#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

[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?

[arowyn-m]

Some moots and I were digging in old Arcane concept art and we found this—this is a shot of Viktor cut from the initial Arcane opening concept.

The gears on his face build the outline of a mask.

[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.

[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!

[bluejacketjax]

Memento Mori

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

[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*

[stealthily]

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

[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==

[gaypirate420]

JAYVIK NATION RISE UPPPPP

[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.

[pzychojinx]

as I said, act two left me with genuinely mixed opinions. that said, I slept on it and I think I'm able to verbalize it a little bit.

let's start with what I think went right in this act. first of all, obviously, the animation and art. if possible, they're outdoing themselves. I love the experimentation, I absolutely adored the pastel tones they used for vi and jinx's childhood memories, the way isha's point of view sequence feels like it's straight out of a ghibli movie, I loved the distortion effects used on jayce and every single visual effect they used for viktor to convey this sense of absolute inhumanity, the entire messianic visuals were insane, warwick was gorgeous especially during sequences where we didn't get to see him but rather we got to see the camera following his massacre. gorgeous. no notes.

episode four, in my opinion, was near perfect plot-wise too. seeing the new state of the military situation in zaun, getting to see sevika as the rallier of the revolution, isha's drive to be a fighter for zaun leading her to impersonate jinx when needed, the whole mission to enter stillwater - I genuinely think it was incredible. most of all, it was probably my favourite jinx episode to date. and that's saying a lot. this is a character I've resonated with and held very very close to my heart for three years now. seeing her gain not only a younger sister through whom there could be a process of reclaiming her own past, but also very importantly seeing her gain new objectives and seeing her gain community, was deeply healing and heartwarming to me. that one scene where her followers touch her, not only as an idol but as an equal, is so so moving and good. isha was the kickstarter to jinx's reclaiming of powder and a sense of stability, sure, but living in a fantasy with isha alone could have very easily led her to the same old mechanism of co-dependency - thus never breaking the cycle that silco himself perpetrated onto her. but no, they made her respected. they made her see a nation of people who saw something in her. they gave her goals, even if she reasonably only started giving a fuck about said goals when her sister/child went missing. it was everything I never thought could happen to her. it was healing.

episode five is where the issues start, I think. first of all, there's been way way way too much space dedicated to the black rose. much as I love mel, much as I find her truly intriguing, her plotline is so severely disconnected from everything else and it feels un-cohesive. before s2 started, one of my main fears was that they would give noxus an excessive screentime in order to prepare the viewers for a future noxus project and I hate to see that I was right. this leads to the second issue, which is pacing. and specifically, vi. vi stans, how are you doing? because to be fair, the show kind of fucked you over and there's no sugar-coating it. the fact that vi's fighting pit era lasted three minutes was genuinely ridiculous. the entire plotline involving her, jinx and warwick in episode five was way, way too rushed in order to make space for black rose content - and again, I love mel, I love ambessa. but there's no doubt something was off here in terms of pacing and screentime. now, I don't think the episode was bad. I loved the dynamic between jinx and vi. with jinx having gained some sort of a stability (at least, for her standards) and vi having nothing else to lose, the fact that their conflict turned into a half unwilling cooperation felt very real and believable to me and I loved their interactions, especially in the micro expressions; it all screamed family bond where something went awfully wrong but here we fucking are and the love is still there at the roots. I just, you know, would have liked to see more of it. the final hug with warwick felt, to me, less earned than it could have been if we just had a little more time with these characters in this arc. was it emotional? sure, but could it have hit harder if the episode was just structured a little bit differently, a little more cohesively, especially regarding vi? yeah. and another question: would the zaunite revolution arc have needed more than just one episode before being pushed aside and sort of forgotten? probably, yeah, even though there's no comparison with how vi's arc was reduced to three mins. so again, pacing issue. still, I had no particular issues with the plot and the contents of the story itself. I would say episode five was rushed, crammed and structurally weak, but the story still hit me in all the right ways when it needed to. vi and jinx's reluctant steps to some sort of understanding hit me hard, in spite of any structural weakness.

episode six... well. episode six leaves me so conflicted. 'cause the thing is, it's dope. I think it's a fucking bomb. they managed to fit nearly (nearly - mel being, again, dissociated from the main storyline and in this case, absent) every character's plotline into a cohesive arc. it kept me on the edge of my seat near the whole time. there were so, so many things I absolutely adored - the imminent attack on the commune from ambessa, the way they managed to make warwick a center plot point and use that plot point to show us both the benefits and the limitations of viktor's hexcore messianic utopia cult, everything regarding jayce's return (whom is getting so much hate, but come on, it's clear the man has seen Some Things), the way the episode starts off with a plan but not necessarily a sense of deep urgency and then the urgency slowly creeps in and it explodes into a fucking battlefield. again, warwick. vi and jinx's slow re-building of some trust, slow reclaiming of family love. viktor. man, I adored their work on viktor. I just found it dope. the thing is, episode six has two major, major issues that I just can't seem to get past and this time it's plot issues, which makes it worse than 2.05 for me.

the first one, caitlyn. sure, I get that caitlyn wasn't fully onto ambessa's methods. but there's a very huge leap from 'I distrust this person and I question her methods' to 'my ex told me that this savage monster that just brutally mauled our men is her father so I'm just gonna help her save him'. like jesus, come on. caitlyn deserved better than this. (again, shoutout to vi stans, cait stans and caitvi stans, they did you dirty.) especially when I think they did such a good job on her descent in act one. the second one, isha. look, I'm gutted if she's dead. like fucking gutted, mourning, red-wedding level in shock, like, can't even think about it without wanting to cry. but this is not just an emotional thing. in fact, I love some good angst. no, this is a narrative issue. they spent the entire act - the entire season - building up jinx's healing and to take it all away like this, to bring her back to step one, just feels like fucking trauma porn for the sake of it. it feels unnecessary and cheap, and cheapness is the one thing I can't forgive arcane. like, what was the point? why not have her spiral from 2.01 if this was the direction? it's beyond me and it makes me feel so bitter, so sick, that at times it's hard for me to remember that there were so, so many things I adored in these three episodes. again, 2.04 is up there as my favourite jinx episode to date. 2.05 gave me some of my favourite siblings moment in the entire show. 2.06's work on viktor and hexcore and magic is otherwordly. I'm so glad I got these episodes, genuinely. and yet.

'cause the thing is, - not considering the isha thing for a minute - aside from my critique regarding caitlyn, and aside from having to make peace with how rushed/crammed the pacing is, this show is still absolutely gorgeous to me. it's still gorgeous art to me. sure, s2 has its very real issues. and for sure, it's absolutely reasonable to recognize them, critique them, and still find it an incredible story. but this. fuck, this could change everything to me. if isha's truly dead, then it means they wasted six episodes on what could have been one of the best, most genuine, most earned stories of unexpected healing I'd ever seen on my screen just to throw it away and I'm not sure how to forgive them for that. episode six itself was dope. episode six isn't really where my gut-deep fear and bitterness comes from. it's where it could lead from now on. I'm so holding out hope on ekko saving the day, even if it's a deus ex machina. it's a deus ex machina I'd accept if it means not throwing away jinx's entire road to recovering. but I don't know, guys. I don't know. making her spiral as a general s2 choice would have been one thing, and I would have been on board, but this is something else entirely. this is cheap betrayal and if true, if confirmed, if real, it's a sour taste.

[jinxarchive]

The lack of Vander&Jinx(Powder) fan content is criminal to me.

Although not much was shown, we could see how close they were

We could see it in that bar scene

and by how Powder drew hearts and rainbow around him, unlike poor Mylo.

His last words were about Powder goddamnit.

I REALLY like to think this YOU is Vander (aka Warwick). Especially since Jinx here sounds like she's holding back tears, and we hear Warwick howl at the end.

Arcane plz give me more of THIS tragic father/daughter bond!!!

[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.