The Arcane Season 2 finale set up a fan-favorite League of Legends (LoL) character as a villain for a potential spin-off series.
Set in the world of Riot Games' beloved multiplayer game, the beloved Netflix series accomplished what was thought to be an impossible feat — getting both League fans and newcomers to buy into the franchise and its characters unlike ever before.
The series managed to endear audiences to some of the game's various champions, including the heavy-hitting Vi, human firecracker Jinx, and even the terrifying mutant werewolf known as Warwick.
With Arcane now having been sunset, though, fans' eyes are drawn to the horizon for the planned spin-offs of the show hit animated show, parts of which may have been set up in the Season 2 finale.
Arcane Finale Sets Up Major LoL Character
Despite Arcane having come to an end with Season 2, it seems as though the team behind the fan-favorite LoL series may be already setting up characters' upcoming spin-offs.
Fans seem to think one of these teases came at the very end of the series finale, laying the groundwork for an iconic League villain to burst onto the scene in some sort of follow-up.
The origin of these theories derives from a grotesque three-eyed crow appearing in the final seconds of Season 3, pecking on some rubble from the battle of Piltover only to discover shards of the stones that were used to power the magic-infused Hextech technology.
While not confirmed, this crow seems to be connected to the LoL villain Swain, a character from the games who notably did not show up in the series at all.
In almost all official art for the League character, he is seen sporting black crow-esque armor as well as a three-eyed crow (like the one from the series) perched on his shoulder.
In LoL lore, Swain is a Noxian (the region Arcane's Mel Medarda calls home), who seeks to employ a new vision for the region and gobble up power by overthrowing the governing family with a murderous coup.
He is best known for slaying the leaders of the mysterious Black Rose organization, who were introduced and played a big part in Arcane Season 2.
Described as cold and calculating in his official bio, Swain sees people's lives as mere pawns in his conquest for greater power and is willing to sacrifice anyone and anything if it means accomplishing his goals.
Swain was predicted by many to appear in Arcane Season 2 in some form, but that ultimately did not happen. The appearance of his crow though could point to him playing a part in something in the future.
How Swain Could Play Into Arcane's Future?
While no more seasons of Arcane are on the way from Netflix (read about why Arcane was canceled here), several spin-offs have been confirmed confirmed to be in the works for the series, and Swain could play into any of them.
The most likely place the character will pop up is the most imminent of these follow-up projects.
In the wake of the Season 2 finale, series co-creator Christina Linke teased that the next series in the Arcane saga will focus on the regions of "Noxus, Ionia, and Demacia."
This likely means Arcane hero Mel Medarda will get the spotlight once again, as, after the events of the finale, she is now the leader of Noxus. What better foil could there be to Mel than someone seeking to take advantage of the region's new wet-behind-the-ears leader?
With Mel's ruthless mother, Ambessa, out of the way, someone like Swain would very likely swoop in to enact his treasonist plan to take hold of the Noxian government.
Several other characters from Arcane are also still on the board (or perhaps seemingly are), so maybe Mell will not be the only familiar face to take on someone like Swain in any sort of series spin-off the creative team has planned.
Arcane is now streaming on Netflix.
