#jayjay yaps

Throughout the season, from their first interaction to the last, Silco & Jinx's relationship have been all about physical affection, is one of the first things we notice and while some watchers called it "uncomfortable" and "unnecessary" others from the fandom called it "cute" & "affectionate", with a big part questioning: was those scenes actually necessary ?

Well, from my point of view, yes, to both show the audience how they trust and feel safe around each other, but to also show how their relationship is unstable and with no boundaries whatsoever.

The affection & tenderness

Most of the physical affection comes from Powder/Jinx, something she always showed before the accident, and she seems to love receiving it too.

From their first interaction with each other, Powder tackled Silco in the search for comfort, which he returns, hugging her and surprising everyone around and the audience itself, no one would expect such vile and sociopathic man to show tenderness to a little girl, specifically one that was raised as the daughter of the man he hated.

Silco takes Powder under his wings as he sees they share the same pain of betrayal, and immediately projects his own experiences on to her, while showing empathy to Powder.

This affection and intimacy with each other does not pass even as Jinx grow older, in fact seems to get more deep: Despite now being 'independent' Jinx is still very sensitive and even 'childish' when she's with Silco at his office, showing how she is not afraid nor uncomfortable with being vulnerable around him. This comes from Silco as well, with Jinx being the only one that can give him his medicine, something so delicate that someone else wouldn't really trust 'the girl who destroys everything' to be responsible. They are the only ones who understands each other's pain, and trust each other with their lives, which explains why Jinx felt so betrayed by him when she found Vi was alive all along.

From "The Adventures Of Jinx"

But one of the reasons i feel they both trust each other so much, it's because they ONLY had each other.

Isolation & Codependency

CW — Manipulation

Before we start I'd like to give credit to this video from Flying Walrus, as i used his video as a reference for this topic since we literally share the same opinions on Silco & Jinx relationship. I heavily recommend this video as it explains their relationship in a very raw and emotional way. It's truly my favorite Arcane analysis video.

While Silco did take Powder under his wings, he completely isolated her from the world, which is one of the worst things you can do to a person after they go through a traumatic experience, he manipulated her to not trust other people and to, instead of facing it, bury her trauma and be something new. He used the fact he took her in and gave her the comfort and affection she needed against her when she starts to doubt him, he manipulated her to believe that anyone else would betray and abandon her, projecting his own beliefs and traumas on to her:

"I wanted to protect you [...] Have you forgotten how she left you ? Who found you, who cared for you, gave you a home. I am your family ! Everyone else betrays us. I need you, now more than ever. "

And when Jinx finally gives in to his words, he demands her to complete the weapon, knowing she would do it, for him:

"You have to complete the weapon"

Notice how he goes from holding her arm to holding her hand when he starts to tell her who gave her shelter & love, and Jinx immediately starts to give in to his words.

About their codependency: It might seem weird at first because we mostly think Jinx is the only one who depends on Silco, while yes, she does, we forget to realize how Silco is also just as dependent as her.

The moment he found out Vi was alive, he did everything in his power to not let them reunite, and constantly manipulations Jinx to believe Vi is not there for her, to not trust her, to only trust him, each other.

It became so strong to the point that he was offered everything he ever wanted, his main goal: the independence of Zaun. And he immediately rejects it without thinking about it twice, it's not worth if he doesn't have Jinx by his side.

The Grooming & Abuse.

cw — mentions of grooming and abuse

Going straight to the point: Silco groomed Jinx, periodt.

Yes, it's a very strong word. But we have a very shallow definition of grooming when it is actually very complex.

When we hear the word "grooming" most people will automatically think about manipulating someone for sexual favors, and while yes this ks a form of grooming, it's not necessary to be sexual/romantic to be considered grooming.

Powder and Silco met when she was around 9-11 years old and he was around 37-39 years old. Both had a completely different mentality and maturity, with Powder looking up to Silco as a mentor and a father, and Powder being mentally ill and severely traumatized means she was completely exposed and vulnerable to any form of manipulation, and thats what Silco did.

Whether intentionally or not, Jinx was groomed into becoming this "persona" of a criminal, to build those weapons & to work with Silco, completely isolated and separated from anyone of her past, and to think that her relationship with Silco was okay: That's probably one of the main reasons why when Ekko tried to rescue her ( which he did, confirmed by the writers ), she refused to go, she was told that Powder was weak and she didn't want to be that girl anymore, the "source" of her problems.

( ps: as someone who also tried to become someone new and try to forget my past trauma, it didn't really work lmao )

Either way, Silco couldn't risk losing Jinx to Ekko & The Firelights or to Vi ( that's why he freaked out when she came back "from the dead" — his words. he knew that the MOMENT Jinx finds out she would go after her sister, which is exactly what happened )

It's very implied towards the series that Silco used to be even more controllable with Jinx until she started "losing control" after Act 2. — Something Flying Walrus pointed in his video that even i haven't noticed. So it's implied that Silco used to isolate her even more than we see.

Love and Abuse can coexist

I said this on my main account: you CAN hurt someone you love, especially when you think you're doing what's best for them. Silco projected his own betrayal with Vander on to Jinx, turned her into a criminal, molded her into a persona of a living weapon. Because that's what he learned in life, you can't really expected someone to have a healthy relationship when they never had one at all. The uncomfortable scenes with them is to show how they have no boundaries whatsoever, while they do trust each other they only HAVE each other, both isolated themselves from any other type of connection and hold on to their traumas instead of healing from it.

Silco did unforgivable things, liking or not he groomed Jinx for seven years, along with all the other crimes he did, but he loved her, oh how he loved her. It wasn't on his plans, to get so attached to this little girl, 'daughter' of his enemy, Silco would do anything to reach his goals and give Zaun the independence it deserves, and when his life goal was offered to him, he rejected it without thinking twice: because he could never get rid of Jinx.

"You're my daughter, I'll never forsake you."

Silcos story ends at the same river he was reborn, the final moments of his body wrapped around the daughter that change his life and also ended it, and we see by the struggle of Jinx to leave him how much they meant for each other, especially Jinx, who's life now feel quieter without him.

It's a new phase in Jinx's life without Silco, whether for better or worse it's not clear yet.

Maybe she will also face the same fate as him: Finding a little girl that will change who they are as a person

Is there anything so undoing as a daughter ?

Last week i saw a TikTok post comparing both of Jinx's hideout and Powder's ( from the alternative timeline ) are completely different while being in the same location, and it reminded me of Powder herself and how, despite being the same person, look completely different — mostly by looks, but also by personality somehow, keeping Powder's original enssence and not erasing her early trauma from losing her parents.

I don't think, nor like when people say Alternate Timeline Powder "isn't mentally ill" when she clearly still is, she still have trauma nonetheless, both from her parents death AND losing her sister. The reason of why Powder looks more "healed" is simple: Her environment ( aka support system )

And thats where the hideout's rails come in !! I might sound crazy but hear me out: Powder's hideout having railings could represent the safe environment she grew up in after Vi's death, Zaun being in a better condition is a big important part of that but I'd like to focus on her relationships with the people around her.

Powder grew up in a safe environment with lots of connections, she got closer to Mylo & Claggor and helped each other to deal with the grief of losing their sister, being raised by Vander ( and Silco ! ) who knew her mother and her sister before she was born, and obviously, her bestfriend and soon to be boyfriend Ekko. Basically everyone from her life were still there to support her and help her deal with the trauma and grief from her childhood, this also includes boundaries, safety, when Ekko starts acting weird towards her she says "just because you're having a bad day, don't take it out on me" meaning she KNOWS how to communicate and put limits, she knows how to regulate herself from those strong emotions without hurting her & others. Thats what ( to me ) the rails represent, there is a line that Powder can't cross, to her own and to others safety.

Now back to our canon timeline, Jinx. Her hideout have strong colors, all messy and sharp, representing her state of mind. The lack of rails and Jinx having absolute no problems in laying on the edge, basically acting like it's completely normal with no risks of falling. I feel this could represent how, just like she doesn't see a problem in staying so close to the edge, she doesn't see problem in crossing lines & boundaries, because she didn't HAVE any boundaries, and she didn't have any other connections to help her LEARN those boundaries due to Silco's isolation

I've already talked ( ... a lot ) about Jinx & Silco and how their relationship was completely unstable with no boundaries whatsoever, and how Silco isolated Jinx her whole life ever since he took her under his wings. If anyone is interested in reading it is on my page :)

In conclusion, i believe Jinx's hideout is a way to represent herself, and how she is influenced by her surroundings during her trauma but despite everything, it's still Jinx and it's still Powder. It'll always be her no matter how different.