feminine clothing. She continues wearing the uniform even after she's fired to go break Vi out of prison - she didn't have to do that. Jayce was on the council by this point and she used his signature to get Vi out in the first place, she could've easily chose to wear something else and used Jayce's name/the job offer he gave her to allow herself access into Stillwater if she really hated the skirt so much. But she didn't, so clearly she didn't hate it. She also wears the uniform dress, just without the armour, when she's opening letters after Cassandra's murder. She wasn't on duty - she was at home, in her own house - no one was forcing her to do that. The robe set she wears when sleeping with Maddie is feminine and was her choice; the purple top she wears when Jayce visits her has a cutesy little bow on the back, is very low-cut, and is long enough to be a mini nightdress without the shorts underneath. She was wearing a skort (look closely, there are two layers of clothing on her legs, the skirt part even has a cute little slit) during the rain scene when she's 16. Caitlyn canonically dabbles in femininity of her own free will when she feels like it.

I also refute the idea when people use her Zaun disguise outfit as evidence that she prefers more masculine clothing because she didn't choose that either! Vi chose it for her, from beating up those two Zaunites, and she beat them up specifically simply because they were there and available!

it just intrigues me how so many people are pissed ab it when this was literally the goal of the series the entire time, and honestly, vi never really seemed to care that much about the undercity, she just wanted things to go back to the way they were under vanders rule and be able to be with her sister again. i think it will be an interesting opportunity for character development, and i gen cannot wait to see how she justifies it to herself. i also cant wait for more interactions between her and caitlyn, and to watch them grow closer as they work together :)

Everyone take out your notebooks, @autistickiramman is teaching a masterclass on how to disagree with somebody like a regular, civilized person, instead of being a raging cunt like that previous anon was. Now clap.

I do agree with you that Caitlyn distasteful actions could have been way worse. Like, despite by slight critique of Caitlyn, I do adore her as a character and a person, and she's in my top 3 arcane characters overall. But I do also think that season 2 had an insane downgrade in writing quality that affected all the characters, including Caitlyn.

In her grief and anger, she definitely could have been way worse than what she was. I'm just a bit pissed off, because season two hypes her up as this incredibly intelligent and morally strong individual, maybe a little bit ignorant on the class front, but still a good person overall. Only for season two to just not follow through with that.

I do think it makes sense narratively for Caitlyn to kind of lose her marbles after literally psychological torture and the loss of a parent, but I think the execution paints her in a poor light. And a big factor of this is how rushed season two was.

Instead of adding nuance to her grief and displaying it in a realistic way, they only manifest it into scathing anger in order to push the plot forward. The first episode of season two gives you high hopes, showing her confusion, unsteadiness and sorrow, but then we don't see any of that again. I think it would add many more layers to Caitlyn character to have a few cases of her being pressured into making a decision, panicking and temporarily option out of it, wanting to think on the topic a big more, to show the confusion and unsteadiness is still there. Or have her be alone at some point and just break down into tears when she's in a private place and allows herself to be vulnerable, to show that the sorrow is still there.

Instead, they only focus on her anger, because it's the emotion that pushes the plot forward. It's like the writers just say "She's angry so she's making ruthless decisions. That's all there is to see here folks." about a character that is supposed to be so deep and nuanced, only because they can't be bothered to spend five minutes to give Caitlyn a few more human emotions other than hostility. Which in turn paints Caitlyn as a more cruel version of herself, rather than the multilayered girl we got to know in season one, and it makes it harder to want to sympathize with her.

To that problem contributes her rushed redemption arc. Again, the writers couldn't be bothered to pay more attention to her. To clean up her reputation as fast as possible, they don't address the lasting consequences of her actions. Nobody talks about the people that might have gotten sick or killed from the Grey in the streets. Nobody talks about how, despite asking Ambessa to reign it in with the violence, Caitlyn doesn't check to confirm if her order is being followed or not.

Caitlyn does things, but then those things don't have a lasting narrative impact. Because if they had a lasting narrative impact, she would have to go back and try to fix, or at least acknowledge them somehow. And that would require the writers to be good writers and to want to write Caitlyn well. And they don't wanna do that, because they don't want to write any character well in season two.

Between the lack of layers in her grief, and the lack of impact her actions have, Caitlyn is reduced to a very shallow character. She doesn't feel that much, and the things that she does feel, other than anger, don't last that long. She does a lot of things, but the things she does don't matter that much, because they don't have that big of an impact anyways.

So all we're left with that is substantial about Caitlyn her anger and her mistakes. That's what the writers give us about her that last more than one episode. So if Caitlyn fans, in an attempt to defend her, refuse to admit that her anger made her act irrational or try to act like all of her mistakes were justified, one way or another, Caitlyn goes from being a multifaceted person to being reduced to a nothingburger character. And I don't want that. Because I like her. Not the concept of her being always righteous, correct and justified in everything, that her stans seem to adore. Her. Flaws and everything.

I wish her own fanbase treated her better and allowed her to not be perfect, instead of removing all the aspects of her characterization in their attempts to rub her reputation squeaky clean. I wish the writers cared about her enough to make her substantial instead of stripped her of her nuance and keeping only the bare minimum of her that was necessary for her to be a plot device. I wish we saw her feel more sorrow, more confusion, more guilt, try harder to make up for things and earn forgiveness, instead of it just being handed to her.

Caitlyn season one is so deeply complex. She may lack class consciousness, but she genuinely wants to help. Caitlyn season two isn't driven by her morals at all. It's almost like they only have her resist Ambessa a tiny bit just to say "she's not fully evil, see?" but just like with everything else about her, those morals aren't substantial either.

Her resistance to Ambessa doesn't actually have an impact, since Ambessa continues to do her thing. Caitlyn doesn't make sure to check her order is being followed, which undermines her moment of resistance, making it look flimsy at best. Even after her redemption, doesn't seem to display much guilt or remorse other than one conversation with Jinx. In fact, in that conversation, Caitlyn is once again reduced to a plot device. She's more there to say things that will make Jinx reply. She's there as a tool so the writers can show how Jinx feels. Caitlyn doesn't actually get any resolution for her guilt in that conversation. Or at any other point. Yet another example of the writers not caring enough to make Caitlyn be substantial, and reducing her to a plot device instead.

I'm gonna stop rambling now because I don't have a point to make. This isn't leading to a conclusion. I'm just venting about how I like Caitlyn but I don't like the way she was executed in season two. I'm just really disappointed, because season one builds up something great. A well written, substantial character, that actually impacts the story in ways that last longer than an episode. Season two falls flat in comparison. And Caitlyn stans are making it even worse by trying to justify everything she does.

one of the most debated parts of her arc is her choice to use gas in zaun. the show shows it as unsettling, if i rmr correctly, almost directly after her mother’s words about building ventilation to give zaunites clean air. now cait is doing the opposite, releasing gas and toxins into those spaces.

but the criticism she gets often overlooks context. she isn’t targeting zaun as a whole just silco’s bases. yes the gas could still harm innocents nearby and yes it betrays her mother’s ideals. but her intent was limited- capture jinx, stop shimmer, and cut down silco’s forces. vi’s presence on the team also reinforces that cait wasn’t trying to gas civilians. even her choice of net-shots over lethal bullets shows some form of restraint.

the rushed pacing of season 2 really hurts this arc, since the abstract montage doesn’t clearly show her moral struggle or the specifics of her actions. but we see she does take down shimmer production and silco loyalists (just not jinx.) (also on that note i don’t get how you people be loving jinx and hating on cait, really don’t get it)

anyway. vi notices cait slipping deeper into anger, and they talk. caitlyn asks vi “are you sure you’re ready (to capture/kill jinx)?” (she knows vi loves her sister and doubts she’ll actually follow through.) but for now, she chooses to trust vi, sealing it with a kiss meant to reassure them both.

during the confrontation with jinx, vi encourages cait to take the shot, and she wounds jinx’s hand. but when vi has jinx pinned and jinx stops resisting, vi hesitates. she hesitates again when isha steps in, and finally prevents cait from firing a second time. whether vi acted out of love for her sister or concern for isha doesn’t matter to her because what cait sees is betrayal. in her eyes she had the shot and vi stopped her.

for vi imo the hesitation might also come from her own trauma (knowing what it does to a child to watch someone you love die.) cait though was consumed by grief and anger, she wouldn’t be thinking about that.

this moment is similar to the tea party where cait also lost her chance to stop jinx because of vi. the fragile trust she’d been holding onto shatters here. her anger at jinx shifts onto vi, leading her to lash out and walk away. (this was so fucked)

without vi cait loses her last anchor and now she’s completely alone.

Caitlyn is a victim of Ambessa's meddling

And before you all start typing away cuz I can already feel your comments coming, No this Isn't me justifying what Caitlyn does. This is me explaining that What she does is reactionary to all of the shit that Ambessa has set up, Ambessa is the bigger problem here and No One is willing to discuss it. They slap Everything onto Caitlyn and call it a day.

Because like I mentioned in my hypothetical, we do originally see Caitlyn still vouching for those in Zaun, saying innocents will die if they bring Hextech weaponry into Zaun solely to make Jinx pay for her actions. Which in turn causes Mel to agree with her, not just because she's against what her Mother's demanding (because she Knows that Ambessa's just puppeteering Salo), but because she also feels that Hextech should be a Last resort in any given situation, Mel still has compassion. Unfortunately, Mel still has to compromise with her fellow councilors, so they settle on sending the Enforcer's after Jinx, just without Hextech. This in turn is what causes Ambessa to set up the attack on the memorial. Because what the councilors have decided isn't going to start a war with Zaun, which is what she's looking for. She needs a catalyst to have people calling for so much blood that not starting a war is no longer an option.

Now I will admit, her bringing up becoming an Enforcer is one of her mistakes. She says to Vi "you can show not all of Zaun supports Jinx" because she believes this. Not just from Vi, but because Jinx's attack was her own, other Zaunites didn't attack the Council, she did. She says "I thought you were on our side" because she thought that Vi would understand because like her, she's lost a parent to an oppressor (and Before you start, I'm talking about Jinx oppressing Caitlyn specifically here. When Jinx threatens her, kidnaps her, and takes away her mom; she's specifically targeting Caitlyn, and for the most part, Caitlyn has been pretty helpless against her. therefore, that makes Jinx an oppressor of Caitlyn). But this causes her to think deeper about it and realize that asking Vi to put on the badge was the wrong thing to ask of her, she says so later in the episode. (btw, it's clear that Caitlyn secured Vi's enlistment Before offering the badge, not after being rejected, y'all are just reaching with this take because you're so blinded by your anger at Caitlyn (ironic isn't it?). Because 1) why would she even have the badge to begin with? But 2) it's pretty clear with with Maddie coming up and talking to her, that Enforcer's have been talking about Vi and Jayce going rouge after Silco's simmer facility for a bit now. And that they're all seemingly impressed with her and how Caitlyn stood up for her, they think that Vi's already agreed because Caitlyn hadn't asked yet)

When she's talking to Jayce, she says that "she understands how easy it is to hate them". because while yes, it is arguable that she was ignorant to people in Zaun back in S1, she didn't see how easy it was for her fellow people to just hate them. Especially after Vi showing her what life was like for people in Zaun. But that was before Jinx went and killed her mom (and gave her her whole baggage of other traumas). But it's still being shown to us that she doesn't lump all Zaunites together just because of Jinx's actions because she still remembers seeing everything down there, she doesn't hate them like other people do.

So, why does the attack at the memorial change things?

Because the attack wasn't made by Jinx, it was made by other Zaunites. Zaunites that she just spent a lot of her time vouching for, being in their defense, giving them benefit. because that's what's happening in Caitlyn's point of view, she doesn't Know (yet, most likely) that Ambessa was the reason that it even happened. She's angry at them and herself because like not shooting Jinx, she's been giving them the benefit when it seems that they don't deserve it. To Her, a peaceful memorial for her Mom that was destroyed by Zaunites that had no reason for attacking them. She Wasn't going to attack them until this happens, because now to her, they're all guilty (keep this in mind, because it actually has to do with her outburst at Vi later).

When she see's that her mom made the vents so that the people of Zaun could breath and not be harmed by the gray, she's so overcome by anger that she uses the gray as a weapon. she plows through the people of Zaun in order to get to Jinx, this is also what she does with Isha later. She isn't thinking rationally at this point anymore, she's simply being controlled by her emotions and thinking that if she kills Jinx it will fix all her problems. And because she now sees other Zaunites as guilty, she doesn't care what her actions are doing to the people of Zaun. they're simply just in her way.

And while Caitlyn says she wouldn't have missed the shot, I'm having doubts about that. Because at that point she's just firing wildly, she misses and takes off Jinx's finger, she misses and hits Vi instead. When Vi grabs the gun and aims it at the ground, look at the face Caitlyn makes here. it goes from shock at what just happened, to looking at Vi in anger. her face Screams "how could you?!" and while Vi's saying she's protecting a child, Not Jinx, that's Not what Caitlyn's hearing. by Vi getting in the way at all, she believes that Vi is still protecting Jinx, that despite Vi telling her to take the shot, that her sister is gone, she believes that Vi was lying to her. That's why she says "I keep telling myself that you're different, but you're not." she now believes that Vi was Never going to kill Jinx, that simply being her sister that was going to be a problem for Vi (because that's what happens in Ep 9. Vi's the one pleading with Caitlyn that "she's my sister" "don't hurt her" etc.). The straw that broke the camels back, however, is when Vi compares Caitlyn to Jinx. Now, Vi's absolutely right in what she's saying here, because Caitlyn has been acting like Jinx (because that's like the whole Point with these two, they're Supposed to be foils of each other). But to Caitlyn, Vi might as well have just slapped her across the face because she just compared her to the person that killed her mom and has been causing all her suffering. In response, she lashes out by hitting Vi with the back of her gun (AGAIN, I'm not saying what Caitlyn did is right, I'm just explaining what's going on and how CAITLYN is currently seeing things).

For a split second, you see regret on Caitlyn's face. She feels bad because she hit Vi, but that isn't quite enough to get her to stay, because the other demons in her head are still convincing her of what she think's Vi's done, so, she turns and leaves.

SO now that we got all THAT outta the way, let's talk about Ambessa appointing Caitlyn as a general shall we?

like I've mentioned in another post, she switches from Salo to Caitlyn because the fool mentioned how much power the Kiramman name wields. Because she simply can't put Herself as leader, oh no no no That would be too obvious. She needs a face for this war to hide behind, someone from Piltover itself, and who Better to Be that face than the new head of the most Powerful house in all of Piltover? Especially now that that new head has been dealing with quite a lot of anger and grief (something that Ambessa is Exceptionally skilled at weaponizing).

She starts with this whole speech of how Zaun has just been attacking Piltover nonstop (despite 2 out of the 3 instances she lists, she Herself is the one that's Responsible), and how "wrath must be met with wrath". Earlier she tells Salo to bring the "Who's who" of Piltover so that Caitlyn CAN'T say no to this because with everyone calling for war, it would look bad for Caitlyn to be like "nah I'll pass thanks". Because you can see everyone's faces, they're Approving of this decision that Ambessa makes, they're Willing to stand behind Caitlyn and the Kiramman name. And so are the Enforcers who Admire Caitlyn, they all begin to pound their chest in solidarity with the Noxian soldiers, they're Also willing to stand behind Caitlyn. and watch the look on her face as Caitlyn walks towards Ambessa, when Ambessa places the cloak on her and swears "her mother will have justice". she's merely starring off, almost in a daze, her rational isn't kicking in, she's merely being lead on a string. here she's being given what she Thinks will solve her problems, and is taking it.

I'm sure that once Caitlyn starts to figure out what Ambessa's doing, not only is her anger going to be directed at Ambessa; but the guilt from the blood that's now on her hands is probably going to eat her alive. She's going to need to make things right with both Vi and Zaun if this has any chance of becoming better but it's rather unclear if that's even going to be a viable option for her. Is there enough time left for Caitlyn to be able to right her wrongs? who knows, it just depends on what they show us.

So all in all, while Caitlyn's actions Are wrong, she isn't this evil, unlovable bitch that just proved that she's been a bitch all along that isn't worth redeeming. thank you for your time.

(Reposting from my twitter thread, but have my long-ass Medarda Kiramman sister analysis/headcanon post!)

(NOTE: A lot of this will be about my headcanons in addition to material obtained from the show. I try to fill in the gaps of what I know. Feel free to add to this with additional context, either from the Ambessa book, or other material!)

I believe one could consider Mel and Caitlyn to be versions of each other at different stages of life. Mel, as a character, could be viewed as a less naive and more patient Caitlyn, while Caitlyn could be viewed as a guileless and honest-to-a-fault Mel.

Their similarities lie in the fact that they both work within systems to bring about their own ideas of positive change, whether that’s upholding law and order or benefitting their city economically/technologically. It's important to note that those ideas are heavily mired in imperialist and classist ideology, with both characters never fully dismantling those systems of thought in their minds. Mel, as a councilor, neglected and likely directly exploited Zaun in her pursuit of economic and technological advancement, while Caitlyn advanced the fascist institution of the Enforcers and expanded their powers to form a police state.

In childhood, Mel was soft-hearted with a knack for the art of statecraft. She leaned into the political strategems of her family's ambitions as opposed to the physical violence wrought by her mother's wars. She was someone who did seek prestige and power, as valued by Noxians, but in a more humane way that clashed with the "might makes right" values of her time. Mel, as a character, abhors (though is no stranger to) the use of physical violence.

In contrast, Caitlyn was raised for a career as a skillful politician. She was someone brought up to rely on wit and guile to advance the aims of the state. But she always sought respect and honor, earned not by the station allotted to her by birth, but by her own hands. This put her at odds with her mother, who set up and organized her life to take her place one day, while Caitlyn sought honor and control in her own right, through more physical and involved institutions such as Enforcement. She has no guile or cunning, instead seeking a brute-force, but "respectable" approach to the "rule of law".

Now, here is my headcanon: When Mel was exiled to Piltover, Cassandra Kiramman gravitated towards her as a protege. The young girl possessed a political acumen lacking in the other councilors and the sensibilities necessary to socialize and blend well with Piltover’s culture. So she's hired as Cassandra's aide to draft policy and shape Piltover into the city of tomorrow.

In many ways, Cassandra could've been the mother to Mel she sometimes wished she had: compassionate, abhorring bloodshed, but still ruthless and cunning. With, of course, a respect for power and the appearance of order (regardless of the actual human expense).

In this environment, I can see Mel hanging around the Kiramman manor, to work on policy or seek advice from Cassandra, while taking a liking to a young Caitlyn. Mel would’ve understood the younger girl’s struggle with her mother’s ambitions for her and might’ve encouraged Cait to pursue her dreams. She could’ve put in a word for Caitlyn to Cassandra, encouraging her to let Cait attend Enforcing academy and support her at graduation.

Conversely, there is potential for angst here. As Caitlyn sees her mother gravitate to Mel and treat her like the daughter she’d wanted, it might’ve closed her off to Cassandra. She might’ve even built up minor resentment towards Mel, though she couldn’t truly blame her for that.

The two could drift apart as a result, and there might even be an argument between them where Caitlyn remarks about Mel being the “real daughter” that Cassandra desired.

Back in canon, this perfect storm accelerates when Cassandra is killed in Jinx’s attack. With her mother gone, but Ambessa present, Caitlyn is emotionally vulnerable. When Ambessa sees this, she urges her to accelerate tensions with Zaun, Caitlyn steps into the role instantly. She isn't supplanting desires into Caitlyn's head, much like Piltover's turn to martial law isn't a Noxian takeover. This is instead an unearthing of the fascist and classist roots underpinning Caitlyn and Piltover's pursuit of respect, law, and order. It has always been violent and retributive. Ambessa only exposes and guides it to her advantage.

We see how even in her training with Ambessa, Caitlyn nearly hangs on Ambessa’s every word. She trusts both implicitly and explicitly, because this is a woman who understands “doing what needs to be done” without letting “civility” or “war crimes” get in the way. I don't believe that Ambessa ever saw Caitlyn as a suitable or even viable "replacement" for her daughter, but rather someone with the skills, resources, and position necessary to advance Noxian (really House Medarda) interests. Because, as seen in that last fight scene, she didn't have a single qualm about putting paws on the sheriff.

She understands vengeance and honor, two things Caitlyn seeks after Cassandra’s death. And when Ambessa gives her that cloak, tells her job well done, gives her a nod of approval during training, Caitlyn feels the hole in her heart stitch itself closed little by little.

Here is where my next headcanon comes in. Just like with Jayce, Mel confronts her mother, telling her to stay away from Caitlyn. In her time in Piltover, Mel knew how deeply Caitlyn yearned to prove herself via might, and feared (correctly) that Ambessa would quickly lock onto this in the young Kiramman and validate it. And more than once, Mel had wondered if she was more like the young Kiramman, more enthusiastic about physically fighting, less constrained by mercy and a spotty moral compass, would Ambessa have loved her the way she needed?

So when she sees Ambessa advising Caitlyn more and more, hanging around the council rooms, or observing the enforcers, the alarm bells go off. I could see her trying to be a support to Caitlyn at that time, trying her best not to leave the young woman alone in her grief. She tells Caitlyn she understands her pain, something that widens the rift between them because at least Mel's mom is alive. Tobias is a shell of himself, and Vi is gone. Caitlyn has no one but a woman who wears the strength and might needed to exact revenge on her sleeve, and validates that side of Caitlyn. This cuts Mel because she has no one but a mother who won't put aside her own paranoia and ambition to make amends with the only family she has left.

She tries not to give up on Cait, to get her to see reason and salvage the crumbling state of the city, but her pleas fall on deaf ears. And for her wealth, she doesn't directly own the enforcers. She has no army to fight for the city back. Up until her kidnapping by the Black Rose, Mel tries to hold the city together and her from playing into her mother’s hands.

so yeah, this mess of a ramble goes out to all my fellow caitlyn analysis enthusiasts who care about nuance!

first, regarding the subject matter of my original post that this reply references:

To state the obvious, Jinx is jealous of Caitlyn and cold to her as well because she doesn’t want to share Vi with someone else. 

Ok now with that out of the way, now it is time for a deeper dive…

I think that Jinx is jealous not only because she has to share Vi with Cait, but also because she is jealous of Cait in general. 

In Arcane the main characters all have their own style of fighting, and their state of being in general. Caitlyn is calm and serene. Jinx is emotionally explosive and chaotic. Jinx is in a battle internally. All. The. Time. She is constantly hearing and seeing things that remind her of her past. Quite clearly it is clear to see that these hallucinations have a negative impact on her, which pretty much implies that she doesn’t want them. Caitlyn fights with the same weapon that Jinx does and is the color blue like Jinx is (a different shade I know). But I think that Jinx envies the calm that Caitlyn has. Caitlyn is a perfect example of what Jinx COULD have been. It also shows the impact that the separation of Piltover and Zaun has on its people. 

I also want to this:

Caitlyn's colors: Blue and purple

Jinx’s color: Light blue

Caitlyn’s eye color: Light blue

Jinx’s eye color: First blue, then purple

Though this could be absolutely a coincidence, it is also a connection to each other. “The eyes are the window to the soul” and I think that in both Caitlyn's and Jinx’s soul lies the same most important thing: Vi. 

Caitlyn and Jinx are very similar, which bothers Jinx because Caitlyn is the future that Jinx wanted. 

Jinx wanted a stable home, wanted parents, wanted food, but couldn’t have it because of people like Caitlyn and Caitlyn’s family.