Before the final act of Arcane season 2, let’s take stock of all the epiphanies, reconciliations, and other witnessed awakenings, both good and bad.
“The Arcane is waking up.”
A phrase from the Arcane season 2 trailer provides a key thematic anchor for what we’ve seen so far in Acts I and II, and we’re likely to witness even more “awakenings” in the final chapter of the series. There’s still plenty of mystery surrounding raw magic and wild runes after what was largely a more steampunk first season, and it appears that there are some very real consequences for hextech’s meddling with such powerful chaotic energy. But who or what exactly is waking up?
It’s not just the powers of magic, that’s for sure. Isha awakened feelings of family within Jinx, who in turn awakened Vi from her drunken self pity. Caitlyn couldn’t allow Vi to lose a parent like she did and awakened to the manipulation of Ambessa. Vander awakened inside the body of a beast, and all seemed like family and friends were headed towards a reconciliation and reunion. But Arcane likes to awaken hope in its viewers’ hearts only to snatch it away with exquisite, tragic cruelty.
The magical awakenings are equally as interesting if a little bit more mysterious. What did Jayce see inside the Anomaly, for example, to make him seek out his best friend and kill him? His inner turmoil is very evident, even to Viktor, who, when Jayce calls hextech a curse, says “You seem different. Something happened. Now I see it. You, too, have touched the Arcane. Your mind suffered.”
Are the forces of magic angry with what they’ve done to command its energy through technology? Whatever Jayce might mean by “I will not fail,” Viktor’s supposed death somehow elicits further thoughts on the matter. “I understand now… the reason for our failures in the commune” Viktor says, seemingly reflecting on the situation after having died. “The doctor was right. It’s inescapable! Humanity!” Is it possible Viktor could still rise again to strip away his last remaining weakness once and for all? After all, Sky “awakened” inside his mind!
Then there’s the Medarda clan. Although the arrival of the mystical Black Rose could be seen as an “arcane awakening” of sorts, it appears that this force has been at work in Noxus for quite some time. The secretive cabal clearly doesn’t want Ambessa exercising too much control outside of their purview, mentioning a feud that cost the general her son under mysterious circumstances. But the awakening actually happens elsewhere.
If those who have imprisoned Mel are seeking answers that her brother Kino couldn’t provide, they may be getting more than they bargained for. A voice says, “We had such high hopes for him! At first it seemed plausible that he could have been the child, but then your mother led us to you… sister.” The burst of powerful light that is Mel’s only response speaks to a hidden power we never suspected, nor perhaps did Mel herself. Quite the awakening!
And don’t forget that Jayce wasn’t the only one swept up in the Anomaly! Heimerdinger and Ekko are presumably still lost in the magical dimension that changed Jayce’s hammer and embedded that blue gem from his childhood in his wrist. Could the ex-councilor and head Firelight awaken to their own new powers, perhaps ones that resemble what League of Legends players recognize from the game? (Zero Drive anyone?)
The Arcane may be waking up, but one person is still asleep at the end of Act II: the loved one of Singed, the developer of Shimmer now known as Dr. Reveck. League of Legends players will recognize the doctor’s name and what that says about the identity of the girl in the glass coffin, but it’s unknown what it will take to bring her out of her slumber. Her awakening may have to wait until Act III, which will wrap up Arcane’s story on November 23.
