League of Legends’ animated series, Arcane, premiered just yesterday. But League fans already want more.
After months of building anticipation, League fans finally got to watch the first three episodes of Arcane on Nov. 6. It was easy for fans to get into the story from the start after Riot recently released trailers that showed the setting, characters, and bits of the plot.
Now, everyone who has access to a Netflix account can watch (or rewatch) the first act of the League series while waiting for the second set of episodes to drop on Nov. 13.
By placing a small teaser at the end of the third episode, Riot gave Arcane fans a sneak peek at what is going to happen in the second act.
Here’s what we know could happen from now on, with spoilers from the first three episodes.
Vi encounters Caitlyn
A few years will likely pass between the incidents in episode three and the beginning of episode four. The teaser after the last episode showed Caitlyn’s mother with grey hair, while other characters we’ve encountered so far look like a more grown-up version of the kids they once were.
Vi was last seen when she was taken by Marcus, the Piltover enforcer who was investigating the explosion that happened in the first episode. From the various trailers, we know she was sent to prison. In fact, when Vander gets arrested in Vi’s stead during episode three, Grayson, the enforcer with whom Vander had an agreement, says he “won’t be coming back for a long time.” A long imprisonment is likely what happened to Vi.
With Vander’s disappearance, everything will fall apart eventually, as the Piltover enforcer said. Without him looking out for Zaun’s people and peace with the topside, chaos will thrive.
In the latest trailer, we see a grown-up Caitlyn—who’s probably already working as the Sheriff of Piltover—navigating towards a prison. Caitlyn says she needs to “speak with one of the inmates.” She approaches Vi’s cell and shows the convict a diary with various notes, presumably about Jinx’s attacks in Piltover.
We know Vi will be released and will go off to “try and find” her sister, probably after making a deal with Caitlyn. Vi and Caitlyn will officially meet for the first time, and their first interaction knowing they’ll collaborate a lot in the future to ensure Piltover’s safety could be an important moment.
What happened to Powder?
Although Vi’s path in the next few episodes is foreshadowed in teasers and trailers, we know little about her sister Powder.
After Vi leashed out at her calling her a “Jinx,” Silco finds Powder crying next to Vander’s corpse. By the end of episode three, Silco promises the two will “show them” what they’re made of. From their interaction, fans could theorize he takes Powder under his wing, cultivating her knack for creating weapons and shooting, which already appeared in the first three episodes.
Both the last trailer and the episode three teaser show Powder using the torch she received from her sister before Vi and the others went to the dock to try to save Vander. When giving Powder the torch, Vi said “wherever you are, light it up, and I will find you. I promise.”
It’s still not certain why Powder would use something that could help Vi find her, especially after a long time when she thought Vi abandoned her. Powder could be attempting to reunite with her sister or that she’s using herself as bait to capture Vi by orders of Silco.
Powder becoming Jinx
League fans have adored Jinx from the moment she was first released. She quickly became one of the most loved champions in League thanks to her chaotic personality and catchy music video.
It’s no surprise her popularity has carried over in Arcane as well. From the first trailers, fans could see a little Powder looking at the world with eyes filled with wonder and admiration for her big sister.
However, we know that the time will come when we will have to say goodbye to the innocent Powder and welcome Jinx, the Loose Cannon.
The new drug Silco used in the early episodes could have some influence on Powder’s change, but fans can glimpse more complicated aspects of the nature of her transformation during the first act of the animated series. Powder had a difficult childhood, and unlike her sister, she has shown signs of a mental breakdown—first when Vi leaves her to go and save Vander, and later when Vi seems to have abandoned Powder again after calling her a “jinx.”
With everything that she has been going through, all it would need it’s a little push from someone or something to completely break Powder and bring out Jinx.
Where’s Ekko?
Speculations around the masked figure fighting a grown Powder in the trailer have been going around since the release of the video. For League fans, this character has an unknown design, with accessories and weapons never seen before. This made many players think that the masked figure could be the next ADC, announced in the Champion roadmap of this September.
However, the masked figure could be a grown-up Ekko. A Twitter post showed a line of merchandise related to Arcane, including a ring called “Arcane Ekko Firelight Ring”—with a picture that matches the masked figure.
The character was introduced in the first episode of the series and, knowing his attachment to Jinx, it would have been strange to see him just in the first act.
Even if it’s the masked character is likely “Firelight Ekko,” the question of why he’s fighting Powder and where the scene will take place still stands. We may get some much-needed answers in the next act of Arcane.
Marcus leading Piltover enforcers
League champions are surely the star of the game, but in Arcane, secondary characters shape the legends we’ve known for years.
One of the most overlooked characters in the first three episodes of Arcane is the Piltover enforcer Marcus, who first appears in episode two. Contacted by Silco, Marcus is shown talking to the criminal about the whereabouts of the people who blew up the Piltover building in episode one.
We then see him at the side of what appears to be the leader of Piltover’s armed forces, enforcer Grayson, who has a deal with Vander in episode two.
When Grayson gets killed by the hands of Silco’s henchman at the beginning of episode three, Marcus escapes safely. He is later seen at the docks, where he assists at the Hextech explosion caused by Powder. Investigating the incident, he finds a weakened Vi and captures her with the help of a sleeping drug.
We can only imagine she was later sentenced to prison thanks to him. Since the position of the head of the enforcer was vacant, the Council may have appointed him as the new leader of the armed forces of Piltover.
Unlike Grayson, Marcus looks down on the citizens of Zaun and has repeatedly shown an extremist side while dealing with possible criminals and citizens of the undercity. By gaining an influential position, he will have a say in the decisions made to keep the rebellions at bay in the coming episodes, and we can believe that they will not be as peaceful as Grayson intended.
Hextech weapons
One of the storylines shown in Arcane so far is the story of a young Jayce, from the house of Talis, who tries to harness the magic of runes through science. Jayce owned the laboratory robbed by Vi and her friends, and by reporting the theft, he exposed his research to the Academy. In the ruins of Jayce’s laboratory, the enforcers found a curious machine with a crystal in it and Jayce’s diary, in which he reported on all his research on the technology he calls “Hextech.”
With all these curious and unauthorized materials, Jayce is detained for questioning by the Council of Piltover about the hazardous materials kept in his laboratory, which led to the explosion of the building in the city.
Jayce later met Professor Cecil B. Heimerdinger, head of the Academy, to whom he explains how he was trying to harness magic using technology and science. But the Revered Inventor strongly advises the young boy not to play with magic and says no good would come of Jayce’s research. However, with help from a member of the council and his new “partner” Viktor, Jayce contains the power of a Hextech crystal, sparking a technological revolution with no boundaries.
The trailers show Jayce will complete his Hextech weapon, the Mercury Hammer, a symbol of his house and now one of the most powerful tools in Piltover.
Another Hextech creation that will appear in the show (and possibly in the next few episodes) is Vi’s Gauntlets. Reminiscent of Vander’s iron gauntlets and powered by a Hextech crystal, Vi’s weapons will be a crucial turning point in the character’s growth.
However, since Vi is an inmate and Jayce is a member of one of the most powerful houses in Piltover, we could suppose someone acted as an intermediary between the two of them. That someone would likely be Caitlyn considering she knows both Jayce and Vi. She’s known the former since childhood, and she met the latter through the investigation around the explosions in Piltover.
Vi and Jayce will eventually have to collaborate to take down a common enemy, as shown in one of the trailers. A frame shows Jayce’s hammer and Vi’s gauntlets as they fight some kind of Chemtech gang.
Another shot in the latest trailer of Arcane displays a grown Powder with Jayce’s diary in her hands. With her intellect, talent for building weapons, and the research on Hextech technology, she has all she needs to build Hextech weapons for herself and, possibly, for Silco’s gang.
From League, we know Powder (or Jinx) has an ability called “Zap!,” which fires blue shock blasts similar to the Hextech explosions we’ve seen in the show. We know she has an innate talent to create weapons, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see her build her own weapons in the next few episodes.
Progress Day leads to war
As revealed by Riot, Progress Day is a holiday where citizens of Piltover celebrate technological innovation. The event will be portrayed both in the series and outside of it with in-game missions and rewards. Outside of Arcane, the time frame to celebrate Progress Day is from Nov. 7 to Nov. 13, precisely the week that separates the show’s first two acts.
We have seen in the first episodes how both Jayce and Vikor are very eager to bring change to the City of Progress. In one of the trailers, Jayce speaks to a crowd from a stage, and soon after fireworks can be seen from the windows of Piltover’s council room. Those images could be a glimpse of Progress Day.
But while the Topside looks towards the future and at the innovations brought by Hextech technology, the citizens of Zaun remain impoverished, hungry, and eager for retaliation. Undoubtedly the strong powers of the Undercity want to overthrow the nobles of Piltover, as also suggested by several speeches made by Silco during the first three episodes. But the real revolutionary force comes from the people of Zaun.
Without figures like Vander and Grayson to secretly maintain peace between the two cities, and with the change of power at both high ends, it is highly likely the fragile balance created over the years will be broken. And Progress Day itself could be the cause.
As shown in one of the latest trailers, we can see an angry mob carrying signs, armed with smoke bombs and palpable rage, ready to cross the famous bridge that connects the two cities. Restrained only by barriers and enforcers, the population seems to be against Jayce and Progress Day, as shown by the signs held up by the people.
The uprising could have different causes, from Jayce’s new Hextech technologies to possible exploitation of the underground population by the hands of Piltover. It could also be due to the division of Hextech technology.
Although the reason for this protest is still unclear, we can say that, while the upcoming Progress Day is a celebratory and joyous occasion for the nobility of Piltover, it’s a cause for revolt for the citizens of Zaun.
Corina’s possible appearance
League players may not know about Corina, the Mastermind of Zaun and one of the Chemtech Barons of the Undercity. Her character was introduced in the League universe thanks to Riot’s card game Legends of Runeterra.
In the latest Arcane trailer, Silco is seen talking to other sinister figures seemingly in an important meeting. In the trailer, we hear him saying “as time passes, the topsides are leaving us further and further behind.” It could be a nod to Piltover celebrating Progress Day while Zaun is left with just the scraps of the upper city.
In the scene, the five ominous figures are seated in what could be a greenhouse. In the background, we can see flowers very similar to the ones in Corina’s card art in Legends of Runeterra.
Even if we don’t have any more clues on Corina’s appearance in the show, it would be strange not to catch even a glimpse of her figure and influence in the Undercity. When everyone is thirsting for power, Corina reminds them that she’s the one who “owns this city [Zaun].”
The next batch of Arcane’s episodes will be released on Nov. 13 on Netflix.
