Arcane Ending Explained – What Happened in Arcane Season 2: Episode 9 “The Dirt Under Your Nails”

On November 23, the final Act of the animated series Arcane premiered on Netflix. Episode 9, “The Dirt Under Your Nails” provided answers to the series’ central questions while leaving a lasting impression.

In this article, we delve into the series finale, unpack the key themes of Arcane Season 2, and explore what might come after the show’s conclusion. You can check what happened earlier by reading our Arcane S2 Episode 8 Overview where we talked about many interesting plots in Arcane.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for Arcane Season 2 , Episode 9, “The Dirt Under Your Nails” If you want to fully experience the artistic brilliance of Fortiche and Riot, it’s best to watch the series before reading further. Otherwise, proceed at your own risk!

Arcane Season 2: Episode 9 “The Dirt Under Your Nails” Highlights

The final episode of Arcane begins with Jinx making the ultimate decision to sever ties with her past, and seemingly, her present and future. Her plans are thwarted by Ekko, who uses the time device from Episode 7 to turn back the clock. The scene strongly resembles something out of Marvel's Doctor Strange.

Ekko eventually manages to talk Jinx out of committing suicide.

After the opening, we are transported to the cabin of Ambessa Medarda, who is heading toward Piltover. Her goal: the Hexgate. Meanwhile, at a council meeting in Piltover, Jayce asks Vi and Caitlyn to buy as much time as possible for him to shut down the Hextech Game, but he notes that they are doomed to fail. The assault on Piltover begins.

A blue-haired girl, who in Episode 7 was a waitress at Vander's bar, dies in Vi’s arms. This reminds Vi of Jinx. Meanwhile, Ambessa Medarda herself enters the fray.

After the initial waves of Noxian attacks, Viktor's homunculi join the battle. A massive creature drags Viktor’s cocoon straight into the battlefield. Piltover’s defenders desperately try to hold off the assault and destroy the cocoon, but they fail. Lorice, who was leading the artillery, dies, and the invading forces continue advancing toward the Hexgate.

Caitlyn, along with a small squad, attempts a counterattack. Using the chemical substance from Episode 3, they break through to Viktor’s cocoon, but most of her team perishes. In the end, they manage to plant explosives, which fail at the last moment. Caitlyn is knocked unconscious and captured by Ambessa Medarda, right before the gates to the upper level. It’s revealed that Caitlyn’s former lover, with whom she had a past affair, betrayed her. Caitlyn is on the brink of death, but Mel Medarda saves her by shielding her with the same device she used at the end of the first season. Ambessa prepares to attack her daughter, but Jinx arrives on the battlefield in her signature style—aboard a giant airship. Alongside her is backup from Zaun, including Ekko and Sevika. The tide of the battle begins to shift.

The defenders of Piltover manage to hit Viktor’s cocoon, but it turns out to be a decoy. The real Viktor is already nearing the Hexgate. We see, for the first time, an “upgraded” Viktor, much closer to his League of Legends counterpart.

Viktor’s powers now know no bounds as he resurrects fallen Noxian soldiers. Meanwhile, Ambessa and Mel Medarda clash in battle, and Vi encounters what was once Vander but is now under Viktor’s control. With the help of his homunculi, Viktor gradually takes control of Piltover’s defenders, intending to "evolve" them.

In front of the main gates, Mel and Caitlyn face off against Ambessa Medarda. Mel demonstrates increasing skill with her abilities.

Meanwhile, Viktor reveals his motive to Jayce: to unite humanity into a single "super-mind" as a way to achieve absolute fairness and equality.

The fight between Mel, Caitlyn, and Ambessa turns against the first two, but at the last moment, using clever tactics, Mel captures Ambessa and hands her over to the Black Rose, only to later free her. In the end, mother and daughter reconcile.

Simultaneously, we witness the reunion of sisters Jinx and Vi, as well as the continuation of the conversation between Jayce and Viktor. Viktor discovers an anomaly in the Hexgate, while Vi and Jinx fight Vander, who is under Viktor’s control.

Jayce and Viktor ascend to the top of Piltover’s tower, where Viktor releases the anomaly into the sky. It begins to connect with all living things, including Vi, Jinx, Mel, Caitlyn, and others. Jayce is left alone with Viktor and eventually finds himself in Viktor’s subconscious, where Viktor controls everything and everyone. It seems all is lost and that Viktor has succeeded in his plan—until Ekko appears. He maxes out his “time machine” and hurls it directly at Viktor, weakening Viktor’s control over Jayce.

We are brought back to a scene from the episode 7, where Jayce meets Viktor and swears to stop the "Evolution Process." Jayce fulfills his promise and saves the world from eternal "darkness." without dreams and wills.

Vi and Jinx find themselves in a ruined factory where a creature that was once Vander attacks Vi. At the last moment, Jinx saves her sister by sacrificing herself. Embracing Vander, Jinx recalls all the good moments they had before detonating herself along with him.

The episode concludes with a devastated Piltover and its exhausted inhabitants. During a speech by Caitlyn, the citizens say farewell to those who didn’t survive Ambessa’s assault. We also see that Singed, with Viktor’s help, managed to revive Orianna in the form of the doll-like figure we know from the LoL game.

Caitlyn and Vi are finally together. Vi says she is “the dirt under Caitlyn’s nails,” a metaphor for how she remains the same scrappy fighter from Zaun no matter what.

Arcane Final Explained

Episode 9, "The Dirt Under Your Nails," marks the end of one of the most critically acclaimed and masterfully crafted animated series in recent years. The story of sisters Vi and Jinx concludes as it was destined to—with a bittersweet ending for one sister, Vi, and the death of the other, Jinx. However, this can be interpreted differently: Jinx does change, despite her claims of having no “good” version of herself. Meanwhile, Vi, as indicated by her final words, remains the same.

Although the creators of Arcane have stated that the story ends with Season 2, the finale leaves several threads unresolved. The Black Rose arc remains open, Jayce and Viktor’s fates are unclear, Singed has revived Orianna, and Mel’s future, intertwined with the Black Rose, is uncertain. Many questions remain, with few answers.

The second season of Arcane serves as a fitting conclusion to the story that began in 2021. It’s certain that we’ll meet familiar characters again in the future, albeit under different circumstances and settings. Jinx, Vi, Vander, Silco, Heimerdinger, Jayce, and Viktor will forever remain in our hearts, and for that, we thank Fortiche Studio and Riot Games.

The second act of Arcane Season 2 is now available on Netflix.