Updated on November 16, 11:42 p.m. (GMT+8): Added new champions from Arcane season 2.
Riot Games’ first ever full length animated series “Arcane”, centered on the backstories of League of Legends champions Jinx and Vi, dropped on November 7, 2021 on Netflix.
In less than a week, it broke records around the globe. Number one in more than 30 countries, Arcane is Netflix’s best rated original series that bested “Squid Game” and “You” on Rotten Tomatoes.
Fans of the MOBA game were especially excited to see Piltover and Zaun come to life, and all the League of Legends champions associated with these two cities, introduced in obvious and not so obvious ways.
Warning: Major spoilers if you haven’t watched Arcane Act 1 and 2.
Full list of League of Legends champions in Netflix’s Arcane and which episode they appear
Act 1 Episode 1: Welcome to the Playground
Vi and Jinx
The opening scene of Arcane is painted red. Literally and metaphorically.
Like a scene from The Dark Knight, smoke and heavy shadows prevent viewers from making out what’s happening. All you know is that there’s been bloodshed, violence, and regret to come.
Sisters Vi and Jinx, the main protagonists of Arcane, are the first two League of Legends champions to appear.
Two heads taller, Violet establishes herself as the older sister of Powder, which we learn is the name Jinx went by when she was a child.
Ekko
Who knew the boy who shattered time would look this cute as a kid?
Ekko is first seen in Benzo’s shop fixing the cannon pinion of a grandfather clock, which foreshadows his future abilities to manipulate time. Already wearing a full head of white hair, he’s full of energy and spunk.
This is clearly another of Riot Games’ marketing efforts to get you to buy Chibi Ekko in TFT.
Singed
Singed came as a bit of a surprise. It wasn’t until the credits rolled when fans noticed that this champion — voiced by Australian actor and singer Brett Tucker — was mentioned, and put two and two together.
Comparing it with his splash art in-game, you can totally see the resemblance. The sunken cheek bones, pointed nose, and large forehead are key features of Singed.
Now the only question is, when will he become the crazy flinging mad chemist we know so well?
Act 1 Episode 2: Some Mysteries Are Better Left Unsolved
Caitlyn
Her long dark blue hair totally gives her away.
Caitlyn is unmistakable, and part of the upper class of Piltover. Maybe that’s why Katie Leung’s posh British accent was the best choice to bring this AD carry to life.
Walking with Jayce in the opening scene of Episode 2, they are having friendly conversation on their way to his lab moments before things got frisky.
Jayce
Due to the intentional direction of this scene, we hear Jayce’s voice way before we’re able to catch a glimpse of his face.
The camera only pans over Caitlyn and Jayce’s bottom half, and it’s only when the Arcane crystal blew up that we finally see him flung onto the other side of the corridor.
Even though he’s completely dazed, he still looks as handsome as ever.
Ryze
Yes, we know, he doesn’t have blue skin here, but who else deploys runes, has strange markings all over, and can teleport allies?
Only one League of Legends champion fits the bill, and that’s Ryze.
Not expecting this mage to appear so early on, League of Legends fans are were surprised by this scene, for Ryze isn’t directly affiliated with Piltover or Zuan, but rather “Runeterra” as a whole, as listed in his official biography.
Now that we know he saved young Jayce and his mother, will this debt be one day repaid?
Heimerdinger
The smallest of champions always make the grandest entrances.
A Yordle who’s barely knee-high, brilliant scientist Heimerdinger is introduced in Act 1 Episode 2 when he visits Jayce in his detention cell. With no hesitation, he starts lecturing the young inventor and instructs him on what to do during the trial.
No sign of the Apex Turret. For now.
Viktor
Treasure these early moments, because this is the last time you’ll see an innocent Viktor.
A bright-eyed intellectual, Viktor decided to take a risk and help Jayce out on his Hextech breakthrough. They bond over science, success, and maybe even a bit of bromance.
League of Legends players however, are much more familiar with his augmented self, and we’re totally dying to see how he evolves over the series.
Act 2 Episode 5: Everybody Wants To Be My Enemy
Kindred
What an absolute shocker!
When Caitlyn and Vi enter “the one place all secrets are spilled”, that is, the undercity’s brothel, Caitlyn peeks into various corners along the hallway.
The very first thing she sees on her right are League of Legends champions Lamb and Wolf, collectively known as Kindred, mysterious spirits representing the twin essences of death.
Based on their official biography the “earliest dated appearance of the eternal hunters is from a pair of ancient masks, carved by unknown hands into the gravesites of people long-forgotten”. The masks in this scene clearly bears Kindred’s marks, shape, and color.
Is this pair Kindred before they turned into eternal hunters, or did they temporarily manifest in human form?
Act 2 Episode 6: When These Walls Come Tumbling Down
Teemo
What will League of Legends be without Teemo? Nothing.
The cutest crusader in town made an unlikely appearance in this gritty, dark animated series in Arcane Act 2. When Silco and his crew invade Marcus’ house and threaten his daughter in her own room, one of his men is seen flipping through a book.
When the camera zooms in, we see the swift scout depicted in action, alongside paragraphs of illegible words.
Even though we thought it was a children’s book at first, the handwritten text could be field notes about the elusive Teemo. After all, he’s really good at camouflaging.
Now that Riot Games has featured their favorite League of Legends champions, poster boys Ryze and Teemo, it’s only a matter of time before Katarina shows up, right?
Act 3 Episode 8: Oil and Water
Ambessa Medarda
Ambessa Medarda, a character originally from the series, made her debut as a playable character in League of Legends in November 2024. This comes approximately two years after the premiere of Arcane season 1.
It is the first in League of Legends history where an original character from Arcane is fielded into the MOBA’s roster. Previously, Silco, another original, was only included in Teamfight Tactics but not Summoner’s Rift.
Ambessa is a formidable warlord and stateswoman from Noxus. Notably, she is the mother of Mel Medarda, an aristocrat and a member of Piltover’s ruling council.
Ambessa’s character was first introduced in episode 8, titled “Oil and Water,” offering viewers insights into Mel’s upbringing and showcasing Ambessa’s maternal side in a flashback scene. We get to know more of her in season 2.
Arcane season 2
Act 1 Episode 3: Finally Got the Name Right
Janna
Our beloved support champion Janna is mentioned in the unlikeliest of ways.
Jinx chooses to confront Vi at an underground location in Zaun. Here, a stone sculpture of Janna is shown on the back wall.
“Don’t you remember the old Janna bedtime stories Vander used to tell us,” Jinx said. “Miners trapped underground. Air running thin! But then some wispy wind woman wafts to their rescue.”
At the end of the fight, Sevika uses their last resort — blow up the place with explosives, which destroys the Janna tribute on the wall and causes air to rush out of the tunnel, creating distance between them and Caitlyn and Vi.
Gifted with the winds of Runeterra, Janna is a mysterious elemental spirit who watches over the downtrodden in Zaun. According to official League of Legends lore, some say her existence is owed to the prayers of sailors who once begged for safe passage and fair winds across dangerous seas, which is why Jinx made the reference.
Janna shines as a symbol of hope for those in desperate need, though her appearances are unpredictable, she often emerges just when she’s needed most.
Warwick
Vander transforming into Warwick was already hinted at at the end of season 1. Act 1 Episode 3, Finally Got the Name Right, is the first time we finally get a full glimpse of him, wearing the same gear that the champion does in the game, which confirms his presence in Arcane.
This scene comes right at the end of season 2 episode 2. We know from earlier scenes that Singed has been busy working on him. Check out the similarities with his official splashart!
According to lore, Warwick is a monstrous hunter stalking the dim alleys of Zaun. Once a man, he was twisted by excruciating experiments that melded his body with a complex network of chambers and pumps, flooding his veins with volatile alchemical fury. Arcane provides context to this “man,” who we know as Vander, Vi and Powder’s adoptive father.
Warwick is irresistibly drawn to the scent of blood, driven to madness by it, and none who shed it can evade his wrath.
Act 2 Episode 5: Blisters and Bedrock
Orianna
Singed finally reveals what’s driving his scientific pursuits — his daughter, Orianna, who is kept in a tank.
“Everything I’ve done is to cure her,” he tells Caitlyn in Act 2 Episode 5, Blisters and Bedrock.
“Precisely what are you trying to cure?” Ambessa asks.
“That affliction we all suffer,” Singed replies. “Death.”
League of Legends players already know that Singed won’t succeed. Sort of. The clockwork Orianna we are familiar with is one who is made of intricate mechanical components.
According to her official lore, she suffered a severe illness caused by an accident in Zaun’s lower districts as a young girl. Somewhere along the way, her deteriorating body was gradually replaced with intricate mechanical components and now roams freely in Piltover and beyond.
LeBlanc
The moment Arcane mentioned Black Rose, League of Legends players knew that it’s her. After all, her most iconic line in-game is “The Black Rose shall bloom once more.”
But it’s only in Act 2 Episode 5, Blisters and Bedrock, that LeBlanc finally shows a fragment of her true form.
Before this, we’ve seen her chains and dramatics. One of her skills in-game is called Ethereal Chains, which shackles and chains enemies, and Arcane portrays this literally.
It’s Mel Medarda who is forced to get up close and personal with The Deceiver. Recognizing that Kino isn’t really her brother, she smashes the illusion into the wall.
We see flickers of all the people that LeBlanc has copied, and finally, when she changes her face to Mel, we see her yellow eyes and silver face mark that’s identical to her original splashart. This is the “true” LeBlanc.
Known officially as the “matron of Black Rose” in League of Legends lore, LeBlanc is just one of many aliases for a pale sorceress who has influenced Noxian history since its earliest days.
Wielding magic that allows her to create mirror images of herself, she can appear to anyone, anywhere, and seemingly exist in multiple places simultaneously, as shown in Arcane season 2. Ever scheming from the shadows, LeBlanc’s true intentions remain as elusive as her ever-changing identity.
(To be updated)
Watch Arcane now on streaming platform Netflix.
EXPLORE THE UNIVERSE: League of Legends: Realms of Runeterra (Official Companion) |
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