arcane writing dump

Ekko and Jinx Bridge Analysis Because It Still Hurts (Thanks for 1k reads!!!)

Okay so if I'm gonna properly break down what this scene means to me we gotta first break down what Jinx and Powder mean to me.

Part 1: Who is Jinx?

The first is: Is Jinx a real person? Well, yes and no.

Jinx is a real person in the sense that she's Powder with a new name taken on after Vi "betrays" her. Jinx is a real person in the sense that she did the actions to blow up that tent after the Progress Day festival.

But Jinx isn't a real person in the sense that all that at the end of the day was just Powder. Powder doesn't even seem to be bothered that Vi keeps calling her Powder when they first reunite. So what is Jinx exactly? She's an ideology. A good example of how Jinx works as an ideology is the example of a coat.

Powder (although she gains the ability to double as an ideology in Acts 2 and 3) is 100% a person. Powder is a person weighed down with guilt, trauma, and PTSD. Powder needs outer love and validation in her life since, even before the Monkey bomb disaster, she could barely give it to herself.

And Jinx is like a new coat. Jinx doesn't have a horrific and sad past. Jinx doesn't need or rely on anyone or their validation. All Jinx wants is to be free to do what she wants and have fun.

Powder, with the enabling of Silco, puts on this new coat, this new identity after the events of Episode 3 to try to relieve her pain. The biggest flaw in doing this though is that the identity of Powder doesn't want to die. Because for Powder to disappear her love for Vi would also have to disappear. And that love for Vi is what kept Powder alive. The identities of Powder and Jinx are then forced to coexist in a physiologically tormenting way for Powder.

We see this mixture of Powder and Jinx or Silco's Jinx mostly in Act 2 when she doesn't know Vi is back. Yes, she is crazy, wild, and "free" but what happens when Silco tries to put her on a break after the airship accident? She becomes insecure and mentally distressed.

She needs to do something so Silco doesn't think she's weak, she needs to gain his approval again, she needs him to need her.

Powder needing people to need her is what motivated her to try and help in episode 3 instead of listening to Vi. She doesn't want to be a dead weight holding her family down. (which is crazy because bro you're nine???) When confronted with the fact she accidentally killed Vander the very first thing she says is "I was saving you.".

And Silco in an unfortunately genuine way gives his Jinx that. Repeatedly telling Jinx that he needs her, that he will never take her for granted. And that's because it's true, in an unhealthy way Silco does need Jinx.

But not Powder.

Take the baptism scene for example. "Jinx is perfect", now we know from the finale his opinion eventually changes but up until that point Silco wants Jinx. He wants Jinx to be free from her guilt and distress but at the same time, he still wants her to stay with him. This is why he reacts in such a manipulative way when he finds out Vi is back and looking for Powder (doesn't excuse his actions though, bro a DB).

In that scene, they attempt to kill off Powder once again. Now we have to get into what Powder represents.

Part 2: Powder and childhood weakness.

Powder is weak. It's an uncomfortable truth that neither Vi nor Powder herself is shown to want to accept.

She's not physically or athletically strong, she's not mentally strong or independent, and the only thing she's good with is her big little kid brain. But even then, none of her defense or attack weapons work.

The Powder ideology represents weakness, especially the innate weakness of a mentally ill child. It's no secret that Act 1 Powder suffers from separation anxiety from her family, especially Vi. Going into a full-on screaming fit when left behind in episode 3. What triggered this breakdown? "You're not ready.".

Vi doesn't think she's ready, in Powder's mind this translates to Vi thinking Powder is too weak. And Powder doesn't want to be weak, she hates this feeling of weakness. So she tries to help her family and prove herself and we know how that ends.

So it's pretty easy and clean-cut, right? Even before her adoptive family was killed being Powder sucked. She was a weak kid and didn't know how to deal with it. She had Mylo always poking out her flaws and in the end, even her sister thought she couldn't do any good.

And then look at Jinx. She's free from pain and guilt, she's uniquely crazy and happy. Being Jinx has to be the better option.

Part 3: Okay Now Bridge Fight

WRONG! LET'S GET INTO WHY.

Okay, so it's common knowledge that the bridge fight instigated by Ekko is supposed to mimic a game they used to play as kids. In this game, Ekko is on the offensive side and his goal is to bonk Powder on the head with his dummy sword. Powder, on the defensive side, is trying to shoot the piece of paper taped to Ekko's chest with a paintball gun before he bonks her head. It's important to note the expressions of this entire scene, specifically the ones their kid versions display.

Powder is confident; laughing, smirking, and even doing a mocking "round 2?" wiggle with her fingers (adorable by the way). This is something we don't see a lot in Act 1. The only times I can think of a remotely confident Powder is when she tells Mylo he's holding a nose hair trimmer in episode one and when they escape from enforcers in episode two with the "Yeah, no shit." line.

So what does this tell us? Pow-Pow was good as fuck at this game. No hate to eight-year-old Ekko but he was getting his ass handed to him.

Little Ekko is determined though, he is going to beat Powder this time!! But other than that we see him laughing too as he charges at her.

Compare that to the flashes to the present day. Ekko is shown to be enraged. He's been betrayed by his best friend on the lowest level, he has every right to be upset.

And Jinx? Well, she's being Jinx. Not caring, laughing maniacally, and trying to destroy something, but it's a coat. A coat to cover up the sour, emotional, and weak Powder. The Powder who yelled: "Oh, look who it is. The Boy Savior!".

Skipping to when Ekko gets the upper hand on Jinx and she is getting her shit rocked. Her face busted in with bejeweled gloves and everything. And then Ekko stops, his face softening at the clear expressions of fear on Powder's face. After he stops, Powder also becomes doe-eyed, smiling softly at Ekko before setting off her bomb.

I think it's very clear in these last shots that this is not Jinx playing as Powder to defeat Ekko or take him down with her. If she had truly wanted to do either of these things she could have put the bomb on Ekko or opened it to an instant explosion. No, she opened it in plain sight, giving a genuine smile to Ekko.

Why?

Here's what I think:

While violently fighting Ekko in this nostalgic format, it triggered a sweet reminiscing. Much like the one Vi later tries to trigger but fails to successfully do so. Not one of her last horrible moments as Powder, which are triggered by both the presence of Vi and the toxic talks with Silco. Jinx is forced to think about when life was truly better. When she had Ekko, Vi, Claggor, Mylo, Vander, and Benzo. And in this fight scene, she's realizing it.

Yes, being Powder was hard, she had her rough moments. But she also had her moments of genuine fun, support, and love from all the people she knew. So at the end of the day, Powder was happier than Jinx could ever be.

But she also realizes it could never be like that again. That's she too far gone into the Jinx act. She's already hurt and killed so many, including people close to Ekko. She even attempted to kill Caitlyn just prior. It would be impossible for him to fully accept her back after what she's done. Even Vi would see her through a different lens. Not only that but her actions would weigh on her conscience.

Her pulling the pin on her chomper is essentially Powder declaring that she can no longer live as Jinx, and if she is unable to permanently return as Powder, she will die as her. That's what she wants to be remembered as; Powder, not Jinx.

And that progress is quickly undone by Silco (since even though Ekko tried to slap the grenade away Powder still would have died from her injuries). Which, interestingly enough we've seen this, father undoes daughter's progress in an attempt to save her, before with Vander and Vi. But that's a whole other analysis lol.

Anyway, that's what the bridge scene means to me personally.