So, Vander betrayed Silco on Arcane. But why? The answer to this betrayal doesn't come easily, and the story it tells has layers that are a real labyrinth. The death of Vi and Powder's parents was a turning point that forced Vander to make a painful choice.
He had to break away from his old friend, cut the ties that bound him to the past, and create a new path forward for himself and the children. But was this decision really what Zaun needed? The line between hero and villain has never been so thin.
Let’s explore what led Vander to cross that line.
The beginning of it all
Vander and Silco. No blood ties, but brothers in arms. Both had a dream—to free Zaun from Piltover. United by hatred, pain, and the vision of a better future, they formed a solid alliance. But what starts solid doesn't always stay that way, right? When Piltover came crashing in, the resistance grew stronger—but their ideas began to separate like oil and water.
Everything changed with the death of Felicia and Connol. When Piltover attacked and the streets filled with blood, Vander saw what Silco had become—someone willing to sacrifice even innocent lives, a man who believed the revolution could only succeed through chaos.
In the uncertain world of Zaun, Felicia, pregnant, speaks openly with Vander and Silco. She talks about her pregnancy and the challenges of raising a child where the future is never guaranteed. Without drama or rush, she shares the harsh reality they all understand. Vander, with a gentle smile, suggests the name "Violet"—a small spark of hope in their dark world.
Silco, there beside them, participates naturally. No tension, just the fluidity of what could be a simple exchange of words, but one that, in some way, carries quiet weight. Felicia, without hesitation, accepts the name. The moment passes, but the name Violet lingers, a mark of something pure amidst so much chaos.
The impossible choice and the great confrontation
But what is right when the right dissolves in front of you? Between loyalty and the future of the girls, Vander had to make a hard decision—one that seemed impossible. Here, the river of Zaun isn’t just dirty water, it becomes the mark of separation. Where everything dissolves, and a life could end without remorse.
Vander, in his desperation and frustration, tries to end the man he once called his brother-in-arms. Drowning Silco. What could have been a simple act of revenge, or purification, turns into a bitter pause—Vander hesitates. Silco, submerged, is almost taken. But Vander doesn't go all the way.
He gives up. He doesn’t finish what he started, and Silco now sees it as a greater betrayal than any physical blow. After this confrontation, Silco steals Vander’s dagger, a powerful symbol of betrayal and separation. In the episode "The Monster You Created", Silco drives said dagger into a wooden bench, symbolically marking the definitive break between him and Vander.
The dagger is not used physically against Vander, but as a gesture of vengeance, a symbol of Silco’s transformation from ally to enemy. It becomes an emblem of power for Silco, something he will use to mark his dominance and the end of old loyalty.
Silco survives, but the scar is greater than the lost eye. He didn’t just lose his left eye—he lost the last bit of humanity he still saw in Vander.
There, at the bottom of the river, he transforms. And what was anger now turns into a thirst for vengeance. The man who emerges from that river isn’t the same one who entered. He comes back marked, distorted, and crueler than anyone could have imagined.
Silco and Jinx—A complex relationship
But if we think Silco was a heartless monster, we need to look at Jinx. Because, like in any good tragedy, there are always more layers than the ones we see at first. Silco wasn’t an all-time manipulator, not in the way many think. He had a paternal relationship with Jinx. He protected her, in a twisted but genuine way.
Jinx, who grew up with him, was being shaped by a destructive love—but a love, still. When she hears rumors that Silco would need to deliver her for peace, she explodes. Confusion takes over her, and what she feels isn’t just betrayal.
It’s the loss of everything she knew. Then, she ends up killing Silco. Was it an accident or a purposeful act? Another question hanging in the air is common in the world of Arcane. The ambiguity.
When he was dying, Silco said he would never deliver her, because, deep down, she was the daughter he never had, and he always treated her as such. He didn’t want to see her as a piece in a chess game, but as someone who deserved a place in his world.
What was left after the betrayal
Vander didn’t want to be a traitor. He wanted to save what was left of Zaun, the girls, himself. But, as always in Zaun, saving something means losing something else. The betrayal was painful and necessary, but inevitable. He knew that, by choosing the girls, he was distancing himself from the only thing he knew: the man he called his brother-in-arms.
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Ultimately, Arcane is about impossible choices, torn ideals, and how tragedies shape the characters we all love... and hate. Vander, Silco, Vi, Powder. All driven by a twisted love, all trying to save a place that seemed doomed from the start.
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