Arcane: Does Heimerdinger Die in Season 2 Act 3?

Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Arcane Season 2 Act 3.

Arcane‘s final trio of episodes racks up plenty of big-name casualties, including fan-favorite character Cecil B. Heimerdinger. But does Heimerdinger really die in Arcane Season 2 Act 3, or did the Yordle scientist somehow survive?

Did Heimerdinger Die in Arcane Season 2 Act 3?

Possibly. Arcane Season 2 Act 3, Episode 7, “Pretend Like It’s the First Time,” doesn’t definitively address Heimerdinger’s fate. That said, it sure looks like he dies. When Heimerdinger and Ekko fire up their upgraded Hextech-powered time machine in Episode 7, the former stays behind to operate the controls. It turns out that Heimerdinger never planned on returning to his and Ekko’s home timeline; he knew only one of them could make the trip and – finally feeling fulfilled after 300+ years of life –decided it would be him. This also meant exposing himself to the dangers of Hextech, which lives up to its volatile reputation when it seemingly vaporizes Heimerdinger in a blinding flash of light!

Related: Arcane Season 2’s Ending, Explained

This tracks with other Hextech-related deaths over the course of Arcane‘s two-season run. Viktor’s assistant, Sky, winds up a pile of dust after one his Hexcore experiments goes awry in Season 1 Act 3. Similarly, all that’s left of the unnamed Piltover scientist who perishes in the Hex Vault in Season 2 Act 2 is a scorched silhouette on the wall. So, it stands to reason that Heimerdinger didn’t simply disappear; he died. Or did he? Not according to some Arcane fans, who’ve already lumped the diminutive inventor in with Season 2 Act 3’s other apparent death-dodger, Jinx.

Wait, Is There Really a Chance Heimerdinger Is Still Alive?

This is Arcane, so the answer to such a question is almost always “yes.” While the series doesn’t shy away from bumping off heroes and villains for good, Season 2 resurrected Vander as wolf-man Warwick and kept Viktor around even after Jayce fatally attacked his physical form. And (as noted above), Jinx’s supposed demise in Act 3 is probably a fake-out, too! So, yes: there’s a possibility Heimerdinger is still alive and kicking.

Related: Does Arcane Season 2 Act 3 Have a Post-Credits Scene?

If that’s the case, where is he now? In yet another alternate reality, according to the Heimerdinger truthers on Reddit. In multiple threads (including this one and this one), these folks point to Heimerdinger’s corpse-free exit as evidence he was displaced, not killed. “Heimerdinger probably got teleported to another dimension,” wrote Redditor, summing up the theory’s basics. “As he did just vanish and if he was dead his body would probably explode the same way it did when Ekko tried to go back more than four seconds in time [earlier in Episode 7], plus he did say he’ll be back.”

Arcane Season 2 Acts 1-3 are currently streaming on Netflix.