By Sudeeksha Dasari

Arcane, the television show on Netflix which debuted in November of 2026, gives a new, queer view of love. In Arcane, love doesn’t just show up in the pretty, romantic, and fluffy ways. It is instead dark, ugly, and pushes the characters to do horrendous things throughout the show. But there is never a doubt that at the center of it, the main characters’ love, Caitlyn’s and Vi’s, no matter how brutal, is what makes Arcane magical.


The fictional world of Arcane has a complex political hierarchy. Piltover is at the top of the power structure, holding most of this world’s resources. At the very bottom of this system is the Undercity, an industrialized and mostly impoverished part of society. Arcane follows the ongoing clash between these two cities, which is heightened when a scientist introduces a drug called shimmer in the Undercity. The politicians in Undercity use the drug to amass more power. Meanwhile, Piltover increases its security and restrictions for the Undercity, widening the wealth gap. These tensions between the two cities are experienced through the characters of Caitlyn, an enforcer from Piltover, and Vi, an Undercity brawler.


These two are characters that never should have met. Caitlyn grew up very privileged in Piltover and sheltered from the real world. In the Undercity, Vi experienced the brunt of the economic, political, and social repression. Caitlyn descends into the Undercity against all warnings to figure out what is really putting people at a disadvantage and to really make positive change as an enforcer. In the process, she finds and frees Vi, who has been wrongly imprisoned for years because of an accident that killed people in the Undercity. Together, they embark on a journey that teaches them more about each other’s worlds. Caitlyn sees the injustice that her home, Piltover, has a part in, and Vi comes to realize that not all people with power, such as Caitlyn, are bad.


The relationship between Caitlyn and Vi is not only a lesbian relationship, but it also has a butchfemme dynamic, which is a lesbian cultural identity between two women, one that is more masculine-presenting and one feminine-presenting. More than that, butchfemme is a dynamic that historically and currently protects and uplifts the lesbians in the relationship, with the subversion of gender roles and support the couple shows each other. In Arcane, Caitlyn is tall, shy, but confident. She does her best to protect Vi, the more masculine yet soft protagonist who cares for the people she loves in such a distinctly butch way. Despite being from different parts of society, they figure out a way to do good together, even if it’s rocky sometimes. For instance, when looking for Vi’s sister, Vi joins Caitlyn’s investigation to make sure that they do not disrupt the Undercity more than Piltover already has with its resources. This dynamic is distinct from other forms of mainstream lesbian media that have come out in recent years. There is not another recent television show that features a main lesbian couple with one being femme and the other being butch. First Kill, Killing Eve, The Fosters, The Haunting of Bly Manor, and many others all feature lesbian couples as the main couple; however, they are not butchfemme. Arcane is a unique modern show to have a butchfemme lesbian couple, and one that is not one-dimensional or stereotypical.


Caitlyn’s role is as an enforcer, basically a police officer, and Vi, who has been abused by the system, impacts the way this butchfemme relationship plays out. What starts as a seemingly innocent relationship turns toxic as Caitlyn grows corrupt, stricken with grief over the death of her mother by Vi’s sister, and Vi has to leave her at the beginning of season two to find her own path. Some fans argue that the butchfemme label shouldn’t be used for them because of the power dynamic between Caitlyn and Vi, with Caitlyn being more privileged. Yet, their relationship shows the nuances of butchfemme and how these characters’ history and trauma go beyond just the aesthetics of a relationship between masculine and feminine women.


From the middle of season one, Vi helps Caitlyn realize that the issues of their world won’t be fixed by playing into the oppressive system, and Caitlyn shows Vi that despite them having different backgrounds, they can help each other. Their love is what helps make the world a better place, and their love uplifts and honors each other, which is what butchfemme is really about.

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Sudeeksha Dasari is a recent graduate of Mount Holyoke College. She has worked in editing and marketing at Science, Naturally! in DC, and aspires to work in publishing post-graduation. Throughout her entire life, she has loved writing, whether it be fiction writing or poetry, which is what led to her pursuing a degree in English and Philosophy. Alongside literature, she loves spending time with her German Shepherd and practicing Bharatanatyam, a classical Indian dance style she’s been doing for 16 years.