Warning! This article contains spoilers for Arcane season 2.
Arcaneseason 2 solidified the show as much better than simply aLeague of Legendsprequel. By the time ofArcaneseason 2’s ending, the show concluded its story with a fitting amount of death and destruction. This likely came as a shock to those familiar with the source material, as even some ofArcane’sLeague ofLegendschampionsproved they were not above being killed off.
Naturally, this raises the question of whetherArcaneis aLeague of Legendsprequel after all.Arcane’s cast of charactersis filled with playable champions from the original game, with many assuming that the show was simply filling in their backstory. That said,Arcane’s ending proved this was not the case. As questions overArcaneseason 3’s storyor future spin-offs are raised, audiences are left with the fact that the show was never aLeague of Legendsspin-off, but something much better.
We’d All Thought Arcane Was League Of Legends Canon… But It’s Not
League’s Characters Are Expendable In Arcane
Firstly, it is worth exploring whyArcanecannot be classified as aLeague of Legendsprequel that fills out the canon of the characters from the game. The reason for this is the death of several characters inArcanethat are taken directly from the source material. Characters like Jayce, Viktor, Heimerdinger, Jinx, and Warwick all seemingly perished inArcane’s ending, likely shocking those who are aware that these characters existed in the original game.
These characters are different versions of those from the game and proved to be expendable…
Rather than flesh out the backstories of these characters to set them up for their video game future,Arcanetakes a different route. These characters are different versions of those from the game and proved to be expendable as a result. Although the deaths of characters like Jinx, Jayce, and Viktor, to name a few, were suitably tragic, they proved thatArcanewas never concerned with tying its characters to their supposed future asLeague of Legendschampions. Instead,Arcaneconfirms something else.
Arcane Season 2 Introduced The League Of Legends Multiverse Instead
Arcaneseason 2’s ending revealed that the show is part ofLeague of Legends’vast multiverse. The multiverse has long been a concept that is part ofLeague of Legends' lore, despite not being an overly important plot point in the game. After all,League of Legendsis a MOBA, or multiplayer online battle arena, meaning any story is of little consequence when playing. This explains why the multiverse has never been a big aspect of the source material, despite its existence being confirmed.
InArcane,though, the multiverse proved important. Not only did Ekko and Heimerdinger end up in an alternate universe where things were different from the one shown inArcaneseasons 1 and 2, but Jayce did also. Then, the developments involving Viktor and his time-traveling antics involving a young Jayce were also linked to the multiverse. These elements, as well as the deaths of severalArcanecharacters based onLeague of Legends,solidified the former as one possibility in the latter’s expansive multiverse, as opposed to the direct prequel many thought it initially was.
Arcane
Cast
Arcane is an animated series set in the League of Legends universe, debuting in 2021. It explores the conflict between the affluent city of Piltover and the oppressed undercity of Zaun. Central to the story are two sisters whose allegiance to opposing sides of a technological and ideological war strains their bond.
