Ma Meilleure Ennemie - Analysis (Part 2)
Pomme’s verse (desire/rejection, longing and fear, self-conflict (Jinx))
In the previous blog, I analyzed Stromae’s verse from the song “Ma Meilleure Ennemie” as a reflection of Ekko’s emotional struggle in the animated series Arcane. This part is about Pomme’s verse and how it can be interpreted as a representation of Jinx’s inner guilt. Pomme has a softer voice that contrasts with the chaotic atmosphere that Jinx is often associated with. I will explore how both the lyrics and the visuals of the music video reflect Jinx’s fractured sense of self, emotional paralysis and duality between desiring connection and fearing it at the same time.
Tu sais c'qu'on dit, sois près d'tes amis les plus chers Mais aussi, encore plus près d'tes adversaires
The first time we hear Pomme’s voice is in the pre-chorus “Sois près de tes amis les plus chers, mais aussi encore plus près d'tes adversaires” (Stay close to your dearest friends but even closer to your adversaries) where Stromae sings the first half and Pomme sings the second half. This creates a contrast between the words and the way they are sung. The lyrics speak of adversaries, but the delivery suggests two parts of a whole. This implies that Jinx and Ekko complete each other despite being opposites, and that there is a duality between love and hate for both of them.
Throughout Arcane, Jinx rarely allows herself to think about Ekko. This could be because doing so forces her to confront a version of herself she wants to bury. Therefore, rather than face these emotions, she pushes Ekko away and uses mockery as a defense mechanism.
Nonetheless, beneath the surface, there is hesitation. In Season 1, Episode 7, before their fight, Jinx calls Ekko “the Boy Saviour” and plays along instead of lashing out in anger. This moment contrasts with her usual response to her past, such as when she is triggered by memories of her friends (Mylo and Claggor) who died because of her mistakes or people who she felt betrayed by (her sister). Despite Jinx’s trauma, she cannot fully dismiss Ekko. He reminds her of her former self (Powder), and though she resents him for it, there is something deeper at play. She snaps back with aggression because his presence brings out feelings that she is not ready to face, and her instinct is to push him away before she becomes vulnerable.
Mais si tu cherches encore ma voix, oublie-moi, le pire c'est toi et moi
The lyric “But if you're still seeking my voice, forget me, the worst is you and I” can represent two versions of Jinx at the same time. The one who rejects Ekko out of self-preservation, and the one who sees herself as inherently dangerous and is scared to hurt those she cares about. The lyrics demonstrate that Jinx is aware that Ekko is still holding onto who she used to be. Therefore, her “voice” becomes a symbol of her softer self/ past self. Furthermore, by saying “forget me”, Jinx is acknowledging that her past self is still a part of her. However, in her eyes, the bond they once shared cannot survive what she has become. Jinx sees herself as fundamentally destructive, and therefore when Jinx says “the worst is you and I” she is implying that the most damaging thing that could happen to Ekko is getting close to her.
Pourquoi ton prénom me blesse quand il se cache juste là dans l’espace?
C'est quelle émotion, la haine ou la douceur quand j'entends ton prénom ?
Fig. 1 - Jinx appears mentally drained.
Translated as “Why does your name hurt me, when it’s hiding right there in the vicinity? Which emotion is this, hatred, or tenderness when I hear your name?”, these questions are meant to highlight Jinx’s confusion. She does not understand why Ekko’s absence hurts, since he does not haunt her like others from her past (she has vivid hallucinations, where she hears voices and her vision is completely distorted with childlike scribbles). Usually, Jinx’s hallucinations often bring the faces of those she once loved as symbols of betrayal, guilt or abandonment. However, Ekko is not fully present in her mind, and that absence leaves a strange void. Therefore, when she tries to name what she feels for him, Jinx cannot tell if it is hatred or tenderness. Just hearing his name awakens something in her but she does not know how to handle it.
The official music video reinforces her emotional dissonance. Jinx is represented as unususally static (Fig. 1). Additionally, her tired eyes and dried tears show how much she is mentally drained. Jinx also seems to be avoiding Ekko’s gaze, her eyes either drift away or close completely throughout the video. It implies that facing him unsettles her (as she says in League of Legends, “Why do you always look at me like that, Ekko?”).
Je t’avais dit, ne regarde pas en arrière Le passé qui te suit, te fais la guerre
Fig. 2 - Jinx gazes…
Fig. 3 - …at Ekko.
This means “I told you, don’t look back, the past that follows you wages war on you”. “I told you” here implies there was more to her behaviour towards Ekko in Season 1, while hinting that it was her way of warning him. The phrase “the past that follows you wages war on you” means she has noticed the way nostalgia hurts him. Within the Arcane series, this tension is visually represented in Ekko and Jinx’s fight on the bridge in season 1, episode 7. Ekko had her pinned and he could have killed her. However Ekko suddenly froze as their eyes met, he couldn’t do anything. Jinx saw his hesitation and took matters into her own hands by detonating a grenade (Figs. 2-3).
Fig. 4 - Jinx starts rising off the ground.
Furthermore, this line is polysemic. While Jinx is talking to Ekko, she is also talking about and describing her own pain. She believes the past only brings suffering because it destroyed her. As a result, she warns Ekko to protect himself from the past that shattered her.
During Pomme’s verse, Jinx starts rising off the ground (Fig. 4). It does not look intentional and by her own will, but rather like she is being pulled by an invisible force. As she rises, she sings “I told you not to look back, the past that follows you wages war on you”. But even as she is warning Ekko, Jinx is the one floating away as though time itself is pulling her backward (this mirrors her posture from season 2, episode 9, when she was attempting to end her life). She does not resist, her eyes stay shut and her hands are positioned on her heart (maybe as a symbol of carrying her past). This moment implies that she is letting herself fall back into a cycle because she does not believe she can break free from it.
Fig. 5 - Jinx is haunted by her past.
Jinx also has this belief that anyone who gets too close to her will eventually meet their end (she says in the show that everyone who gets close to her dies). So when Ekko reaches out, she sees it as a suicidal mission to bring Powder back (which can only lead to suffering as she thinks there is no good left in her as Jinx).
This resignation is echoed by the background imagery. There is a visual contrast between what could have been with what currently is (with the dance scene between Ekko and Powder from the alternate universe in the background). The characters are quite literally being haunted with this idealized version of themselves, which emphasizes the disconnect between Jinx’s belief that there is no “good version” of herself and the actual possibility that she still has goodness within her (represented by AU Powder) (Fig. 5).
What she does not see (yet) is that Ekko’s persistence comes from a belief in her as she is. In Season 2, Episode 9, he says, “No matter what happened in the past, it’s never too late to build something new. Someone worth building it for.” Ekko's growth is about seeing beyond what Jinx has done to what she can still yet accomplish.
Ma meilleure ennemie, c’est toi Fuis moi, le pire c’est toi et moi
Fig. 6 - Jinx is calling herself both her own protector and the source of her pain.
In the YouTube video “Behind The Music of Arcane”, Pomme explained that she wrote her verse while thinking about how we are often our own “best enemies”. It just so happens that Pomme sings “ma meilleure ennemie” (the feminine form in French) and not “mon meilleur ennemi”, which means that Jinx is calling herself both her own protector and the source of her pain. The persona of Jinx helped her survive, but it also trapped her in loneliness and chaos. The character is acknowledging the conflict within herself.
“Fuis moi” (flee from me) sounds like a plea to Ekko. Jinx believes that her chaos will reach him no matter what she does, and the only way to keep him safe is to tell him to stay away physically and emotionally. In the series, the line between friend and enemy has always been blurred for Jinx. Whether it is her relationship with Vi, Silco, Ekko, or even herself, love is never separate from harm.
Going back to her floating sequence in the music video: just as she reaches the final point, Ekko appears behind her and wraps his arms around her (Fig. 7). Throughout the music video, Jinx was weighed down by guilt and hopelessness, grieving the life she could’ve had and the part of her she thought was lost. The floating sequence showed her giving in to resignation, but Ekko breaks the cycle. With one gesture, he pulls her out of her own head and challenges Jinx’s belief that closeness only leads to pain. It symbolizes unconditional acceptance and Ekko’s ability to ground her both physically and emotionally.
Fig. 7 - Ekko embraces Jinx.
In conclusion, Pomme’s verse completes Stromae’s thematically and structurally. Ekko externalizes grief whereas Jinx internalizes shame. His verse is about overcoming fatalism while hers is about living with the suspicion that fatalism is true. Together, the two verses form a true conversation. Her journey throughout the song reflects many contradictions; how our past can haunt us in the present, how we can love someone and still push them away, how our coping mechanisms can harm us as much as they protect us. Jinx is at constant battle with herself, and her feelings for Ekko are conflicted as her sense of self.
**Article published: July 11, 2025**
Biography
Sona d’Ébène is a 19-year-old French student pursuing an English degree at university. She is passionate all kinds of media such as TV shows and music, and enjoys exploring emotions and symbolism in storytelling.