Arcane’s Multiverse and Alternate Timelines Explained

Arcane
season two officially introduced the multiverse, providing a glimpse of other timelines and hinting at the series’ true relationship with League of Legends. From the beginning, there was intense speculation about the relationship between Arcane and the games this tremendous animated show is based on; and Arcane a prequel or is it something more? Most viewers assumed the issue would be resolved in the creators’ comments, but it was likely resolved by the simple idea of ​​a multiverse. Arcane It’s another timeline, which means anything can happen.

Multiverses are all the rage in science fiction and fantasy these days. Some multiversal adventures are concerned purely with temporal mechanics, but the best ones use them as a character piece – a way of asking the question.”And if?“Unsurprisingly, Arcane has always focused on its characters, so this was a perfect choice – although it remains to be seen whether the multiverse will return now that Viktor’s threat has been defeated.

Ekko’s timeline shows the “happy ending” the show could never have had

Ekko is Arcane’s main time traveler

In League of LegendsEkko’s main power is the ability to rewind time by just four seconds – which, as Arcane viewers noticed, it’s a surprisingly potent ability. It makes sense, then, that Ekko would be involved with time travel and the multiversal plot, traveling to a timeline where events took a different turn. In this timeline, Vi died during the robbery of Jayce’s apartment, and the events never happened to lead to the creation of Hextec. This, he saw, led to the happy ending that the main timeline could never have had.

However, there is something quite frightening lurking beneath the surface of Ekko’s “Happy Ending” timeline. Powder chose the name Jinx because she thought it was a curse around her, but Ekko’s experience revealed that it is actually Jinx’s name. relationship between Jinx and Vi that led to all this chaos. With Vi removed from the equation, Powder never assumed the Jinx identity.; she found happiness and even love with Ekko.

Jayce’s glimpse into the future saves the world of Arcane

Jayce discovers the horrors that Viktor would do

Jayce, however, has a very different experience; where Ekko possesses the body of an alternate self in another timeline, Jayce is physically transported to a future timeline. He experiences the world as it could be, the apocalypse that Viktor will make him triumph and absorb all of Piltover’s humanity into his collective. This means that only he knows what is at stake – and, as viewers see it through his eyes, they understand it too. Jayce’s prescience saves the world.

Jayce and Ekko’s experiences are curious and unpredictable, obeying subtly different “rules”. This is not an inconsistency; time travel is purely theoretical, and the priority is on the characters and their journeys. The characters of Arcane They never really understood the rules of temporal mechanics in their world, so nothing is contradicted.

Viktor’s salvation is in a time loop

Viktor and Jayce were united by his will

Arcane doesn’t worry too much about temporal mechanics, simply throwing in a few words and ideas, but sharp-eyed viewers will spot a fascinating time loop created by Viktor – one that brings its own salvation. Arcane reveals that Viktor himself was the mysterious wizard who saved Jayce from a blizzard when he was a child, inspiring his quest to discover how to control the arcane with science. What’s more, it was Viktor who gave Jayce the rune he needed.

Everything came from this act. Viktor could have chosen not to save Jayce when he was a child, leaving him to die in a blizzard; but he couldn’t do that to his friend, and instead, he chose to create a way out, ensuring Jayce had what he needed to save him.. This was the only choice that could redeem Viktor and save Piltover from the terrible threat he posed.

ArcaneThe most important rune of is a symbol of this time cycle. Viktor gave it to Jayce, and in turn, Jayce would one day give it back to Viktor. This means this rune is, in functional terms, outside of time itself; it has no beginning or end, simply existing in a single closed loop. This interpretation is supported by a glimpse of the Orouboros as the symbol of ArcaneTime travel, an infinite loop with no beginning and no end. This is history as it always had to be – and it is a story of salvation and redemption.