Arcana: The Kiramman Key Explained

Notice! This article contains spoilers for Arcane Season 2, Act I.

Arcane Season 2, Act I introduces the Kiramman family key, a vital plot point that furthers the war efforts between Piltover and Zaun. The end of Arcane season one saw a major event rock the conflict between the wealthy nation of Piltover and its poor underground city of Zaun; Jinx, one of Arcanethere are many League of Legends characters, fired a rocket at the tower that houses the Piltover council. This ended the show’s first season on a major cliffhanger, with Arcane Season 2 picking up the pieces.

Arcane Season 2’s story focuses primarily on the aftermath of this event in Act I, exploring which characters survived the ordeal and which didn’t. One of the unluckiest characters was Cassandra Kiramman, one of the most influential people in Piltover and Caitlyn’s mother. This impacts a lot ArcaneThe broader cast of characters, with Caitlyn embarking on a revenge arc and Vi trying to contain her partner’s growing anger. Another way Cassandra’s death affects ArcaneThe story is through the introduction of the Kiramman Key, an important heirloom that further pushes the war between Piltover and Zaun into dark territory.

Caitlyn receives the Kiramman family key after her mother’s death

Cassandra’s death has major ramifications for Caitlyn

As mentioned, Cassandra’s death changes Caitlyn’s life enormously. The latter is not only left mourning her mother due to Jinx’s actions, but she suddenly becomes the head of the Kiramman family, due to her already high status in Piltover’s political scene. Like many ArcaneWhile the characters focus on Hextech as a means of waging war with Zaun in light of Jinx’s attack, Caitlyn discovers that something else could help her further punish the underground city and its scattered leaders after Silco’s defeat.

This comes in the form of the Kiramman family key. While Caitlyn and her father are shown mourning Cassandra’s passing, the latter gives this key to the former, stating that her mother wanted her to keep it. Caitlyn is visibly shocked by this and declares that she still doesn’t deserve it. Caitlyn’s father insists that this is her legacy now, but what the Kiramman key does is not revealed until Arcane Season 2, Episode 3.

Kiramman family key provides access to Zaun’s ventilation system

When assembling the opening of Arcane Season 2, Episode 3, Caitlyn is shown using the Kiramman Key for the first time. The key gives access to a computer in Caitlyn’s home, which describes one of the main contributions the Kiramman family made to the cities of Piltover and Zaun in their rise to power. Caitlyn’s mother, Cassandra, can be heard talking about the increase in pollution in Zaun due to increased industry in Piltover’s factories. This pollution is called The Gray in Arcane and proves to be very harmful to the human body.

As a result, Caitlyn’s mother instructed the Kiramman family architects to develop a ventilation system. This system runs through Zaun and allows the people of the underground city to breathe clean air, with the vents trapping The Gray in a contained space so it doesn’t pollute the streets. With the Kiramman Key, Caitlyn discovers all this while also gaining access to control of Zaun’s ventilation system, which spells trouble for the underground city, as one of its inhabitants recently killed Caitlyn’s vengeful mother.

Kiramman Family Key Sends Caitlyn Down a Dark Path

Caitlyn uses the key for revenge

Following the explanation of the Kiramman family key in Arcane Season 2, episode 3 opening, a montage is shown. This montage is accompanied by music that includes the lyrics “Is it bad that I’m making friends with my demons?” indicating that Caitlyn is doing just that. Now that she has access to the Kiramman key, Caitlyn uses the ventilation system to pump The Gray into the streets of Zaun. This coincides with his decision to lead a strike team into Zaun to arrest Jinx and dismantle whatever positions of power or influence remain in the underground city.

Evidently, the Kiramman family key allows Caitlyn to indulge her dark thoughts. Instead of heading to Zaun with her strike team and finding Jinx normally, Caitlyn’s use of the Kiramman Key to leak The Gray onto the streets of the underground city causes a lot of collateral damage. While it’s true that The Gray makes finding Jinx easier, the gas will undoubtedly affect the countless innocents living in Zaun. Arcanethe introduction of the Kiramman key allowed Caitlyn to do this, with the character expertly venting her frustrations in a damaging way.