#arcane s2 speculations

[xremus-is-deadx]

Let's talk about Sevika for a minute...

S2 talk ahead:

Okay so Sevika is a powerhouse of a character, we can all see that, we all have eyes, we all know her gorgeous ass can fight.

But like, it's always under someone, and S2 Act 1 has made that so much more evident.

She's a natural follower, jumps of the train of whoever holds power. First with Vander, then with Silco, and now Silco is gone, she has no one...

In a scene in S2 Ep2, when discussing who would take over Silco's position, Sevika is immediately excluded from the picture. Not because she isn't strong, everyone knows she's physically strong, she just isn't a leader. She still has a very powerful voice at the table, but she just doesn't take control, and honestly I'm debating whether that's because she can't bring herself to, or because she doesn't.

Realistically, if you take a position of leadership down in the undercity, you paint and immediate target on your head with a sign saying "take me down" written in neon above you. It's a risky position, and everyone we've seen take such a position, or even try to, has either died (Vander, Silco, Finn, and now kind of Renni), or landed flat on their ass in pursuit (specifically Smeech in act 1). She has to know that it's probably safer to play follow the leader, but she also seems somewhat incapable of taking on a leadership role in trying times. She doesnt really knowing what to do without Silco around now, and she's fallen in line with Jinx, someone she never worked alongside, even under Silco, because they opposed eachother so much (Sevika have a "tackle what I'm given the way I'm given it, no other way" tactic, Jinx having a "shooty shooty bomb explosion" tactic, not exactly besties...)

And yet here they are, teamed?

Realistically, I think Sevika likely won't take a sole leadership status, I don't think she has it in her, though it would be beneficial considering how little anyone on topside knows/ talks about her, and also, she's a badass, she can fight. I do think though that she may take on some more control alongside Jinx, well, I hope she does, that a power duo I'd love to see.

Sevika is looking for someone to follow, Jinx is looking for someone to shelter her, I think it'll be interesting to see what becomes of the two of them

ALSO SHOUTOUT TO ISHA I ALREADY ADORE HER SO MUCH, SHES SO FUCKING WONDERFUL, IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO HER IM KILLING EVERYONE THEN MYSELF

[wingedshadowfan]

do y'all not even realize jinx altered caitlyn's entire arc by kidnapping her and that bcuz of it caitlyn had a good enough reason to hate jinx before jinx even bombed the council and killed her mother in the process??

yes, jinx kidnapped her but it was heavily implied jinx kidnapped her from her fucking bathroom. i'm sorry but how fucking terrifying is that? the one place where you're at your most vulnerable, literally naked. then, jinx must've forcibly dressed caitlyn up in her enforcer uniform (you can argue she just politely waited in a corner for caitlyn to finish showering and get dressed but it was late evening and caitlyn had nowhere to go and no reason to put her uniform on after a shower, and even if you claim jinx allowed her to get dressed herself - why the fuck would caitlyn choose her uniform, considering who was kidnapping her), then jinx took her to the undercity and held her hostage there by herself for an entire day before she got silco and vi to join the tea party.

during this time, of course caitlyn would've tried to escape, like did we all see her with that broken wine glass? she was just waiting for a chance. but the fact that she couldn't escape likely means jinx was there with her the entire time (aside from when she was gone for silco and for vi). and what do you think happened between them so that caitlyn wouldn't try to escape during the time jinx was gone? what do you think jinx had done to make caitlyn flinch when she approached her?

we may never know but i'll give you a hint. when jinx tells vi she made her girlfriend a snack, she pulls off the cloche to reveal... a single cupcake.

how would jinx know about that unless she'd forced caitlyn to tell her? vi gave jinx her name. that's what she was, a jinx. of course jinx would've wanted to know what name she'd given caitlyn. but you're so sweet, like a cupcake. of course caitlyn wouldn't have wanted to tell jinx that, not only bcuz of its implication for her relationship with vi but for the fact that it would only make jinx angrier, more insane and more destructive - her only reason to kidnap caitlyn and want her dead in the first place was the fact she thought vi had replaced her with caitlyn. so she somehow got caitlyn to tell her. eventually.

and unless i'm mistaken, vi doesn't call caitlyn cupcake again up until after caitlyn tackles her on the border of the noxian camp. so perhaps vi connected the dots after seeing the cupcake and this became yet another thing she felt guilty for her sister doing to caitlyn, or perhaps there just hadn't been an appropriate moment to be flirty again after caitlyn's literal mother died. but vi hasn't called caitlyn cupcake again since. and, metaphorically and only half-jokingly, caitlyn stopped being sweet. the caitlyn we knew from season one was gone. and i hate to say it, because i strongly advocate that vi calling caitlyn cupcake is not what made her decide to betray ambessa, but it had a grounding power over her and i wonder if it would've made a difference in caitlyn's choices if vi had done it sooner. if she'd been reminded sooner of who she was, and what vi meant to her.

[gaypirate420]

It's two in the morning so it's sad hours.

As much as I'm loving Viktor Christ I can't help but think how 1) the Hexcore is manipulating him by using Sky and his guilt over her death and 2) his own traumatic experience because he fucking died!

Yes it is very rushed how Viktor left Jayce but Viktor is not in his right mind, I genuinely don't think he doesn't feel emotions, I think he's detached, disassociated or depersonalized. He died and woke up in a new non-human body, his best friend used on him the very thing he asked him to destroy! The Hexcore is making him feel all sorts of things, new knowledge and possibilities that he can't focus on anything!

The way that Viktor reacts to Jayce's hug.

It's this expression on his face, he doesn't feel anything when the person he loves most hugs him. There's the slightest movement of his part.

"it was affection that held us together" WAS, he doesn't feel it anymore, he's dull, his emotions are watered down by either the Hexcore or this extremely traumatic event he just passed.

UGH MY BOY I LOVE HIM AND NEED TO HUG HIM.

Also, I really really hope the Hexcore influence goes away, I like a good brainwashing trope but one of Viktor's charms is that he's insane all by his own views. His radical transhumanist ideals. I don't want him to be the Hexcore's puppet forever, because that'll be so sad and such a horrible destiny for him.

[arcane-magic24]

MADDIE IS A TRAITOR?!

Ambessa said to Vi “Your absence provided a vacuum I was able to fill” after we saw Caitlyn and Maddie together 2 episodes ago. Do you think Maddie works for Ambessa so that she can easier manipulate Caitlyn?

[mistresscitrusslice]

ARCANE BINGO!!! for Season 2

In preparation for Season 2, I'm making a Bingo board for all my predictions. You can join in too!

I've put a link at the bottom of this post to a Slides document where you can copy the template onto a Slides board of your own. (Just make sure to set the slide size to 10x12 inches. It's under File -> Page Setup.)

Below is my own board transcribed.

B | Zaun leader Sevika, Singed gets Operation Paperclipped, Vi prison flashback(s), Heimerdinger gets shot, Musician cameo

I | Caitvi Breakup, Caitvi get back together, Obligatory sex scene, Caitlyn-Ambessa team up, Mel gets deformed/disabled

N | Jinx fakes her death, Sisters childhood flashback, FREE SPACE: I cry at any point, OG mage appears, Hexcore = Void

G | Psychosis runs in the family, Ekko undercover, Jinx hallucinates Silco, Timebomb mention, Jayce gets a big makeover

O | Jinx dies at the end, Z-Drive, "The gLOriOUs EVolUTioN," Werewolf daddy, Singed daughter reveal

Below is how it would look on an alternative board style.

The Shimmer Board is pinkish-purple with the Rock Salt font in bold. The Hextech Board is light blue with the Grenze Gotisch Normal font. Pick your poison.

You can find the templates here! Or make a Bingo board in your own unique style.

Reblog with your own Arcane Season 2 Bingo Boards!

[shadowhearthallowleaf]

What is Caitlyn shooting for?

In the first season, I believe Caitlyn shoots for the protection of others. Caitlyn rarely uses her gun throughout the first season, but the few times we see it used is for protecting and healing Vi. Caitlyn shoots to protect in season 1.

Caitlyn can make flawless shots when her vision is clear and more in line with this. Caitlyn skilfully takes the gun away from the child without causing any harm in order to shield Vi from Isha.

When Caitlyn is aiming at the child and Jinx, her vision is distorted by the scope's sights. When Caitlyn deviates from the moral of safeguarding those around her, she frequently fails to find her target.

With multiple of the visions, we see Caitlyn only focused on her hatred for Jinx.

This is likely to spread to other Zaunites following the attack on the memorial service. Caitlyn finds it more difficult to offer the kindness and curiosity she was known for in the first season since her loss obscures her way. The animosity that was formerly limited to Jinx's head has now expanded to other Zaunites.

Caitlyn believes she wouldn’t have missed, but when shooting out of anger and regret, her shots do miss. Regardless of how Caitlyn misses when that is her motivation for taking the shot. She misses. When Caitlyn attempts to fire on Jinx, she hits a single finger, and when she tries again, she hits Vi's gauntlet instead. Caitlyn's disappointment with the clear opportunity to take Jinx down certainly adds to her frustration with Vi. Caitlyn trusted Vi's opinion of her sister, which resulted in the death of Caitlyn's mother. Caitlyn trusted Vi’s judgement of her sister, and it got Caitlyn’s mother killed. Caitlyn attempts again and again to trust Vi's decision and maintain their connection during Act 1 of Season 2. However, it is apparent that Caitlyn has is already swinging towards wrath and mistrust.

When Caitlyn is shooting for violence and revenge, her vision isn’t clear. So, I don’t believe Caitlyn would have been able to hit the shot.

The clouding of Caitlyn's vision continues as Vi’s actions push Caitlyn to give up on the belief that Vi is somehow an exception to the Zaunites that attacked the memorial ceremony. This is arguably the most stark and painful clouding of Caitlyn’s vision through her hatred of Jinx and other Zaunites.

As it leads to Caitlyn tearing apart the very wound, Caitlyn was able to heal with curiosity, kindness, and protection in the first season.

The use of Caitlyn’s rifle on others began with the protection and healing of Vi’s stab wound and has ended (for now) on Caitlyn’s hatred tearing apart that same wound.

[bluejacketjax]

Memento Mori

"I'll never make mistakes again, for you..."

[stealthily]

everybody shut UP. was that caitvi kiss literally Vi’s first kiss? discuss.

[sarbcat]

ARCANE SPOILERS SEASON 2 EPISODES 1-3

okay you wanna talk let's FUCKING TALK

okay everyone's saying Viktor is Jesus now WRONG!!!!

incredibly loud incorrect buzzer!!

because yes, the crowd of sick people are kneeling for him - but he's FUCKING kneeling too.

in fact, he's kneeling and he's looking up at sky! or at least, the picture of sky his mind has conjured up for him.

and yeah, viktors goal has seemingly always been to help the people of the underground and that's what he's doing, but i don't think he would be doing it without a sort of light in the dark!!! his sky!!

and ITS HAPPENED BEFORE.

WHAT IS HE DOING??? he is looking UP AT HER. UP.

and do I think Viktor is Jesus? NO. BECAUSE HE'S FUCKING MOSES. i said it! he is MOSES thank you very much!! he's a MESSIAH. a MESSENGER for HER.

plus, whenever he's looking up at her, homeboy is BATHED in light. in the cave in s2 and when he's a child and sees her. it's HER LIGHT. LISTEN.

and symbolism-wise?? it KEEPS WORKING OUT. because who else has a fucking STAFF?

yeah i fucking said it. the cane IS a mobility aid don't get me wrong but listen. listen. hear me out. i brought this point to my oomfie and they said that all the biblical figure have staffs but shhhh that's not conducive to my machinations

anyways he's Moses not Jesus and he will always look up for the Sky, his Sky, and in this essay i will- *distant gunshots*

[vaya-is-dead]

Welcome to hour one of my delusional city

SO ABOUT JINX.... we have plenty to discuss. :))

*act three arcane spoilers under the cut don't read if you haven't watched it especially the last episode!!*

I have a theory.

Now many of you will point at me and call me delusional but I'm sorry. I think I might be right on this one for a change. (or at least it might be implied.)

OK, if you watch the final episode, you know that jinx made the sacrifice taking Warwick with her while Vi screams for her. This scene absolutely broke my heart and for about a good 15 minutes I thought she was dead.

Until I went back and watched the last couple of scenes.

Something that I found interesting is that Caitlyn was looking at the blueprint of the vent system, more specifically where Jinx made her ultimate sacrifice. We all know that arcane is not a show that would just throw in details all without reason. Everything has a point everything is calculated to either imply something or show something.

Why would Caitlyn be looking at the blueprint and why would the show creators specifically zoom in on certain airways? Well, of course, then none other to imply that Jinx could've escaped through one of these, therefore possibly surviving.

Now with that alone, it probably doesn't mean anything. It is nothing but a skeleton of what possibly could be, it needs flesh and muscle for it to actually be a Working theory.

But then, as I watched the final scene before the credits, tell me why an airship from Piltover airship very similar to the ones that we saw in episode one where powder said that she would be flying one of those one day. Why was it flying away into the distant sky, then followed by the classic Jinx glitches with the words the end?

Tell me why a show that is so focused on each, and every small detail, from micro expression to touches that linger just a second too long for it to be nothing, Even the drawings and graffiti around Zaun. why would a show so focused on those types of details do something like that if Jinx was not alive? It does not make any sense. It would not make any sense for the show.

Need more proof?

if you pay attention when Caitlyn and Vi are talking, specifically towards the end where Vi leans into Caitlyn, the expression on her face is not one of relief, but rather one of knowing something. She was the one looking at the blueprint, and she was the one who noticed the potential escape route that jinx would know better than anyone because it wasn't her sort of Home in the vent system? How could she not know how to escape?

it's also very satisfactory to her character arc, it was only in season two where we started to see her perception of death start to shift, it was only when Isha came into her life that she really started to understand her own mortality and not completely disregard her life like she used. the prison scene with Vi, where she's sort of regresses back to the mentality of everyone around me will get hurt because of me. while in act three she did begin to disregard her life again, I would like to think that her talk with Ekko might've snapped her back into place. So instead of losing jinx's character development in its entirety, she continues on the same path where she was while still keeping her goal of letting VI be happy the same.

Plus the pink streak coming up the side of the hex gate tower, it's similar to the way that Jinx charges at Vi in their fighting scene.

Now, this is the part where you go into the comments and call me delusional and make fun of my theory but thank you for comming to my Ted's talk

[pumpkinsouppe]

Oh my god if this is the actual structure to the show then what the fuck happens in act one that leads to Vi becoming a pit fighter, I initially assumed pit fighter would be act I and enforcer was act ii and iii due to the noxus invasion (although it’s still possible for her to go back to being an enforcer for iii)

It makes me even more curious to when she will encounter Warwick, if it’s before or during her pit fighter arc

Source: ArcaneShow on instagram in their stories

https://www.instagram.com/arcaneshow?igsh=MXE0NmNvcHFscXAxNw==

[wingedshadowfan]

tw: the scene where caitlyn and maddie are in bed together

a friend is rewatching arcane s2 rn and pointed out that even though it's very dark and kind of hard to tell, the room caitlyn and maddie are in in that scene doesn't look like caitlyn's room!!

now this might be a false alarm but if it isn't, here's what that implies:

caitlyn didn't let maddie into her actual bed (we all cheered!). now i very seriously doubt they're in maddie's house for reasons of wealth and convenience, which means there are like three possible ways things could've gone down w/ caitlyn and maddie sleeping together.

1) most likely caitlyn (and maddie, individually) took a guest bedroom somewhere in the council building, which means she's been so busy with the zaun invasion in pursuit of jinx, she literally hasn't been home and sleeping in her own bed (which is just sad because it implies overworking herself and disconnecting with her home and family, even the memory of the mother she's trying to avenge)

2) if this is just another room in caitlyn's house (which would be crazy, just imagine caitlyn's dad meeting maddie), has caitlyn been sleeping in her own bed when she's by herself and only going to this guest bedroom when maddie is with her?? that must've been so inconvenient and awkward to establish between them lol

3) if this is just another room in caitlyn's house and she hasn't been using it only when she's with maddie, that would imply she had the opportunity to sleep in her own bed (even without maddie) and she chose not to. could it be that after her fight with vi, caitlyn hasn't been sleeping in her own room in general because of the memories they shared there together?

i think 1) is the most likely, followed by 3) and then 2).

and lastly, let's remember that after the explosion that injures vi, caitlyn is sick with worry for her. jinx just surrenders and caitlyn can't even decide what to do with her - she's too worried abt vi recovering and likely wants it to be her decision too, having seen their family bond and truly understood now.

caitlyn most likely takes vi to a hospital/doctor and then takes her to her house, so she can ensure her safety. caitlyn who's been so busy she hasn't been sleeping in her own bed, is calling the enforcers out of zaun, and is preparing for war lets an injured vi sleep in her bed immediately, even before they've talked things out between them (which means a lot, esp if she never let maddie into her bed, or if she had right until now).

moreover, in the scene where vi wakes up and we see loris has been taking care of her too, we also see a bunch of throw pillows on the other side of the bed next to vi. they're obviously not for him. caitlyn has been sitting (not sleeping) there, taking care of vi even with everything else going on. waiting for her to wake up so she can make the call for what happens to jinx. true fucking love or whatever.

symbolically, caitlyn either returns to her house, to herself and her family (after seeing the love in vi's), to what matters, in order to take care of vi and because she's not commander anymore, at least not in the original intended way once jinx is captured and she calls off the zaun invasion, or she's still in a council bedroom because there's yet much work to do but has been finding time to come home and take care of vi despite that.

i also want to point out another thing. when vi wakes up and comes to confront caitlyn abt imprisoning jinx (which, honestly, is better than letting a random enforcer kill her or have her cause more damage which is what could've happened if she'd let her go, which caitlyn eludes to), maddie is already there in the room with caitlyn but we only see one chair. maddie isn't meant to be there in caitlyn's house. she isn't meant to sit down and make herself comfortable. (and yes, we see two chairs when ambessa comes to talk to caitlyn but it's also intentional what gets shown when). when caitlyn tells her, "check on my father?" and dismisses her before she has the chance to interact with vi, she means this is all her relationship w/ maddie is to her. and in the very end of the show when we see vi humming her mother's song to herself, she's in the same room. there are two chairs there now.

i'm so fucked but this is all speculation.

[gaypirate420]

JAYVIK NATION RISE UPPPPP

[viridian-fields]

What was Maddie's role in the attack on the memorial?

We have confirmation from writer Amanda Overton that Maddie is in fact Noxian and has therefore always been working for Ambessa. So I want to examine her actions around that memorial attack a bit closer.

I've seen it suggested that Maddie was somehow "protected" during the attack, because the armoured shimmer goon (do these armoured suits have a name btw?) was making a show of attacking her without actually harming her. I'll examine that exact moment a bit later but I do not agree with this assessment even a little bit.

Maddie is a deep cover agent. Presumably her entire identity in Piltover is fictitious. Careful planning and work have gone into integrating her into the ranks of enforcers over a long period of time. You do not take unnecessary risks with the identity of agents like this.

Keeping an agent like this "protected" from Renni's goons, would mean revealing her identity to every single Zaunite that Renni has recruited ("hey no one kill that redheaded enforcer, she's on our side"). If even ONE attacker survives this assault they have the potential to reveal Maddie's true identity. And imagine how it would look for these guys to be attacking everyone except her? And why would they waste their time playing around with her? It makes no sense. It's absolutely not worth that risk. Renni is used as a tool here. She is not informed as to who her actual employer is, and she is lured here by the promise of revenge against the person who killed her son.

If they really wanted to protect Maddie, it would have been much easier to come up with some excuse for her to not attend the memorial in the first place. But Ambessa has no need to try to protect Maddie. Maddie is a Noxian soldier. If a Noxian can't hold their own in an attack they are expecting then what good are they? Ambessa was willing to take the risk and accept the sacrifice if Maddie was somehow killed during this attack.

And Ambessa wants Maddie there because Maddie has a job to do. Maddie knows the attack is coming. She looks alert and on edge before it happens. We see her taking note of Renni's arrival.

So what were Maddie's orders? To protect the council.

Ambessa orchestrated this event to strike fear into the hearts of the people of Piltover, the council included. One of the attackers even gets up on stage to say “You aren’t safe, topsiders. None of you are safe.”

Making the council fearful and angry will motivate them to pursue the course of action that Ambessa has been pushing for. Dead council members can't give her what she wants. She doesn't want harm to come to Mel, and her influence over Salo means she'd prefer to keep him alive. Protecting the council is also something Maddie is in a position to do that will not look suspicious and is likely to give her career a boost.

But Maddie is very nearly killed in this operation. She is dazed from the carriage crash and pulled from the wreckage. She is screaming and fumbles her weapon. She seems genuinely afraid here.

This attacker is not playing pretend. He is seconds away from stabbing her...

... when Steb intervenes. His one and only L

Do you think that fall hurt? I hope it hurt.

But Ambessa very nearly overplays her hand here. By allowing someone who had a vendetta against Jayce to have access to him, he is almost killed.

And Ambessa doesn't want Jayce to be killed as she needs him to build her hextech weapons. Jayce dying would have been disastrous for her plans in Piltover. And what was the deciding factor in the end?

Vi.

But here's the thing. Vi was not planning to attend this memorial at all. How do we know this?

She's not wearing a ribbon.

[See this post for more info on these ribbons]

Vi had fought with Caitlyn and was on a bender. She had no plans to go to an event where there would be a chance of running into her. So why did she go?

Because moments before the memorial began a certain junior officer showed up to tell Vi all about how Caitlyn had sang Vi's praises to the enforcers, and how she was so pleased to have Vi in their ranks.

Now, there's no possible way that Ambessa could have known that Vi would end up saving Caitlyn and Jayce, but this entire meeting feels way too calculated for it to not be meaningful.

Perhaps Ambessa believed Vi would fight to protect Caitlyn and Jayce or other councillors, and was there as an added contingency. Perhaps Vi was a wildcard she wanted to keep an eye on. Perhaps she thought it wouldn't hurt to put Vi in the line of fire and maybe get rid of a potential problem.

In any case, when the dust settles, all of Ambessa's meticulous scheming is rewarded.

Maddie fought alongside Caitlyn, proving her courage and earning her respect. It is not a coincidence that the people Caitlyn later picks for her strike team are the ones she fought shoulder to shoulder with during this event.

And Ambessa succeeds in striking fear into the heart of the council and forcing them to act against Zaun. She also gets to be the big fat hero.

[fire-of-the-sun]

Machine Herald Armor Theory

Though I know that the events that have unfolded and will unfold are no doubt going to lead to Viktor's glorious revolution and result in the Machine Herald we know today from League of Legends, I was still wondering how Viktor could evolve from a lithe man with purple 'organic machinery' for skin could become a huge, armored man strapped with weapons and then I considered that, given Singed is working with Ambessa now, she could provide the new Viktor with Noxian style armor and weapons. The steel and golds perhaps being in a similar vein to their soldiers' armor.

[bird-inacage]

Arcane S2 | Act 3 Preview: Caitlyn + Combat

The fact we get to watch Caitlyn go head to head with Ambessa in hand-to-hand combat is WILD. Why is barely anyone talking about this?? I'm scared shitless about Caitlyn's possible fate in Act 3, but my god this girl has some serious balls to even attempt a fight to the death with this absolute unit of a warrior.

No matter what, Ambessa was going to hunt her down for her betrayal in Act 2. I imagine Caitlyn sees this as an opportunity for redemption too.

And holy- her new weapon is so insanely badass.