#viktor the machine herald foreshadowing

[plxnovak]

[mollysunder]

I feel like we don't talk enough about the weird ways Viktor's future in Zaun is foreshadowed. When you mix every instance together it creates this weird mixture of heartbreak and terror.

For example, in the flashback when Viktor first meets Singed the entrance Viktor came through has a relief that looks like a shrouded figure. Personally, it reminds me of Huck post-timeskip.

In post timeskip Zaun there's a greenhouse called "The Herald's Palace" based on the sign that's framed with blue swirls similar to Jinx's tattoos, and it's being guarded by men wearing masks similar to the Machine Herald. The guards are even given long clubs reminiscent to the Herald's staff.

When Viktor visits Singed to share his research, when he looks into the container holding Rio, Viktor’s reflection in the fluid and glass makes him appear in better health compared to now. (Chemtech, the answer to filters in a pre-instagram world)

In the same scene, the silhouette of Rio's body vaguely resembles the outline of the Machine Herald's mask that appeared in the tarot card scene. The stand that frames the shot even resembles the Machine Herald's staff.

Speaking of the tarot card, in Viktor's "the Magician" card, the figure is holding an object that could be the hexcore. What's more interesting is that within that hexcore-like object is Jinx's champion teaser tag, it was just turned sideways to resemble the math symbol fish, ∝, though sideways it still makes Jinx's "X". On top of that both tarot cards are initialed with a "VJ", like Viktor and Jinx.

This is just a quick rundown because there's a bunch of the cosmic Void imagery that gets crossed with the human biology that will take longer to get into. It's just interesting how Viktor's story, which initially stood alone in Zaun and was largely influenced by Piltover is now becoming more entagled into the stories of Zaun's more influential champions, Singed and Jinx.

[bringthekaos]

one of my personal favourite Jayce and Viktor scenes are when they’re showing off the Atlas Gauntlets and Hexclaw to Heimerdinger. It’s got a certain amount of catharsis to it, hearing them talk about mining efficiency and artificers when we all know they’re both going to be exclusively used as weapons (I like to imagine the writers sitting around a white board trying to figure out a peaceful reason why someone would invent a death laser). And also because, I noticed that a lot of Viktor’s story telling and foreshadowing is explicitly done a lot more physically then almost any other character, and the way the Hexclaw was show when he was using it is just *chefs kiss*, and I’d imagine that if you were going into the show well aware of lol lore and were expecting him to be way more evil, it would have been a bit more tense, almost akin to the “at last, my arm is complete again” scene from Sweeney Todd.

Yesssss! See, I went into it totally blind, didn’t know anything about lol lore at the time. And even then I could sense that they were trying to foreshadow something, especially with that one shot of him looking a little manic as he says “Hextech that evolves.”

And then I got obsessed and went down the Machine Herald rabbit hole, learning anything and everything I could about him, and then on second watch I was like oooooohhhhhhh. It’s everywhere. The way the Hexclaw is positioned over his left shoulder in that scene, the way they cut from Viktor to Sevika throwing down these cards.

And even in more subtle clues, like the scene where he disarms Jinx’s bomb—at first he was precise and careful, making no mistakes as he showed it to Mel. But then Jayce said something that angered him, and he let his emotions get in the way of his precision, and that anger caused him rip away a portion of the bomb without care, thereby setting it off.

But yeah, the scene where he and Jayce show Heimer the Hexclaw and Atlas Gauntlets is definitely the most saturated. You know it actually got me thinking about Christian Linke’s comment about champions not having plot armor, and that they’re not immune to dying… what if Viktor ends up killing Heimerdinger? With the Hexclaw, in a similar fashion to how the camera angle initially made it look like Viktor had fired at him.

Oooof. Like… I don’t particularly like Heimerdinger, but the thought of Viktor killing him, a pinnacle of Piltover society and one of its founders? They will despise you, indeed.

Just can’t wait for all of this intricate foreshadowing they’ve done to come to fruition. It’s going to hurt so good.

[inoghmia]

THE SEX SCENE HEXTECH SCENE RIGHT

So people go about interpreting this in many different ways, one of which is very often implications of jayvik which I honestly see a purely reaching (also I don’t think the ship is a good idea in canon but that’s a conversation for a different day). I think nobody really concentrates on what goes on right after the segment -

it cuts to Silco and Jinx in the waters, where he describes how Vander turned his back on him.

He tells her about how he let a weak man die and another was reborn.

IS THAT NOT RLY OBVIOUS LIKE THE CONNECTION TO VIKTORS LORE AND THIS CUT ITS LITERALLY JUST FORESHADOWING

FYI THIS IS ALSO THE EPISODE WITH THE MACHINE HERALD CARD

[fire-of-the-sun]

Viktor: Mage Foreshadowing

Though there was a lot of clever foreshadowing for Viktor’s future in season 1, I want to address the imagery of the mage specifically. Our first reveal of the mage is during Jayce’s trial where Heimerdinger warns of the potential destruction that magic can create. 

Heimerdinger: "I've seen this power in the wrong hands. It corrupts. It consumes. Lays waste to civilizations." 

There is no particular indication that this is linked to Viktor yet beyond him being present and clearly intrigued by Jayce’s speech in favor of pursuing magic.

During the presentation of the hexcore, Heimerdinger sees the imagery of the mage again, this time shown within a Void-like structure inside the hexcore. If you listen carefully, you can actually hear Viktor’s theme playing here as well, giving more evidence to prove that the figure he’s speaking of will be him. Heimerdinger reiterates his claims of its destructive power: 

Heimerdinger: “I’ve seen nations destroyed by a single seed and it looked exactly like this.” 

He then studies Viktor, confirming that it’s already starting to have an effect on him despite him not yet beginning the experiments on himself. 

Heimerdinger: “Viktor, something’s different, what did you do? It’s that thing. It must be destroyed!”

After the hexcore has already absorbed some of his blood, we get a scene where Viktor is sitting and watching it, transfixed, while laced within the same Void-like structures as shown before - a brilliant way of showing that his mind has already been entangled in its webs and referencing the previous image. 

As a side note, I think his crutch here and in other scenes of the show is meant to look reminiscent of a mage’s staff.

As Viktor begins to prepare himself for his first transmutation, we intercut to Jayce looking through a book that features a familiar image: a painting of the same powerful, glowing mage above the destruction of a city as shown in episode 2. It’s no coincidence that this was shown right as Viktor is about to take his first step to becoming that very being. 

Though it might just a coincidence, the rune Viktor is etching onto his leg brace is diamond shaped and very similar to the shape of the glow around the mage as well. The rune itself may have some special meaning that I’m not aware of so feel free to share if you do!

Though not the same image that we���ve seen thus far, we get another visual interpretation of a mage (with three arms) on a tarot card shown after Viktor receives his terminal diagnosis, cleverly foreshadowing his future transformation. Though I won’t go into detail about the meaning of the cards (I’m not very familiar with the subject and others have already discussed them at length) the death card could not only support the news of his diagnosis, but also potentially foreshadow the death he will bring, starting with Sky. 

Beyond physically seeing the mage in relation to him, we also get a few lines that foreshadow a darker fate for Viktor regarding magic. In episode 2, there’s a scene where Viktor and Heimerdinger discuss Jayce’s experiments and Heimerdinger says: 

Heimerdinger: “Magic is far too dangerous in the wrong hands.” 

(Which ties directly into Heimerdinger’s previous line: “I’ve seen this power in the wrong hands,” regarding mages). We then see Viktor promptly stealing Jayce’s notebook, more than likely foreshadowing that his are the wrong hands that Heimerdinger warns will bring danger and destruction.

Based on the lore from League of Legends and the foreshadowing in the show, Viktor is undoubtedly going to transform into the Machine Herald, but whether that’s the destructive, civilization ending threat Heimerdinger warns of or if the show will perhaps continue its trend of taking characters to unexpected places remains to be seen. Will Viktor surprise us, fight back against the corrupting influence of the hexcore and find a way to use it for good? Or will he be unable to escape his dark fate and repeat the history Heimerdinger so fears? 

To read more of my thoughts on Viktor and Arcane, search the tag #arcanemeta on my blog. 

[lemonmangosorbet]

Hello, I am back with my hot takes (aka in-depth analysis) of Arcane episode 4 as I rewatch it and pay excrutiating attention to every scene with Jayce and/or Viktor (actually, I rewatched the episode last week, but then spent hours just taking screenshots of every frame, so I forgot everything I wanted to write in this post sdghkjf)

This one ended up being.....long, so I’ve popped it under a ‘read more’ so it doesn’t clog up people’s feeds - I hope you’ll still read it!

* First point: how many years have passed between ep.3 and ep.4? Going by how much both Jinx and Ekko have grown up, I’ve gotta say it’s been at least 10 years?? But I’m mad that they skipped all that time when they could have been showing us Jayce & Viktor working together in the lab! I’d literally pay to see a spin-off series that’s just Jayce & Viktor messing around with Hextech for those 10 years between the two episodes :’)

* I don’t understand anyone who can watch Arcane and think that Jayce is egotistical??? The first few minutes of this episode set him up as someone who is modest - Heimerdinger tells him the council have decided Jayce should give the Progress Day speech and Jayce’s instant reaction is “m-me?!” and he stutters and is flustered. These are not the actions of a man who’s got a big ego (Honestly reminds me of some irl mathematicians who dedicate their lives to solving particular famous problems, and when they do solve them, they do not want the fame or glory)

* I also can’t help noticing (and loving) how uncomfortable Jayce looks in any big social situation, and it happens TWICE in this episode. Both times he seeks out someone he knows (first Caitlyn, then Mel) and end up talking in a 1-on-1 conversation with them to get away from the crowds. This man is an introvert - I can feel it in my own introvert bones

* On my first watch of Arcane, I didn’t think much of Viktor using the Hexclaw during the presentation, but now that I know a bit of League of Legends lore, I’m like (Beyonce meme) THE HEXCLAW???? sdghkjf (I guess Viktor using the Hexclaw now is supposed to be foreshadowing for Machine Herald)

* The way Jayce and Viktor look to EACH OTHER FOR APPROVAL after their presentation to Heimerdinger. brb, just crying and throwing up thinking about it

* Heimerdinger telling Jayce & Viktor to spend 10 years refining the new Hextech portable devices really hurts. I understand it from Heimerdinger’s POV - it’s dangerous to put such powerful devices in the hands of everyone. However, Heimerdinger has a much longer life-span, so to him a decade is a blink of the eye. It’s not like that for Viktor (I suspect he already knows he’s sick but not how sick because they do show him coughing in this episode). Viktor knows his time is limited and he wants to help his fellow Zaunites while he still has a chance to see it. Seeing his disappointment hurts. Seeing Jayce’s big concerned eyes while he looks at Viktor hurts ;-;

* When Jayce has that 1-on-1 conversation with Mel it is yet again obvious how modest he is. She’s telling him he could be a leader of Piltover and he’s like “Me?? Are you sure???” This man never intended on becoming a leader; he just wanted to play science in his lab

* Just before Jayce’s speech when Viktor looks sick with worry because Jayce isn’t there yet, and then Jayce tells him he should join him to make the address and Viktor’s like “in front of all those people?!” If Jayce is an introvert then Viktor is the super-introvert lmao

* Arcane did something very clever in this scene. Jayce tells Viktor to join him to give the speech because it’s their Hextech dream - Jayce is not trying to steal any of the credit from Viktor (he always says they are partners in Hextech). However, there is a frame of Viktor standing on his own and then (due to the forced perspective) when Jayce puts his Man of Progress mug down, it completely blocks Viktor from view. Definitely foreshadowing of what will happen in the future - Viktor will be expelled from the Academy, become the Machine Herald, and the world will forget his involvment in Hextech and assume it was all Jayce

* Mister Jayce “oh god I’m forcing this smile and I hate public speaking” Talis

* When Jayce is giving his Progress Day speech and he says “No one in my life expected very much of me” and the camera immediately cuts to Viktor smiling fondly at Jayce (because Viktor was the one who believed in Jayce at his lowest moment)

* Viktor looked so disappointed when Jayce didn’t reveal the new Hextech innovations they’d been working on and I feel like we were robbed by not seeing how that conversation went down between them after the Progress Day speech

* When they’re brought before the council and Viktor tries to stand and speak up, but Jayce stops him, I know a lot of people have mixed feelings about Jayce’s actions, but he stops Viktor from speaking only so he can take responsibility for the explosion and theft. I am pretty convinced that Jayce is trying to protect Viktor

* This scene is pretty key at setting up Jayce an idealist. He wants to suspend all Hextech use and research to safeguard the population because he thinks it’s the right thing to do. But then the council are like “but think of the economy!” and Jayce is like “what about the safety of the people?”. The man wants to do what’s in the interest of the greater good, and this is gonna keep happening throughout the rest of the series

* When Mel suggests to the rest of the council that Jayce become a new council member, there are two important things that happen: 1) Jayce is reluctant and it’s evident not only in the way he looks, but he actually says ‘no’ out loud. And 2) when Mel is making her proposition, the camera cuts to a shot taken from just behind Viktor and you can HEAR AND SEE HIM take this deep breath, like he is extremely nervous for Jayce and what him becoming a Councillor would mean for them and their Hextech work.

Ok, I think that’s it. Sorry this ended up being so long, but if you read until the end, then THANKS! ;3;

[blood-starved-beast]

Brainworms on the “Vi-gets-an-exoskeleton-in-a-surgery-paralleling-Jinx-getting-shimmered-up” theory again but I wonder - Viktor. We know already in s1 that he parallels Singed in that they both are scientists trying to to pursue the unknown to the fullest extent even if they’re working on opposite ends of the city and all that. Singed was the one to operate on Jinx and inject her full of shimmer leading to her ending up like in ep9. So in the case of this theory, I wonder to complete the parallel Viktor’s gonna be the one in charge of actually creating the exoskeleton or if Jayce’s the one’s to design it he’s the one that ends up doing the surgery (maybe adding some sort of Hextech-Shimmer solution to allow the tech to actually get accepted by Vi’s body?). 

And it sort of makes sense. He already has some sort of brace designed, maybe creating an exoskeleton that follows if not replaces Vi’s spine wouldn’t be that far off, assuming that jacket design is meant to be foreshadowing of some sort. As for the motivating factor as to why he’d do this - if Jayce’s building weapons out of Hextech at this point and they’re already starting to beef about it I wouldn’t push past Viktor, who wanted HexTech for the Greater Good, agreeing to perform a surgery to save someones life (and maybe is able to rope Jayce into agreeing to work on it for similar reasons, assuming Caitlyn didn’t already pressure him to work with Viktor). And it would be a good prelude (when/if the surgery’s successful) to his glorious revolution later on cause I imagine the steps that they’d take for the surgery would be similar to the argumentations that Viktor would do to himself to make himself the Machine Herald

[altiora-ex]

listen, I'm not expert on tarot I just know the general card meanings, but like as soon as I read the post you made about the Death and Magician cards being shown directly after the scene w/ Viktor in bed it suddenly clicked (I had missed it my first watch through), but like, the Death tarot has very little to do with actual biological death, it's a card of transformation and of new beginnings, sort of a "the end of one phase/era, the beginning of a new one". And the Magician usually represents willpower, inspiration, action, and resourcefulness, so like...I feel like the cards specifically being set up as Death and then the Magician (and both upright) was not only intentional, but might be directly foreshadowing Viktor's character arc. The choices for the artworks seem to hint at this as well (as you noted, the Magician looks a lot like the Machine Herald). Anyhow, nice catch!!

thank you anon!! that is super interesting and makes the interpretation more coherent. I also found this

on twitter today which is 100% on par with what you said

[bringthekaos]

Ok but fr

The way I SCREAMED the first time they showed us the Hexclaw. And when Viktor said "Hextech that e v o l v e s" and when Milo said "she jinxes every job"

I'm not immune to obvious foreshadowing

God what a mood. I too am a sucker for obvious foreshadowing.

This must have been such a wild experience, as a League fan… watching all of it come to life in a completely different way. Part of me is glad I didn’t know anything about it, so that I could just take it all in organically, and then go learn everything after. But the other part of me loves that moment of

Nothing beats that, as an existing fan, getting to see all the fun, new ways the characters are interpreted. It’s why I love midnight showings of movies. I love hearing people scream and get excited and freak the fuck out because The Guy Said The Thing. But hey, I’ll get to experience that in season 2!!

Unrelated (sort of), but what was your reaction to seeing Viktor’s face for the first time? Did you know it was him (even though he never introduces himself in that first scene) because of the accent? And were you like… THAT’S VIKTOR?!? That soft-spoken drop-dead gorgeous twink is the MACHINE HERALD?!?

Or did the marketing for the show kinda ruin the surprise? I know they put his name on the posters, so it kinda pokes a hole in that “it’s Viktor” moment.

[fire-of-the-sun]

Hexclaw Foreshadowing

I know this moment is primarily meant to be an introduction to the hexclaw and that even its position behind Viktor's left shoulder is an obvious reference to the Machine Herald, but I want to talk about the framing of the scene and what it could mean. 

The way the camera pans up and over Viktor’s back and looms above Heimerdinger (who looks increasingly nervous as this is happening by the way) is no doubt meant to show how intimidating this device really is and give the sense that it could be more weapon than tool. 

I could be overthinking this, but I also fear this shot and the next of the beam "hitting" Heimerdinger could be foreshadowing Viktor eventually killing him. Even Viktor choosing to carve Heimerdinger's likeness with it feels like the show emphasizing some kind of connection between him and the hexclaw, like he’s it’s future target.

I don't need to stress how tragic this would be of course, especially if it's somehow an accident with Viktor killing yet another person that he cared about and who cared about him. Another death on his conscious that could potentially send him further over the edge and drive a deeper wedge between him and Jayce and even him and Piltover. It would also continue to prove that Heimerdinger was right about their tech being too dangerous - a sentiment that was first brought up in the very same scene as the weapon that kills him is introduced. This show is just so intentional with every little detail I fear this could be foreshadowing I’m not going to like to see potentially come to fruition...

There’s honestly a lot I want to say about the relationship between Viktor and Heimerdinger and where their stories could go moving forward, but I’ll save that for another post. 

To read more of my thoughts and analysis of Arcane, search the tag #arcanemeta on my blog.

[fire-of-the-sun]

Just wanted to share a few things I noticed while rewatching the fantastic montage towards the end of episode 7. Overall, the tone of this sequence is rather foreboding. The music is tense, the lighting and color grading is dark and there’s a real sense of expectancy as all of the characters are preparing for something potentially harrowing. Jayce hugs his mother, recognizing that he has to do something he never thought he would. Vi, Ekko and Caitlyn are on their way to the bridge where Jinx lays in wait and Viktor is about to experiment on himself for the first time and that’s specifically what I want to discuss here. 

I’ve talked before about the foreshadowing with the mage imagery during this sequence (which you can read here), but initially I failed to notice that, when Jayce turns the page, he reveals a piece of paper and looks at it fondly. In a later shot we see it’s a drawing he made as a child - one that depicts him as a mage with a very recognizable hammer.

The fact that they chose to show a representation of his future self at the same time as Viktor is taking his first steps to becoming The Machine Herald - and on the reverse side of his image for that matter, almost as if they’re already destined to be opposed - says a lot.

At the end of the montage, we see Heimerdinger (who has just crossed the river into the Undercity) turn and look back towards Piltover right as Viktor is about to inject himself, almost as if he can sense something is wrong. I’m not so sure he actually can, but the framing does a great job highlighting the connections between these characters. By showing his face here in relation to Viktor, we’re reminded of his warning about using the arcane and it foreshadows how what he feared may be about to happen as the camera focuses on the intricate metal workings on Viktor’s back - a taste of what’s to come... 

To read more of my thoughts and analysis of Arcane, search the tag #arcanemeta on my blog.