Arcane's season finale left many characters' fates up in the air, particularly that of main character Jinx.
Jinx and Vi are two characters whose relationship is at the center of Arcane, a series that adapts and expands the lore of the champions in Riot's game League of Legends. They began the series as sisters, only to be torn apart by tragedy and placed on opposite sides of the conflict between Piltover and Zaun.
In Season 2, Vi and Jinx physically hashed out their issues and eventually came together to save their father Vander (who was revived as Warwick). In the climactic final battle, the siblings' newly-repaired family came to a tragic end as Jinx sacrificed herself to put an end to Warwick.
Arcane Creator Addresses Jinx's Ending
Arcane's finale shows Jinx seemingly dying in an explosion that is meant to kill her and Warwick. However, the series presents many clues that hint at Jinx's survival.
One scene shows Caitlyn examining schematics of the Hexgates where Jinx fell to her death. It's revealed that a series of air vents lead directly out of the Hexgate, which would have provided Jinx with a means of escape from the blast.
Slowing down the scene of Jinx's death also shows a pink streak exiting the blast radius, suggesting Jinx used her powers to escape and survived the finale of Arcane.
Arcane's co-creator, Christian Linke, addressed Jinx's fate in an interview with Tech Radar. In the interview, Linke remained coy about Jinx's fate, saying "I can neither confirm or deny:"
"I can neither confirm or deny [the Jinx is alive]. 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."
Linke expanded further on Jinx's thinking in her final moments, saying the character is "capable of stepping in" and taking the decision out of Vi's hands:
"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."
While Linke's comments here don't confirm Jinx's fate, Tech Radar made a point to highlight that Linke's body language during the interview suggested Jinx did indeed escape the series alive.
Linke isn't the only one to play coy with Jinx's fate, with actress Ella Purnell also avoiding a flat-out denial of Jinx's death. In the third episode of Arcane Afterglow, Purnell was asked about Jinx's death, to which she responded, "we don’t know:"
"We don't know... we’re gonna leave that open to interpretation."
Is There Hope For Jinx in Arcane?
While the signs may point to Jinx's survival, the question of whether the character survives is one that the Arcane team clearly want audiences to answer for themselves.
Regardless of whether Jinx survived or not, the ending is still a tragic one for the sibling relationship between Jinx and Vi, as the duo are now separated, potentially forever.
Arcane is not set to continue in a Season 3, but perhaps there is hope to see Jinx again in one of Riot's other League of Legends animated projects.
Linke confirmed that there are more Arcane spin-off projects in the works, and that these stories may take audiences to Noxus, Demacia, and Ionia.
With Jinx supposedly last seen taking off across the ocean in an airship, perhaps there is potential for the character to be seen again in one of these new regions in the future.
Arcane is streaming on Netflix.
