Whether you like it or not, if you’re chronically online, you might have scrolled by a game called “League of Legends” or “LoL.” This DOTA competitor has dominated the PC gaming scene for years, and it would have stayed that way until it was brought to life for the small screen back in 2021 thanks to the animated series “Arcane” (and it REALLY blew up).
Though it was derived from the popular MOBA game, people, gamers or otherwise, immediately fell in love with the series – for its breathtaking animation to its top-notch story. “Arcane” was on everybody’s lips and all of us are eagerly waiting for the second season. Finally, after multiple delays, season 2 is almost upon us. And with the trailer dropping not too long ago, here’s what you can expect in the upcoming series finale.
City-State War
We’ve established that there are two main factions in Arcane: the City of Iron and Glass, Zaun, and the City of Progress, Piltover. We’ve also known that these two factions are bitter rivals who hate each other. As Jinx attacked the Piltover Council at the end of season 1, things escalated to a whole new level, further raising the animosity between the two city-states. Thanks to the trailer, we can immediately assume that we will witness the fallout of the attack, how it has impacted the two cities and the characters that live there.
Because Piltover lost a vast majority of its leaders, the same as Zaun when Silco died at the season 1 finale, we can expect the two factions to go to war. With Jinx running amok and causing havoc, we finally get to see Vi be a part of Piltover’s finest in order to put a stop to her broken sister. As they play a dangerous cat-and-mouse game, we can expect the world around them to burn in the ensuing chaos. Hold on to your top hats, as we might get to see brutally-awesome fight scenes and tragic deaths and loss in equal measure.
Noxian Invasion
In the trailer, we’ve seen all our favourite characters take centre stage, save for one —The Defender of Tomorrow, Jayce. We don’t really know what happened to him, but we know it has greatly affected his closest allies and love interest, Mel Medarda, who was established to be Noxian in season 1.
For those unaware, Noxus is a warmongering empire hellbent on dominating the world under their banner. Mel, for the most part, has proven to rather focused on politics than outright war. But with the loss of her beloved, we might see a tonal shift in her character as she picks up her sword in the name of love and revenge.
Additionally, as the only confirmed survivor of the Council (for now), she may have sole authority over Piltover and its entirety, which is perhaps the reason why Noxian soldiers stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Piltover’s police force. The ramifications of this action are yet to be seen, but we are here for it.
Wolf Among Sheep
One thing that has been confirmed and even teased throughout the runtime of season 1 is the arrival of the mutated wolf himself: Warwick. His appearance was already confirmed at the season two announcement, where Warwick’s iconic howl and unique theme song can be heard. But now we get to see more of him in the recently released teaser video as well as our first look at Uncaged Wrath of Zaun.
However, he is only a part of this massive development. We have yet to see what happened with Viktor, how his attempts to cheat death affected him, or how Ekko’s time-altering abilities came to be. We can’t wait to see how it will all turn out for these characters come November.
The Madness Has To End (But Will It?)
Even though all these characters will be in season 2, we all know it will end with the two sisters that started the series in the first place. However, will it truly end there? If you’ve ever seen assets or played the game yourself, you’d know that Jinx, Vi and all the other characters in Arcane are younger than their video game counterparts. Obviously, the animated series was gracious enough to give each character a fascinating origin story so that we could root for them, but something is amiss.
We can theorise that the series will end, but the story of the sisters and all other characters in the series will continue on. We may not see a totally conclusive ending to the series; instead, this might be an interesting starting point, so we would know how these characters became who they are in the game.
What’s Next?
As mentioned several times above, this is the series finale of Arcane — there is no third season, unfortunately. However, it’s not the end of Runeterra (the world where the entire League of Legends lore resides). Series creator Christian Linke confirmed that “Arcane is just the beginning.” He has also confirmed that Arcane is the first of many stories that he wants to tell.
Obviously, it’s too early to tell where and what the new entry will be all about, but we are absolutely sure that we will binge whatever these brilliant minds and studios have in store for us.
