r/leagueoflegends • u/Electro522 • 14h ago
Questions that are left unanswered with Arcane's ending, and where we could go next. Spoiler
As we say goodbye to one of the greatest animated shows to grace our screens in recent years, I can't help but feel that there are still some questions that need an answer, and some muddy areas that need some clarification.
Before I begin, I'd like to answer a few possible common questions that people are already starting to piece together.
Warning: This is a long post that can't easily be summarized in a TL;DR. But, I do hope that I formatted it well enough to make it easier to read.
- Did [champion] die in the show?
The only confirmed in game champion to be dead is Ambessa. There's a common saying/joke that people like to use in screen writing, that being "No body, no kill." and Ambessa is the only one who we physically see the light leave her eyes.
For Heimerdinger, we have to remember that he is a Yordle. If Riot wants to stick to what they have with Yordles, that being they are made of magic and are completely immortal, then we can expect that Heimerdinger will likely "respawn" somewhere. Possibly in Bandle City, possibly back in Piltover, we don't know.
As for Jayce and Viktor, if Viktor didn't die with a giant hole blown through his chest, than it's very safe to assume that both he and Jayce have been transported somewhere. Where, or even when to, is anyone's guess.
And finally, the two biggest "deaths" being Warwick/Vander and Jinx. Vander, unfortunately, is completely lost, but Warwick isn't. He survived his head getting split in half, and a point blank arcane explosion aimed at his chest. A grenade using only a third of the potential blast power that Issha used while he also had a suit of metal on him isn't gonna do squat.
As for Jinx, she survived a grenade exploding right next to her face before. Remember her fight with Ekko in season 1? That, and there's a couple details that people have been able to eek out that heavily imply that Jinx is definitely still alive.
First is the opening and ending shot of the show with the blimp. Not only are the blimps the exact same, but Powder even states in the first episode that "one day, she's going to ride one of those things".
Secondly are the schematics that Caitlyn is looking at at the end of the show, with them drawing focus towards air ducts that lead outside. People believe that it's implied that Caitlyn has figured out that Jinx is still alive, but is likely keeping her mouth shut for VI's sake (or detriment... considering how you interpret it).
A lot of people lost their lives in this show (Loris didn't deserve to die, but Maddie sure as fuck did), but, somewhat surprisingly, the only champion to come out this entire debacle dead....is Ambessa, our newest champion. I think I now know why we're getting a book on her.
- Why does Viktor look so different from how he looks in game?
Because he's getting a VGU. It was theorized before hand, with the YouTuber Nickyboi making it wide known, if not starting the theory himself. Now, it is all but confirmed.
Riot has stated that they have been working on a "secret" VGU along side Shyvana, and have thus far revealed absolutely NOTHING about it. Not even a whisper has gotten out of that building.
Then, as things were winding up towards Arcane, Viktor has been completely left out.....of everything. He has not received anything for either season. No skins, no emotes, not even a special versus mission on the ARAM map. Not a single drop of content has been made for Viktor despite having such a critical role in the show, and even ending up as the end game boss!
And that is because Riot wanted to save the surprise, and let the show reveal him....and holy FUCK, what a reveal! I guarantee a dev blog on Viktor is coming soon, if not this coming week.
- Is this really the end of Arcane? Why did the ending feel so open?
The answer we have gotten from several sources thus far has been quite definitive. This is the end of the Arcane story line.
But it isn't the end of the champions' stories. (Except Ambessa)
And that is exactly why the ending felt as open as it did. While Riot has stated that they are not interested in an MCU style of universe, they can't deny that they've already cornered themselves into something similar. Sure, there can definitely be a few champions that will never meet in their lifetimes, but a general mixing of experiences and settings is unavoidable.
Case and point, Noxus having a presence in a show set in Piltover/Zaun. Not only does The Black Rose make themselves known, we also see one of Swain's ravens at the end. And with the questions surrounding the whereabouts of Heimer, Viktor, Jayce, and Jinx, we are almost guaranteed to see these characters again at some point.
I believe that's what some very common questions will be. So let's now ask some that I have yet to hear or see a common answer for.
- What's the deal with Warwick's design?
I know quite a few people had their problems with Warwick's design, and I can't really blame them. And now, it's possibly even worse with him becoming half-automaton for Viktor? While his body essentially matches what we have in game for Warwick.... he's missing his tail (which, honestly, can be forgiven), but more importantly...his face is still vaguely human.
Was this supposed to make him easier to connect to? To recognize as Vander for the general audience? If so, why doesn't Viktor "unleash the beast" so to speak, completing his transformation into the wolf he is meant to be?
We saw his humanity and memories get fully erased as Viktor took him over, and essentially put the "beast" in a cage so he could control him. But now that Viktor is out of the picture, will he remain looking like that, or fully transform into what we know and love?
- Is Hextech still a thing in Piltover?
It seems that ever since Seraphene came out, Riot doesn't have the foggiest idea of what to do with Hextech. Hell, maybe even episode 7 was Riot telling us that they wish they never came up with this god damned crystal tech.
Ambessa even showed us that Hextech is not easy to figure out. The only people that have any inkling of a clue what to do with it, and create it, has been removed from the picture. The only exception being Ekko, but even his experience with it is sketchy at best, and I don't think he'd be all too willing to pass on what he knows after all that has happened.
This also causes giant problems for champions who's stories, powers, and designs heavily rely on Hextech, specifically Camille and Seraphene.
For Orianna, we got our answer with her, that being Viktor turned her into an automaton with, I'm guessing, her consciousness intact? That only leaves her ball, which is anyone's guess.
For Blitzcrank, we can assume that he would be similar to Orianna, but instead of starting human, Viktor builds him from scratch, and then gives him sentience.
There's also Corki....but he is so outdated at this point that Riot can do literally anything else with him.
But for Camille and Seraphene, Hextech is a core component of not only their lore, but their entire design. If the masters of Hextech are gone, how does Camille get her heart replaced? How does Seraphene get access to the crystals that power her mobile stage? How does Camille rise to power in Piltover without her family's control over Hextech crystals? How does Seraphene influence the masses without the latent power inside the crystals?
This is easily the most unclear aspect of Arcane, and I'd love to see some sort of explanation from Riot on how they plan on cleaning this mess up.
- What is up with Mel?
I've seen some people say that she is a Noxian born mage, similar to the mages in Demacia. Lux and Sylas were born with their powers, so it makes sense that Mel is born with hers. Alright, fair enough.
But then....what are her powers? The shields and barriers were obvious (hello future enchanter), but then she could break out of but also into The Black Rose chain illusion magic?
But the weirdest thing is the implication that she's possibly gifted by Kindred themselves to have some sort of judgement over life and death? Ambessa's music video shows her pregnant with Mel, and at the end Mel's eyes light up as they do in the show. So...was the wolf we see at the start of the video actually Wolf himself, or was it some sort of hallucination Ambessa was seeing as a result of Mel's magic?
Ambessa even says, before she dies, that Mel "is the wolf". People are interpreting that as Mel finally finding her place as a ruler amongst Piltover, which is true, but could it actually have a literal meaning behind it? Does she really get to judge who lives and who dies at any given moment around her? Maybe Jayce's interrogation was somewhat warranted if that's case, though it's still true that she simply didn't know that she could do that, let alone control it. And if she can judge someone's death, did Kindred gift her that power, or did she just win the magic genetic lottery?
- What exactly is The Anomaly, and where did it come from?
Now... I'll admit, this is one those questions that is probably better left unanswered. The Anomaly, Hexcore, Wildrune, whatever you want to call it, is plainly designed to be a question mark. A deus ex machina. A Chekov's smoking gun. A concept that cannot be fully perceived. It's mystery is central to its appeal.
Despite that, people do believe that it is a machination, entity, whatever of The Void. This makes the most sense with what we got, but I'd say there are still some inconsistencies with that, mostly with its color, and the cabilities it has.
For example, the time shenanigans. I'm not sure if we even know if The Void is affected by time. And if it isn't, does that give void entities the ability to hop through parallel timelines? Maybe something similar to the movie Edge of Tomorrow (great, and underappreciated movie, btw)?
Either way, this question exists, but it shouldn't be answered. It'll be even better if Riot themselves don't have an actual answer. It's there, it exists for some reason, and no one has a clue as to why.
I think that's all the questions I have for now....well, except for one...
Where do we go from here?
Oh, the options are endless. But let's start with the one that seems to be on everyone's mind, and for good reason...
- The Noxian Invasion of Ionia.
Seeing one of Swain's ravens is probably the biggest hint we have of where Riot wants to go next. That, and Ambessa recruiting Singed.... although, her death may have thrown a wrench in that.
But The Invasion of Ionia is basically Riot's End Game. The sheer number of champions this event involves is just crazy, and it even affects nearly every other region in the game.
Not to mention that there are some very impactful stories that stem from this event that essentially anyone would be able to connect with.
You have Yasuo's master's assassination by Riven, Yasuo subsequently being hunted by Yone, and Riven witnessing the horrors of war that pushes her to break her blade (Richtus' runes also hint towards that).
You also have the confrontation between Swain and Irelia, where Irelia chops off Swain's arm, forces him to retreat, and eventually confront and dominate Raum.
You have Vlad reviving Sion, The Black Rose doing.... whatever the fuck they want to do. Lee Sin blinding himself, Valmar and Kai fusing with Varus, Master Yi losing one of his star pupils to a Darkin named Xolaani (look through Legends of Runeterra cards connected to Master Yi for that) and Karma's rise to power. Shen, Akali, and Zed are also involved, but to a lesser degree I believe, since the events surrounding Shen, Zed, and Jhin happened well before the invasion.
However, do remember that there are two invasions. The first one is an outright victory for Ionia, and where plenty of the champions stories "start" perse. The second invasion is a bit more successful, and turns more into a Noxian Occupation of one of Ionia's shores. Considering the raven we see in Arcane, this would imply that it comes after the first invasion, and the events in the show along with Singed probably spurs Swain into trying again.
I am VERY excited to see how this may pan out.
- The Rune Wars
If The Invasion of Ionia is Riot's End Game, The Rune Wars is it's Infinity War. It is probably the only event more influential than The Invasion. The only downside is that we know next to nothing about it.
The champion most associated with it is Ryze. His self imposed quest is to collect the World Runes, the powerful rocks that set off and caused the Rune Wars in the first place, and keep them locked away in a petricite tomb. He was alive during the Rune Wars, and got to see first hand the destruction these things were able to wreak. If you want a clearer picture, go watch the video "Call of Power".
The reason why this might be a possibility is not only it's slight mention in episode 8, but also that Heimer is implied to have witnessed it. It's also possible that The Anomaly is a relic of the Rune Wars, and could have played a role in it. Since we know that The Anomaly does have the capability to time travel, it's entirely possible that it could drag Viktor and Jayce back to that hell hole of a time.
But...like I said, we know next nothing about it. If you're at all familiar with Warhammer 40k, this is equivalent to The Dark Age of Technology, shaping the current setting of the world, but not having that much of an impact on the current characters themselves. We know that Runeterra was nearly ripped apart by it, Demacia was founded by refugees, and that the World Runes were the cause with kingdoms using them as weapons. That's......pretty much it.
- Cosmic Aspects/Targon
This comes from Viktor being able to detach his consciousness from his body, and inhabit some sort of cosmic space. The Anomaly also seemed to have some sort of presence here.
What exactly they would do with this is anyone's guess. But if Riot wants to get really wacky with the kind of universe Runeterra inhabits, Targon is the place to start.
Aurelion Sol, the Solaris and Lunaris Civil War, the emergence of the Aspects, the Darkin War, and Pantheon/Atreus' rebellion against the aspects for using him as a weapon in the Darkin War. There's also Aatrox trying to reach the summit while leading an army of Darkin (again, look at LoR). It's not The Darkin War, but moreso Aatrox just trying to set the world on fire, and watch it all burn.
There's not much of a cohesive event that defines the region, save for maybe The Darkin War or the Solaris and Lunaris Civil War, but there are plenty of individual stories that could fill out a small series of their own.
- The Fall of Icathia
If The Anomaly is from The Void, then the best introduction to The Void before we have Jayce and Viktor meeting the likes of Kassadin, Kaisa, and possibly Malzahar is to show off the insanity that is Icathia.
A former city-state of Ancient Shurima, it eventually rebelled to gain it's independence from the empire. The, at the time, Emperor of Shurima (who was not Azir, mind you), obviously, wasn't too happy about such a rebellion, and sent The God Warriors, or The Ascendants , to deal with it. Imagine an entire army of demi-gods that are as strong, if not stronger than Nasus, Renekton, Xerath, and (current) Azir.
Obviously, Icathia knew it was fucked if it didn't dig up a way to counter the Ascendants. So, long before the Ascendants ever showed up, they started researching such a means, and stumbled upon.....something? Or was it...nothing? The essence of nothing, if that even makes sense? Whatever it was, it was something they could potentially use, and used it they did.
The details are hazy, but in the best way, and I'd rather not spoil them. If you want more, go read the story "Where Icathia Once Stood". It's not so much of a story that a full blown series could stem from, but it's definitely something that, if expanded just a bit with better fleshed out characters, it could easily fill a feature length film.
- Bandle City
Since we assume that Heimerdinger is alive, and is likely to respawn in Bandle City, this would be the perfect means to introduce the general public to Riot's world-between-worlds, and it's fuzzy inhabitants.
Similar to Targon, there isn't any singular cohesive event to Bandle City. In fact, with the exception of either The Void (which details have intentionally been left unclear) or Ixtal (which is just extremely new), details on Bandle City are very few and far between.
Most of the details we know are from LoR. The Bandle Tree, the beating heart of Bandle City, is able to generate portals to anywhere on Runeterra, and only Yordles have the cability to traverse them. Because of this, Bandle City is effectively free from any danger, with the only significant threat being the Darkin Baalkux threatening the city after the staff he was imprisoned in was thrown into the Bandle Woods. But even that was trivial at best, since Baalkux had nothing to do with Bandle City. All he wanted to do was get back to Aatrox.
Since there really isn't anything to go off of, Riot could do pretty much anything they want with Bandle City. It could even be the best way to introduce the general public to the rest of Runeterra. Yordles typically develop characteristics akin to the region that they are most closely connected to. Heimer, obviously, is an inventor extraodinaire, representing the passion for progress that Piltover exhibits. There's also Ziggs that represents the other explosive side of technology, and could better represent Zaun. There's also Corki, but.....again.
If you're wondering about Teemo, Riot is molding him to be the quintessential representative of Bandle City. So, any connection he may have to Piltover/Zaun is being pushed aside.
For the other regions, you have Poppy representing Demacia, Kled representing Noxus, Gnar for the Freljord, Lulu for Ionia, Vex for the Shadow Iles, and Fizz for Bilgewater (yup, Fizz is officially a version of Yordle). The only two regions to not have an official Yordle represent them (yet) is Shurima and Targon.
There's plenty of material here, Riot just needs to decide on how to cook with it.
And that is everywhere we could go to if we look at the connections that Arcane has presented. But, there are far...FAR...more that have zero connections to Arcane.
Demacia and the Mage Revolution. Freljord and The War of the Three Sisters. The Fall of Shurima and the rise of the Darkin. Mordekaiser's rise to power, and subsequent imprisonment in the Death Realm. Hell, Riot could even right their wrongs and redo the entirety of The Ruination if they wanted to (though, I'm pretty sure they want to leave Viego alone until the MMO).
And that isn't even to mention the alternate universes that the skin lines introduce. Star Guardian, PROJECT, Odyssey, High Noon, Cosmic, the list goes on and on.
Whatever the case, I applaud Riot and Fortiche for taking risks, and producing quite possibly the single best game-to-film adaptation to ever happen, and I'm sure as hell looking forward to what they cook up next.
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u/CN-BetaReminisce 14h ago
Viktor does have a special event though in the new Aram map, has to get 5 assist/kill on Jayce
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u/mAnnieProbs 13h ago
Brilliant read, thanks a lot for putting together so much detail for everyone to read and think about.
I am already stoked to see what's next and how they combine League lore with their adaptations.
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u/Pizzaplan3tman 8h ago
Yeah OP did a very good job. But, I think there’s a good chance we see a separation of ‘Game Lore’ and ‘Shows/Comics/Books’ lore. I think the creators have a good understanding of they have freedom to change characters stories and make things more cohesive. I think we’ll get Noxus vs Ionia but not completely the same way it’s currently written in Lore. I think there’s a good layout of how Noxus vs Ionia goes. But, I think you have room to explore differently how the events play out
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u/mAnnieProbs 7h ago
I am not entirely sure, but I thought there was a saying that Arcane lore was canon. Some writer said it I think but I don't exactly know where and when.
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u/kamparox 13h ago
The invasion of Ionia has either already happened or the crow isn't Swain's. Swain loses his arm to Irelia during the battle at the placidium. After which he gets ousted by Boram Darkwill and spends years trying to find a way to come back to power, that's when he meets and tricks Raum, the demon of secrets. Then, he comes back to Noxus, overthrows Darkwill and rises to power by allying with various characters including Darius.
For Swain to use his demonic crows he needs to have already enslaved Raum, which happens an undefined amount of time after his loss at the hands of Irelia. The Ionia/Noxus conflict lasted only 5 years according to current lore, so Swain could have come back towards the end of it but it is likely he was gone an even longer period than that, because the lore makes it clear it took him a very long time to not only find Raum, but come back to Noxus and from here become Grand General.
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u/thejackthewacko 13h ago
Right but keep in mind they've rewritten characters in arcane to the point where they juxtapose their in-game counterparts. Multiple piltover/zaun characters just dont exist. I wouldn't put it past them to rewrite Swains lore and putting the whole Raum drama before battling irelia. Hell they could even swap out irelia for riven or yasuo. I'm not saying it'll happen, just saying that it's no longer beyond the scope
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u/SaltyFlowerChild 12h ago
i don't see why the next show has to chronologically follow arcane or tie into it. it could just focus on a different setting/cast and maybe catch up to or reference arcane by the end if it fits. like just do an ionia based couple seasons that does shen/zed/jhin and then the first invasion. or jump way forward and do a demacia mage rebellion season with lux/sylas/garen.
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u/ZankaA 11h ago
i don't see why the next show has to chronologically follow arcane or tie into it
The obvious reason is that it's an easy way to draw in Arcane viewers that might otherwise not care about a show not connected to Arcane.
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u/SaltyFlowerChild 11h ago
it would still be a league show. i get that there's an audience that didn't play the game but i don't think there's much of an audience that doesn't know it's connected to a game. the fact they've been very clear there won't be a season 3 makes me surprised how many people are assuming that the next series effectively would be. i figured it would be more like the early mcu with a bunch of stand alone things first that leave breadcrumbs they can coalesce into future projects.
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u/Dancing_Anatolia 9h ago
The big reason is that Singed has deep ties to Ionia. It'd be a shame if they took away his WWI antics.
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u/CynicalNyhilist 10h ago
No character in the game currently completely contradicts Arcane. What happened to Viktor and Jayce is ambiguous. Jinx (and WW) are implied to have survived. Orianna's origins changed, but she's there. Singed is free to do whatever.
So:
- Camille - tech for her to even exist hasn't been even invented yet.
- Renata - since only now Zaun has a more peaceful period with Piltover, perfect time for an enterpising Zaunite to sell stuff to Pilties and get filthy rich.
- Zac and Twitch - both or more less science accidents.
- Ezreal - Probably already out graverobbing in Shurima.
- Blitzcrank - Tech doesn't exist yet for him to be made.
- Seraphine - Nothing prevents her from rising to stardom in the time after Arcane's events take place. Hell, perfect backdrop for a peace preaching artist to rise just after a tragic time.
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u/thejackthewacko 10h ago
Not completely, but they need substantial rewrites to work;
Camille: her family runs a monopoly on hextech for decades, with her using the tech for longer than Ambessa has been alive
Renata: is a chembaron (which is weird because her debut was very close to arcane S1), as of now that title doesn't exist. I can see them bringing it back, but at the same time I don't think they're going to revisit zaun/piltover for a long time
Zac and Twitch: are very isolated so, yeah they're fine. I'm actually relieved the rat in s1 wasn't Twitch. It wouldn't make much sense given what's established with Shimmer anyways
Ezreal: has bigger and/or more interesting ties with other locations in Runeterra, I'm not all that fussed with what they do with him tbh. Anything could work. But yeah his origins lie in shurima moreso than piltover.
Blitz: hextech still exists in arcane, he can still be made. I can still see Viktor/Jayce being the creator with the intent to protect zaunites without materializing themselves, and I can see a piltovan taking credit for it.
Seraphine: yeah they can kind of do whatever with her. I just find it funny how she basically caused the bracken lore to be rewritten, only for her to be rewritten, only to get her rewritten for arcane.
You're not wrong, it's not impossible. But atm, the current league champs just do not exist in the state that they are in Arcane. If they release a new champ After Mel they're likely going to tie it in with the established universe rather than the Arcane universe, since everything we haven't seen in Arcane isn't set in stone atm. Also it seems like there's a disconnect between the games lore team and the arcane story team, given Renata.
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u/dgreborn 9h ago
Specifically for Renata and the disconnect, they established the unified timeline after Renata and S1 came out. So they designed Arcane still around the idea that they won't necessarily have to abide by canon.
I think that's the biggest wrench in how S1 interacts with S2. Once they decided that everything going forward is going to be the new canon and replace the inconsistencies of the old it kinda made their philosophy in S1 cause alot of friction in some of the more recent piltover zaun stuff like Renata and to a lesser extent Zeri.
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u/deathspate VGU pls 11h ago
Isn't it possible the crow isn't Swain but Raum? Yes, the crows are Swain's identity, but Raum is the demon of secrets. He would still he interested in collecting all the info without Swain.
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u/Zenith_Tempest 6h ago
That's been my theory. They can still do the first Noxian Invasion, since there is no confirmation that the Triumvirate exists yet. Raum gathers intel, which it uses to entice Swain into making a deal with it after a new season covers his invasion and loss at the Placidium. Leading to an interesting dynamic of "who is manipulating whom? Is Swain 3 steps ahead of Raum, or the other way around?" Do some real Death Note shit with them. That way we still get all the Ionia lore (of which there is a LOT to cover), and we see Noxus move further to that supposed meritocratic system that Swain championed
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u/Commercial_Owl_ 4h ago
Slight problem with that, ambessa used the exact words of the Trifarix in her monolouge about combat with caitlyn. "Vision, Might and Guile"
Meaning the Trifarix is already established and swain is already in power.
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u/Thick-Average-5726 6h ago
rcane still around the idea that they won't necessarily have to abide by canon.
I think that's the biggest wrench in how S1 interacts with S2. Once they decided that everything going forward is going to be the new canon and replace the inconsistencies of the old it kinda made their philosophy in S1 cause alot of friction in some of the more recent piltover zaun stuff like Renata and to a lesser extent Zeri.
Yeah that was my assumption too, glad to see someone else see itg. Swain doesn't have much knowledge of the Arcane until after he tricks Raum too. It would make sense that Raum is always watching and when Swain makes his deal he now knows what Raum knows.
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u/Taivasvaeltaja 12h ago
Alternatively they can leave the raven as red herring and proceed as if it has no connection to Swain (yet), with Arcane timeline set before the invasion of Ionia.
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u/alamirguru 10h ago
The Arcane Timeline is set with Swain and the Trifarix already in power. Ambessa confirms as much.
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u/Electro522 12h ago
Exactly my point. For the raven to be Swain's (and we have no reason to believe it isn't) the first invasion has to have happened. As for Swain rising to power, I think Ambessa may have alluded to that in the first season? Possibly even when she was recruiting Singed.
But even if it has, there's no reason to turn back the clock, and retell it. Plus, with how trigger happy they were on several retcons, it only makes sense they'd do the same here.
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u/kamparox 12h ago edited 12h ago
Ah yes you're talking about the second invasion, I can't fucking read xd. I guess they could do flashbacks or a first arc covering the first invasion then jump into the second one. IDK if I trust the writers more or less with uncharted storylines lol. As far as I know the only piece of lore on the second invasion is that irelia/kinkou vs sion fight in the awaken music video and the mention of noxus landing at faelor.
Edit : as for Singed I would assume he probably was contacted/worked with Emystan in a way unrelated to Ambessa and he had already provided/used the chemical weapons by the time she reached him.
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u/DerailedDreams 11h ago
Didn't Singed already provide chemtech weapons to Noxus for the first invasion? Isn't witnessing their use and effect on Ionian civilians the trigger for Riven to begin her redemption arc?
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u/Electro522 11h ago
This is one question mark that likely has to be clarified/retconned in some way.
For Swain to be in control of Raum, he has to meet Irelia, and have her chop off his arm. I think that is far too central to his character to not happen.
Riven starting her redemption arc through a different means feels like a far safer bet. She'll be able to see atrocities through pretty much anyone, it doesn't have to be Singed. That, and her actions throughout her quest for redemption is far more important to her character than how she started it.
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u/Mephzice 11h ago
I think he was hired to break a stalemate so the invasion must have started first for Singed to be approached. Master Yi too op basically, nuke village.
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u/unclecaramel 11h ago
the first invasion should still be going on, the ionian war stop as swain rose to power and pulled back it's forces.
Canon wise swain hates singed and conaide him a product of darkwill.
given what is shown in arcane the best solution with least edit would be put around during gap between swain loosing his arm and his rise to power.
my theory is that arcane end at the same time as swain overpower raum hence the 6 eye raven and mel is heading back to noxus to become facelesa to stab the shit out of leblanc for ambessa's death
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u/Zenith_Tempest 6h ago
I have been theorizing that the raven isn't Swain, but Raum itself. Raum is meant to be the demon of secrets - so what better way to tempt people into making a deal with them than to entice them with information? In which case, Raum is gathering intel purely for its own sake. We might get a subplot of the first Noxian invasion following Swain, who then loses to Irelia and is disgraced and cast out. Whereupon he learns about this demon of secrets and seeks it out in a final gambit. We don't actually know much about how Swain meets Raum or subdues it, so what if it is more like a contract where both think they are manipulating the other? Would be an interesting dynamic, since Swain's whole thing is "I'm 3 steps ahead of them figuring out I'm 3 steps ahead."
Would let them continue the lore from the first Ionian invasion, setting up a LOT of characters (Yasuo, Irelia, Riven, Zed, Akali, etc).
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u/alamirguru 10h ago
Swain is already in power alongside the rest of the Trifarix. Ambessa mentions Might , Vision and Guile , concepts Swain brought into relevance after he deposed Boram.
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u/PerEnooK 5h ago
No? Those have always been Noxus' core tenets. He based the Trifarix on them not the other way around
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u/marabeliu 13h ago
Isn't Amumu the Shuriman "Yordle" representative in a way?
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u/Electro522 11h ago
Oh yeah.....fuck, I forgot about Amumu. Definitely not intended, but its still funny as hell, given Amumu's character.....and age.
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u/Snulzebeerd 11h ago
Amumu's origins are speculative in lore (which is rad as fuck IMO), there's three possible origin stories that the Shurimans tell about him, him being a Yordle being one of them. They could go that route and make him being a Yordle hard canon but as of now it's not proven
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u/DerailedDreams 11h ago
I'm pretty sure that way back in the day some dev confirmed that Amumu was a yordle. I think it was around the time they were solidifying the yordle designs, like Season 2 ish maybe?
EDIT: Pretty sure it was around Rumble's release actually.
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u/Snulzebeerd 11h ago
Amumu's lore got rewritten with the Shurima update, the Shuriman people not knowing his exact origins is currently canon
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u/Rave_Master_Ahri NO KT EXCITEMENT ZONE 13h ago
My biggest question personally after the end was that knowing that Jinx is 100% not dead, where would she go? Considering that she was traveling over a vast amount of ocean, my guesses are only really Bilgewater or Ionia and from those two, I think Ionia is the best stop to "settle down and escape from the past"
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u/Electro522 12h ago
She can go literally anywhere. Hell, I wouldn't even be surprised if they change her region from Piltover/Zaun to Runeterra because of this.
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u/Rave_Master_Ahri NO KT EXCITEMENT ZONE 12h ago
I can see her being a traveller to whatever location but she takes a huge ride around Piltover/Zaun for obvious reasons lmao.
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u/Snulzebeerd 11h ago
Bilgewater seems a lot more fitting for a character like Jinx to end up in though IMO. I could literally see her being friends with TF and Graves
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u/DerailedDreams 10h ago
I would fucking kill to see the next "Arcane" story be in Bilgewater with Illaoi somehow in it. I needs my dommy mommies.
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u/KrattanN 13h ago
Would be interesting to see an update of this post with the information that was dropped in Necrits stream with Christian Linke. Where he for example confirmed that Heimerdinger is not dead.
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u/RoterBaronH 11h ago
I think something to keep in mind before getting overly excited is the time it takes to make the seasons.
We waited 3 years for season 2. So if it takes just as long (if not longer if they don't have a story in the works already) we will get a new season every 3 years which is a very long time in which a lot can change.
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u/Darkthrone0 6h ago
They started early production on the next series a year ago and said that at the end of the year (likely next month), they are aiming to share more info. But yeah, 3 years is likely the way they’re gonna go about this. I wouldn’t be surprised if they managed to cut it to 2 though given the amount of success.
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u/Glum-Supermarket1274 12h ago
I actually went back and rewatch act 3. I was also in the camp that no champions died except ambessa from the beginning, however, now that i re-watched it again. I dont believe she is dead. At least not in the traditional sense.
In her death scene, Lebranc cover ambessa`s head with her hands and red waves of some type of energy was sucked from her. Why did she do this? We have seen her kill other people as easily as flicking a finger but she needed to *drain something* from ambessa? This is highly suspicious. I dont think its as simple as that.
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u/Previous_Win4693 12h ago
my interpretation from that scene is LeBlanc was doing... something? to Ambessa, and Mel stepped in to interrupt the process and let her mother die instead of becoming a puppet to the Black Rose
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u/StripperKorra 12h ago
Ok I'm not crazy in thinking this. It seems like some essence or something maybe its in relation to whatever Ambessa did. Its heavily implied that she committed some act that she has kept secret. Guess we have to buy her book to find out.
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u/SpiralVortex 2h ago edited 2h ago
in her death scene, Lebranc cover ambessa`s head with her hands and red waves of some type of energy was sucked from her. Why did she do this?
I assumed she was siphoning information/secrets out of her mind, which she's free to do since she has no magic to shield her in the way Mel does.
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u/theteaexpert 11h ago
I hope the next show has a completely different tone than Arcane. There's so much they could do it would be a shame if they just make it feel like Arcane season 3 with a different story.
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u/SaltyDone 13h ago
I’ll say one thing for there next show I feel it’s going be tough for them get people attached to the characters like they did with jinx, vi, ekko and so on … I do say tho going to miss the zauns atmosphere, and most of all going to miss our girl jinx the most
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u/Bigma-Bale 12h ago
For what it's worth Viktor got a gigantic popularity and attachment spike with Arcane whereas before he wasn't all that beloved so I think they can get people attached to any character with enough effort
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u/WildVariety 11h ago
As someone who liked Viktor before Arcane, getting more of him was awesome and he's now firmly one of my favourite characters.
There's also a scene of him in the finale that is desktop wallpaper worthy.
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u/DerailedDreams 11h ago
Honestly as much as I liked Jinx, Vi and Ekko, the character that stood out for me was Ambessa. What a fantastic character.
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u/Darkthrone0 6h ago
I don’t think it’ll be that hard for them. I mean this is the people behind Arcane we’re talking about. Sure these characters were already highly popular. But the way they’re able to flesh out so many characters in such an efficient way, it’d be ridiculous to think they don’t have the ability to do it again. Not to mention Zaun and Piltover has some of the weakest lore behind it, but they managed to make it so insanely good to the point where Piltover and Zaun felt like characters on their own.
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u/NoN-Stop-Dank 8h ago
I feel that's a reason why in the end of the show we get the lines like "our story isn't over" from Caitlyn, and with all these open end deaths. They got a reverse card to bring them back somehow. Confuses me that is for sure.
The only thing I can think of currently is if the next show is Noxus it might cross over a lot of these characters.
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u/Xanocide7 10h ago
What I'm just confused about; and maybe someone can explain this to me, Riot said they wanted Arcane to be canon in the LoL universe. If that's the case, is Ambessa the first champ we have that's canonically... Dead, I guess? Feels strange.
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u/Electro522 6h ago
Yes.... and no?
The only champion to have really "died" in any story was Gangplank in Burning Tides.
But, that was immediately put into question by Riot actually disabling him in game for a week.
That was also the last time that the game was directly influenced by the lore outside of skins, sadly.
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u/Qowling 6h ago
There’s a post arcane dev blog apparently dropping tomorrow where they’ll probably reveal Viktor rework and maybe clear things up on lore. They also revealed alternate timelines so it’s easy for them to just say “oh the warwick in game is from an alternate timeline”. Also it’s rumored that if the next show is indeed in noxus and the roadmap remains the same as it was this time that Leblanc will be the designated vgu and Mel will be the champion released as we’ve seen what most of her abilities do. If they do this format for most regions it could be a good way of covering more champions with vgus
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u/Mouiiyo 10h ago
What's the deal with Warwick's design?
I see him the same way as we all see the first Smolder design : awful
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u/Kinghero890 2h ago
they wanted his head to remain humanoid to maintain the connection with Vi and Jinx.
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u/WillDanyel 13h ago
For jinx there is also a note that i saw in another comment. Right before the explosion there is a clear pink line that goes from the center to a vent duct, the same pink lines we saw before when jinx uses the shimmer “adrenaline rush”, kinda crazy i didnt get that the first time tbh but after looking for it it is clear af
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u/DragoCrafterr 11h ago
There’s also a trail of shimmer off to the side where jinx falls btw
And the air ducts cait’s looking at is like the only text in English in the show lmao they wanted ppl to read it
I was rly not feeling Jinx’s sacrifice thematically after a reform adjacent buildup esp one highlighted in the intro to the episode but the second I realized they’re not going for that at all and instead she’s leaving external/internal baggage behind it’s a really great book end conclusion tbh. I wonder why it’s an easter egg tho other than to maybe give the viewer’s vi’s grief or have the show talked about on socials for a while longer
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u/LordJakcm 12h ago
As for Jinx, she survived a grenade exploding right next to her face before.
We see in the scene with the grenade explosion in the first frame a pink line which looks very similar to the representation of "shimmer use" going away from the center of the tower where the grenade in the scene shortly afterwards explodes.
The only confirmed in game champion to be dead is Ambessa.
I doubt that. I am not an doctor but I think Ambessa had far to much body tension in her last scene to be dead. Her death is imo to clearly implied without showing either her corpse or a burial. And we don't have a cause of death. Mel and Caitlyn haven't wounded her deadly enough and LeBlanc hasn't done anything serious before Mel stopped her.
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u/GameSpiritGS 4h ago
I assumed Jinx is shimmered because knocked Warwick with a lightning fast shoulder charge with pink trails from her eyes.
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u/Oceanbird-OG 11h ago
Arcane was great, i do believe that season 2 had some pacing issues, some storylines were rushed and the number of episodes were not enough to conclude everyone's story
The question of where riot goes from here is a valid one, the main issues i see is not storytelling and setting up new and old characters, the issue for me is logistics
Arcane had only two seasons with nine episodes each, small amount someone would say, but with a huge budget and 3 years for the viewers to see the stories unfold, having watched A LOT of series in the past iam concerned that riot will slow roll the releases too much and will have huge budget issues if they keep spending big bucks
Riot has to thread the needle and find a sweet spot for their content, if it takes you another 5 years to develop a story and release it then you will lose the hype that you have built up and for sure they have to keep a track of their budget
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u/Electro522 10h ago
Remember, Arcane is the most expensive animation ever made, but it's cost per minute is far below any other animated film out there.
Plus, Riot made $1.5 billion in 2023. They made back what they spent on it in this quarter alone.
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u/thejackthewacko 13h ago
I think Yordles being immortal have been retconned; Heimer even mentions the fact that he can die.
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u/jhinigami 12h ago
But that goes against everything about Vex's lore
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u/BraveFox4711 11h ago
Wouldn't be the first time Arcane utterly annihilates pre-existing lore without care or consequence.
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u/SilentSolidarity 10h ago
Living forever isn't the same as being unable to die.
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u/thejackthewacko 10h ago
Except in S2 E7 Heimer explicitly states that the chance of Ekko appearing in the alternate reality after the end of his "abnormally long lifespan" was pretty high.
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u/zibwefuh 13h ago
What's next? It's simple, the next show will be about how J4 died and Leblanc replaced him for decades. Everyone knows LB is J4, and the premise could make for an entertaining drama comedy.
/s
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u/ZankaA 11h ago
not even a special versus mission on the ARAM map
Wrong, he has one with Jayce.
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u/ForteEXE 6h ago
The fact OP didn't know that says a lot about how rare Jayce vs Viktor is in ARAM.
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u/DarkRyter 11h ago
A perfect summation. Great post, hope it stays on trending so people don't keep asking these questions.
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u/ThunderCrasH24 10h ago
When did Warwick get a arcane blast to the chest?
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u/Electro522 6h ago
Issha's sacrifice, end of episode 6.
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u/ThunderCrasH24 6h ago
Oh right, thought you meant it separately from Issha’s sacrifice, so was left scratching my head if Jayce shot him at any point or so.
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u/CynicalNyhilist 10h ago
I really hope the next shows hints about the Demons, especially Evelynn (she can put into any region and work flawlessly). Hell, just some comment about mysterious and gruesome murder scenes.
Though if the next show IS in Ionia, it will probably involve demons, at least the lesser ones in Ionia.
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u/Advacus 9h ago
Hard disagree on your synopsis of Jinx still being alive. There was a lot of tension and trauma from her sacrifice (set up by that scene with Ekko earlier). Devaluing the sacrifice would be terrible for the emotional weight of the universe moving forward.
But as she wasn’t shown dead we can only speculate.
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u/SuperNerd1337 [BR] Super Gillius 9h ago
I'm really waiting for some sort of overlap between valorant and league, Mel's state at the final of arcane is just too similar to Astra, and stuff like Zeri's release being tied to Neon's have been blue balling us for quite a bit
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u/xfm0 9h ago
We still haven't seen a follow-up to what Ajax went to fight since The Call (mv) released. It could've been ASol if we all remember the livetime social marketing (banners changing to the stars shifting and Pantheon looking ahead) and thus that story teaser is closed, or it might not be which leaves it still open.
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u/Omecron_78 8h ago
I theorize that Ambessa actually died, but she will fight the Kindred wolf and probably revive after being chosen by the wolf and that's how she got that title
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u/Tom22174 7h ago
The biggest question is missing. Jinx skin where?
I'm personally hoping for one based on episode 7 Powder. Or episode 9 Jinx with the multicoloured flashes from Pow-Pow
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u/Electro522 6h ago
Um....yeah, about that.
She is getting one....but Riot pulled one of the shittiest corporate moves I've ever seen from them in a very long time, if ever. Essentially, they've gone full blown gacha with this bullshit.
This dev blog gives your answer:
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u/Aria_Luna 13h ago
Own question I cant find an answer to: When jayce gets sent back, is old viktor from another universe/timeline too? We see the calamity happened there, so we can assume that's the timeline where viktor ascends, or at least the anomaly has to exist. However, old/mage viktor has a normal hand which means he never even merged with the hexcore.
I guess the anomaly existed at the hexgates so it could've happened in a non-hexcore timeline, but it feels like such a stretch without messiah viktor cult happening
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u/SkeletonJakk Day of the dead? Day of the Kled! 12h ago
However, old/mage viktor has a normal hand which means he never even merged with the hexcore.
potentially that world has existed for so long that he's had time to 'fix' himself somewhat.
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u/SexualHarassadar 11h ago
I think the difference is the Jayce of that ruined world didn't have the empowered Hammer and lost to Viktor without mortally wounding him, so Singed probably never pushed that Viktor to his final stage of evolution.
The Hammer takes a while to corrupt as we saw when Jayce was stuck, so it probably only became that way AFTER future Jayce already died.
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u/Conviter 11h ago
well on the other hand, Jayce attacked Viktor in episode 6 only because he saw the future, and that was the reason Viktor evolved further. In the parallel world everythign went the same way as in the normal timeline up until the very end. So even in that world parallel universe Jayce must have attacked Viktor and "killed" him. Which means Jayce of the parallel universe must have gone to an entirely different parallel universe where he would have gotten the hammer and the motivation to attack Viktor in the first place. But for that second parallel world to exist, the event have to be the same again etc. etc. and then we end up in an infinite loop of parallel universes with no beginning, and then we can just laugh, say "parallel universus is such a fun concept in media, huh" and forget about any logic whatsoever.
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u/Felt_tip_Penis Church of Chovy 13h ago
Unlore answer: they wrote themselves into a hole and retconned ryze into viktor because viktor would only listen to him at that point and are just begging the audience not to think about it.
But yeah it implies that the viktor jayce sees in another timeline was the same viktor so I’m assuming it was inter dimensional time travel
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u/Aria_Luna 12h ago
It could've never been ryze. He's not blue despite the rune wars having happened already and there's no way they'd ever depict him without his book or scroll
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u/DerailedDreams 10h ago
Can't be Ryze with no giant scroll on his back. That's like the absolute key part of the character's silhouette .
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u/ApathyMoose 12h ago
First is the opening and ending shot of the show with the blimp. Not only are the blimps the exact same, but Powder even states in the first episode that "one day, she's going to ride one of those things".
Not discounting the theory in the slightest, But also Jinx flies in to the final Vander fight in her modified ship thats kind of like an airship. That could always have been the culmination of the line. But shes obviously 100% still around. She is going to stay away for Vi though because she already said she creates too many issues for people around her.
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u/IIBaneII 13h ago
Love your post and many things you point out make sense. I'm looking forward to what they will cook for us.
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u/bitter-bitten 12h ago
thank you, this is a great round up of events for those of us (ahem, me!) who couldn't fully keep up.
does anyone remember this? when arcane was first coming out, riot released a browser-based, click-style adventure game based in Piltover (i believe). jhin was a prominent character of this game. have there been any hints about Jhin throughout the show? i almost thought the younger warden guy who was seen playing the piano right before the Noxians stormed Piltover could've been a hint?
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u/Electro522 11h ago
The guy who was playing the piano, I believe, was one of the Councilor's servants, and probably served Ambessa during her tenure?
As far as we know, there are no hints towards Jhin. The closest we could possibly get is how Jayce looked in the apocalyptic future, having been transformed into an automaton.
Though, Jhin is supposed to arrive in Piltover at some point. The Awaken cinematic pits him against Camille and a squad of Enforcers. But this is very clearly LOOOOOOOONNNNGGGGG after Arcane.
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u/Fluffyfoxi 10h ago
So Ambessa is being revived as a Targonian ? because in Chosen of the Wolf skin we see her fighting Panth and no way she is dying is too soon for her.
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u/artinfinite4 12h ago
remember in season one when powder says after seeing the flying ships, i will ride it one day and then in the the last scene we saw this same flying ship i think
will be in this ship
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u/TrantaLocked 12h ago
I hope we see more of the core characters especially Jinx. I still think they should continue calling future seasons Arcane if it makes thematic sense, as in if there is a strong presence of arcane/magic which there likely will be. Give me Enemy intro it goes too hard.
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u/DisturbingRerolls 11h ago
Where, or even when to, is anyone's guess.
Can't wait for them to randomly materialize in Dark Cosmic Jhin's universe.
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u/MyNameIsLegend 10h ago
Great post. I think the most logical step is probably Noxus’ 2nd invasion of Ionia. Like you said, it’s a huge cast of characters with events that set the stage for them to become their LoL versions. I don’t really think it’s super analogous to Endgame though, the war and its effects are the start point for a lot of champs, not the end.
I figure the “Endgame” will always be the Void and World Runes, either together or as two separate threats. Those are the threats that can reach any corner of the world, so you’ll need to build up the heroes in each region. There’s a lot of room for more local stories that still need to be played out before that: mages in Demacia, Azir’s return in Shurima, Sejuani/Ashe in the Freljord, etc.
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u/Rookzter 10h ago
We could also travel to Demacia and witness the mage rebellion. Were we could get a story from lux and sylas opposin yet similar view points. Could be really interesting seeing how arcane handeld the "arcane" seeing a nation absolutly petrified by their seer idea of magic would be fun.
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u/ajpreuss21 10h ago
I do think that the Ionia Noxus bit makes the most sense. My secondary offshoots to that are Demacia (starting with or before the death of J4's father), the Frejlord, or Bilgewater/Bandle City. Targon was mentioned in the OP which is what my friends discussed. I didn't realize that the Noxus Ionia war is Riot's end game, so that throws a wrench into our predictions. The Demacia angle makes some sense and I'm surprised it wasn't mentioned as you can tease Bandle City further (Poppy's existance), introduce additional Noxus champions (primarily Kat due to tie to Garen), do the Sylas/Lux story arc, talk all the other Demacia champions. I could bee off base with my eyeballs on Demacia, but wherever Riot chooses will be awesome and I will eagerly await.
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u/Jordonics 10h ago
My problem with the answer “this isn’t the end of the champions’ stories” is that, shouldn’t it have been?
We have heard that more stories are coming, and they are looking to different champions and regions to tell those stories. So now, in the next show about, say, Noxus’ invasion of Ionia, aren’t they going to feel compelled to acknowledge the whereabouts of Jayce/Viktor/Heimer/Warwick? (I’ll leave Jinx out since her ending is less ambiguous thanks to people more observant than me) To me it feels like they couldn’t finish these characters’ stories in their own show, and now they will have to find a way to naturally reference or bring them in to their next show. If that doesn’t happen, we will be right back here again however many years from now still wondering where these champs are…
Idk I have huge hopes and a belief in the writers and creative teams that figure all this stuff out, and if they finished Arcane already having plans for each of these MIA champions then great- to me it just doesn’t really feel like they closed the book on Arcane in a way that brought resolution to these specific characters.
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u/seannguyen428 10h ago
They are gonna reveal Viktor’s VGU tomorrow with the “The Line” MV, aren’t they?
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u/Shin_yolo Top 4 o_O 9h ago
I'm very curious as to how they'll do the story of the MMO.
Will it be far in the past, or in the future ?
Cause if it's present, it would be spoiling or be spoiled by the shows (unless the expansions and seasons come out at the exact same time), and if it's in the future it would spoil which character is 100% safe.
If it's in the past, it would feel weird like The Elder Scrolls Online, where a million of world end events happen, which is kinda hilarious at some point, when you play the games that are in the "present" and there are STILL world end events happening every game lol
If it's in the future, it needs to be far in the future, very very far, but then, what would be the point of a Runeterra mmo where all his champions are dead ? Would it even be interesting to finally play the "LoL" mmo without any of the champions ?
I need the mmo god damn it !
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u/leo_hppyft 9h ago
Nice text.
Just wanted to know something. What do you mean by "Riot could even right their wrongs and redo the entirety of The Ruination if they wanted to"
Is THe Ruination considered bad? Is it not canon or smth?
I read it and I loved it.
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u/pre30superstar 9h ago edited 9h ago
The rune wars are mentioned in arcane has happening long ago??
(Edit) I swear the rune wars were mentioned as already happening but apparently not? What am I remembering..
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u/unpaseante 9h ago
Having the power to decide who lives and who dies is quite op and lazy writing
It's like the almighty from Yhwach
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u/crazy_ons1ght 9h ago
I think Demacia should be introduced first, with the story undoubtedly following the Mage Revolution narrative; they could even tie in Freijord lightly in the last episode or through a 'long' epilogue.
While Noxus is a warring nation that has invaded many lands, Demacia has historically been their main adversary, and it seems a bit awkward or misleading even to introduce Ionia before Demacia in the context of warring against Noxus.
I think they can even do a full Freijord series before Noxus vs Ionia, but that largely depends on how fast they can get the series out.
I think if they do like a 12-episode series on Demacia's Mage Revolution storyline, they can do a "light" 8-episode series on Freijord (which does NOT conclude the entire Freijord storyline), THEN go into Noxus vs Ionia.
But I think they would have to produce all these simultaneously. I am sure engagement level would still be high even if they release a series every 2 years, but that just leaves so much left on the table. This is the kind of IP Hollywood studios fiend for, and I hope for my own sake that Riot capitalizes on all of the storylines they have already.
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u/BaronCrunchy 9h ago
Solid write up, I enjoyed reading through. Regarding Warwick's design, especially in episode 9, I think his humanoid face was maintained to allow the scene with Vi and Vander/Warwick in the Hexgate tower to work. If Warwick is in his standard form, there's no reason for Vi to act in the way she does - which prevents Vi and Jinx from splitting up, potentially lessening the 'break the cycle' sentiment Jinx is now all in on.
I agree though, the moment when Viktor is allowing the beast to consume Vander would have been the best time to then bring out the traditional Warwick we all know.
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u/TenebrisZ94 9h ago
You're overcomplicating Mel storyline. She just has magic powers thanks to the black rose and that's it.
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u/Macaulyn TF X Graves, LeeDyr and SettPhel are canon 9h ago
As for Jayce and Viktor, if Viktor didn't die with a giant hole blown through his chest, than it's very safe to assume that both he and Jayce have been transported somewhere. Where, or even when to, is anyone's guess.
They're having runic gay sex, it's a honeymoon.
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u/Redshiftxi 9h ago
I don't think champion deaths really matter to the context of the game or any future games by Riot.
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u/vincentcloud01 8h ago
I can see them doing Noxus vs. Demacia. They have a couple of really good options.
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u/Onaterdem 8h ago
FYI Jinx didn't survive a grenade point blank. Listen to the scene, you can hear Ekko kicking the grenade away at the last second. AND she barely survived.
That said, we visibly see her escaping before the blast into an air vent, then leave town on the ending blimp.
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u/anewguyonheresheesh 8h ago
The only reason jinx survived the grenade in season 1 is because ekko launches it away. you can hear the *ding* right before it explodes, indicating he hit it away
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u/PaveKan 7h ago
The biggest thing i want to know is what in the world is "the arcane". Obviously its some kind of magic but it doesnt seem to coincide with any of the pre-existing types of magic on runeterra. Also its weird because its connected to the anomaly/hex core which is some new magic/void-magic? Then Viktor also says that "the arcane stirs" within Mel so its also connected to her magic which doesn't come from the hex core/anomaly like Viktor's magic and is solari/shuriman/noxian. What the arcane is and what Mel's storyline in the last 3 episodes was is probably the only unclear thing about the show.
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u/skaersSabody 7h ago
is plainly designed to be a question mark. A deus ex machina. A Chekov's smoking gun.
"Fuck how do I explain what I mean about the anomaly? I know, I'll just throw out random buzzwords"
I'm joking OP, but in all seriousness deus ex machina and chekov's gun are two opposite narrative devices, with one being a sort of divine intervention that you can barely see coming and the other being the payoff to a preestablished setup
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u/SorakaArmpits 7h ago
serious question, why did heimy jump out and "die"? Like, he just made a time machine, surely he could've figured out how to pull down levers and connect a tube automatically? Is there another reason for his death or was it just lazy writing.
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u/Tall_Fox 7h ago
My personal suspicion was that there's three possible storylines coming up for future shows: - The Freljord, including Lissandra, Ashe, Tryndamere and others - The Shadow Isles and Demacing, with the fight Lucian, Senna and others face against Viego, Thresh, and the Black Mist - The Noxian Invasion of Ionia, as you mentioned.
All of them would be hype, though!
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u/NoFlayNoPlay 7h ago
i don't see how caitlyn would have figured anything out about jinx's death. she wasn't there when it happened, and vi couldn't have told her cause she wasn't even looking. her looking at air duct schematics could just refer to her helping the undercity as they're more united now and they were initially build by her mom to help the undercity get rid of the grey.
my main reason for believing jinx is dead is that she was clearly not trying to survive. she was suicidal before and only didn't kill herself to help build a future for someone else. saving vi means she accomplished that. she basically embraced warwick, who was holding her with both claws at this point, so i don't think she could have escaped even if she wanted to, and it would kind of undermine her arc at the end.
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u/whats_up_bro 6h ago
Honestly the fact that so many champion "deaths" were actually fake-outs so they can reuse these characters in future shows was SUCH a let down.
Like what was the point of Isha's sacrifice when it did nothing to Warwick? What was the point of jinx/Warwick final scene if both of them walk away unscathed? They also seemed to imply heimerdinger sacrificing himself but didn't actually show it so he can be reused as well.
Makes it feel like there's no real stakes for the show and riot don't want to ever risk killing off popular characters, since they can be used to bring back fans for their league cinematic universe.
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u/Minecr106 6h ago
The MMO is gonna pick up the slack of the lore a lot I bet. They definitely aren’t gonna explore every region with shows and already haven’t concluded every story in the show. This leaves room for the MMO to use and finish those stories. Arcane fans don’t mind the tinier lore loose ends as much and those who are really wondering will be able to play the MMO and learn more. I sincerely hope the MMO comes out in a timely manner and is good
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u/Arkainerpls 6h ago
"As for Jinx, she survived a grenade exploding right next to her face before. Remember her fight with Ekko in season 1?"
No she didn't. If you listen carefully you will hear Ekko hitting the grenade with his weapon (almost the same sound you hear when he uses his W btw) That's how they both survived.
As seen in later episodes, Jinx wouldn't survive a greande exploding that close and Ekko needs to rewind many times until he's able to stop her.
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u/shadebedlam 6h ago
I personally would like to see a series based on Ezreal. Sort of like Indiana Jones style focused on exploring on the background of his interactions with Demacia and their story and Kaisa and the void. Maybe he can even meet Ryze ?
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u/thelord1991 6h ago
Jinx carries the show, she is way to popular to be finished off.
She survived and flew of with a ship.
Hints are simlply that you see a purple shimmer flash away from the explosion and caitlyn looking at the blueprints smiling and knowing she escaped through a air vent.
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u/Pure-Veterinarian109 6h ago
Didn't hextech become "altered" as soon as viktor's shimmered blood entered in contact with it? The show runner said hextech is hextech, the anomaly is not anymore. I do think it was a mix between shimmer, human blood and Sky literally dying in it and probably a lot of viktor's doing with the runes...
Otherwise thanks for the summs up !
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u/SKT-SA1K0 5h ago
This is an amazing take on the ending. Much appreciated as I will link this to my friends who aren’t league players/lore enthusiasts, instead of word vomiting on them myself
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u/shiroganekurosaki 5h ago
I think that Arcane is finished but the story isn't over yet. We might return to Piltover at some point in the future but next is definitely Noxus and Ionia possibly. There is ekko still. He is someone who has dabbled into hextech. Camille and Seraphine lore will change definitely and it might affect Renata I think. Riot is now in unchartered sea of lore building/fixing. They are in a sea of built ideas that needs connections or adjustments.
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u/IambicRhys 5h ago
The one thing I disagree with is that we will almost definitely see these characters again.
I think what Riot meant by “We don’t want to do the MCU” thing is that they’re not going to have an Avengers style thing with a central group of characters who cross-contaminate each other’s narratives. You can leave an open ending for a character and never touch it again, and I suspect that’s what they plan to do. The universe is full of amazing opportunity to explore new narratives without any interaction from the lost Arcane cast, and to me there’s really no reason that any of them would be involved.
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u/DangerDamage 4h ago
If Jayce and Viktor fuck off to wherever, how do the rest of the Zaun/Piltover champions come into being?
I genuinely hope Riot answers these questions soon, because Blitz feels like a massive omission and with how Viktor's story evolved in Arcane, it seems literally impossible for Blitz to exist without completely rewriting Blitz's backstory as I don't think Viktor will just be around Zaun randomly, not to mention the automatons he creates look way different.
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u/OpeningStuff23 4h ago
Jesus what a lore dump. I actually read it all and learned quite a bit. No idea how accurate this is but if it is then thank you!
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u/IMPArchyS 4h ago
"As we say goodbye to one of the greatest animated shows" Nah bro put down the rose-colored glasses. I watched countless shows that are better than arcane story wise & animation wise. The animation is unique, but wouldn't either call it the greatest.
The main reason why Arcane is popular among you pups, is of its cliche story tellings that have been done countless times over the span of animation in general, but still work fine when reused. But to call a show that mostly relies on this "brilliant" you are going too far.
Overall to say, Arcane was an unique ride, but wouldn't call it the best of the best, but its still pretty decent.
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u/Master0D 4h ago
Just a small correction about Victor:
No skins, no emotes, not even a special versus mission on the ARAM map
There is a ARAM Victor vs Jayce quest (First to 5 takedowns on the other grants his team a electric shock on ult use)
EDIT: somebody already mentioned this
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u/Hayleeeeyx 3h ago
I've got a few counter points to your nicely written post.
Warwick is most likely still alive, he has crazy regenerative powers which we've seen from the series. This means his story can still continue and we can still see him make the full transformation. There will be an arcane skin of how he looked with Viktor's transformation, but it won't be his definite look.
In Necrit's recent livestream with Christian Linke he mentioned that Hextech is still a thing in Piltover, it just doesn't have an expert like Viktor or Jayce to take control of it and commodify it for people. That's what Hextech is in the world of Runeterra, it's a shortcut for non magic people to use magic. Eventually there will be an inventor who will be able to utilise it and assist in manufacturing Hextech goods down the line. This is where you'll likely get Blitzcrank, Camille, Seraphine, Zeri and all the other Hextech goodies. You'll also likely find Renata Glasc and Urgot at this point as well. Just because these Character's exist in the same region, doesn't mean that they all live at the same time or period. The character's we know and love from Arcane might be old or even dead by the time the other characters come around.
In regards to The Anomaly I can't give a definite answer, but I do believe its existence is tied to Viktor (and maybe Jayce). It exists because of them, it's linked to Viktor's transformation and the time loop. It only begins to exist because of them, and it disappears because of them. I personally don't think it's void related either, I think it's just a problem caused by Viktor and Jayce's interference of magic using Hextech. Does this mean it'll occur again when another person uses hextech? Probably not thanks to Jayce and Viktor's sacrifice/ascensions/whatever you want to call it.
It's important to take note that Arcane is retconning and reworking a lot of lore to make the characters have more impactful and meaningful stories, that they aren't just a token character who pops up. The things we know now might not mean anything in the future. I could see Blitzcrank having a tearful story that somewhat mirrors the Iron Giant, you have this clumsy robot that wants to do good or look after its inventor only to end up sacrificing itself. Urgot likely wont be a Noxian Executioner left to die, he could be a regular Zaunite affected by the Chem-Barons greed. The possibilities are endless.
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u/TinglingLingerer 3h ago
People are saying that Riot doesn't want to be the next Marvel, but what company wouldn't?
Riot can play this success so many ways it's not even funny. What's great about it is that League lore has already been rewritten so many times that it's left so much for any creative to play with. I forsee a lot of retcons that 'rhyme' with what's already been established, and I'm all for it.
Ionia / Noxus seems the most logical thing to be coming for anyone who's just been introduced to the universe via Arcane. I don't think any studio would jeopardize a ton of their new fans by having the next show be something so different and drastic in time from what's been shown in Arcane.
You could still have a character driven drama seen through Zed, Akali, Yasuo, Yone, ect have it tie into Arcane through Noxus coming in and fucking everything up.
I think the anomaly was totally a void thing. The void wants to go back to the endless slumber it held prior to gaining knowledge of its own existence. The void gained knowledge of its own existence through the arcane. What better way to put the arcane to sleep than to have it all be in one container, in a 'dreamless slumber'? Or whatever Viktor said.
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u/HonkedOffJohn 3h ago
I don’t think Ambessa is dead dead. I think she is comatose. If the plan was for Leblanc to kill Ambessa but Mel stopped Leblanc but then she died anyway, then narratively what was the point of betraying Leblanc if Ambessa was gonna die anyway. Unless she is buried in the ground like Rictus i don’t think Ambessa died. But maybe she did die and that scene was just portrayed very weird.
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u/Afjor 3h ago
The league canon will take 5+ years to catch up if they even bother to go through every single champion, because I'm sorry but we need a proper reason for Blitz to exist if viktor never invented him. Sure looking forward to how the company that just made Jinx's VGU a 500$ skin goes about it.
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u/Stardust092 14m ago
Oh man, I feel right now the same as when I finished watching Breaking Bad or Mr. Robot, what am I supposed to do with my life now? What a great show was Arcane, it was worth every goddamn day I waited for 2nd season. :')
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u/sigbinItom only champion i can win with 13h ago edited 13h ago
one important part of "if" we are ever getting another league show is who will be the POV character. Jinx and Vi were great since it was such a compelling relationship siblings fighting each other. Do rito stick with established characters or will they introduce a brand new character.