Arcane Release Month Revealed: 5 Theories on What to Expect in Season 2

The first season of Arcane was released on Netflix in three parts – on November 6th, 13th, and 20th. Although Riot Games had previously released cinematic videos about the characters, the full-length series was six years in the making.

Arcane showrunner and Riot Games creative director Christian Linke said the process was difficult: the team had to rethink not only the animation, but also the details of the world and the motivations of the characters.

On the day the final episodes premiered, Arcane was renewed for a second season. Riot Games CEO Nicolo Laurent delighted fans by saying that they would not have to wait six years for new episodes. And it was true – the second season will be released in November 2024, exactly three years after the first season.

The first season contained several plot elements that were left unresolved, and the final episode left more questions than answers. Therefore, the plot of the second season may go in several directions at once.

1. The Death of the Piltover Council

At the end of Episode 9, Jinx uses a Hextech crystal to upgrade her weapon and fires it at Piltover. Along with Vi and Caitlyn, viewers see her rocket hit the Piltover Council chamber. At the time, most of the Arcane characters were there – Jayce, Viktor, Mel, and other members of the Council.

According to League of Legends game canon, Jayce and Viktor should survive the attack. These characters are champions in LoL. They are also shown in the show at the beginning of their journey, far from their "final form" in the game. The survival of the rest of the politicians is in question, which means that someone will have to make important decisions about the fate of Piltover almost alone.

2. Zaun Without a Leader

A similar question arises about the second city, Zaun. In the second and third arcs of the first season, the underground city was ruled by the antagonist Silco. He managed to eliminate the rest of the competitors who tried to betray him in the last episodes, and in the finale, Jinx killed Silco himself. This leaves Zaun without a leader, and the city could descend into chaos if someone does not take Silco's place.

The new leader will have to deal with the aftermath of Jinx's attack. Zaun has only just been given a chance at independence, which now seems to have been taken away.

3. Vander and Silco's Backstory

The backstory of two major characters, Vander and Silco, was mentioned a lot in the first season, but remained behind the scenes. Judging by the hints, these characters tried to rebel against the Piltover government and free Zaun in the past. But Vander betrayed Silco and even tried to kill him when his friend went too far.

Around the same time, Silco nearly lost an eye, leaving a deep scar on his face and forcing him to inject himself with the local drug, Shimmer.

How important this story is for the future of the series is not yet clear; it is quite possible that it will be fully revealed in the second season.

4. Singed, Viktor and Sky Technology Developments

New dangerous technologies, developed both legally and underground, play a major role in the plot of Arcane. LoL fans immediately recognized one of the characters in the series as Singed, a crazy alchemist with questionable experiments. According to the show's plot, Singed worked for Silco, experimenting on humans and forcing them to mutate into an entire army of monsters.

Singed's experiments seem to have been successful, and the character himself appears in his laboratory in the final scenes of the first season. This suggests that the alchemist will return, and the results of his work will play a major role in the series.

Viktor's developments also look promising. In the second half of the season, the scientist's health declines, and he feels death approaching. In an attempt to stop this process, he begins experimenting with Hextech and his own blood. Those familiar with the lore of the game already know what kind of future awaits him after such experiments.

In the third arc, Viktor's assistant, Sky, wanted to show the scientist a certain project. Sky interfered with the Hextech experiment and died, leaving only her notes. What exactly she came up with is not shown to the viewers, but the developments remained with Viktor and may be useful to him in the second season.

5. Vander's Return

One of the most popular theories about the series (that was confirmed in the first look at Season 2) is that Vander will turn into a champion monster from League of Legends. When Vander is captured by Silco in the third episode, he is given to Singed for experiments.

There, he is pumped with Shimmer, which temporarily turns humans into Berserker monsters. At the end of the episode, Vander dies and does not appear again in the first season.

However, with a lot of Shimmer in his body, he survived and fell into the hands of Singed again, who turns him into Warwick – a terrible symbiosis of man, beast and machine.