The lines between opposing forces are redrawn, and the equation changes once again as the second season of Netflix’s acclaimed animated series, Arcane, releases an emotionally charged second part with a new batch of three episodes, which turns out to be the best segment of the final arc premiered so far. After an explosive beginning last week, which saw Mel getting abducted by the Order of the Black Rose, Viktor got transformed into a techno-organic transcended being whose connection with Hextech allowed him to heal the Shimmer-afflicted denizens of the undercity. Jinx becomes the adoptive sister of a mute orphan kid, Isha, and joins hands with Sevika to take control of the affairs of the undercity.
Additionally, Jayce, Heimerdinger, and Ekko become trapped inside a wild rune as they come close to uncovering the baffling mysteries of Arcane. On the other hand, following the death of Cassandra after Jinx’s attack, Caitlyn and Vi find themselves at odds regarding their approach to dealing with the ongoing conflict between Piltover and Zaun, and as the duo apprehend Jinx, Vi’s inability to apprehend her sister distances the duo further. Ambessa decides to instigate a war for her personal gain and uses Caitlyn’s grief to her advantage as she puts Caitlyn in charge of Piltover and imposes martial law. In secret, Singed creates the vicious human-wolf hybrid, Warwick, the revelation of whose real identity results in an unexpected family reunion.
Real Identity of Warwick and Singed
Part two of the final season of “Arcane” opens after a time gap, and by now Caitlyn’s—or I should say Ambessa’s—cruel dictatorial rule and crackdown on the Zaunites have caused the oppressed class to search for an inspiring figure—and who better to fill the role other than Jinx, who made the upper class snobs learn true fear in the first place? However, Powder has taken a sabbatical from her Jinx duties and is busy being a better elder sister to Isha than Vi could ever have been to her. Isha, on the other hand, is keen to have Jinx’s legacy inspire others like it did to her, and the kid occasionally risks her life to pose as Jinx in public even when Ambessa’s crooked enforcers are roughing up Zaunites. On one occasion, Isha gets caught by Ambessa’s right-hand man, Rictus, and she gets sent to captivity along with Singed, who ends up summoning Warwick to escape confinement. Jinx and Sevika had arrived to rescue Isha at the same time, and confronting the fierce hybrid beast, she was shocked to realize that he was none other than Vander, the adoptive father of Vi and Jinx.
Speaking of Vi, she has hit rock bottom following Caitlyn’s ascension to power, and Jinx manages to find her in some dingy corner of the undercity. After the initial animosity takes a backseat, Jinx takes her sister to meet Vander, and on their way there, Vi seems visibly remorseful after seeing Jinx mingling with Isha like her elder sister; perhaps self-reflection hit Vi hard. Anyway, after meeting Warwick, Vi is able to recognize their father behind the grisly appearance of the feral beast as well, and as the sisters have a moment of family bonding with Vander, Isha joins in as well. She is part of their family too.
On the other hand, Singed is still held as a captive by Ambessa, but now she offers for him to work for her—given most of the brilliant minds in Piltover have gone missing at this point. As Singed continues his experiments to track down Warwick, it is revealed that all his dastardly experiments through the years had a single aim: to bring his deceased daughter, Orianna, back to life. That’s right, Singed is Dr. Corin Reveck from the game titles, whose love for his daughter had led him to conduct a myriad of godless experiments, and as he reveals, Warwick is a vital part of his plan to revive Orianna. Caitlyn and Ambessa try to stick to the moral high ground by questioning the ethical grounds of Singed’s vile experimentation when he reveals the true reasons behind his actions. Although that doesn’t make Singed redeemable in any way, it opens up for his arc to have a meaningful end other than being a vile scientist driven by his curiosity.
Viktor and Jayce Switch Places
Previously, it seemed like Jayce had things figured out and could find the key to solve the Hextech problems, while Viktor seems to have lost his humanity ever since emerging from the Hexcore cocoon. However, things change as Jayce manages to escape from the wild rune confinement with Councilor Salo’s help and seems uncharacteristically aggressive and driven, indicating something is possessing his mind. On the other hand, Viktor seems to have reached a higher plane, as in spirit form, he is able to travel to the spirit realm, where he meets Sky, his assistant who was a victim of Hextech. Viktor’s commune consists of formerly Shimmer-afflicted undercity denizens, who have seemingly been cured by his powers. Vi and Jinx arrive at the commune to seek help for Vander, but it will take Viktor some time to reverse the effects of Singed’s works.
Mel is trapped in Black Rose confinement, where she is visited by an impersonator who tries to emotionally manipulate her by appearing as her long-lost brother, Kino. However, Mel is able to catch the ruse, but she remains trapped in the mystical confinement all the same. It remains to be seen whether the impersonator is the master of deception, Leblanc herself.
What Happened To Isha At The End?
Upon learning that Viktor is trying to reverse the effect of his experiments done on Vander, Singed raises his concerns to Ambessa, as he needs Vandar in his beastly form to create the revival serum for his daughter. Ambessa needs Singed to weaponize Hextech, and she agrees to assist his cause by sending backup to capture Warwick for him.
Viktor and Singed have a chat, as Singed tries to convince him to give up Warwick for his experiments, whereas Viktor seems to have a much greater understanding of the sanctity of life as he refuses to abandon Vander. There is a clear ideological conflict; Viktor’s experiences and connection with the spirit realm have allowed him a new perspective as he believes in destiny, the higher purpose of evolution—but Singed is trapped in his devious worldview of considering everything as mere specimens for his experiments. Singed leaves after warning Viktor of inevitable repercussions for not complying with his request. As Vi decides to follow Singed, she comes across Caitlyn, and the former lovers reunite for the first time in a long time. Caitlyn no longer bears a grudge towards her as her initial feelings of anguish and pain have subsided, and although she cannot forgive Jinx for what she had done, Caitlyn is able to sympathize with her and Vi’s effort to help their father, Vander. Caitlyn eventually betrays Ambessa by pretending to send Vi as a captive, only to have her trick the Noxian warlord and incapacitate her. Caitlyn herself knocks out Singed but gets caught by Rictus in the process. Jinx jumps in to save Caitlyn’s life, and as Rictus manages to corner her, Warwick/Vander steps in to save his daughter.
In the meantime, Jayce manages to enter Viktor’s commune in a deranged state and uses his Hextech warhammer to kill his old friend. Viktor had seemingly anticipated this, and it seems that the decimation of his mortal coil didn’t affect Viktor’s spirit, which might have taken refuge in the spirit realm. With Viktor’s apparent death, his commune perishes as well, as it seems they were connected as a singular consciousness to begin with. This spells doom for Warwick, who loses his human self to Vander and devolves completely into a raging feral beast who, unable to control his instincts, viciously eviscerates Rictus. Ambessa, who has managed to escape her confinement, leads her men to put the beast down, and a chaotic battle begins with Vi, Caitlyn, and Jinx trying to hold off Ambessa’s men. Caitlyn tries to save Vi while Jinx tries to convince Vander to stop the assault, but her father’s consciousness no longer exists within the beast. Seeing Jinx hurt in the battle, Isha isn’t able to control the surge of strong emotions she feels, given how much Jinx means to her as a guiding presence, as a guardian. Taking Jinx’s gun with her, Isha loads it with Hextech crystal and fires it at Warwick, which results in a huge explosion. A horrified, anxious Jinx is unable to reach her, and she, along with Vi and Caitlyn, remains at a safe distance in the end, but Isha and Warwick’s fate remains in question. As the second part ends, it seems if Isha indeed perishes, Jinx will have to do some major soul searching, questioning her purpose, and probably leading the Zaunites by being the inspirational figure her little sister, Isha, thought her to be.
