Arcane Season 1: All the Easter Eggs and References You Missed

Arcane is quite famous for its breathtaking animation, but it was also something of a treat for the League of Legends community, since it contains a multitude of Easter eggs and references throughout the series. And the references don’t stop at the champions’ character design; throughout the season there are plenty of things scattered around that Arcane Season 1 is sure to impress people who have any knowledge about the game. This is a thorough explanation of what oddities and references stand out the most in all three acts of Arcane.

PILTWOVER CUP CAKE TRAP: Years later, Vi and Powder were accompanied by orphans by the names Mylo and Claggor, and they all went off together for a heist in piltover, during this time viewers spotted trap cakes, which is the kind of traps the character Caitlynn uses in game, on the balcony.

Credit: Valve Corporation

Jayce’s Hammer Blueprint: Powder’s room is filled with various things, including sandwiches, and a hammer blueprint, which represent Jayce’s part of the family. His hammer is quite important and serves to represent the family as well as a usable item in the game.

Credit: Valve Corporation

Hextech Crystals: Devoted fans of the franchise have nicknamed these curious artifacts as vessels for the souls of the ancient Brackern race. Judging by the series, Skarner, one of the Brackern, has managed to resurface again and this time around it’s to defend his people which of course brings even more references to Runeterra’s mythology into the fold.

Credit: Valve Corporation

The Kinkou Order in Zaun: In the lower regions of Zaun, the protagonists meet two cloaked individuals. These are probably Kinkou warriors who in Ionia are the guardians of equilibrium between the spiritual and material planes.

Credit: Valve Corporation

Krug in a Cage: Exotic animal traders are seen on the streets of Zaun with caged Krug, which reminds us of the game elements of these creatures who are the embodiment of flora and fauna essence. These living stones do appear in the forests of Runeterra as well.

Credit: Valve Corporation

Heart of Gold: A turtle shell Vander’s friend is examining is a nice throwback for seasoned players of “League” to the Heart of Gold, an item that used to be very popular among junglers and supports because it gave a passive gold generation before being removed in 2012.

Credit: Valve Corporation

Rabadon’s Deathcap: Ekko is portrayed as a young engineer who takes on an apprentice role, and through this in-game item, his attachment to game objects gets developed even more, Rabadon’s Deathcap.

Credit: Valve Corporation

Ryze and Tear of the Goddess: A strange mage rescues Jayce during childhood and leaves him with a rune which in the game is known as Tear of the Goddess which is said to be a mana reservoir. The rune mage could be Ryze, who travels the world looking for powerful runes.

Credit: Valve Corporation

Arcade Machines and Teemo: Among the games that Powder and Vi play, they have a machined labeled with the image of Teemo, who is a character in the game best known for his traps which contribute to the setting and the skills that Powder posses.

Credit: Valve Corporation

Blitzcrank and Viktor: When talking about Hextech, Viktor told Jayce “Crank it” which is an allusion to famous game robot and one of Viktor’s inventions known as Blitzcrank.

Arnaud Delorde’s Cameo: In the Balloon, the red-haired man, who cheers on ‘Happy Progress Day!’ is Arnaud Delorde, who along with others founded Fortiche Animation which was involved in the production of ‘Arcane.’ Credit: Valve Corporation

Credit: Valve Corporation

Gromp in the Diner: A giant toad head among the ingredients can be seen when Vi and Caitlyn step into Jericho’s diner providing a reference to Gromp a tank from League of Legends. Credit: Valve Corporation

Credit: Valve Corporation

Kindred and the Lamb and Wolf Masks: In the brothel characters sport Lamb and Wolf Masks that resembles Kindred from the game whose two characters are closely associated and are primarily symbols of death. Credit: Valve Corporation

Credit: Valve Corporation

Eye of Zaun: As Vi and Caitlyn make their escape, they pass by a neon sign of Zaun’s Eye which appears as a significant icon in the city and on card backs in the game Legends of Runeterra. Credit: Valve Corporation

Credit: Valve Corporation

Teemo in Silco’s Book: Silco’s henchman was seen turning through his pages in a book which featured Teemo which showed how the character is important regardless of being in Arcane. Credit: Valve Corporation

Credit: Valve Corporation

Chem-Tanks and Urgot: At the Shimmer factory, chemical tanks and worker suits resemble clothing worn by Urgot and other chem based champions.

Credit: Valve Corporation

Fishbones and Jinx’s ultimate. The flash of her ultimate ability is shown in the last cutscene where Jinx sends a rocket towards the council garnering attention that her transformation into jinx is indeed a change that made her more of an anarchist.

Credit: Valve Corporation

Portrait of Orianna. In the case with an instrument known as Singed and his daughter, there seems to be a portrait which could allude to Orianna, a character who is more associated by her robotic features.

Credit: Valve Corporation

Conclusion

Instead of being a full on adaptation Arcane is able the convert multiple elements of the game League of Legends into the show, which enhances the experience for both game fans and new audiences. Expanding on already established characters' pasts and hinting to new plotlines the show has left the audience eager for the second season.