After using the Hexcore to save his best friend, Viktor, you might be wondering why Jayce killed him eventually in Arcane Season 2 Part 2. The answer might be more disturbing than initially believed.
Up until Episode 6 of the second and final chapter of the League of Legends-inspired series, Jayce had been trapped in an arcane anomaly, pulling him through another dimension. During this time, his Hextech crystal became permanently fused to his wrist.
Meanwhile, Viktor had been working tirelessly to transform Zaun’s undercity into a magical utopia, healing its Shimmer-ravaged residents with his newfound powers. However, Dr. Reveck (formerly Singed) cautioned Viktor, saying, “If you perish, this community is soon to follow.”
This ominous warning foreshadowed the chilling events of Episode 6. Jayce eventually escapes the anomaly and heads straight for Viktor’s commune. Armed with his corrupted hammer, he kills Viktor, and with him, all those he had healed. The devastating scene leaves fans questioning his motives—was he consumed by madness, or was there a more sinister truth at play?
Why did Jayce killed Viktor, his best friend in the series?
A compelling theory has emerged to explain Jayce’s actions. According to this theory, Viktor’s commune members were no longer human but hollow shells controlled by Hextech. If true, Jayce’s massacre wasn’t an act of madness but a grim necessity to stop a potential global catastrophe.
Evidence supporting this theory can be found in the show’s details. When Jayce, Ekko, and Heimerdinger enter the Hextech base, their breath is visible in the cold air. However, Salo, one of Viktor’s healed followers, shows no such signs when speaking—suggesting he’s no longer truly alive.
This theory gained traction on Reddit, where Viktor’s followers were likened to body snatchers.
“I just got chills because I was rewatching Episode 5, and something stood out to me. Once the rune goes away every time Jayce speaks you see his breath in the cold air of the chamber,”
“I immediately went back to the Ekko, Jayce, and Heimer scene in Act 1, and boom! Every single time they breathe and talk in the Hextech chamber their breath is visible. The only person who doesn’t is Salo! Because Salo isn’t alive!”
The clues go even deeper. In earlier episodes, Viktor, now fused with the Hexcore, exhibits unnatural behavior. When Jayce notices Viktor isn’t dressed warmly, Viktor dismisses the concern, saying, “I sense a charge, an impulse, a recursive impulse. Unpleasant, but cold isn’t its name.”
Jayce doesn’t fully understand at the time, but his experience in the anomaly seems to reveal the terrifying nature of Hextech’s corruption.
Further, all of Viktor’s healed followers bear a glowing handprint on their faces—a mark of their connection to Viktor’s Hextech. This has led some to believe the commune had turned into a hive mind, controlled not by Viktor’s altruism but by Hextech’s insidious influence. Viktor’s final words seem to echo this reality, acknowledging humanity’s duality of emotion and reason—traits his commune tried to transcend but ultimately lost.
Jayce may have uncovered that Hextech wasn’t a miracle but a curse, corrupting both body and mind. His actions, though brutal, could be a desperate attempt to prevent the Hextech infection from spreading further.