The Epic 6-7 Year Time Jump in Arcane – Here‘s Why It Worked So Well
Right off the bat – the time hop between the tragedy-laden Act I and the now grown-up Acts II and III was confirmed by the show‘s writers to be approximately 6-7 years. This time jump allows for logical aging of key young characters like Powder and Vi into the formidable champions League of Legends players know. But why specifically 6-7 years? And how does this amount of time skipping benefit the narrative? As an Arcane fanatic myself, let‘s analyze!
Character Ages & Growth
First, let‘s lay out the core cast‘s ages before and after the jump:
- Powder: 9 years old in Act 1 –> Aged up to 17-19 in Acts II & III
- Vi: Approximately 15 in Act I –> Jumped to around 22 years old
- Caitlyn: Early-to-mid teens in Act I –> Early 20s in Acts II & III
The 6-7 year leap allows the writers to progress Powder, Vi and Caitlyn into young adults while still retaining their youthful charm. A jump any shorter may have strained believability regarding their maturity progression. But the roughly half-decade hop aligns perfectly for them to evolve while remaining vibrant.
Why This Length of Time Jump?
Some analysis indicates Arcane‘s creators opted for the 6-7 year jump specifically because many League of Legends champions are said to be in their late teens. This includes popular faces like Lux, Ekko and more.
So to match established character ages in the wider LoL universe, it necessitated a jump of at least 5+ years after Act I‘s tragedy. This would allow the proper aging up of Powder, Vi and company into their late teen years accordingly.
Additional Context Around League of Legends
- Over 150 playable character champions
- Most champs estimated to be aged 16-21 years old
- Aligning with these existing ages required a 5+ year time hop
- This context further explains Arcane‘s writer‘s decision
Time Jumps in Storytelling
Beyond connecting to League lore ages, the 6-7 year time jump interwoven into Arcane‘s acts serves some crucial narrative functions:
Logical Character Progression
- Allows age appropriate growth arcs
- Explains maturation from kids into young adults
- Justifies evolutions in abilities and mentalities
Enables More Complex Development
- Jump to early adulthood vehicle for deeper stories
- Would be hard to explore certain themes around 9-year olds
- Late teen years offer wider range of emotional plots
Allows Setting & Plot Evolutions
- Time skip enables hextech advances central to Acts II & III
- Geopolitical conflict escalation more reasonable
- 6-7 years of off-screen development sets stage nicely
In short – this multiple year leap ahead creates space for all facets of Arcane‘s world and characters to progress well beyond what Act I established. The jump kickstarts the rising action and complications for our leads in their new context.
And most importantly – it left viewers thrilled to reunite with familiar faces years later in unexpectedly evolved states!
Final Thoughts
Arcane‘s epic 6-7 year time hop between acts facilitates the growth of characters, settings and plots to enable a much more complex, mature story than if it stuck to a linear timeline. By leaping ahead, the creators opened up space for more hard-hitting character development and world events than a direct Act I-II progression would allow.
It remains brilliant narrative structuring that clearly achieved its aims – crafting a shocking yet believable evolution for beloved figures. And this fan sure can‘t wait to see what happens next for Vi, Jinx and friends in future seasons!
