Arcane season 2’s ending revealed [Spoiler Alert] that Victor was doomed to bring an end to his world. And he wouldn’t realize his mistake until it was too late. So, the version of Viktor who destroyed Piltover in his universe traveled across different timelines. Under the guise of a mage, he gave a runestone to young Jayce because he was the only one who could show Viktor that, in his pursuit for perfection, he was going to wipe out all of humanity. Basically, Arcane is all about two blindly ambitious men who brought the world to the brink of destruction until one of them has an epiphany of sorts, and he decides to stop his best friend from becoming an instrument of chaos. So, let’s talk about the bromance of Viktor and Jayce.
Viktor and Jayce Are Gone For Good
In episode 7, Jayce ended up in the ruins of Piltover in a different universe. The show implied that, through Arcane, one could travel across different timelines, and that was one of the things that Jayce and Viktor wanted to achieve through their Hextech. But guess what? Their dreams better just stay dreams; otherwise, they’re going to destroy the entire multiverse, just like all-mighty Ultron’d done in the What If episode. In the ruins, Jayce saw the mage once again, who showed him what his world would ultimately turn into if he didn’t stop Viktor and destroy their invention. So, it wasn’t actually Viktor who brought Jayce to his original timeline, but the mage who sent Jayce back so he could save “his” Piltover.
In Arcane season 2’s ending, Singed pumped Warwick’s Shimmer-infused blood into Viktor’s Arcane-corrupted body to bring his pupil back to life. When Arcane got mixed with Shimmer, it gave Viktor his ultimate form. The sublime intersection of order and chaos. Viktor, in his God mode, started to believe that the root of all human sufferings are their emotions, which often clash with reason. In simple words, he turned each and every person into his puppet, creating a system where Viktor will do all the thinking and decision-making for everyone around, just like what “The Herald” was doing for his disciples. He was a fascist who wanted to usurp everyone’s freedom. It was only after he had destroyed the world that he realized that taking the emotions and conflicts from a person’s life was only going to make everyone “dreamless.”
In the final episode, Viktor told Ambessa that he needed to access the Hexgate’s core to transform the entirety of humanity into fearless warriors. And in season 2’s ending, when Viktor finally had access to such unimaginable power, he used it to control the minds of every individual. He took Jayce’s consciousness to another realm, which seemed like a neural network of sorts. Basically, an interconnected network of neurons to control all our actions. Long story short, Viktor was going to use it to command his slaves. But before he could do so, Ekko came out of nowhere and threw his charged time machine towards Viktor in order to send his consciousness back in time and make him realize who he really had been and what he had become. The existence of two Viktors in one Shimmer-induced body once again underscored Viktor’s analogy of humans being two sides of the same coin. One side is run by emotions, while the other is run by reason. One side represents the brain, while the other represents the heart, and we need to find a balance between both to be stable.
It is said that, sometimes, evil’s the only thing that can defeat evil, and that’s what the rune stone was all about. That was the only poison that could cut through the poison Jayce and Viktor had spread over Piltover. In short, the rune stone was the key to ending all evil, and as soon as Viktor held it in his hands, it not only erased Viktor but Jayce along with him. Once again, Viktor and Jayce couldn’t exist without each other because they are the two sides of the same coin. The world would never be safe and become a better place until it got rid of both of them. But I still want to believe that Viktor and Jayce’s souls continue to live somewhere in the Arcane realm. And even if they don’t, does it really matter?
Mel Medarda Take the Fleet to Noxus
Even though Mel, with her new powers, got rid of her mother, Ambessa, her battle is far from over. The second season didn’t reveal the exact reason why Black Rose had waged war on the Noxian Army or what Ambessa was really doing in Piltover. I mean, it was obvious that she was looking for Arcane, which she believed could destroy Black Rose, but what’s really the conflict between them? Why were they fighting? Rose pointed out the fact that Ambessa feared those who were touched by Arcane, but in the end, she herself wanted to exploit Arcane to get supersoldiers on her side so she could defeat her enemies. It was obvious that Black Rose had been manipulating Mel from the very beginning, but what’s really the extent of her lies?
Arcane season 2’s ending revealed that a three-eyed raven stole a magic crystal from Jayce’s corrupted hammer. With Mel sailing toward Noxus, it could be possible that Black Rose too would try to use Hextech to strengthen her power and annihilate her enemies. FYI, as per the games, the three-eyed raven could be Swain, but since I’m talking about the show, not the games, I’m going to base my speculation on the narrative that has been presented before me. With that said, Jayce’s Hextech isn’t completely gone, even though its makers have presumably perished. If Rose or anyone gets their hands on the Arcane, then they might bring a similar extinction to Noxus. So yes, this Arcane ends here, but Mel’s story isn’t over yet. I believe all the missing gaps in Rose and Ambessa’s rivalry and what Mel’s brother found out about his mother will be explored in a spin-off series centering around Mel Medarda and will most likely take place in Noxus with little connection to Piltover.
Jinx Might Still Be Out There, Somewhere
After Jayce and Viktor were gone for good, peace finally prevailed between Piltover and Zuan. It could be assumed that after Mel left for Noxus, her seat in the council was filled by none other than Sevika, Silco’s right-hand, who now represents the newly created nation of Zuan. Sevika’s presence in the council, even though she was looked down upon by other councilors, marks the beginning of a new era that Silco and Vander had once dreamed of.
In Arcane season 2’s ending, one could see Caitlyn going through the blueprints of Hextower. So, as per my friend, it’s some Star Wars thing you can read about here, but in my own understanding, the scene suggests that Caitlyn suspects that Jinx is still alive. In the climax scene, Jinx sacrificed herself to save Vi from monstrous Vander or transformed Warwick and fell into the core of the Hexgate, implying her death. Now, the blueprints suggest that there is an air duct and cooling system through which Jinx could have escaped, and if that’s true, I am more than happy for Ekko. I mean, we already saw in an alternate timeline how much he wanted to be with Jinx but he couldn’t because he had some unfinished business back at home. Also, before I forget, Heimerdinger is dead. I mean, he is still alive in the same alternate timeline, but the one we have been following since the beginning of the show is gone. Ekko had witnessed his death, which was why he wasn’t using his time machine at full power, but it turned out that Heimerdinger’s death had nothing to do with it, and it was an incident that couldn’t be avoided. I feel Ekko will take Jayce’s place and become the famed innovator of Piltover someday. He has some big shoes to fill, but yes, there’s no one better than him out there. And Heimerdinger doesn’t take chances; if he took Ekko on as his disciple, then he indeed had some spark in the young man. Ekko isn’t going to make Hextech again, but I believe he is going to invent or discover something safer that can solve the issues of the two nations without risking their existence. More like a safer approach to energy. But we’ll see more of it in case he too gets a spin-off of his own storyline.
And last but not least, Singed also got his daughter’s life back, though not in the form that he had expected. It could be surmised that Viktor evolved her into a semi-sentient being, who looked like Viktor’s own disciples. She was alive, but she was a husk of her former self. To sum up, the story of Ekko, Jinx, Vi, and Caitlyn could further be explored in Arcane spin-offs if Netflix gathers up the strength to greenlight such costly shows once again. But if not, then this is the end. A happy ending for everyone except for Mel, who still seeks revenge for her brother and her mother.
