Full spoilers follow for Arcane‘s first season. Potential spoilers follow for Arcane season 2, too.
Arcane season 2 is only two months away from gracing our screens and, after a near-three-year wait for its return, we’ll finally get answers to the biggest questions we’ve had since the season 1 finale.
But, while I’m as desperate as you likely are to find out if any of Piltover’s Council members survived Jinx’s terrorist attack on their chambers in the series’ second and final installment, I’m also eager to see if a new fan theory has any truth to it. You see, Arcane‘s loyal fanbase – I include myself among their number – have waited a looooong time for the hit Netflix show to return. it’s understandable, then, that many of my fellow devotees have come up with all sorts of weird, wacky, and wonderful theories since season 1 ended in November 2021.
The arrival of Arcane season 2’s official trailer, however, has only heightened the intrigue around one particular hypothesis surrounding the animated League of Legends (LoL) show’s actual main villain. Indeed, given her assault on Piltover’s dignitaries in season 1 episode 9, the footage that was part of Arcane season 2’s first teaser, and a bundle of first-look clips over the past 10 months, it would be safe to assume that Jinx is the central antagonist.
But what, I ask, if she isn’t? What if there’s not only someone else pulling the strings behind the scenes, but what if they’re also a character we haven’t seen before? I suspect you’re equal parts intrigued over who this individual could be, and frustrated over me delaying the reveal of their identity. So, I won’t waste any more of your time: fans think that the mastermind of events before and during Arcane‘s two seasons is someone named LeBlanc.
Who is LeBlanc? And what role could they play in Arcane season 2?
I can see your puzzled look through the screen, dear reader. Let me elaborate: in LoL lore, LeBlanc, who also goes by such jovial aliases like The Deceiver, Mordekasier, and Matron of the Black Rose, is a mysterious but powerful sorceress who’s manipulated people and events since the expansionist nation of Noxus was founded. Thanks to her dark magic abilities, she’s able to shapeshift, can appear in multiple places at once, and can control people from the shadows.
Okay, so why do Arcane fans think that LeBlanc is the big bad of one of the best Netflix shows? On the surface, it seems like a bit of a stretch, especially when there are other obvious candidates. There’s compelling evidence, though, to suggest LeBlanc is eventually going to be unmasked as the award-winning series’ villain-in-chief.
Let’s start with her ties to Noxus. Arcane and LoL diehards won’t need me to tell them that LeBlanc’s association with Noxus means she could be Ambessa’s puppet master. Remember, Ambessa is not only a Noxian warlord, but also Piltover council member Mel’s mother. If Mel died during Jinx’s attack, a grief-stricken Ambessa will be far more vulnerable to the machinations of a powerful sorceress who wants to further sow division between the progressive, idealistic city of Piltover and its poorer, undercity cousin known as Zaun, which is where Jinx is originally from.
Next, there’s Hextech, the potent, magic-infused technology created by Viktor and Jayce in the critically-acclaimed show’s debut season. Why wouldn’t a formidable dark magic wielder be interested in this newfound technology, especially given its dynamic qualities and potential to supercharge whoever commands it?Â
We’ve already seen its effects on creating powerful new weapons, fast-paced methods of transport, and augmenting people’s bodies in season 1. In the hands of a truly malicious individual, then, it could be used by said person for nefarious means. And, considering Arcane co-creator Christian Linke has already teased the possibility that “any foreign nation”, Noxus included, “would find [Hextech] very interesting” (see the X/Twitter post below), I suspect Ambessa and LeBlanc will want to get their hands on it.
#Arcane co-creator @Praeco answers fan questions about what’s coming in Season 2. pic.twitter.com/AaSqLC3Uy1August 10, 2024
Then there’s the possibility that LeBlanc can be seen in season 2’s latest trailer. Seen amid the quick shots that flash up around the 1:54 mark, an inky, jet-black character who looks like a lot like Silco (Jinx’s deceased surrogate dad), can be briefly glimpsed. The identity of this character isn’t confirmed, but I and many others (as you’ll see in this Arcane Reddit thread) believe it could be LeBlanc disguising herself as an even more terrifying vision of Silco.
Why do we think that? For one, this individual’s all-black look ties into the ‘Black Rose’ aspect of one of LeBlanc’s alter-egos. Look more closely, however, and the yellow, tear-like marks that sit beneath this character’s glowing eyes are identical to the black markings that appear underneath LeBlanc’s eyes (see the image further up this page for proof of that). Oh, and let’s not overlook that, on LeBlanc’s official LoL character profile page, the show’s title is even referenced in a line that includes the word “arcane” in it. Oh, and the same page also mentions LeBlanc’s involvement in LoL‘s infamous Rune Wars, which Linke also refers to in the tweet above.
Admittedly, those final two pieces of evidence are tentative links at best, but there’s enough here to indicate that LeBlanc could play a role in Arcane before season 2 brings the curtain down on Netflix’s most successful animated TV project. Here’s hoping many of us weren’t completely off-track when Arcane returns sometime in November.
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