- ArcaneThe creators of Jayce have declined to say why Jayce’s Season 2 arc has taken an unexpected turn
- After disappearing in episode 3, Jayce returned in episode 5, but not as the character we know
- The Netflix show’s creators tease that “all will be revealed” in the third and final act of season 2
Full spoilers ahead ahead Arcane the first six episodes of season 2.
What the hell happened to Jayce? It’s one of the biggest questions about it Arcane viewers’ minds after another typically explosive and emotionally stunning conclusion to the animated series’ latest batch of episodes.
I have written about my thoughts on what is happening to him in my Arcane season 2 act 2 ending explained piece. However, I’m an impatient person, so I just can’t wait for the next three episodes of the award-winning Netflix show to get a definitive answer. The gap between the acts is also even greater for me when I watched the episodic trio of season 2, act 2, just over two weeks ago.
So when I previously had an exclusive conversation with series creators Christian Linke and Alex Yee Arcane‘s second and final season initially debuted on November 9, I had to ask: What’s going on with the co-founder of Hextech?
Unsurprisingly, the pair didn’t come up with any answers – you know, something about not wanting to spoil any major storylines before season 2, act 3 arrives on November 23 or whatever. As coy as they tried to be, Linke and Yee offered a tantalizing crumb of information about Jayce’s descent into madness in Arcane season 2, which was just enough to satisfy my hunger before the last hurray of one of Netflix’s best shows begins this Saturday.
“Oh, you’ll find out,” Linke teased. “You will find out in unnecessary detail. Let’s just say that certain illusions (about the good Hextech can do) have diminished.”
“Yes, it’s safe to say his dreams for Hextech have died,” Yee added.
As intriguing as those hints are, I was already under the impression that Jayce has gone through some extremely traumatic events since we last saw him. Indeed, after he disappeared along with Ekko and Heimerdinger in season 2, episode 3 – read my Arcane season 2 act 1 ending explanation for more details – it was unclear when we would see Piltover’s so-called Man of Progress again.
Coincidentally, the wait wasn’t long. The fifth episode of this season reunites us with Jayce after he returns to the Material Realm, aka the real world, after his Anomaly-based exploits. However, this is not the same Jayce who went missing two chapters ago. The person who reappears is an unkempt, exhausted-looking and enraged character who not only wields a corrupted form of his Hextech hammer, but whose rune-based magic crystal is now embedded in his left wrist.
It’s clear that wherever Jayce has been, he’s had some…how can I put it politely…unpleasant events. Why else would he do a 180-degree turn and say that Hextech, the magic-infused invention he created with Viktor and defends again and again, must be destroyed? Oh, and why else would he kill Salo and Viktor, not to mention escalate the conflict between Piltover and Zaun by murdering his former scientific partner in cold blood?
Whatever happened to Jayce, this isn’t his first emotionally affecting outing. Being saved by a mage as a child, almost killing himself when his Hextech dream was originally eradicated by Heimerdinger, killing a child in season 1, episode 8, and Jinx’s attack on the Piltover council – it was “always the plan” that certain characters die in that attack, Linke and Yee told me — are just four psychologically damaging incidents he faced on this show.
Add to that the fact that you’re whisked away to another reality and become a physical manifestation of a “refined spell,” as Viktor describes it in episode 6, and it’s understandable why things aren’t going well for Jayce. Let’s hope that the idealistic and well-intentioned scientist in him is not completely lost as we near the end of the first Netflix series League of Legends animated adaptation.
Before the final few episodes of Season 2 debut on November 23, pass the time by reading more from my chat with Linke and Yee in the section below.