What Happened To Ekko & Heimerdinger In Arcane's Second Act

What Happened To Ekko & Heimerdinger In Arcane’s Second Act


Warning! This article contains spoilers for Arcane season 2, Act II.Arcane season 2, Act II had several questions to answer following the shocking Arcane season 2, Act I ending, including whether Ekko and Heimerdinger disappeared or were dead. Now that the three newest episodes have been released, the fate of Jayce Talis has been confirmed, returning to the physical world intent on destroying anything connected to the arcane. However, Ekko and Heimerdinger were notably absent from all three episodes, with no hint of their return or if they are even alive.




The series certainly has other episodes where some characters aren’t featured, but excluding Ekko and Heimerdinger from Arcane season 2, Act II is surprising. Thankfully, there are ways to justify their absence, and the events of Act II reveal some options for how they could come back in time for the series finale. Established League of Legends lore also has something to say about Ekko and Heimerdinger, so it will be interesting to see how closely the creative team adheres to continuity or if they take these characters in an unexpected direction.


Why Ekko And Heimerdinger Don’t Appear In Arcane Season 2 Act 2

The only major characters with no screen time whatsoever


The main reason why Ekko and Heimerdinger don’t appear in Arcane‘s second act is likely the same reason Jayce wasn’t in episode 4… it makes the viewer wonder what happened to them. The writers allowed the mystery of where Jayce was to linger for episode 4, making his return at the end of episode 5 as a damaged man with a new mission more shocking. When Ekko and Heimerdinger eventually return in Act III, they will have been gone longer than Jayce, giving them more time to change or be caught off guard by what has happened in their absence.


Another, more practical reason for their absence is that they weren’t needed in Act II. Arcane has one season left to wrap up its various plotlines, so focusing on the characters with the most immediate plot relevance or the strongest emotional arcs makes sense. Ekko and Heimerdinger are fantastic characters with many memorable moments, but they’ve always served in more of a supportive role. They show up when they are most relevant to the narrative and the show’s larger themes, and the creative team must feel that this will be in Act III.

Why Ekko And Heimerdinger Probably Aren’t Dead

Some things are too crucial to skip

While Arcane season 2, Act II reinforces that this show is not afraid of killing off characters, it would be strange for Ekko and Heimerdinger to die offscreen. Perhaps they perished at the end of Act I, but the episode didn’t make that clear, and it wouldn’t explain why Jayce was the only survivor. Whenever Arcane kills off a character, it’s usually clear that they died, and they often get a moment to shine before their death. Even if they sometimes act in a supporting role, Ekko and Heimerdinger deserve a proper sendoff if the writers go that route.


Vader’s death seemed definitive in
Arcane
season 1, but that didn’t stop Doctor Singed from resurrecting him as a monster for his own scientific research.

Arcane‘s second act is also a reminder that supposedly obvious deaths do not guarantee that a character won’t return. Vader’s death seemed definitive in Arcane season 1, but that didn’t stop Doctor Singed from resurrecting him as a monster for his own scientific research. Just before Vader “died,” the Doctor himself seemed to perish in the explosion caused by Powder’s monkey bomb, but it was later revealed that he survived with severe burns covering his body. It would therefore come as no surprise for Ekko and Heimerdinger to be alive, even if they were to have a proper death scene.


For now, the most compelling evidence of Ekko and Heimerdinger’s demise is their disappearance, and there’s no reason to assume they’re dead. They may not have returned when Jayce did, but Hexcore’s connection to the arcane may have transported them to an entirely different world, the existence of which was implied by some of Viktor’s Act II scenes. Now that Viktor is (seemingly) dead, the other characters will need someone with knowledge of the arcane and hextech to stop Jayce’s mission, and Ekko and Heimerdinger are most qualified.

Arcane Being A Prequel Means Ekko And Heimerdinger Are Most Likely Alive

The show is part of the League of Legends franchise


Because Arcane is meant to be a prequel to the League of Legends game it’s based on, the final episodes have reason to keep Ekko and Heimerdinger alive. Both characters are present as playable champions in League of Legends, so it may be jarring if longtime players were told that some of their favorite game characters actually died before they started playing. Ekko’s time travel abilities were also hinted at in Arcane season 1 and explained in his League of Legends website biography, which could help him and Heimerdinger temporarily cheat death.

Vi and Jinx from Arcane

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Of course, Arcane doesn’t always strictly follow this rule, as the characters’ stories sometimes differ from the League of Legends champions’ biographies. Viktor’s original League of Legends backstory features far more animosity and conflict between him and Jayce that was never even hinted at in Arcane, proving the show’s writers had creative freedom. However, retconning aspects of a character’s biography is not necessarily the same as changing whether that character is alive or dead later in the timeline. With only three episodes left, Ekko and Heimerdinger will almost certainly remain alive for the Arcane series finale.

Arcane Season 2 – Act II is now streaming on Netflix.

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