Arcane – Season 2 Episode 9 Recap, Review & Ending Explained

The Dirt Under Your Nails

Episode 9 of Arcane begins with Jinx losing control and deciding to burn it all down. She lights a match and destroys Silco’s lab. This is, of course, a symbolic act for her letting go of the past but she also uses the Shimmer toys from before to destroy herself. Only… she suddenly stops.

Ekko shows up and keeps reversing time, preventing Jinx from committing suicide. He manages to talk her around, believing they can build something properly together.

Meanwhile, Jayce rallies the most crucial members of the council – including Caitlyn and Vi, asking for the enforcers to buy him enough time to shut down the Hexgate. This is their only chance. Unfortunately, if he reaches the Core, then it’s all over. It’s a fight they’re meant to lose, so they need to do whatever they can to prevent that from happening.

What happens during the fight?

It doesn’t take long for the fighting to begin, and the combined forces of the Topsiders and Undercity, all dressed in Enforcer gear, do their best to hold back Ambessa’s forces. However, the General is at the front, and she deflects Caitlyn’s sniper shots with ease.

Unfortunately, Ambessa isn’t alone here, as she brings in forces from the dock to join the fight… including the newly revived Warwick (Vander). Vi works with the enforcers to try and stop them, but the infected Shimmer-clad soldiers are too much.

Ambessa easily overpowers the group and they’re held up at gunpoint. Remember Officer Nolen? Well, it turns out she’s actually on Ambessa’s side and working against her. She betrays her and tries to kill Caitlyn… but they’ve underestimated Mel. She uses her magic to kill Nolen and confronts her mother.

What is Viktor’s plan?

The one wildcard here is Jinx, who shows up with Ekko and the Firelights on a makeshift hot air balloon. As they cause mayhem and try to turn the tide, Viktor shows deep in the bowels with the Core, where Jayce is awaiting him. Jayce tries to get through to his old friend, but unfortunately, Viktor makes his move. He controls all of his humanoids and turns Vander into a Shimmer-infected creature too. All of this occurs just as Caitlyn and Ambessa fight.

This is Viktor’s final plan. He intends to unite humanity under one mind, like the Borg in Star Trek, and come together for a better future. But also one without any freedom. Jayce is determined to stop that from happening.

Topside, Caitlyn is helped out by Mel’s magic, while Jinx and Vi fight off against Vander. Mel uses the Runes to push through the defences, but Caitlyn grabs them and stops her protection. With that gone, the sorceress grabs Ambessa and bring her into their Hell. Only, Mel shows up too and realizes the sorceress has other plans. This devious force is no match for Mel (for now) as Mel saves her mother and takes over as head of the family. This fight however, is far from over.

How does season 1 tie into Jayce’s journey?

After crashing the hot air balloon, Vi and Jinx emerge from the rubble and stand back to back, just as they were before. They try to talk Vander around, but it’s no good. The pair are forced to fight for their lives. However, the Wild Rune starts to grow, well, more wild, as they head up into Pitover.

Unfortunately, Viktor’s influence spreads across to everyone not already infected. Funnily enough, Jayce happens to be up on the rooftop, while Ekko is the only one who’s not being controlled. His contraption for reversing time works to give him the edge, as he reverses time and launches the contraption straight at Viktor’s face. The explosion inside causes truths to be revealed.

The creation of Hextech came from Jayce, after beign saved by a mysterious mage who gave him a rune. Well, it’s revealed here that the mysterious savior was actually Viktor himself. He’s the one who also showed up and led Jayce through the Arcane-infected Hellscape last episode. Jayce was actually in a timeline where Viktor succeeded but this “dreamless solitude” and pursuit of perfection was anything but. In every timeline, he’s seen that Jayce is the one that shows him that he’s the one who needs to set things right. So this alt-version of Viktor managed to set things into motion to save himself and break the cycle.

How does Arcane season 2 end?

Jayce and Viktor work together to save their future, and in doing so, relinquish Viktor’s maniacal grip over everything. Vander is passed out on the ground and Vi awakens, determined to try and save him. Jinx begs her to stop, believing he can’t be saved as they rest precariously on a wobbly bridge.

When Vander attacks, Jinx sacrifices herself to save her sister. “Always with you sis,” She says before allowing herself to be consumed by the core and killed alongside Vander to save the future.

In the aftermath of this, Caitlyn decides that changes need to be made for the betterment of society. The Undercity and Piltover will finally come together to fight for the future. Their story isn’t over, and although Jinx is dead, Vi and Caitlyn are very much together. She’s still in this fight for the future, and as we cut to the horizon, Arcane comes to an end.

The Episode Review

So Arcane comes to an end and unfortunately, this really is a bittersweet conclusion. This second season has felt so rushed, and this chapter exemplifies the best and worst aspects of the 9 episodes.

On the one hand, there’s been some great visuals, really nice arcs coming to an end, and some poetic nods back to the beginning of the show. The conclusion with Jayce and Viktor is an excellent nod to the opening scenes and setting into motion what’s come to pass, along with a reason for the time jumping being included here.

However, all of this comes at the expense of the characterisation, which has felt so rushed. I understand that there’s limited time to play with, given the extreme budget around this one, but the pay-offs don’t feel anywhere near as impactful as they could have been with extra seasons.

With all that being said, we do know there are more LoL projects on the horizon so this could be an exciting way of spring boarding into different characters and heroes, and I’d imagine we’ll probably follow Mel and the Black Thorns first, given the emphasis on this storyline. There’s certainly enough here to enjoy though, but I just wish we could have got a more satisfying conclusion to this one.