Isha’s death will be the undoing of Jinx, but I believe it will be so in the way to give rebirth to Powder. Here’s some rambling as to why I think that, with act 3 only a few days away now. Warning, lots of spoilers ahead, if you’re someone who’s waiting to watch all 9 eps in one go!
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I have seen a lot on X.com about how they’re going to wrap up all of the story within only 3 more episodes, and I’m wondering that too, but I’m also remembering that Arcane is a story about sisters. That’s the story we’ll see get wrapped up, ahead of all the other threads within the series. And we’ve already seen how Isha’s appearance is pivotal to that.
Isha’s protection of Jinx during the ashes and blood fight was the catalyst for Caitlyn and Vi’s separation, which was essential for Jinx and Vi to be able to reunite. But even before Isha’s appearance, we already see Vi disengage momentarily when she has Jinx pinned, after hearing her say “It had to be you”. And I fully agree with an interpretation over on X that I REALLY wish I could find now to link, that, Isha’s interruption and the throwing of herself over Jinx in self-sacrifice, is the moment Jinx and Vi become sisters again. Her protectiveness re-humanises Jinx in Vi’s eyes, and Vi standing in-between Cait and Jinx reminds Jinx that the Vi who protected her when growing up is still in there.
This theory, to me, is wrapped up nicely within the lyrics to Woodkids’ song that is playing in the background throughout:
Every sin will be forgiven
If you lay down your weapons to the ground.
The moment Vi gets in-between Jinx and Cait, if only to protect Isha, is the moment she lays her weapons to the ground.
It’s common to believe, the theory that hair holds memories. We’ve already seen twice in this season where Jinx’s hair is her downfall in battle – first, within her petty squabble against Vi (“There. One second”), and second, when Ambessa’s loyal soldier pins her down. And if there’s one thing about Jinx, it’s that she’s a quick study. She’s probably already learned that her hair, it’s a weakness. But we already know, it’s an integral part of her identity. Her braids are the one thing she points to first, when confronting the enforcer in S2E4 👇
I think it’s fair to say, therefore, that Jinx’s identity is linked, a lot with her hair. It’s young Silco’s fringe that she has, a single braid (when young) styled after her mother. Two braids as she got older – one theory I heard was that this demonstrated her duality, but personally I think that’s just to align with her LoL counterpart.
These pink cheek lines are not the first time Jinx has sported them, and so I don’t think it’s fair to say that she’s doing them in dedication to Isha – which she probably is, don’t get me wrong, but I think there’s more to it.
We see Powder sporting these cheek garnishes during her fight scene with Ekko back in S1 – another thing that I don’t believe is coincidence, when pairing with the online talk I’ve heard that suggests Ekko will be the one bring Jinx back from the self-destructive edge.
Watch the full fight on YouTube here.
The reappearance of these marks form part of the reason I think Powder will be reborn. We already know, Isha reminds her of Powder, and then we later learn that having Isha in her life makes her feel like she’s wearing glasses – aka, that she feels more like herself. And when was she most herself? In her youth, presumably, before the terror and the turmoil. This is littered within the montage of Isha and Jinx towards the end of S2E6, where we even see Jinx’s eyes periodically flash blue again, where we see her taking on the older sibling role by adopting the pink spray paint, dying her hair, giving her bunny ears to wear (much like how Vi gave Powder a bunny teddy…).
The reason I’m tying hair, and Ekko together, is because of what we (assume) he says to Jinx in the trailer: Sometimes, taking a leap forward means leaving a few things behind. (Although, as I rewatch the trailer again and again, I’m less convinced by the “blue streak” being the reasoning he’s talking to Jinx. I still like to think he is talking to Jinx, as we are owed their conversation, but I don’t know if that little side streak is indicator enough).
We already know Jinx is willing (and therefore, capable) of leaving Silco behind – we see this in (again) S2E4. This is Jinx’s willingness to move on – spurred, no doubt, by her new friend. And of course, we saw the funeral she gave him – in the river, no less, where he took her to be reborn in S1.
It’s been said that Isha’s purpose was to bring the family back together, and we can absolutely understand why her death could tear the family apart. Vander’s full transformation into Warwick is already threatening this (let’s be real, with Viktor’s healing incomplete, and Singed standing up at the end of the episode, there’s not much hope for him any more), as will any reunion of Cait and Vi that Jinx witnesses.
That being said, to me, Jinx raising her hand and turning away from Caitlyn after she says “You“, symbolises Jinx’s desire to let go – to choose family, which of course has been a reoccurring theme throughout Arcane – Jinx was the one to reach out to Vi first, after all, by lighting the flare. By showing up in her pit fighter lair. And by going along with Vi’s plan to try and save Vander from Ambessa.
Jinx just wants her family back. And hearing Vi say “He’s your father too,” coupled with Vander calling her Powder (to which we see no spiral), and to his protectiveness with the line “Don’t touch my daughter”, we see she’s found a new version of her family.
Ultimately, these reasons combined are why I think Isha’s death will be the rebirth of Powder. Not the same Powder from S1, from pre-Vander’s death, but to a new version of herself that has let go of her Silco-Jinx persona, has embodied the Zaunite cause, and is on the way to get her sins forgiven. (But not before building Sevika a second new arm, and putting her destructive capabilities to good use, I hope). A further indicator of her reverting to a version of Powder, is her lack of reaction to Viktor calling her Powder. Yes, she freezes, and yes he was 100% doing that as a dig in retaliation for the “Looks like you got a few” comment, but we don’t see Jinx spiral here. She pauses, she breathes, she moves on (but doesn’t rule it out).
Now, I could be completely wrong about everything I’ve said, and this was a lot of rambling that I just really needed to write down somewhere. But there’s only three days left to wait before we find out how our sisters get their ending! I would love to hear your thoughts on S2 so far!
