Arcane season 2: What actually IS 'the Arcane' in Netflix's animated series?

Warning! This article contains major spoilers for Arcane season 2 – Act 1.

After a patience-testing three-year wait, Arcane season 2 has finally premiered on Netflix. Picking up exactly where its predecessor left off, the new instalment opens with Piltover's remaining council members clashing on how best to deal with the Zaun rebels, as Caitlyn and Vi vow to take down Jinx once and for all.

It also digs into the lore of 'the Arcane' in a much bigger way than the show has before (it's "waking up" as its official trailer said); but what exactly is the titular substance? While it was touched on in season 1, we never really learnt that much about it beyond it being a key component of Hextech when refined and that Jayce has been obsessed with the stuff since he was saved by an arcane-powered being when he was a child. Councilor Bolbok briefly recalled how his race was nearly wiped out because of the stuff, while Heimerdinger and other council members explained that Piltover was founded to escape the conflicts stoked by morally corrupt arcane users. In short, it's a pretty big deal…

What is the arcane in Arcane?

So far, not much has been further explained in season 2, but we do know that 'Arcane' is a powerful magic. Its power is often channeled through runes, which is a neat take on how League of Legends can apply power-ups/enhancements – called runes in-game – to their champions before a match.

In Act 1, Jayce talks of 'wild runes' to Ekko, describing them as the Arcane's fingerprints; more raw and natural than the ones he uses in Hextech. As they investigate the strange markings on Ekko's diminishing undercity tree, Heimerdinger hypothesizes whether the pattern has suddenly appeared on its bark due to Jayce and others' overuse of Hextech. 

"I've seen miracles spring from the hands of mages many times, but so often they turned to horrors," he begins. "I'd always presumed it was due to mankind's turbulent relationship with power. But perhaps it is a property of the Arcane itself." Interesting...

Ambessa and Amara's altercation 

Those who harness and wield arcane magic are, appropriately, called mages; think The Force and Star Wars' Jedi. Ambessa Medarda encounters one, Amara (who briefly appeared in season 1), in episode 3. The pair seem to share a clandestine meeting in 'Finally Got the Name Right', in which Amara admits she's paying Ambessa a visit to "settle a debt". 

"My bookkeeper is down the hall," Ambessa replies with an eyeroll, to which Amara ominously replies: "What you've stolen is more precious than any gold." With that, she looks to conjure a red smoke beast to apprehend Ambessa's bodyguard as she threatens Medarda with a blade and thorny flowers growing mystically from her palms. "Did you truly believe Piltover was beyond our reach?"

"My son is dead. Is that not enough to sate your bloodlust?" Ambessa shouts defiantly, as Amara teleports behind her and pulls her head back, exposing her throat. "We know what you're chasing in Piltover. We will not allow it," she whispers.

"Allow?! Thank you, your visit only confirms my suspicions. Try to stop me, insolent witch," Ambessa growls, as her guard uses his rune-assisted weapon to distract Amara while she plunges her sword into her. "You have no inkling what family means to me," Ambessa adds, when Amara suggests she "should've given up the feud".

Medarda then tells her guard to "triple" their security, insisting that Amara's murder will have seriously scary consequences.

In season 1, Amara did an under-the-table deal with Jayce to invest in his inventions of new Hextech, with the promise of her benefitting from any advancements he made, which could lend itself to the idea that her abilities stemmed from that. Later on in 'Finally Got the Name Right', though, Mel is kidnapped by the Black Rose, a group League of Legends players will be all too familiar with, it seems safe to assume the dead "witch" was sent by them. She did magic black roses from her hands, after all…

In the games, many members of the Black Rose are shapeshifters, so the sorceress who attacked Ambessa was probably using Amara's likeness to gain access to her.

So, what is the Black Rose? 

In LoL, the Black Rose is a secret organization stationed in Noxus, which is where Ambessa was from before she came to Piltover in the show. 

Comparable to the Bene Gesserit in Frank Herbert’s Dune, they operate predominantly in the shadows, steering the empire’s politics and guiding its throne in whichever way they see fit – which tends to be in favor of those who can wield the magic hidden within the Immortal Bastion,  the old fortification in which Noxus’s capital city is built on. They are believed to have a deep network of spies working across Runeterra.

What's going on with Viktor in Arcane season 2 – Act 1? 

Perhaps the most notable mage in Arcane season 2, however, is Viktor, who has transformed into an "upgraded" version of himself that’s much closer to his video game counterpart. Having almost died in Jinx’s attack on the Council in the season 1 finale, Viktor was bonded with the Hexcore by Jayce. 

After a few days of being in stasis, he awoke to find his body replaced by magic-infused machinery. "You must be cold," an ecstatic Jayce exclaims, fetching his buddy a blanket, but Viktor explains: "I sense a charge, a potential, a recursive impulse. Unpleasant, but cold isn't its name."

Guided by new visions of his old partner Sky, Viktor tells Jayce that he must leave their Piltover lab and journey down a new path. "Our paths diverged long ago," he says solemnly, before descending onto the streets of Zaun – and is left deeply shocked and disturbed by the bleak desolation he's met with.

Towards the end of episode 2, he's accosted by former merchant Huck, now a shimmer addict, and his gang who want to dismantle Viktor and sell his parts. Instead of fighting the gang, though, Viktor looks to heal Huck, rendering his shimmer-ravaged skin glowing and pearlescent. "You need not suffer anymore," he says afterward, as his new "disciples" bow to him.

In the game, Viktor is an augmented being who has devoted his life to the betterment of humankind. An idealist, he takes it upon himself to usher the people of Zaun onto a higher plain of existence. "He believes that only by embracing a glorious evolution of technology can humanity's full potential be realized," reads his LoL description, which sounds a lot like what just happened in the series...

Considering we're just three episodes in, and the Latin origins of the word 'arcane' mean 'secret, closed', there's bound to be more revealed about the Arcane. We can hardly wait...

The first three episodes of Arcane season 2 are streaming now. Ensure you never miss one with our Arcane season 2 release schedule. For more, check out our guide to the best Netflix shows for some viewing inspiration.