Arcane Jayce vs Lore Jayce

Okay guys, Arcane has ended so it’s time we think about the lore in the show. Some things have changed from the original champion lore, which is alright, none of it was too out of character to make anyone who knows League of Legends lore feel off.

The changes made to the champions were subtle and didn’t feel forced, creating an insanely detailed and inspiring story. But there were a few things that did differ quite drastically. One of those was the portrayal of Jayce.

Jayce’s Personality in Lore vs. Arcane

Jayce is described as extremely arrogant, dismissive and someone who wouldn’t slow his pace for other researchers to catch up. Everything came easy to Jayce, which made him extremely unlikeable amongst his peers.

On the other hand, in Arcane he seems to have some semblance of patience and doesn’t seem to be disliked too much. Of course, we don’t see him interacting much with anyone other than the council or Viktor so we can’t be sure of how the others in Piltover see him.

In Arcane Jayce is confident and slightly self-absorbed, something which comes across through subtle imagery throughout the show. In one scene where Viktor is working on the Hextech core, we see Jayce in the background inspecting himself in the mirror.

So while Jayce seems to be a complete douche in his champion lore, something he even admits in the short story ‘A Quick Fix’, he does have a more toned-down personality in Arcane, making him more likable.

Jayce and Viktor's Relationship

In lore and in Arcane both of these characters have to work together, but they do so in much different ways. While in Arcane Jayce describes Viktor as his partner and willingly works with him, in their champion lore, their partnership seems much more forced.

Both don’t hate one another, but neither can describe the other as their friend. In Arcane, Jayce refers to Viktor as a brother. In their champion lore, both have mutual respect before one another, but their relationship basically ends there.

Though, by the end of Arcane, it seems their close friendship is also crumbling, bringing the story back on track to follow the events that are yet to come in both Jayce and Viktors champion lore.

Were the Lore Changes Bad?

Not at all. Making Jayce a slightly more likable character did wonders to the show. With Jayce being such a key character in the show, having him be an arrogant dick would have made viewers dislike him and we can’t have that happen to one of the protagonists of the show.

The relationship between Jayce and Viktor being much closer is also extremely well done. These small changes helped give Arcane the depth that it needed with multiple champions forming deeper bonds. We’re here for the interpersonal relationships!

So, while some of the story of Arcane has veered off the champion lore track, none of the changes were too daunting. Jayce, though much nicer, kept his arrogance, especially towards later episodes. Therefore he didn’t feel too out of character to not be believable as Jayce Tallys of League of Legends. This isn’t the ruination event guys.

But all jokes aside, what Riot Games and Fortiche have done is incredible and yes, some of the aspects of Arcane might be retconned into the actual champion lore, but is that bad? Not at all. Riot has done it multiple times before, changing lore and fitting the pieces together.

So now we just have to wait for season 2 to get more answers and find out about even more champions in League of Legends! Who do you want to see?