One of Arcane‘s biggest strengths is how the show has chosen to reintroduce popular Legaue of Legends characters and locations to its audience. Because of its unique approach to reimagining popular champion’s origin stories, its made the story close to unpredictable, even for longtime fans of the franchise. That said, there are some faces and names that are too iconic to overlook, and with Noxus’ involvement in the Piltover-Zaun struggle only becoming more heavy-handed ahead of Act 2’s release, it’s no surprise that another major player in Noxian politics would finally show their face.
As seen through many on-the-nose moments in Arcane Season 2 Act 1, the elusive Black Rose seem to be throwing Ambessa, Mel’s mother, off her game. In Noxus, the Black Rose is a secretive organization run by Noxian aristocrats who excel in covering their tracks and keeping their true identities a secret – even from one another. In true Noxian fashion, the group have many of the same ideals as the more militaristic factions within Noxus, but keep their methods cloaked by shadows and sorcery. Their elusive matron, a pale sorceress known as LeBlanc, seems like a likely suspect for much of the Black Rose’s activities within Arcane.
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The Black Rose Have Been Set Up To Player a Major Role In Season 2’s Finale
In Arcane Season 2 Act 1, audiences get a better look into Ambessa’s true plans for Piltover and her interest in Hextech. As its revealed that she wishes to obtain Hextech weaponry, she’s suddenly ambushed by a mage that claims to be settling a debt owed in relation to the death of Ambessa’s son. The mage tells Ambessa that she would not allow her to have access to Hextech before being overpowered by the ruthless Noxian soldier. Interestingly, instead of seemingly wanting access to Hextech weaponry to improve Noxian soldiering across the board, it seems as though Ambessa’s goals are more focused: she wants to take down whoever the Black Rose truly is. While this moment could have been a one-off moment to potentially set up a spin-off in the future, the Black Rose conspiracy runs much deeper.
In some of the final, high octane moments in Episode 3, Mel is abducted by a member of the Black Rose as powerful, dark magic takes over the area around her. While Ambessa’s story line often feels disconnected compared to the overarching plot in Arcane, Mel is, and always has been, in the middle of everything – especially with Jayce and Piltover’s ongoing political struggles. With a major character being abducted, and with Arcane Season 2 being the final entry into the Piltover-Zaun story, it seems highly unlikely that the group would vanish without a trace.
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LeBlanc Is the Perfect Choice To Interfere With Ambessa’s Plans In Piltover
As seen in Act 1’s final episode, Ambessa has finally convinced Caitlyn to invade the Undercity in a large scale attack. As she’s still shaken from the Black Rose’s previous attempt at ambushing her, one can only imagine how emotional Ambessa will become once she learns that Mel has gone missing. Additionally, there’s a good chance whoever has taken Mel will attempt to use her against her mother. While there’s plenty of major champions involved in the Black Rose’s activities, there’s no better choice for a mission like this other than the matron herself: LeBlanc. While LeBlanc’s in-game abilities may seem unassuming to the uninitiated, the sorceress is a powerful, ancient figure that has been one of the driving forces in Noxus for centuries.
In League of Legends, LeBlanc’s magical prowess allows her to be anyone, anywhere, at anytime. It makes her a deadly mage to try and go up against, even for those most aware of the group’s strengths. That’s not all, though: now that the Black Rose has Mel, if the mysterious mage terrorizing Ambessa is in fact LeBlanc, the sorceress could choose to disguise herself as the Noxian’s estranged daughter to get closer to her, as well as digging up more information about Hextech and everything else going on in Piltover. While this is all speculation for now, with the stakes being raised higher than ever in Arcane Season 2, the possibility of LeBlanc finally showing herself to fans of the show is more probable than her usual smoke and mirror tricks.