Warning! This article contains spoilers for Arcane Season 2.
Summary
ArcaneSeason 2’s second act brought many twists and turns, but Jayce’s return is up there as one of the most shocking. After disappearing into the strange arcane anomaly in Episode 3, Jayce returned in Act 2 looking and acting very differently than usual.
Arcaneis Riot Games’ first foray into the world of television, adapting itsLeague of Legendsvideo game into a stunning animated series on Netflix. The series brings to life the lore and champions that fans know and love from the game, with characters like Jinx, Vi, Heimerdinger, and Viktor all integral parts of the story. Jayce Talis is another champion who has featured prominently inArcane.Hewas first introduced as a young scholar who was an outcast due to his desire to blend science with magic. After teaming up with Viktor, a scientist from the undercity, the duo created the means to control arcane magic througha technology known as Hextech, which turned Piltover into a revolutionary City of Progress. Later in the series, Jayce battles with the idea of using Hextech tools as weapons to level the playing field in the fight against Zaun.
What Did Jayce Do In Arcane Act 2?
Jayce’s story in Act 1 of Season 2ofArcanewent in an interesting direction as the scientist learned that his tampering with Hextech may have angered the arcane, causing corruption that was spreading through the undercity and poisoning the Firelights’ tree. After investigating further, Jayce finds a volatile magical anomaly deep underground in Hextech’s failsafe, which causes him, Ekko, and Heimerdinger to disappear.
While it’s still unknown what happened to Ekko and Heimerdinger, Jayce reappears inEpisode 5 of Season 2looking worse for wear and with a vow to end Hextech. At first, this led him to murder his old comrade Salo, who Viktor had healed with his magic. Jayce then tracked Viktor back to Zaun, where he’d used his powers to heal a whole community of people and, at that time was also working on healing Jinx and Vi’sresurrected father, Vander. Once Jayce arrived at the community, he was haunted by fearful visions seeing the people around him as twisted figures. Upon finding Viktor, Jayce vowed he would not fail and blasted a hole straight through Viktor with his Hextech hammer.
Where Did Jayce, Ekko and Heimerdinger Go?
This event inEpisode 6 was a massive turn for Jayce, who once considered Viktor his partner and best friend. It’s still unclear exactly what happened to Jayce to make him feel this way, but Viktor mentioned earlier in the episode that there appeared to be another will at work inside his friend, something like an ancient voice. He also revealed that Jayce had touched the arcane, but unlike Viktor whose mind was elevated, Jayce’s mind suffered for it.
“This is a sophisticated conjuration. A singularity simultaneously self-replicating and self-annihilating. Flawless, exquisite, chaos."
Whatever happened to Jayce comes down to whatever he, Ekko, and Heimerdinger experienced after they were sucked into the anomaly. This will likely be revealed inArcane’sfinal episodes, but some fans are already theorizing where they may have gone. Some think Jayce may have experienced a multiverse journey and seen a vision of the future that he is desperate to avoid. Hence, he is set on destroying Hextech, so that this future may never come about. Another theory is thatthe Black Rose, which also holds Mel captive, may be influencing Jayce, potentially to make him restore order to the arcane forces that he disrupted. A different theory is that Jayce, Ekko, and Heimerdinger were taken into the Void, a dimension inLeague of Legendsthat is not kind to humans.
What is The Void in League of Legends?
InLeague of Legends, the Void is a place that was born at the same time as the universe and is a “manifestation of the unknowable nothingness that lies beyond.” It is said to be a place of insatiable hunger and is overseen by masters known as the Watchers. The thing about the Void that may be relevant to Jayce’s experience is that it is said any mortal mind who touches the Void may suffer an agonizing glimpse of “eternal unreality” which can shatter their minds. This could tie in toJayce’s new mindset inArcaneSeason 2, as Viktor mentioned Jayce’s mind suffered, and it appears he may have glimpsed a vision of something that has changed his entire personality. The voice that Viktor talked about could also be a reference to the mysterious Watchers that oversee the Void.
The Void also hasLeague of Legendschampions of its ownresiding within, including Bel’veth, Cho’gath, Kai’sa, Kassadin, and Kha’zix, just to name a few. According to lore, the denizens of the Void are tasked with ushering total oblivion across Runeterra, so if these forces now have control over Jayce, they could be using him to their ends. Of course, another question is what happened to Ekko and Heimerdinger during this time, because while Jayce returned, the other two are yet to do so. If they’ve been trapped in the same place as Jayce, there’s no telling who they may emerge as in Act 3.
ArcaneSeason 2 will end its season with Act 3 on November 23 on Netflix.
Arcane
Arcane is an animated series developed by Alex Yee and Christian Linke that follows a the story of Piltover and Zaun, two pivotal locations in the League of Legends universe. The first season follows the stories of Jynx and Vi, as well as Jayce and Viktor.
