The best theories are usually big changes. This one may not land, but some major character development in the first three episodes of Arcane season 2 has led me to believe that the Netflix series may have secretly answered one of the show's early mysteries, without anyone realize.
Spoilers for Arcane season 2 follow. You have been warned.
In the second episode of the show, a flashback is shown in which Jayce and his mother fight a blizzard.
“Someone help us,” Jayce says after his mother collapses. Fortunately, their calls are answered by a mysterious cloaked figure holding a staff.
We never see the person's face, but they save both Jayce and his mother by teleporting them to a new location. The unknown person then gives Jayce a rune, beginning his research into what would later become Hextech.
For years, fans have theorized that Ryze, a League of Legends champion and notable arcane magician in the broader universe of the franchise, was the one behind the last-minute save.
But what if it's not him? My theory (stay with me here) is that Viktor is the one who saves Jayce.
As? That is not clear at this time. But I have some ideas. After all, the first act of Arcane season 2 sees Viktor saved from Jinx's attack through a peculiar mix of Hextech and magic. This then leads to an augmented Viktor emerging with strange new powers, allowing him to “heal” those of Zaun.
The rest of his power set is under wraps, but Viktor has emerged as an intriguing force in Arcane, and it's no stretch to suggest that his untapped abilities and potential could go beyond matter shifting and into teleportation and even some form of time travel.
Do you need more convincing? When Jayce gets trapped in the pulsating wild rune in the third episode of Arcane season 2, he sees a quick flash of the person who saved him when he was a child. they are also holding a staff-like object that looks suspiciously like Viktor's. On top of that, their capes are the same color.
At the risk of adding two and two and getting only a number that Heimerdinger could calculate, there seems to be some concern on the show to unmask the figure who saved Jayce. Right now, no one has the ability to even come close to doing what the wizard did decades before. So, my theory: Viktor travels back in time and sets in motion events that will not only save Jayce, but also lead to the creation of Hextech and his own survival.
Mystery solved? Maybe. Maybe not. Still, Arcane is leaving some breadcrumbs worth pursuing.
For our verdict on the show, check out the Arcane Season 2 Review. Then, delve into interviews with co-showrunner Christian Linke as he talks about The meticulous process behind the program's finish line. and why he does not want to turn the Netflix series into a new MCU-style universe.