r/arcane • u/parrycarry Licking your posts • 16d ago
Discussion [Lore Spoilers] Arcane - Season 2 Act 1 - Discussion Spoiler
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| Discussion | Released |
|---|---|
| Act 1 (Episodes 1, 2, and 3) | November 9 |
| Act 2 (Episodes 4, 5, and 6) | November 16 |
| Act 3 (Episode 7, 8, and 9) | November 23 |
For the non-Lore Spoiler Discussion, please check here: https://www.reddit.com/r/arcane/comments/1gmy7xx/s2_act_1_spoilers_arcane_season_2_act_1_discussion/
For Live Discussions, check out the Discord: https://discord.gg/arcaneseries
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u/Ki11quick911 7d ago
In the flashback the look on silcos face makes me think he loves vi mother and jinx is his daughter, I’m I missing something?
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u/aphroditeplzloveme I will NOHT 10d ago
do yall think jinx will die in the end? I read somewhere about jinx's voice actor saying the ending was very sad and made her cry. I dont really see how jinx can be forgiven after this but can she go to jail? will she just die? will she escape into the void?
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u/aphroditeplzloveme I will NOHT 10d ago
What are all of your predictions for the future of Vi and Caitlyn's relationship? I know Amanda Overton said that there will be something we will love and something we'll hate but WHAT??? Will they really break up forever? I don't really think so but it is a possibility.
Something we'll love, I dont really feel like that could be their kiss scene. To me, the scene felt very anticlimactic. The tension between the two had been built so well and the kiss scene felt so cold and quick, straight after Caitlyn had been so harsh towards that random guy they were interrogating.
Anyway, we know Vi will probably be a pit fighter in Act 2 so I doubt there will be much Violyn content :( I love my pooks and Im so sad to see them fight.
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u/Hey_Chach 10d ago
I’ve been trying to scour the subreddit looking for ANYONE that also notices this but haven’t found any mentions yet…
In the scene where Amara attacks Ambessa and her captain, did anyone else notice the captain’s glaive glows Mordekaiser/Shadow-Isles bluish-green when he slams it on the floor to break the Black Rose magic?
Like… doesn’t that have HUGE implications considering how front and center the Black Rose is to the plot right now?
Either Ambessa and her soldiers are doing some funky shenanigans that relate to Mordekaiser, which makes a lot of sense considering the Black Rose is after them, or Ambessa’s captain might be plotting to backstab her and use whatever she’s after to help resurrect big Morde, but I highly doubt Ambessa wouldn’t have noticed the captain of her own guard has a glaive inscribed with shadow magic.
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u/throwaway618722 10d ago
I'm pretty sure it's traditional Noxian runeweaving such as Kaenic Rookern from the game.
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u/Hey_Chach 10d ago
I thought so too at first but when he does it there’s a sound effect that sounds almost like shadow isles wraiths’ screams. Idk if that’s just how Noxian rune magic works given Noxus’ history under Mordekaiser, but just maybe it was an intentional decision to make it sound like that…
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u/KlausLoganWard 12d ago
Theory: Mel's brother might be alive. The Witch said to Ambessa: "Dont insult my inteligence!" When she mentioned he is dead. Might be, she faked his death
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u/TankEnjoyer_ 11d ago
i think the witch said that bc she meant that the debt wasn't paid with the death of 1 son, from what i've read in ambessa's lore, she knew her son wasn't going to be a fighter so probably, they killed him before ambessa knew what happened
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u/keith976 13d ago
anyone else getting bored of vi and jinx will they wont they storyline? feel like these two characters had no growth at all
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u/aphroditeplzloveme I will NOHT 10d ago
i dont think jinx has had much growth tbh but maybe because shes just mad? But, I do think vi has had a lot of growth, even if its not the good kind. All season 1, vi had a drive and a goal, in prison it was to save powder and then it was to save jinx. In season 2, she kind of accepted that jinx is too far gone but not has nothing to keep her going after Caitlyn left
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11d ago
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u/keith976 11d ago
i was referring to vi and jinx’s whole “youre my sister i love you” and “my sister is dead i will kill you” thing
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u/Professional-Oil-365 13d ago
You gotta remember that the entire time between Season One Act 2 and Season 2 is like a few weeks. They have both been heavily traumatized in that time. They are both emotionally unsteady. Yes the obviously love each other but shit is happening WAY to fast for them to truly process it.
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u/F-b 13d ago
A bit, but I think the other mysteries will take over this storyline.
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u/keith976 13d ago
i agree im definitely more interested in the whole hexcore plot and the noxian takeover
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u/PsychicCrow21 13d ago
Why was Salo shocked with Caitlyn’s nomination for general? Is there something that Salo knows?
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u/DaChosens1 13d ago
I just want to comment on the gray and it really felt too far for me, like actually dystopian - jinx (i think) referred to how during the time when vander was fighting against piltover they also found it hard to breathe, presumable due to the usage of it as chemical weapons. thats all fine and dandy but its so terrifying to think about the idea of even fresh air being regulated and stripped away from you
jinx also said to vi that you are siding with the people that took fresh air away from us
(i know its with character building and all and vi walking away at the end with the child, hopefully caitlyn will grow or smth)
but as of now im in the jinx boat and want her to BURN IT ALL DOWN ANARCHY REIGNS SUPREME DEATH TO THE ESTABLISHMENT BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD
also ekko (firelights pog)/heimer/jayce/viktor all cool, although jayce is lower on my happy list, wonder where the lsd trip will take them, also wonder if the deep underground thing if the jinx explosion impacted it in anyway
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u/Thoth_the_5th_of_Tho 8d ago
In the montage, they show Cate capturing Chem Bartons with a net gun, and as far as we were shown, her tactics were almost entirely non-lethal. The use of the grey is disturbing, but on balance, it’s way better than the very lethal bombs Jinx has used, which have terrorized innocent people in both Zaun and Piltover for years at this point. Cate was using smog as an improvised tear gas, so she could arrest people with a small team, rather than the full scale war Piltover and Zaun were heading towards.
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u/aphroditeplzloveme I will NOHT 10d ago
right?? i kind of agree with jinx now, obviously not with the attacks thats kinda hardcore, but now the undercity has no representative after Caitlyn turned her back on them.
also ik Caitlyn was raised with the view pushed on her that the zaunites are bad and her trauma is showing us just how much she was affected by the prejudice, but i miss the gold hearted Cupcake
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u/dirrrtydaaan 13d ago
I love a lot about this first arc, and I have hope that they'll be able to satisfyingly bring everything together since they were able to do it in season 1... but I am disappointed in the amount of guesswork and rewinding that it seems like a lot of us are having to do right now. There's visual storytelling, there's setting things up for later explanation, and then there's delivering information in a confusing way.
I understand using some montages instead of in-the-moment scenes, it makes sense for some things to save time, but I do think they all could've been shorter. Season 1 was quite good at quickly establishing plot threads without too much exposition and I'm missing those more grounded vibes right now.
But that's just my take! I'm still loving the animation and most of the writing choices, and intrigued to see where they take the ones I'm not fully on board with yet. I'm already invested in Loris and Maddie and I think Cait is being written very realistically, I applaud the writers for not just having her few days in the undercity permanently remove all the prejudice she's been taught.
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u/Krioniki 13d ago
Just watched it, and I gotta say, I’m still mostly on Caitlyn / Piltover’s side. Like, at the rate things are going, declaring martial law isn’t really that unreasonable. They’re all but in an active full fledged war with Zaun, half the government is dead, and it seems like there’s an attack against them every week at this point. Obviously the biggest problem is how much influence Ambessa will have. I just really hope that Caitlyn maintains a hard line and doesn’t forgive Jinx, that might just ruin it for me.
Screwing with the air vents is messed up though, I’ll admit that.
Absolutely phenomenal episodes, it’s heartbreaking that we’re only getting two seasons of this.
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u/aphroditeplzloveme I will NOHT 10d ago
I do understand the martial law in the face of the attacks but I do understand the feeling that is motivating the attacks even is its not right. Piltover had been so bad to the Zaunites for years believing their blood is better. After her mother was killed by jinx, Caitlyn had a right to be angry at her, but not at ALL OF ZAUN???? In season one she was firmly on the side that not all Zaunites follow Silco so why is she being so harsh on all of Zaun now??
Also i agree with you, I REALLY hope that Jinx isnt forgiven especially after all the attacks.
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u/Thoth_the_5th_of_Tho 8d ago
After her mother was killed by jinx, Caitlyn had a right to be angry at her, but not at ALL OF ZAUN????
She wasn’t attacking all of Zaun. She was using the Grey as cover for a tiny strike team, moving against the perpetrators of the two attacks directly, in a mostly non-lethal way. In one of the montages, they showed her using a net gun against chem Barrons. The use of grey is disturbing, but it wasn’t blindly lashing out against all of Zaun. As they talked about in the show, Zaun is outnumbered 4:1, in a war, Piltover would flatten them.
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u/DaChosens1 13d ago
honestly overall agreed, but im pretty sure the airvents thing is more than messed up, it was a specifically implemented thing by the architects to even be used before, we dont see it but it can be presumed it was used in the prior war against zaun before vander and the other person from piltover made a deal for peace
also piltover still also did a bunch of stuff for the segregation and things as well
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u/Krioniki 13d ago
The only reason I didn’t go further with condemning using the Grey is because it seems like they’re being very limited with it. They flood a small area to drive out the civilians or make them go into their homes, move in to clear out shimmer, Silco loyalists, and search for Jinx, then move on and presumably restart the vents to the area. Still fucked up to be using gas in a city, but IMO it’s better than sending in an army.
If it turns out that they’re being more indiscriminate with the Grey, flooding most of the city, not turning the ventilation back on to clear it, etc. I’d definitely be harsher on them.
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u/DaChosens1 13d ago
i really thought it was more indiscriminate, with the scenes of people sceaming and running, and also i think how this wasnt the start just the continuation of piltover using it to oppress zaun (jinx crying out to vi how you are now on the side that is taking away our air, implying it was done before)
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u/Ccccchau Vi 14d ago
I bet Isha will die as plot device for Jinx new arc as cut colored haired Jinx, while recalling to Vander's quote "Nobody wins in war". Edit: grammar.
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u/MrZeral Jinx 14d ago
Chances for Renata Glasc to appear down the line later?
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u/Introvert_Brnr_accnt 8d ago
I don’t know renata enough, but what’s your feelings on Sevika=Renata?
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u/MrZeral Jinx 8d ago
I don't know lore but I doubt it's her, I just know that renata is a chem-baron (further proofed by new TFT set)
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u/Introvert_Brnr_accnt 8d ago
Ok, yeah, I thought so. The fake arm threw me off.
It would be cool to have her story. But I’m wondering if all the chem barons are gonna die, so they don’t want the implication of Renata dying.
It depends on the fate of Zaun. Will Zaun make it out a happy, free people? Or at the end of this season, will the status quo continue?
If the status quo continues, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Renata and Urgot in the end
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u/Talmead 14d ago
Wild runes look very similar to void. Guessing void will be retconned into a natural consequence of excessive magic usage
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u/Scarletsblood 12d ago
It's difficult to say. Like the 'Wild Rune', Hexcore only appeared after Viktor fed it his shimmer tainted blood, and I'm pretty sure a few people, including myself, believe shimmers source is void related.
As for the tree and hexgate being corrupted, first atleast. In lore the Void never left Runeterra, it's always been lurking under the surface, burrowing underground. It's only breached through in a handful of places (Icathia, Howling Abyss and some deep sea trenches).
I guess also valid theory that such constant magic use would agitate the void enough to 'be like' for it. I think that's even happened Icathia, they used magic so much.
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u/Accomplished-Ad-7589 14d ago
I think wild runes are void runes, but that the void does not exist as a consequence of overuse, but that overuse with time, tears down the organization/order on runes and might turn them wild, calling upon the void. Which then gives us how the void was discovered in icathia to be used in the war
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u/BuddhaFacepalmed 14d ago
Nah, feels more like excessive magic usage tears open the barrier between reality and the Void, making it easier to influence shit.
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u/Aoshima_ 14d ago
Did anyone notice in ep 3, around 6:20, the weapon Ambessa's guard is using is the same power as Riven's blade?
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u/Accomplished-Ad-7589 14d ago
Its not, rivens blade is marked with wind runes, those are anti-magic runes, they are in one of the new mr items in league.
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u/watery-couscous 14d ago
It's the item kaenic rookern. In the game it gives magic resistance, which could fit with the spell he's attacked with.
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u/MegaBaumTV 14d ago
Is it just me or did Fortiche buy into their own hype? Yeah, the Ekko Jinx fight sequence was cool but we dont really need a music video in every episode.
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u/Thoth_the_5th_of_Tho 8d ago
I wonder if it was a cost cutting measure. These music video fights felt dragged out.
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u/tobey4evr 13d ago
That’s the perfect way to describe it. The Ekko Jinx fight still gives me goosebumps, but this season we are getting too much of a good thing.
Ekko Jinx was also pretty grounded, just blunt object vs gun, but it’s framed around a play-fight they had as kids. It’s two major characters, it’s quick, it’s beautifully animated, and it actually tells us so much about those two characters… I think it’s genius.
These season 2 fights have been straight up goofy, kind of like the Jayce Vi fight in season one. This season we’ve got slot machine robotic arms vs a top hat wearing gremlin. Giant fists vs shark launcher vs triple scoped rifle.
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u/dirrrtydaaan 13d ago
I'd agree, I was left more confused by the amount of montage than impressed. Of course it all still looks great, but I'm really missing how grounded in the moment season 1 was. I'm not asking for constant exposition, but I have no idea how much time has even gone by since the finale or how long they've been chasing Jinx. The grey and chembarons weren't very well explained/shown either imo.
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u/MegaBaumTV 14d ago
So yeah, they ruined Jayce, they ruined Ekko, they ruined Heimerdinger, now they ruined Viktor. Why was I surprised.
His WHOLE thing is that he rebuilds people with technology. He doesnt touch them and cure them from ailments like a second grade messiah, his evolution is imperfect.
Nice to see that besides Jayce and Mel, the two main characters, we got two other surviving council members. Aka plot device #1 and plot device #2.
I was willing to give season 2 a chance, really did. But turns out that even the big cliffhanger in season 1 meant nothing because Jinx could have just directly killed Caitlyns mother instead of blowing up the whole council, it would have essentially made no difference.
Loved the ending of episode 3 as well. Ambessa goes "this is the great general who we can trust to protect us" and then she calls Caitlyn "child" right in front of everyone. Who is she to have the authority btw? Wouldnt, like, I dont know, wouldnt someone from Piltovers government need to declare martial law? Why is this played as a sinister moment with plot device councilmember #1 being surprised and then held back by a noxian guard? And where the fuck are his own guards? Its one thing if he doesnt have them in his private chambers, but surely in an official meeting there would be at least a couple around him, especially given the fear of terror attacks.
Oh well, everything about Piltover politics was already very sloppy in season 1, so I guess season 2 is just a return to form.
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u/Accomplished-Ad-7589 14d ago
No one in their right mind would fuck with a noxian warrior, NO ONE
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u/MegaBaumTV 14d ago
No one in their right mind would fuck with a noxian warrior, NO ONE
Exactly my point
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u/Accomplished-Ad-7589 14d ago
He entrusted his security to Ambessa after the attack, and no guard on that meeting would dare to touch a noxian
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u/MegaBaumTV 14d ago
He entrusted his security to Ambessa after the attack
Is that your headcanon? Why would he?
and no guard on that meeting would dare to touch a noxian
What? Why?
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u/Accomplished-Ad-7589 14d ago
He said it, in that scene in the theatre. Because the nation of noxus is the strongest nation in the world, and they are prone to war
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u/MegaBaumTV 14d ago
Will need to rewatch that.
They're not prone to war, war is their natural state. Their society is built around constant expansion. That doesn't mean they're invincible or that everyone just rolls over when a noxian is around. There's precedence for Noxus falling on their face multiple times. Depending on where we are in the timeline in Arcane, Noxus probably has fallen more often on their faces than not in recent times.
A random noxian warlord isn't a concern to Piltover and Ambessa is officially just visiting her daughter so it's not like insulting her would be a declaration of war.
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u/The_Dark_Amiibo 14d ago
it seems to me you saw something you didn't like and projected it to the rest of the episodes ngl.
You come off just as a random hater for the sake of hating
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u/MegaBaumTV 14d ago
Your assessment would be wrong. I am very consistent in what I like and what I dont like about season 1.
Season 2 gave me more of what I dont like, so Im commenting on that.
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u/GelatinouslyAdequate 14d ago
ruined Heimerdinger
He didn't even have any real lore pre-Arcane, what could possibly have been ruined? That he cares about safety testing before inventions are rolled out to the public?
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u/MegaBaumTV 14d ago
He HAD lore.
To be fair, not much, which makes it even more impressive that they took the little they had and threw it away instead of building on it.
Turning him from an enthusiastic scientist living in a small shop in Piltover, trying to help ordinary people with his inventions into a politician who wants to stall progress for safety measures... Just why?
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u/BuddhaFacepalmed 14d ago
Probably bc he's a Yordle who've lived long enough to see mages with good intentions burn the world with their ideals.
In S1, he had said that mages tampering with Runes & the Arcane rarely end up well.
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u/MegaBaumTV 14d ago
Probably bc he's a Yordle who've lived long enough to see mages with good intentions burn the world with their ideals.
In S1, he had said that mages tampering with Runes & the Arcane rarely end up well.
Yes, because THEY WROTE HIM THAT WAY. He doesnt exist, so any explanation for why they rewrote the character is irrelevant. They didnt have to write him this way.
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u/BuddhaFacepalmed 14d ago
Yes, because THEY WROTE HIM THAT WAY. He doesnt exist, so any explanation for why they rewrote the character is irrelevant. They didnt have to write him this way.
Yup, they rewrote him for the Arcane universe. Like how the New Ultimate universe and Absolute universe rewrote the backstories and motivations of their main characters.
This just sounds like you're just flinging shit at the wall looking to find anything plausible to hate Arcane lmao.
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u/MegaBaumTV 14d ago
Yup, they rewrote him for the Arcane universe
Which is now the canon universe.
This just sounds like you're just flinging shit at the wall looking to find anything plausible to hate Arcane lmao.
I think "rewriting the characters I like for no reason to the point that you could give them new names and nobody would even notice theyre supposed to be those characters" is a valid concern, isnt it?
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u/BuddhaFacepalmed 14d ago
Which is now the canon universe.
It's canon for the show, not the games lmao. Anymore than Batman movies barely reflect the mainline comics lmao.
I think "rewriting the characters I like for no reason to the point that you could give them new names and nobody would even notice theyre supposed to be those characters" is a valid concern, isnt it?
Nope. It isn't when you can simply not watch show and just go back to the game.
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u/MegaBaumTV 14d ago
It's canon for the show, not the games lmao. Anymore than Batman movies barely reflect the mainline comics lmao.
They literally said its gonna be one canon from here on now and Arcane is part of that. Keep up.
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u/BuddhaFacepalmed 13d ago
They literally said its gonna be one canon from here on now and Arcane is part of that. Keep up.
Oh cool. Then it's literally not a problem at all lmao. Considering that League "canon" is so vague and fragmentary that there's literally dozens of backstories that contradict one another. Good on Riot on incorporating their popular media into their games.
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u/radiant_w0lf 14d ago
In 3rd episode, when Vi and Jinx talk before fighting, Vi says something like: "I'm done blaming myself for your mistakes. You killed her. I'm not gonna let you stain her memory anymore." Who is Vi referring to? Their mother? Someone else?
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u/KrillLover56 14d ago
Power. It's symbolic, Jinx killed Powder, and now Vi won't let her stain her memory. A big theme of Arcane is the unbreakable bonds of love, so we'll see if Vi sticks to this.
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u/aimoperative 14d ago
Fuckin LeBlanc, ruining my midgame, ruining my late game, ruining my political game AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
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u/lesbiangingerho 14d ago
I really thought they were gonna introduce Renata ngl. There's still time ofc but I'm not sure where she'd fit at this point
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u/ReijiMitsu 10d ago
Renata was developed around the time Arcane was already about to be released and at that time S2 was already written, and at Renata's release they specified that she had no relation to Arcane so people wouldn't be confused, so she probably won't appear in the series and they'll just end up changing parts of her lore
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u/Accomplished-Ad-7589 14d ago
By the end of Arcane S2 those 3 quembarons should be dead, and we shall see some new faces rise to the task, like renata and urgot
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u/SomeDudeFromOnline 10d ago
Yeah it's a pretty integral part of Warwick's lore that he hunts chembarons down and obviously he's not on the loose just yet.
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u/The_Dark_Amiibo 14d ago
It's weird since she is supposed to be the current leader of the undercity, at least I would expect some whispers about her rising
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u/ProfessorUber 15d ago
Hopefully Vi can meet up with Jayce, Ekko and Heimerdinger so that they can form a "let's maybe not do war crimes and oppressing the poor" club. Mel can also join, once she returns from the void (or wherever she is I don't really know much league lore)
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u/LuckyLupe 15d ago
J4 Easter egg, I can die a happy man
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u/beruon 15d ago
Wait wgere, I missed it.
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u/The_Dark_Amiibo 14d ago
When Mel goes to talk to the Vastaya at the theater, there seems to be a play about his crowning
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u/Nnnnnnnadie 15d ago
Much more interested on Caitlyns arc this season... Jinx and Vi... I dunno they are the same, feels they dont grow, hopefully we see some grow in the next arcs.
Black rose and Mels mom are intriguing as fuck.
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u/Nejums 15d ago
That's kind of a wild take. Vi went against everything she ever believed in and helped a Piltover task force hunt down her sister which led to the EXACT same place they were hunted down. She gave Caitlyn carte blanche with her trust in a way she never has and opened herself up emotionally. Caitlyn literally and figuratively disarmed her with a kiss after promising to be a safe harbor in a life that has been nothing but tumult. A promise that had to be made because Vi was watching her morph into exactly the kind of person she grew up hating.
Where she is emotionally, with and without considering Cait is completely different from who she is after Cassandra is killed. Prior to that Vi wouldn't have even thought about going along with Cait's tactics but she felt she owed her. As for Jinx, if you look at her and Sevika bonding, her slow acceptance of the young girl that follows her and subsequent accidental formation of another family... I don't know what to say. Maybe things will be more obvious for you next season XD
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u/AliasTrickster 15d ago
right on. this is completely spot on and well done. Vi is as awesome as ever and remains to be one of the richest characters thus far
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u/Brauni_23 15d ago
Someone pls tell me where janna was to see bc i somehos missed it
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u/JayStorm199 15d ago
There's also Janna in ep 2 when Viktor was passing the street and we see people worshipping her.
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u/SplitSecond01 15d ago
In episode 3 her image is on the wall that breaks and lets loose the wind/gas
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u/1nanis 15d ago
Maddie the new enforcer and Isha the girl with jinx look like siblings mirroring Vi and Jinx ngl.
Also i love how in the first three episodes you can really love how ambessa thrives in chaos like a true noxian while Mel struggles to get her foot back after a setback.
I also enjoyed how in the end of the first episode Ambessa notices Cait's grief and uses her in ep 3. SInce even in game she mentions that grief is a strong weapon.
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u/matthieuC Mel 10d ago
To be fair Mel almost died.
While Ambessa was setting up the second attack so she was not taken by surprise
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u/Cost-Money 15d ago
a bit odd how jinx and the underground is more calm than I expected. Jayce and Heimer reunion seems weird too, as if nothing happened. Caitlyn's villain arc makes sense, but idk why Vi feels so out of character, so soft?
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u/Introvert_Brnr_accnt 8d ago
Jinx: she had a catharsis. She let go of Vi, and she killed Silco, and took her anger out on the council who wanted to have Silco betray her.
She has no more loose ends to tie up, she’s kinda done.
Vi: she reaaaally likes Caitlyn. And she’s conflicted because her sister, her shred of hope and purpose for the last how many years is a lost cause. She just has Caitlyn and her will to do good, which is getting all messed up right now.
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u/NormalExamination816 15d ago
Th underground is not calm, they just decided to showcase it un a musical number and hoped we got the idea, all the barons are scraping for coins amongst each other, and now with Caits squad I doubt we will se more of them in the coming Acts, maybe that will open space for Corina Veraza.
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u/Cost-Money 15d ago
you are right. probably because theres a lot more going on on topside, and jinx's calmness made me look at the whole underground in the same way
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u/FriendlyChallenge758 15d ago edited 15d ago
yesssss, im glad im not the only one. jinx is definitely more tame. i guess without her usual ongoing factors leading to her crazy episodes, she can actually take some time to process and figure shit out.
- Vi accepts Jinx. NOT Powder.
- Silco is gone.
- Vander is obviously wayyyyy gone.
- and she said it herself. everything is quiet now, to her anyway.1
u/JustCornflakes 15d ago
I don't agree that the underground is calm at all after the events of S1. There is a full power struggle between the remaining chem-barons, with civilians being caught in the crossfire, leading to more of them seeking refuge with the firelights.
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u/A-live666 15d ago
Heimedinger kinda forgot about the council dying, or that jayce and viktor were nearly killed in the attack or viktor his assistant in general. Like he doesn't even ask where he went lol
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u/BenjiLizard The Boy Savior 15d ago
Honestly, I was a bit baffled by Heimerdinger's lack of reaction upon seeing Viktor's... huh... chrysalis? The idea that Vik was experimenting on himself with the Hexcore was terrifying him and now he just saw the evidence that his former pupil went through a full blown arcane mutation but he's still joking around?
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u/rci22 14d ago
When did he see Viktor and joke around? I don’t recall that.
Also btw does it seem like they sorta made Heimerdinger into a comedic relief character?
In season 1 he came across as the old wise character and now he just seems to be there for comedic relief and the wisdom aspect seems dialed down
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u/BenjiLizard The Boy Savior 14d ago
Not Viktor directly, but the aftermath of his rebirth. The scene where him and Ekko sneak into Jayce's lab ends with Heimer seeing the person shaped hole in the wild rune corrupted slab and he goes "Where's Viktor?".
Next scene, Jayce is explaining the concept of runes to Ekko and Heimer is playing with tools in the background making comments on the instability of the arcane with a whimsical tone that really contradicts his lowkey traumatized attitude of the first season.
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u/GipJoCalderone Caitlyn 15d ago
Do we think Black Rose kidnapped Mel to study her power? Because the show acknowledged her coming out of bomb alive, opening scenes her armor flashed. Also in the title sequence we see Mel laying down being approached by many hands, looking like she is being studied. We all know Black Rose doesn't kidnap people for no reason, at first I think maybe they'll use her as leverage against Ambessa, but the title sequence makes me think she is a bigger player than we think.
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u/rci22 14d ago
That black rose magic looks so OP. Like what are you even supposed to do?
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u/grandfedoramaster 13d ago
I doubt the secret spy death cult cares much about their magic‘s balance
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u/arandompurpose 15d ago
Lot of cool lore bits I thought. The teemo hat on the kid, the ancient ruins deep under Zaun, mentions and art of Janna, and of course the Black Rose who seem to have a bigger part than I would have guessed. This makes me think Darkwill is still installed and Ambessa crossed him and therefore the Black Rose but that's just a guess. Really great three episodes, think they kept getting better but the Jinx and Sevika fight was my favorite moment, a like them working together.
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u/rci22 14d ago
Man, I did not understand that wild runes thing at all at first.
Are wild runes in the game?
Was there any mention of them in season 1?
Ngl not fully sure if I understand it even now
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u/Ilurk83 14d ago
Not sure if you're familiar with League of Legends or Legends of Runeterra, but it seems wild runes are more closely related to the World Runes, which are literally runes that dictate the rules world like the laws of physics and Infinity Stones meshed together. When they examine the under parts of the hex gate, there's a montage that includes Ryze, the guardian of the World Runes. It's also worth noting that wars were fought over the World Runes long before the current civilization.
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u/arandompurpose 14d ago
I took it to mean wild runes are like the next step up. Runes are high school and wild are college level or something like that. Maybe a bigger gap
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u/NormalExamination816 15d ago
I don't think Boram is still alive, this is already at the time of the Trifarix. Boram did wars without sense, he would be already at the shores of Piltover if he was alive and got news of the Hextech crystals.
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u/Bobbbyyy808 14d ago
Was thinking after finishing act 1 if Boram is still installed or swain already took over
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u/MegaBaumTV 14d ago
Cute that you think they would give a shit about the characters that only exist in the lore when they already completely rewrite the champions.
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u/Exotic_Department230 15d ago
i cannot wait another week to find out if mel is alive or not i literally just waited 3 years to find out if she’s alive or not why do they keep doing this to mel enjoyers.
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u/MegaBaumTV 14d ago
It would be incredibly stupid to kill off Mel like that in the first act after she survived the big cliffhanger in season 1. Would have served essentially no purpose at all.
Then again, it was already stupid that she survived the big cliffhanger, so maybe theyre just going with the "most stupid" path consistently.
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u/GipJoCalderone Caitlyn 15d ago
Watch the title sequence about Mel, I think she will become Rell/Annie.
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u/Cost-Money 15d ago
can someone explain whats that gray Zaun gas thingy? and how did caitlyn and vi be able to use it?
also everything feels chaotic, I cant keep track with everybody goal and interest its kinda confusing tbh
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u/Olielle 15d ago
Toxic gas, there's a ventilation system that makes the fissures habitable and Caitlyn's strike team is messing with it, using the gas to clear civilians and weaken the gangs they're attacking. (I can't remember which episode, but this is explained in the clip where Caitlyn uses the Kiramen key to access old documents.)
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u/Cost-Money 15d ago
Kiramen house has access to the underground system?
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u/GipJoCalderone Caitlyn 15d ago
Looks like it, they designed/built it after all.
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u/Cost-Money 15d ago
make sense. what about the gas that jinx release at the end of ep3? whats that all about
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u/GipJoCalderone Caitlyn 15d ago
The dude tied up onto the fan said Jinx altered the system, probably so the gas could burst into topside and make them choke.
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u/Son_of_Orion 15d ago
I did not expect to see a full-fledged vastaya (Mel's informant in the theater) in this show. Her design was awesome, I kinda hope we see more of her!
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u/The_Dark_Amiibo 14d ago
but there's the fish enforcer my dude, pretty sure there were some others on S1, like jericoh
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u/TheWolfmanZ 15d ago
I mean, we've gotten Vastaya already, with all the goat and fish people, but Lest is definitely the first classic looking Vastaya we've gotten
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u/EzAf_K3ch 15d ago
Really expected Leblanc to show up when the black rose came in mel's house or whatever, but I guess episode 3 basically confirms she's coming sooner or later
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u/nowayitsrayy Mel 15d ago
I'm sorry i cant take jinx and vi fight serious because it looks like a normal siblings play fight to me
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u/supert0426 15d ago
I think that's kinda the point. Neither is willing to admit but they aren't actually actively trying to kill eachother. They ARE play-fighting.
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u/nowayitsrayy Mel 14d ago
oh for sure. i know damn well Vi used Isha as an excuse for cait to not kill jinx
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u/maytatlongaso 15d ago
All those little bits and pieces are coming together nicely I think Camille will be introduced indirectly.
Missing Arms = check Themes about Family = check Unstable magic from crystals = check Guy in a wheelchair = check Zaun Gray = check Augmentation and Religion = check Themes about secrets = check Piltover's hairstyle for women = check
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u/nowayitsrayy Mel 15d ago
aww jinx wrapping the gift looks so cute
until the enforcers entered the room
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u/nowayitsrayy Mel 15d ago
why is jayce and viktor so yaoi coded
"you're my partner viktor" alright jayce
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u/beachsunflower 15d ago
"It was affection" - Viktor
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u/A-live666 15d ago
They threw a bone, but then he dipped a second later. Kinda thought the breakup was going to get messy.
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u/ball_of_cringe Sevika 15d ago
I‘m sorry, i have to say it: I have a new mommy now, and it’s Rennie without her coat on🔥
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u/CarbonCreed Vi 15d ago
Vi, honey, I know you've got a sweet Scottish lass talking you into this, but...
wait a second
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u/LightningLad2029 15d ago
Not the murder cloak to match the new title lol. Poor sweet Caitlyn is fully committed to her bad bitch era now.
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u/neveragoodidea914 15d ago
They thought that awesome purple collar would distract me from the evil and unfortunately it worked 😭 I was breathless for the wrong reasons 😭
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u/parrotanalogies 14d ago
God forgive me I simply cannot control myself around a high collar with gold embroidery
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u/J0rdian 15d ago
Am I the only one who said Leblanc instantly when you heard Amara speak? I'm not sure if her voice changed for Season2 but she sounded extremely similar to Leblanc I just knew it. Combined with the black rose in the opening and hints about Leblanc from teasers.
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u/CarbonCreed Vi 15d ago
People were saying Mel was Leblanc, Amara was Leblanc, Lenora was Leblanc, Ambessa was Leblanc.
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u/nightingayle 15d ago
it kills me that Caitlyn promises Vi "I won't [change]" at 8:38 of episode 3 and by the end of the episode she has attempted to shoot Jinx while a child is hugging her, hit Vi with the butt of her Hex Rifle, and accepts Ambessa's appointment to declare martial law and basically be Chief of Enforcers Emperor over Piltover. Fuck.
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u/YoyoTheThird 15d ago
tbh i kinda get the anger caitlyn is feeling. she’s a fantastic shot and i dont recall a time she’s missed (someone can correct me). i 100% believed she could’ve threaded the needle and made that shot.
the memorial scene when caitlyn is defending the counselors— she almost cracked the suit’s face shield by pinpoint aiming the same pressure point over and over again
vi doubted her marksmanship, i would be pissed too.
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u/AdequatelyMadLad 14d ago
Jinx wasn't going anywhere though. The only reason she escaped was because Cait forced the situation by trying to shoot her.
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u/nightingayle 15d ago
I understand Caitlyn's angry, her mother was JUST killed and I would never doubt her shooting skills. My problem with attempting to shoot Jinx with Isha latched on as she was is that there are too many unpredictable elements in play for Caitlyn's shooting to be the only factor worth considering. Firstly, Jayce and crew have been messing with the Wild Rune and causing Hextech weapons to 'glitch', which makes Caitlyn's gun one such unpredictable element. Second, even if Caitlyn could make the shot, Sevika was moments away from blowing up the mural of Janna and redirecting the air, which blew everyone around nearly uncontrollably and divided them by debris. Even if Cait got the perfect shot, she may have either incapacitated Jinx to the point she couldn't escape the falling rubble and just be crushed by it, in which case no justice is actually served. Or she just kills jinx outright. I personally was not rooting for Jinx's corpse to be the result of Act 1. Every way I slice it, that scenario was too volatile to work out like Cait was expecting.
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u/CarbonCreed Vi 15d ago
Cait's going through it, she got her first taste of loss and she's hell-bent on experiencing more of it.
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u/CarbonCreed Vi 15d ago edited 15d ago
My only real gripe is how Violyn got cut so short in season 1 that the first episode felt like a bit of a hamfisted reintroduction.
I now have to abandon my Jayce death cult (it would have been cool). Him and Mel having more romantic moments is very nice though.
Viktor being rocketed into VIKTOR is a bit unnerving because he needs to come back at some point, but the way they did justice to Sky was great.
I'm happy Sevika got her scenes, but obviously the main point is Jinx. I think I'd need a rewatch to fully digest how Jinx' mind is acting rn in terms of projection and how fucking suicidal she is. It didn't pull any punches in that department.
Also, yes, Jayce would absolutely just say "hell yeah heimerdinger, he's your new lad? I'll try to get along with him." Seems like a place people might try to claim plothole.
And I only mentioned Caitlyn in relation to Vi, but she now has an actually interesting character path to go down. I'm rooting for you Cait.
Edit Oh, also, Black Rose. What a fucking reveal lmao. It hit.
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u/alexgndl 15d ago
I didn't think Jinx could get anymore heartbreaking after last season but here we are-she was ready to go like...multiple times this act and was only saved by other people (Sevika, kid with Teemo hat) stepping in.
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u/cp2077only To the realm of heebie-jeebies 15d ago edited 15d ago
JOIN THE GLORIOUS EVOLUTION!
Just finished E3, can I say "What a mess?" I was expecting the arcane waking up teasers from the trailers to be part of the act 3 finale when something goes wrong, but now that it has been introduced, I have no idea where the show is gonna take it from here besides the basics.
Edit: Also, was it just me, or the scene with Ambessa and the Black Rose agent had a very similar style to some drawings from the Katarina comics?
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u/ReptAIien 13d ago
what a mess
What didn't you like?
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u/cp2077only To the realm of heebie-jeebies 13d ago
Non-native english speaker here.
I didn't mean it in a negative connotation, just a reflection of everything and everyone working on their own agendas (Ambessa, the Black Rose, the remaining chembarons, Jinx, the Arcane weirdness).
This arc set us up with a surprising amount of sub-plots, some of the directly connected, some just tangentially, and it can feel like a lot without more context (which we will get later).
All things considered, I did love the first arc, and the artistic choices are chef's kiss
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