Arcane Theory: What is Happening in Noxus?

Spoiler alert: This post is going to include a lot of information pertaining to the Netflix Series Arcane, Noxus and the character Mel Medarda. You've been warned.

Mel Medarda
Doesn't that look like the Immortal Bastion? | © Riot Games

Okay, guys, do you remember the theory we had about shimmer? Did you really believe we'd stop there? Oh no, we continue to scour Reddit, and now we've got theories to last us until season 2 is released.

So sit back, relax, have a glass of wine, because today we're going to dive into the life of Mel Medarda. What does the arrival of her mother mean for the plot, and what is she even doing there? What's happening over in Noxus that forces her to come to Piltover and Zaun? Let's find out!

Who is Swain in Arcane?

It seems like Swain was the one who killed Mel Medarda's brother in Arcane. How do we know this? Well, we're going to put our detective hats on and investigate just what happened. Here's the dialogue from Arcane between Mel and her mother:

"Your Brother is gone."

"What?"

"He crossed a powerful man. The man who killed your brother. He doesn’t think, it’s settled. And his resources far exceed ours."

What can we get from these lines? Well, firstly, we know that house Medarda is ultrarich. Jeff Bezos step aside, the Medarda's are in town. Okay, they aren't the richest people in Noxus, it seems there is someone richer and that someone is probably Swain.

Oh, and if we check out Swain's lore, then we know that his goal is to overthrow the pesky aristocrats. It's all part of his plan to make Noxus great again. Killing a few rich merchants isn't a big deal.

On the other hand, there is another theory that the Noxian general in question could also be Blackwell, the general who died in Swain's coup and was overthrown.

Currently, we, as the viewer, are not aware whether the coup has already taken place, so we can't be sure who is in power. But Swain does get a few brownie points since his signature ravens can be seen throughout the second and third act of Arcane.

Who is Mel Medarda in Arcane?

So if we assume that Swain is the guy who killed her brother, then, according to lore, Noxus is currently invading Ionia with weapons that Swain has created. Throughout the first season of Arcane, there was constant talk of trade ships going to Noxus. It could be a possibility that these ships were transporting chemtech-weapons.

Okay, are you guys still following? This is all very theoretical, and we could end up looking quite silly by the end of it, but let's just keep going. In Mel's memories, her mother killed a woman who looked an awful lot like someone from Ionia. This could have been at the start of the Ionian invasion, eh?

But who Mel Medarda is, or was, isn't all that important anymore. Jinx' ultimate death rocket should have pulverized her with ease. Miss Powder, I don’t feel so good.

Sabrina Ahn

Sabrina Ahn is the League of Legends and Riftfeed Lead. During her time at Concordia University in 2014 she fell in love with LoL and is playing it since – how she hasn't lost her sanity is still unclear....