Full spoilers for Arcane season 1.

Hello, everyone. You stumbled upon one of my wordy texts, resulting from my brain's unstoppable need to delve into stuff. This time, back to really in-depth posts as we will be exploring the idea of suicide and how it is portrayed in Arcane. It's obviously a tough subject, but I believe it must be talked about and understood. So here goes. Enjoy reading and please share your thoughts afterward. Cheers.

If you arrived here and are feeling suicidal, please do consider looking for support and talking about it, with a family member, a friend, a hotline, a doctor, a stranger, whoever you can open up to. It's hard, it's different for everyone, the problems are probably not going to go away easily, but there will be people who care for you, resources to help you, meanings and joys for you to find. I do not know you and have to right to give you advice, I only want you to take care of yourself and believe in your own life.

Introduction

Suicide, as a theme, has a strange place in Arcane. It's not dwelled upon, it's not talked about, it's not in focus. As far as season 1 is concerned, it may be an afterthought or a plot device. However, suicide is a strong idea, it's not a simple topic to discuss and it's unlikely to leave anyone impassive. And in the show, it does coincide with major character turning points.

Some of the discussion here will lean into the topics of death and sacrifice, but the themes are close. Suicide is the act of taking one's own life, it could be for personal reasons or in a fight for a cause, and it's also an important idea in the relation of humans with life and death.

In season 1, there are, I believe, two very obvious occurrences of suicide attempts, with Jayce and Viktor, and then two others, less explicit, with Viktor and Jinx. And beyond that there's Marcus consideration of martyrdom, and Jinx's mental health. The dark and tragic tone of Arcane, the simple presence of suicide, the big display of trauma and mental health issues, these things make me believe it's worth it to delve into the subject. Maybe there is more here than pieces in a story, and maybe the writers are introducing this possibility to use it later in a more central place.

Jayce

In episode 2, Jayce is seconds away from jumping from his apartment, when luckily Viktor interrupts him. Before that, we saw Jayce's interest in magic and science, how he believed he was creating something extraordinary and wonderful, then how his discovery blew up a building, how it got him tried and expelled, how Heimerdinger, the Council, the academy, his patrons and his own family turned him away. Put simply, Jayce had a bright future and a life dream, he suddenly lost both, as well as all his support. While it is shown quickly and without much details or breathing space, Jayce's state of mind is at least understandable and his sudden despair sufficient to push him to consider the suicide solution.

As an event in the show, this Jayce scene is particular. I consider episode 1 and 2 to be light of tone, at least way lighter than what comes after. There is a underlying current of uneasiness but overall it's a standard depiction of a run-of-the-mill tale. The two scenes that strike hard against the light tone are the bridge scene at the very start and this Jayce scene. They prelude the turn of episode 3 and the rest of the show into a darker atmosphere.

The scene itself is simple rather than dramatic. The things you take away the first time are: would Jayce even die from that fall, and how funny Viktor behaves. This portrayal, as well as its twin with Viktor later, puts suicide on the table, but does not highlight it. That's where we ask ourselves: did they reduce a suicide attempt as just another event in the story? did they use that just to give emotional attachment to Jayce? But then, did they do it like that on purpose? Either to introduce the notion and dark tone, or to portray suicidal thoughts as a thing of life? Was the scene purposeful for the plot, or for the themes?

Viktor

In episode 9, Viktor goes through a very similar scene to Jayce, as he tries to jump from the aqueduct, and Jayce interrupts him. Before that, we saw Viktor struggle with his illness and the Hexcore, him being kind of denigrated by Heimerdinger then Jayce, finally using the Hexcore and Shimmer to augment and heal himself, before his next attempt killed Sky as she tried to save him. Put simply, Viktor was dying and had failed in his progress endeavors. With his health decaying and support dwindling, he considered the suicide solution to stop himself from experiencing more pain and failure.

Where Jayce's suicide attempt was an introduction, a prologue to the Hextech adventure, Viktor's was a conclusion, the realization of failure. As Jayce and Viktor sit and talk, they reference each their own mistake: Jayce creating a weapon and killing, Viktor creating something he does not control and being responsible for death. Importantly, while this scene is a recognition of wrongdoing, it also preludes a renewal of their drive and convictions. What comes of it, if anything because rocket, is unknown.

Just like with Jayce, the scene does not dwell on Viktor trying to kill himself, it's inserted between the funeral for Sky and the important talk between Jayce and Viktor. As for the tone, this time it's very much in line with all that is happening around it. Everything is going wrong, everyone is living a tragedy. Yet it also contrasts with Jinx's tea party, as it's a reconciliation between Jayce and Viktor and a new start for something positive, rather than more death, more trauma, more family tearing itself apart, and more massive mistakes.

If I wondered about the portrayal of Jayce's suicide attempt being lackluster, or dismissive of the topic's seriousness, well Viktor's is instead quite poetic and strong. What's interesting is that the scenes are basically the same. Each starts with great desperation, a quickly decided attempt and just as quick a resolution, before a serene conversation. Viktor's scene makes Jayce's one more meaningful, indirectly and long after the fact, but still.

Viktor with the grenade

This next one might be debatable. I did not take notice of it at first, and it's some video I can't remember that pointed it out.

In episode 7, after Jayce and Viktor come back from the blockade where they reunited with an awkward exchange, Jayce asks Viktor to take a look at Jinx's grenade. Both of them are impressed at the ingenuity, and it makes Mel prompt Jayce to consider building weapons to defend themselves. Jayce is taken aback and not happy about it, but Viktor is absolutely against. The two men discuss it shortly and calmly, but Viktor is tinkering with the grenade as they talk, and triggers it. He hesitates a second before he disarms it.

The grenade almost blowing them up and Viktor's hesitation as he is disarming it can be interpreted as considering suicide. However let's quickly acknowledge that it could simply be Viktor being unsure of what he is doing to disarm the grenade and him hesitating at cutting the wire in case it just blows up. The scene itself does not have much of an atmosphere that would go with such a strong moment.

Let me immediately invalidate this last argument. Arcane makes a point of how tense and spectacular each scene is. There are several very intense moments, such as the explosion and its aftermath in episode 3, the attack on the Shimmer manufactory in episode 8, and the ending in episode 9. But there are also many calm and contemplative scenes, which portray violence, mental health and distress in a more subdued tone. The suicide scenes belong to the second category, depicting it as a thing of life rather than an extraordinary event.

There are several elements that can push the likelihood of the suicide theory. First, Viktor is demonstrated as attempting to kill himself, just two episodes later, as we've seen in the previous section. Second, Viktor knows he is on borrowed time, he has considered his demise and openly talked about death, very recently. Third, Viktor is at a point where he might see himself as alone: Heimerdinger is holding him back; Jayce is moving more toward the aristocracy and the Council, people Viktor at least does not want to be with; Jayce is also handling security and preparing for conflict, which Viktor considers a poor use of their time for one and intolerable for the other; then there is Sky, and he ignores her. Fourth, Viktor has shown a very strong drive, to the point of recklessness, with both science and making the world better. Fifth, Viktor is considering the importance of his legacy.

All of this hints at Viktor being a distraught genius who wants something good to be remembered for before he finally collapses. With little time available and a grenade in his hand, he could be the one that prevented Hextech from being used for weapons, and from being used for wrong in general, by taking himself and Jayce out. Obviously, there is little chance this accomplishes much, so Viktor does not go through with this, but he might well have considered it for a second. Viktor utters powerful words at this moment: "There is always a choice". He knows the importance of decisions, of freewill and of doing what is right. This further increases the meaning of his actual suicide attempt later, in the depth of his desperation as well as in the value of recognizing mistakes and reconciling with Jayce.

Marcus with the grenade

A small detour to visit Marcus, who, in episode 5, thinks about blowing himself up with Silco. Just like Jayce and Viktor attempts are mirrored, this scene provides a eerily similar situation as the one with Viktor. Marcus and Silco are two powerful persons who should act responsibly and are currently arguing. Marcus is trying to be better than he was before, while Silco is going too far, according to the sheriff. And what is Marcus manipulating? Another grenade from Jinx. We even see Marcus setting off the grenade, to our disbelief, and also as a trick, because he actually does not do it. But the possibility is there, very real.

Jinx with the grenade

Finally, we get to the character that really intrigues me with this topic. Jinx.

You know which scene I am talking about, this amazing fight between Ekko and Jinx, and its aftermath, in episode 7. The fight ends with Ekko beating Jinx to a pulp before he stops himself. And then Jinx reveals an armed grenade in her hand. We only see the explosion from far away, and the result: Jinx is badly injured and unconscious, Ekko is wounded at well. The relevant part to our conversation is that Jinx uses a grenade where she knows it will kill her. The reason she does not die is likely that Ekko pushes the grenade away just enough in the second before the explosion.

There is much to say about Jinx in regard to suicidal thoughts, but let's focus on this scene for now. At this point, Jinx is severely unhinged, she has been dealing with her trauma for years and has developed a very unhealthy behavior. She is very alone, Silco is not the greatest parental figure and every single person around is her enemy, and she even struggles with her own self-confidence. The one thing she trusts is Vi's voice, her beloved sister who has abandoned her but whose spirit stuck with her anyway. Shortly before, she saw Vi again, just before she disappeared again. Is she real? If by some miracle she is, does she still care about her sister? Can she ever accept Jinx?

Jinx is at a her lowest. Feels rather, because things will get worse. On the bridge, she fights with Ekko, her childhood friend who has nothing but hatred for her now. In this moment, I believe Jinx holds her shot, there is no way he could reach her unharmed like he does, and instead lets Ekko win and beat her up. In her head, it's was she deserves, and killing herself is her ultimate act, the only solution to wake from this nightmare. And in the position she was, only Ekko could do anything to prevent her death.

After the grenade explodes, we get a shot of Jinx presumably dead on the ground. There is Vi's name written with the soot on her neck (also her choker thing). Jinx kills herself, while crying for her sister, the scream stuck in her throat. That's quite the image.

I also need to go back to my earlier point about how Arcane portrays suicide. In each of the previously analyzed scenes, we see someone considering suicide, quite impulsively but also quite hesitantly, maybe even calmly. Jinx's attempt contrasts with those, because she actually tries to kill herself, because she does not hesitate, and because she has been dealing with her issues for a very long time, meaning she might have been thinking about suicide for a while.

(There is so much in this scene. Every frame needs to be studied, seriously. Ekko only hurts himself by fighting Jinx. Vi feels like she is abandoning her sister again and again even when she needs only seconds before coming back. Ekko tries to take Jinx's power away by taking away the gemstone and her gun, rather than killing her. Powder appears in many ways, between the spyglass Jinx is using, the song she is humming, the flashback with Ekko, even the look of her hair when Ekko is beating her up.)

Imagery around Jinx

Beyond the bridge scene, there are several moments that could been interpreted as symbolic or evocative of Jinx's suicidal thoughts. There's some reaching in there but still.

In episode 4, Jinx is playing with live grenades in her hideout. She displays a mastery of their use so it's not like she's playing Russian roulette on her own, but this is a situation where she puts herself in real danger of harming or killing herself. Her trap for the enforcers later in the episode is also her blowing herself up, and the voice lines are describing Powder.

In episode 5, as Jinx goes to the old building with the boxing machine, she shoots a crow. At first, this is just another instance of showing her mental state and disregard for killing, however in the fight with Ekko she is symbolized by a crow herself, and the birds become increasingly present around her. Thus, this moment becomes Jinx shooting herself.

In episode 6, as Jinx is about to light her flare, she walks up to a ledge with broken railing, looking down below, away from the stars, toward death. The way the scene happens implies she is also hearing Vi's voice far below, as if pulling her down. When the sisters reunite, Jinx tells Vi that Powder fell down a well, which also references Silco trying to persuade her to let Powder die earlier. This translates to Powder killing herself. Jinx and Powder are the same person, if there is any need to point that out.

Another one that's probably just me: I remember Jinx taking a longing look at her pistol at one point, when she is alone, however I can't find a matching scene. So I may have dreamed it, which is not unlikely because I experienced that kind of dream when I watched Arcane the first time. That gives you an idea about how sick and obsessed my mind is.

Jinx?

So Jinx... How is Jinx?

You might want to know I already wrote a very long article on Powder and Jinx. It turns out, even with a single season and a single character, I can write without end, even if I repeat myself a decent amount.

The reason I am focusing on Jinx is that I believe that if Arcane is going to portray suicide, then we just have to talk about her. Jinx is heavily traumatized, has no regard for violence and harm, and is mentally unstable. Note that I don't describe her as explicitly ill or crazy, even if her state is enough to have her hallucinating, to avoid hazarding a medical diagnosis or using derogatory terms lightly. One thing we can say is that she is unwell and is struggling, with herself, with people around her and with the world. In this situation, there is no way Jinx would not think about suicide and self destruction, in some capacity. From what we see, Jinx does not harm herself, but she does not care what happens to her, and when she is hurt she mends her wound herself and however she can, she even laughs madly as she finishes her stitches.

When Jinx tries to blow herself up and fails, she is in for more horror. To revive her, Silco gets her to the doctor, who injects her with Shimmer. This heals her, returning her to this terrible life, and it also makes her more dangerous, less hesitant, more lucid. The perfect Jinx really.

We have to wait to see what happens next with Jinx. Among the scenarios in my head, between her becoming a true villain, her getting killed by Caitlyn or Vi, and her obtaining some kind of redemption, there is another path, which seems less conventional: Jinx continues to struggle and tries to end herself one way or another.

We also have to talk about where Jinx actually stands on the idea of suicide in itself. While she was always surrounded by violence and death, we know at least Vi and Vander have and had a high regard for the importance of life. Vander changed his life to take care of orphans, and refused to go back to killing. Vi was always violent but is not explicitly shown to be a killer (that's another topic), and she fights with the goal to make a better life for Powder. And Vi again and again tried to have Powder believe in herself, as does Silco, in his own way. Could the person Jinx is, even with all she suffered, do more than have suicidal thoughts? Would it be her last resort of her final betrayal to her family? Or even further in twisted ideas: could Jinx behave to stay alive and to be very destructive to others and the world around her, instead of maybe taking it out on herself? Does she remain prisoner of her own nightmare because she is forbidden from taking her own life?

Jinx struggles in her mind about her own worth, her guilt and her jinxing fate. If we played the horrible game of naming scapegoats and jinxes, she is responsible for her family dying, twice, maybe three times. And relevant to our discussion, she may actually be to blame for the suicide attempts in Arcane: Jayce's one is directly caused by the explosion she caused, Marcus' one follows her aggressive actions, as does Viktor's first one in a way. There's even ways to make Viktor's second one her fault too, in part, since her actions helped begin the sequence of events where Viktor was left experimenting alone. Some of these claims would be very harsh or even ludicrous to uphold, but Jinx may well torture herself with this kind of thoughts. The point is, Jinx blames herself and is blamed for so much, to the point of taking on the identity of Jinx over Powder, that she believes all of this and has to shoulder the pain and guilt, until she absolutely cannot anymore and has to end it.

When season 1 finishes, the character has completed her transformation from Powder into Jinx, and she leaves, utterly alone. What even is going to happen to her? What is she going to do next?

Conclusion

How to you conclude this kind of topic? No idea.

I will say, suicide was present in Arcane and portrayed pretty well, plus it promises more tragedy to come. It fits right at home with the other serious themes in the story and echoes the masterful presentation of Jinx's mental state notably, but also the other characters who are less obvious in their emotions. This aspect of the show is another good point for me, because it manages to portray suicide in a truthful and sensible way, if maybe not perfect, and to make it a part of life and story rather than just a tool.

I applaud the Arcane team for what they did, and wonder if we will go deeper with this topic in the next season.

Thanks for reading me to the end, take care of yourself and those around you, cheers!