No tattoos or scars: Arcane Season 2 fan theories behind new opening

There's nothing more interesting and fun than delving into fan theories. With the new season of Arcane launching, there are many things to analyze in the new openings: tattoos, scars, characters, and emotions. Let's dive into them. Watch the official opening!

There are going to be spoilers during the article. Letting you know about that so you can choose if you want to keep going. The choice is yours!

In the first seconds of the opening, we get to see Vi and Jinx, backs against each other: which is normal since they diverge about everything that has been happening since the first episode of Arcane. But one thing that fans noticed was the lack of tattoos and scars.

Fans theorize that Vi tattooed two gear mechanisms on her neck as a tribute to her sister Powder - which we know by the name of Jinx - since she always loved to build things. As for the upper lip scar, she got it from a fight with Deckard's gang in the first episode of Arcane season 1 (that moment is very clear). One curiosity for you: Deckard also gets the same scar as Vi but on the other side. In the trailer, both the tattoos and the scar disappear. Not only for Vi, but also for Jinx who got a lot of tattoos in her arms.

On X, many fans have been questioning and theorizing about the reason behind the lack of tattoos in the opening song. Some people think this is a question of showing a different side of the sisters, a vulnerable and "naked" one. Since we're talking about two young girls who have been through so much trauma, this theory can be possible. The tattoos probably symbolize a character they build to shield themselves from trauma, to not show people who they really are and how badly hurt they are.

In the opening, everyone is wearing white loosened clothes except for Caitlyn, Ambessa, and Viktor. We see Caitlyn in a full black outfit, which fans theorize represents her grief of losing her mother, her ultimate figure. But Ambessa appears in a very interesting pose. Besides being dressed in red, Ambessa is dressed in a Roman toga. In the Roman Empire, one of the greatest and most influential civilizations in the world, the red togas symbolized power and a strong political presence in the empire.

Since I loved history classes back in the day, something caught my attention during the opening and that was the Ambessa pose. She reminded me of a Roman god. On the right side, we see Marforio, a Roman god and their pose is very identical: lying down, holding something in their right hand, and resting their left arm. All this can be a reference to Ambessa's presence not only as a strong leader but also as a god. The power she emerges is huge in this scene.

All the remaining characters are wearing white, which can symbolize the desire to find peace in their own perspectives, not only peace between both nations like Mel, but also peace inside them like Jinx, Vi, and Jayce.

If you don't play League of Legends, you probably don't recognize this sentence. This is one of LeBlanc's in-game sentences. She's the Matron of the Black Rose, a clan that drew "the rich and powerful to their ranks", as we can read from her League of Legends biography. We don't actually hear LeBlanc's name through the Arcane series (yet), but we see Amara, a Black Rose assassin who ends up killed by Ambessa. This frame, according to this fan on X, could mean a "terrifying premonition/conclusion".

Just like LeBlanc, Ambessa's eyes are glowing yellow. We see her holding the black rose, something Mel couldn't do. This could mean that Ambessa will have some kind of control of the Black Rose cabal? Maybe, it seems we'll have to wait.

In Viktor's case, even though the light makes it very difficult to actually perceive the color of his vest, we see what looks like a grey cloak that is also white in the interior. This could be associated with a neutral position, but with a pure reason under it since the color white is often associated with peace and purity.

We also see him putting on a mask emanating the Hexcore colors: orange, red, blue, and white. This also reminded the fans of the recently leaked icons where we see Viktor wearing a mask on a purple background with a mask, a purple cloak (just like the one Jayce gave him after he woke up), and some glimpses of color, clearly representing what we saw in the last episode of the Hexcore. The series is making us closer to the Viktor rework fans have been waiting for.

A fan also speculated that the Viktor pose has a deeper meaning since it can be a reenactment of the statues that resembled the forgotten myths and legends from Arcane season one opening. Another fan on X talked about the similarities between Viktor's new look and the mage that saved Jayce and his mom. Since Viktor can now save people from their afflictions, this is not as weird as it can seem.

Ekko appears in a green scene, mostly resembling Firelights, the group in which he's a leader and is also associated with the green color. As his leader, he wants to bring peace to Zaun, also associated with the green color due to the toxic gas. But the most interesting thing in the opening was his shadow tickling. This reminds me of his League of Legends ability to control time. Later in the opening, we also see him using this ability by jumping and coming back to the first position.

One of the things that is very well portrayed is the way that Mel Medarda doesn't want to be following her mother's footsteps. We see her covered in shadows of hands, of those trying to tell her what to do and how to do it. We also see her screaming, done with everyone telling her what to do. She is a natural leader, but he doesn't want to be her mother. We see her in the same scenery as her mother but in a completely different pose: while Ambessa shows us power and control, Mel shows us worry and doubt.

Aside from the black clothing I mentioned earlier, we can see that Caitlyn is suffering a lot. We see her getting desperate, not knowing what to do, and fighting against Vi, her loved one. A mix between saving her city or her girl. In the first episode, we see a glimpse of the Enforcers symbol in Caitlyn's scene (it's so fast you can only really see it in detail in low velocity). What's interesting is that this symbol doesn't appear in the second and third episode openings. A detail meaning more?

For Riot Games, details are crucial. Nothing is put without a reason. Fans theorize this can be a way of showing the slow separation between Caitlyn and the Enforcers, probably related to the last scene of episode three where we see Ambessa giving Caitlyn a new coat. In the last episode, we see a glimpse of her wearing that jacket.

We also see a scene where Caitlyn is with her bloody hands on her head and some shadows from behind that look like a crown. Could this be a symbol of the sacrifices she will have to endure during her leadership? Or that she will change to the evil side? Fans are thrilled with all the information Riot Games invests in their openings.

In the trailer, we see Jayce two times: the first, offuscated by a strong white light, and the second, touching that light. That is the Hexcore "ball", an evolution of the Hextech. This is created by the addition of organic matter to the rune-casting process. The Hexcore can grow and even infect people - like Viktor and the Firelights' tree. Jayce saved Viktor from dying after Jinx attacked the Council and he can be now the key to stopping the Hexcore from infecting more people.

Not only Jayce can be changing everything, but he was the first to start it all. As this fan theorizes on X, "The Arcane is doing just that here. It's expanding around the earth like a living organism because it has finally been awakened, "activated", by the people who used it". The user keeps going explaining that Jayce started everything by "creating the shell for it, the hexgate, as its physical body".

"Jinx activated the right runes to create the gateway to the universe/realm the Arcane was aiming for. And Viktor gave the magic the blood it needed to bind its way to their world (a bit like you'll see magic rituals in TV shows: intention/result works better with blood or DNA samples such as hair, or teeth). The Arcane is a character of the show. If not the main one", the user ends. Does this not make a lot of sense? Because it's making for me.

In the three openings, even though they're the same, some details change, sometimes so fast we can't even see them. Besides the one referred to above, in the first opening, we see a fast glimpse of Ambessa's golden mask between her scene and Viktor's, who also has a quick shot trapped into the hexcore.

We can also see Isha, the small girl who becomes fascinated with Jinx (and also ends up saving her from Vi and Caitlyn) appearing in the second episode opening. After her, some purple figures appear. Could they relate to the people Viktor finds in Zaun (and ends up saving)?

In episode three, a fast glimpse of Vi and Jinx fighting appears, just like the iconic one from the trailer. Could just be a way to say that the sisters will keep fighting each other in the next act.

As I said before, Riot Games is a professional at making great use of details to attach people to the series and the references between season one opening and season two are amazingly well done.

As a curiosity, the names of the episodes are also important. "Heavy is the Crown" (episode one) is also the name of the LoL Worlds 2024 theme song from Linkin Park. "Watch it all burn" (episode two) not only is a reference to Jinx's sentence but could also be related to "Burn it all Down", the LoL Worlds 2021 anthem song from PVRIS. In the last episode, named "Finally Got the Name Right" which is clearly a reference to the iconic Jinx's sentence when Vi calls her Jinx instead of Powder.

That's all for now. Stick around for more updates about Arcane Season Two on esports.gg.