#s1 act3

[jinxarchive]

Zaun's royalty

[midnightcatharsis]

I’M NOT ANGRY AT JAYCE BECAUSE HE THOUGHT HE HAD TO DESTROY THE HEXCORE AND IN CONSEQUENCE KILL VIKTOR OR BECAUSE HE DECIDED TO DO IT. (I have no doubt that he saw something terrible that will be revealed later). I AM ANGRY AT JAYCE FOR HOW HE CHOSE TO DO IT and because it looked like it was way too easy for him.

Most arguments defending Jayce like: "he did everything right because he saw something terrible and had to stop it", "Viktor was manipulated or taken over by the hexcore and had to be stopped", "the cult was morally questionable/evil" - all operate on a fallacy that there were only 2 solutions: either to do nothing completely and let the hexcore do whatever it wants or kill Viktor in the EXACTLY SAME way and manner that Jayce did it. And I have several problems with that take.

A. First of all Jayce didn’t save anyone because it was probably a self-fulling prophecy and by killing Viktor without thinking Jayce didn't stop the tragedy but rather made it happen.

Yes, after merging with the hexcore Viktor seems a little more distant and hollower and is certainly manipulated/used by it, but Act 2 proves he was still himself. He still was desperately clinging to his humanity, he still disagreed with Singed, he still wanted only to help his people, he still wanted them to have their humanity (as proved by Vander's situation) and he still had emotions. He was happy and excited to see Jayce again and wanted to share this dream with Jayce, wanted Jayce to be proud and happy with him... And then he just feels betrayal, confusion, disappointment, and fear. Whether he was manipulated or whether the cult would have bad consequences long term is beside the point. What is important is that he was to some extent in control, had good intentions, wasn't aggressive, and was capable of talking and reasoning. Jayce couldn’t see that. By killing Viktor to avoid the tragedy Jayce took his humanity from him, and this will cause exactly what he wanted to avoid. Dying Viktor rejects humanity -he thinks that everybody he was trying to save and he himself were killed only because of his positive emotions towards Jayce and his trust in him, and he probably doesn’t want to feel that hurt, fear, and betrayal anymore…

It was still possible to talk with Viktor, only Jayce’s choice to murder him will create a villain Jayce wanted to stop.  

B. Even assuming that Jayce absolutely had to kill Viktor to stop the hexcore that is the least problematic and hurtful part. I couldn't hate Jayce or be angry at him for killing Viktor if he was convinced, he had to do it to save the future regardless of whether it turns out to be a good choice or a self-fulling prophecy. I'm not angry at him for that. I’m super angry at him for how easy it was for him to kill his partner/roommate/best friend, how he didn't struggle with it at all (for comparison we see Vi clearly struggling with the idea of killing her sister despite knowing that she is a terrorist), how emotionless he was, and how he made Viktor's last moments hell and emotional torture by giving him the most brutal, terrifying and heartless execution that was possible.

He didn't even try to find an alternative solution to save Vik. I am not saying he should have found it, but he didn't try. He returned and immediately decided to murder him. Viktor invited him and Jayce didn't even bother to talk to him, didn't try to reason with him or to convince him, didn't want even to spare 5 minutes to explain the situation to Vik, perhaps Viktor could give him some advice or insight or if not, at least Jayce could tell him why he had to kill him so that Vik doesn't feel so betrayed in his last moments. Jayce could spend 2 minutes to reassure him that Jayce doesn't want to do it. Finally, Jayce could just say "I'm sorry Vik" or "Forgive me, for what I have to do" or ANYTHING. If he did that, I would find it tragic but I couldn't possibly dislike him. My problem is that he didn't. He didn't want to spare 2 fucking seconds to say "I'm sorry" and to make it slightly less horrifying for Vik or to reassure him that Jayce truly cared. Imagine the hurt, confusion, and betrayal that Viktor had to feel upon realizing that the only person he considered a friend wants to murder him without regret and without telling why. Probably if Jayce spared those fucking 10 seconds to express to V that he doesn't want to do it, only thinks he has to, Viktor would be able to understand, wouldn't want to completely get rid of his emotion and humanity later and the villain Jayce was trying to destroy wouldn’t be created at all. Let’s be honest those 10 seconds wouldn’t have destroyed the earth or caused any horrifying cataclysm.

Viktor in episode 6 has no idea why he has to die and you know what? He doesn’t fucking deserve it. Regardless of whether he will become a villain later or not, regardless of whether he was controlled or manipulated by the hexcore he still had good intentions and didn’t deserve to die like that, to be treated like that, especially, not by Jayce who merged him with the hexcore in the first place.

I think that if I were in Viktor’s position I would like at least to know why I have to die or whether my best friend ever cared to, you know, die more peacefully. Wouldn’t you dear reader?

Even later after murdering Viktor Jayce still doesn't look as if he gives a damn about him. He doesn't say anything, or do anything that indicates that he feels sorry about that. He doesn't cradle his body, instead, he leaves the corpse in a place where he knows nobody will even give it a proper burial... He shows fewer emotions and less care than supposedly taken over by the hexcore Viktor.

I don't think Jayce deserves hate for deciding to destroy hexcore/killing Viktor even if I think he didn't save anyone but made everything worse. However, Jayce deserves every possible critique for choosing the cruelest way to do it, for how easy it was for him, and because he doesn't show any care or emotions in episode 6.

The only thing that could still make me understand this and forgive him is if it turns out that he was being manipulated or taken over by the void/hexcore or some other powerful being.

[ilikethecolorredsstuff]

ARCANE Rant

Arcane s2 ending is underwhelming because the show was slowly building up to it (the biggest disappointment of the century)

U can feel it slowly letting go of the class issues that s1 was based on ( arguably the reason why the show was appealing to begin with) foe what seems to be no reason. Cause it seemed that they could've done better with presenting the themes that were already there in the subtext of it all or atleast it was that way for s1 and the first act(s?)

By the 3rd act, it's like they make it a point to stray away from what the show is supposed to be about and maybe that's why there's a lot of distraction going on (*caughs * fan service). In the last act there's just so many loose endings and key points are missing, ones that are usually provided to the whatcher bethey offer needed insight like how jayce decided to touch the arcane or what happened with ekko and jinx when he stopped her. This is a pattern that also shows in s1 and the other acts but the avoidance of clearing things up or providing insight on character's behaviors in this case isn't to get us to think about it and interpret it on our own instead it leaves a feelibg of just accept it for now that's how thongs came to be, and it doesn't even explain it later(would've beena great move tbh).

This lack of insight makes it easier to just accept other shifts that don't actually make sense like the main shift of victor's character when he gave up on doing good for the ppl the moment jayce attacked him and honestly not only did jayce have no business doing that, victor also had no reason to change his ideology for only that. The attack harmed not only him but also the ones connected to him so it does make sense that instead of healing he decided to eliminate all danger but even then it wouldn't make sense for him to agree to forge an army and pick sides for a political war something he aims to demolish.

And then it's not even about his conquest anymore and we get a fairly easy and rushed destruction of the black flower and then back to Victor.... Victor changes his ways and they disappear leaving everyone behind to what? Move on? As if the story is about how humans weren't ready for a progress that fast andbnow they can learn from their mistakes and take their time, as if that insane leap of advancement both biological and technical isn't just a by product of an environment manufactured by classism that pressured and cornered ppl into this extreme reality.

At the end, nothing has changed from the beginning of s1, the counsel just added a physical chair for the undercity instead of the invisible one that silco did hold at some point.

The truth is zaun isn't even a separate nation anymore it's still the undercity who now has a representative in the counsel.

War didn't even unite the ppl in fear and grief because except for the enforcers the fighters were mostly from zaun, this is dangerous because it paints a picture where the unpriveleged lot are fighting someone else's battles while the priveleged (root cause of said battle) get to flee and only comeback when everything is settled to look all bigoted and give side eyes to the representative of the unpriveleged (im looking at u short grandma).

My point is what is the show trying to say by ignoring the core issue, leaving us in the dark abt a character's motivations, and jumping to war with spiritual robots meanwhile the counsel is full of classist cowards leading a nation they fled when shit got bloody and letting the war criminal from the uptown have a happy ever after, her crimes don't even get mentioned while jinx is told that no amount lf help she offers can undo the harm she caused. It's all intentional, the show even ends with a hidden message that heimdinger was correct from thr beginning for restricting research or at least it felt that way.

[appleblossoms08]

It's 4 am and I just finished the Arcane S2 marathon with my friends

I am NOT okay

[hexhomos]

isnt it wild how jayce is the most heavily misunderstood arcane character..everytime i see takes about him being upper-class and rich or mean and condescending or not caring about viktor in s1 or whatever other garbage ppl say about him i lose a year of my life

It's crazy to me that I've been saying jayce is working class for years and this got confirmed in the draft 1 board for arcane christian linke posted on twitter sometime ago lol

house Talis is a MINOR HOUSE of toolmakers whose most prominent contribution is the 'collapsible pocket wrench'. They're literally blacksmiths. This is a service and labor position. Jayce can't even afford to use gold in his inventions in act1 because he relies on the Kiramman money for everything. This is not the life of a rich guy in Piltover this is middle class at best lol his drive to finish up hextech and succeed academically is him trying to build a better life for himself!

Blacksmithing is historically a very intensive work position. The work wears you down & eventually disables you very early in life (jayce's injury in act3 seems to be a metaphorical speedrun of that, in some ways) we're never told how jayce's dad died but it is very fair to imagine it was a work related. he's fucking aware of this, its true In Real Life and it brings such an interesting context to his interactions with Viktor and how they want to create things that help common laborers and make the work better if it wasn't for the council. (in s1 act2 their progress day showcase to heimerdinger BEGINS with jayce complaining that they've been stuck fulfilling the council's demands these past 10 years and now, finally, *finally* it's their time to decide what to do with hextech. and they're not even allowed that.)

Also, the perfected hexgems in s1 are kept in Kiramman-crest boxes. I noticed this just the other day. JAYCE AND VIKTOR DON'T OWN SHITTTTTTTTTTT they're getting exploited big time while all that 'investor' money is charged back with deep dividends

just like real life academics they probably spent most of their life writing up grant proposals like dogs and begging for funding that will wring them dry later on. Where the hell is all my jayce and viktor class solidarity 'getting drunk off their mugs and complaining about their dipshit bosses' content?

[related post]

MARCH 2025 UPDATE: just got my Arcane artbook and it directly confirms the Talis family legacy is not big industry, because those weren't even part of the world. It is only post-timeskip that we start to see ramped up production + Jayce's focus is giving magic to the common people.

[sinaeter]

        How unfortunate, though, perhaps it's just another false memory - a feeling of longing for someone who  hasn't existed  for some time now    ...    The serpent held their head a moment, shaking off this sense on unease. Within a moment, her stature returns to normal, as if nothing's happened. Eyes of slits looked to the officer, nodding in acknowledgement, in the least. This unfamiliar city, it must be a planet she's crossed into without giving much thought; meaning, there's a  reason  she's been brought here. Perhaps, another emanator lurks? Or rather, a threat is posed to these people - Aeon IX intends on consuming it, as well? Whatever the reasoning, there  is  a purpose    ...    time must'nt be so wasted.

         ❛ ❛  Ah,  I see. Well, that's alright. I've got another question to ask, instead    ...    excuse my forwardness, but has anything  strange  happened lately? The air seems    ...    tense. I'm  newer  to these parts, Miss    ...  ?  ❜ ❜ 

@sinaeter . . .

' I'm sorry — I haven't seen anyone fitting that description . Do you know where she might be heading ... ? '

[adageyer]

Rewatching S1 while I wait for S2 Act3

[thelittleastronautinspace]

JINX IS ALIVE AND I CAN PROVE IT!

OK so, in the final episode of arcane Jinx blows herself up along with Vander/Warwick so she must be dead right?

WRONG

Here's my evidences

1. Foreshadowing, The Airship

Arcane is full of foreshadowing, nothing in this show is meaningless, repeating motifs and Chekhov's guns are plenty. In the very first act in episode 1 of the show the first words out Powders mouth to the audience is "One day, I'm gonna ride in one of those things.", this is in reference to an airship floating past.

The start of the shot has the ship fly above the camera and allow us to see the back fans. See how this frame is set, its a establishing shot with a focal point on the left side with the airship above the horizon line on the left. Now look at the end shot of act 3 season 2

It is a replace, a beat for beat copy of the first airship shot, arcane is the most expensive animated show to ever be produced, this is not a coincidence, this is foreshadowing. Its telling the audience that Powder fulfilled her wish. But there's more.

2. Repeating motifs, Jinx's scribbles/ film noise

At the end of the act3 s3's shot is this glitched out end card, before it for a few frames we se film noise. Film noise is when dust or other stuff gets on the film roll creating white specks and streaks, this is significant because its a running motif with Jinx and her hallucinations.

The first image is the end scene of arcane while the second image is from ep6 s1, notice the white streaks in each. Film noise, it only appears with Jinx, its a visual motif of hers, denoting her grip on reality and saying to the audience that she is here, its her motif.

3. Visual story telling, Caitlyn, The Monkey, The Hexgate and Shimmer

Caitlyn is first and foremost a detective, she is a brilliant minded woman who was able to figure out most of Silco's plot without any contact in the undercity, she has a keen eye for detail and can reconstruct in her mind a crime scene as seen in ep 4 s1.

We see her in the final minutes of ep 9 s2 pondering Jinx's "death", I think she believes Jinx is still alive and is gathering evidence.

She has with her the monkey head of the monkey bomb Jinx used. It is the same one as the bomb, the same red paint on the ear and middle nail. But here's the thing, if the monkey head survived getting blow up, there should be remnants of Jinx's body or cloths or anything but we are show nothing.

This tells me Caitlyn also thinks Jinx is alive and is trying to figure out how. She looking through her mothers archives on Jayce's blueprints of the hexgate. and she zooms in onto the part of the blueprints that show vent ways in roughly the same area Jinx would have fell, meaning that Jinx had an escape route out of the hexgate and away from the explosion.

This leads me on to my finale point of the visual story telling and it has to do with shimmer. Jinx gains this uncanny speed with shimmer and when she uses this new power we see these trails of pink. In this new season we also see how she seeming goes so fast we cant see her except for the trails of shimmer.

This leads me to the explosion, if we slow it down we see the same pink glowing streak rushing away from the explosion. Jinx used her shimmer speed to get out.

We only ever seen this pink streak is with Jinx and other shimmer enhanced people but Jinx is the only one with this ludicrous speed that could outrun an explosion.

I do believe Jinx lives, there is to much evidence and frankly, Jinx is to much of a money maker for Riot to just kill off. I bet we will be seeing her soon in Riot's new show even if its small cameo

[justanerddummie]

I really like the way Caitlyn breaks her alliance with Ambessa the moment she finds it no longer beneficial to her goals.

I guess it might have been a bit muted in s1 and harder to clock but Cait has always been the kind of character for whom the end justifies the means. She's not above stooping so low she can be considered un-redeemable, she's not above using chemical warfare to catch the chembarons, she's not above risking the death of a child if it means she gets to kill Jinx and that is something Ambessa had not considered.

I think it's quite telling the way in which Ambessa thought she needed to teach Cait about guile, no honor, no accountability, well Ambessa that's your regular Piltie, Cait's not the exception she is the rule. The fact that she encourages the worst parts of Caitlyn right before she betrays her is just so funny I can't stop thinking about it and the way she seems so angry and hurt by it is even better.

In her manipulation Ambessa is the one who forgot to follow her own rules she lost her vision and instead of doubling down twice as hard on Caitlyn, keeping her constantly under her scrutiny she started to consider her one of her own, her kin, giving her free reign of her camp, what is even better is that in a way the pupil surpassed the teacher and when it was time for Caitlyn to be the one to give in this alliance she instead metaphorically flipped Ambessa the bird and if we do not consider the act3 preview Caitlyn really did fuck up her plans with Warwick.

I guess in a way Ambessa found in Caitlyn the daughter she never had only for it blow up in her face, you better be careful with what you wish for.

I'm honestly really curios about how this will evolve in the next episodes, and considering how in the preview it seems that Cait and Ambessa are dueling I guess my wish will be turn to reality.

[isaaagloom]

ISAAAGLOOM HERE COMING TO JAYVIK-IFY AN ANTI-JAYVIK SCENE :3

(obvi s2 spoilers past this point!!!)

we ALL saw jayce shoot viktor, but we’re missing the bigger picture!!!!!!!

1, jayce didnt want to shoot viktor. you can see it in his body language as he’s getting ready to do it, holding up the fuckass hex-hammer, shaking his head, shaking in general (probably from messing with the arcane, but id like to believe some of it was anxiety about having to do that to viktor)

2, viktor seemed so calm in his presence. viktor wasnt nervous around him even with a massive weapon in his hand. also, he didnt try to talk jayce out of anything!!! i think this could be a self-destructive mannerism, like in s1 when he hesitated on deactivating that bomb he was holding.

3, we have to understand that jayce destroying the hexcore is the only way viktors plot couldve expanded and finished itself. if he didnt, viktor’s compound would’ve grown, and eventually taken over most, if not all of, zaun!! cool alternative ending to think about (fanfic writers… wink wink wink) but definitely not the way to finish off viktors plot

little controversial, i dont think either of them were wrong for ep3.

viktor and jayce always wanted to give hextech to the people. to help them, to heal them, to make everything easier for the people of zaun, that was the entire purpose of hextech and most of the reason why viktor and jayce got along so well in the beginning. they had an equal understanding of wanting to help the undercity people, and knew how they could!!! however, jayce promised viktor he would destroy the hexcore. he realized he was wrong in ep2 when viktor said “i was supposed to die” and it was really solidified for him when stuck in the arcane, that he needed to destroy the hexcore!!

last thing i wanna say, notice how everyone in viktor’s compound is wearing lighter colored clothing, and viktor is still wrapped up in that blanket jayce gave him!!! he probably had to refuse proper clothing to keep a part of jayce with him. :( :( :(

tldr theyre so inlove it actually hurts me, i really hope we get some jayvik interaction in act3, i miss them

[derpydoteddrake]

I’m actually very curious, how do you think Viktor’s arc will end in Arcane (act3) & also how could it impact his relationship with Jayce ?

Oh wow a question! Hello there!

Since s1 ended my bet was that it will end with: jayce failing to destroy the core, viktor will lose his mind to it and the series will not conclude their rivalry story but kick it off and they end up roughly where they were in lore.

And I always thought the series would use Viktor as a hook for future stories to show that there are still conflicts on the horizon.

One thing that they hinted and definitely gonna come into play is his reluctance to sacrifice warwick, I think even actually he will come around to doing that, or maybe they will do that to him.

And also his resurrection will mess him up further.

So I still think something similar will happen/is happening, however the thing that got introduced that complicates things is:

Viktor is too god damn powerful, currently the series is teasing that by the time he finishes his transformation he will be basically a demigod who can puppet corpses.

I thought they would bulk him up so he will be a more obvious threat, but this is a bit too much. He can not end the series with the implication that he is just vibing in zaun like the og, so I think they way they solve this is either:

-just killing him (would be probably an ambiguous death because of the time travel shinegans)

-seal him away like Viego

-somehow they sever him from the arcane and he wants to get back that connection.

Since his transformation will probably be a last episode thing, I highly doubt his story will conclude 100%, but he also won't be in a state where he can end the series just casually existing in the world like the others.

And how will it impact his relationship with jayce... we don't quite know what's up with him, yet. But by what he is saying in his skin, he is not over the idea of saving Viktor and he is probably trying to find a timeline where the arcane doesn't destroy everything.

I don't think he is above killing Viktor at this point tho, but It's hard to tell what his exact plan is since he just left viktors body there which allowed him to be resurrected, even though it's implied he did this a lot. I definitely dont thin jayce hates him tho, he did look upset over what he has to do.

The only ending I really dont want is the implication that the only thing left for viktor is for jayce to put him out of his misery. What i always like about viktor is how his character could go in so many directions (he could be even actually redeemed, or he could have even become the next big bad of pnz), and taking that away from him would suck imo.

[onecontinuoussigh]

My media this week (26th-2nd Feb 2025)

READS

🍔 Bob's Burgers - finally saw the erotic friend fiction episode 😭

🫥 Started The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab - I'm enjoying it! I liked the Shades of Magic books by her as well so this has been on my list for a while.

WATCHING

💣 Arcane S1 E5. I'm trying! Tumblr wants me to watch this and I'm struggling a bit in S1 but sticking with it.

LISTENING

👄 I feel like constantly out of the loop about music, but somehow I got exposed to Lola Young's This Wasn't Meant For You Anyway - so I've been playing that a bit!

PLAYING

⚔️ Still plugging along with Act3 in Baulder's Gate. I thought maybe I'd try to push through to the end but JESUS there is just so much to do still, so I'm trying to summon my patience.

[lightningchu-the-mega-raichu]

I just think it's pretty cool that my cousin/BFF and I predicted an Arcane S2 plot point literally the day the last 3 episodes of S1 came out

Act3 had JUST came out and once we both finished it we started a RP to cope, it was a crossover between Arcane and League of Legends.

In our RP Warwick recognized his daughters and had a soft spot for them, and literally Jinx had to be the one to tell Vi that Warwick was Vander and then Vi and Vander hugged.

Anyway we're super smart and we predicted this years ago.

Proof:

These are chopped up, I didn't post the full scene cause that would be too long

[hexhomos]

Love how in ep.8 onwards Jayce wears zaunite colours down to his shirt having vertical stripes. The writing was on the wall that he will bail out on Piltover in some way, didn't think it'd be literal gay skybeam abduction but good for him.

ART TEAM MY CARRIES. Genuinely love the visuals this season even if some plotlines id prefer to watch on mute. I really really like how Jayce's act3 design is asymmetrical in armored form too (a trait most commonly spotted in our zaunite characters), his entire wardrobe is spelling out the influence time on the future had upon him, and not only that, but his entire outfit calls back to Viktor lol? The flower swirl patterns on his shoulders and back alluding to the warped greenery Viktor has around him always, V shaped cuts on his rolled up sleeves and on his collar, V sigils bedazzling on his coat, gloves like the ones Viktor wears at the end of s1 when he's trying to hide his mutation (which Jayce also has in a different form), plus the hair/eyebags/brace being obvious. And the gem, you know about the gem.

A lot of people have pointed this out but the look he has in the end of act2 is highly evocative of Viktor's original ingame model too. WIth the reveal that Viktor was mapping his actions all along I think that whole thing is so fucking awesome. genius

The flower pattern can also be about something else....

which could mean a lot.

[fleshunger]

how do we feel after arcane….

Disappointed but not surprised; I always knew they wouldn’t do Jinx’s character (amongst other characters aswell) justice so I didn’t get my hopes up too much. Act3 in specific just feels rushed and sloppy and the entirety of season 2 clearly caters to a certain group in the arcane fandom—a group I don’t belong to, clearly lol. A lot of important plot points were left to be (presumably) handled off screen and nonsensical filler bs happened on screen which obviously should’ve been the other way around. Jinxs story fell victim to misery porn writing and her unknown/ambiguous status feels like a lazy way to wrap up her story. Vi sometimes like a shallow shell of who she once used to be but I must say I’m glad to see her have some happiness, peace and quiet after her chaotic life even if it’s without her baby sister by her side. I don’t wanna be that one friend who doesn’t like anything so I’ll admit there are certain things I did enjoy in the finale but I prefer act2 over act3 but as a whole s2 fell a bit flat and I generally feel s1>s2 by a long shot.

[fangrurin]

little personal arcane s2 musing under the cut (with some spoilers)

imo the pacing is off this season like they’re clearly trying to fit A LOT in but that means they can’t sit with any story beats and truly explore them and show consequences in any real depth

everything just seems to be montage, montage scene, should have reverberating consequences in the story, montage of those consequences

like wdym you’re gonna jump from caitlyn choosing a darker path in ep3 to her pretty much back to her s1 characterisation in ep4, but she just happens to be in the situation of s2a2?? there could’ve been a whole episode arc (at least!) where she starts off super dark and dictator-y and then comes to her senses in real time, rather than a time skip

wdym there was no rumination on vi’s reaction to Caitlyn leaving her in ep3?? all we got was, you guessed it, a montage of her as a drunken fighter

they didn’t even have jinx comment on why vi is back in zaun, no ‘got dumped by your girlfriend’ comment or anything (plus vi got over the whole sitch pretty quickly after seeing cait again - although I know they’ll have an argument about ambessa’s influence in act3 from the promo)

anyway these are just examples off the top of my head rn at the time of posting but i had to say it to someone/the void of the internet lol

and don’t get me wrong I love this show!!! But it just feels like it’s not living up to its full potential imo