- One of Arcane‘s co-creators has responded to a big season 2 finale fan-theory concerning Jinx
- Christian Linke wouldn’t confirm if Vi’s sister is still alive
- However, while Linke’s words said one thing, his reaction said something else
Full spoilers immediately follow for Arcane‘s season 2 finale.
Arcane co-creator Christian Linke has implied that, despite what happens in the season 2 finale, Jinx is still alive.
Speaking exclusively to TechRadar after the Netflix show’s final episodes aired last Saturday (November 23), Linke suggested that Arcane‘s deuteragonist didn’t die. While Linke said he could “neither confirm or deny” that this was the case, the fact that he shuffled nervously in his seat and raised a wry smile all but confirmed that Jinx didn’t perish in this season’s ninth and final entry.
There’s plenty of evidence to suggest that Jinx lives to fight another day, too, which I previously covered in my Arcane season 2 act 3 ending explained piece. For starters, as Jinx detonates her Hextech bomb to kill Warwick and seemingly sacrifice herself, Jinx appears to use her Shimmer-based super-speed powers to avoid the explosion. Indeed, a unmistakable streak of purple, i.e., the color of Jinx’s Shimmer abilities, can be seen in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment mere milliseconds before the bomb goes off.
Her whole story is about turning from the bumbling, little sister into someone who takes responsibility
Christian Linke, Arcane co-creator
In one of the best Netflix shows’ final few scenes, Caitlyn is seen combing the Kiramman family archives while she fidgets with the monkey head of another of JInx’s homemade explosive devices. As she browses these records, she finds the schematics for Piltover’s Hexgate tower, which Jinx and Warwick fell down before the former detonated her bomb. Zooming in on the blueprint’s air duct and cooling system section, Caitlyn raises a smile. Clearly, Caitlyn was trawling through the archives to find the tower’s designs to work out if Jinx could have survived. Based on her smirk, it’s evident that she believes Vi’s younger sibling did.
The last two pieces of evidence come in Arcane season 2’s final scene. The most obvious one is the Jinx-style ‘The End’ title card that flashes on the screen before the end credits roll, and which indicates that Jinx’s story isn’t over. Even more importantly, though, the series’ final shot shows an airship flying to an unknown region of Runeterra. Why is this significant? In Arcane‘s very first episode, the child version of Jinx – then known as Powder – sees an airship and says “one day, I’m going to ride one of those things”. Considering that the airship in season 2’s final episode is identical to the one that Powder sees in the animated show’s premiere, it doesn’t take a genius to deduce that Jinx is flying the airship in the League of Legends (LoL) adaptation’s final chapter.
Armed with these clues, I asked Linke if he could confirm whether Jinx was alive, and if she was the individual who was flying the airship. As I mentioned, Linke didn’t give me a definitive answer, with Arcane‘s co-showrunner choosing instead to speak about Jinx’s redemption-based character arc that was teased in season 2’s final trailer. His body language, though, practically confirmed that Zaun’s self-appointed ‘big, fat hero’ is not only alive, but also managed to break the cycle of violence she was trapped in and walk (or, rather, fly) away to start a new life.
“I can neither confirm or deny [the Jinx is alive],” Linke coyly replied. “I will say this: her whole story is about turning from the little, bumbling sister into someone who is able to take responsibility and do what a big sister needs to do.
“Isha is really that example for Jinx. She [Jinx] is starting to understand what it’s like to be responsible, and to be able to grow and be stronger. Even in that scene [involving Vi, Jinx, and Warwick], there’s something where VI is incapable of kind of sacrificing the ones she loves and leaving them behind. Jinx has a moment where she has grown and she’s capable of stepping in, and it’s a big decision that’s important for her. So, that’s I guess, where I’ll leave it.”
Even if Jinx is still kicking around, it’s unlikely that we’ll see her again. Arcane‘s second and final season wraps up Jinx and Vi’s story, as well as that of Piltover and Zaun. That’s in spite of rumors that Arcane was supposed to run for five seasons, too – with Linke and fellow creator Alex Yee telling me it was “never the plan” for Arcane to last that long.
Regardless, there are plenty of other LoL movies and TV shows in the works that will explore more regions of Runeterra and focus on other LoL champions. I’ll have more to share on that front in another exclusive later today, so be sure to check back with TechRadar soon. For now, see why Arcane‘s creators have insinuated that it’ll be a long time before the hit series’ follow-up projects are released.