After hearing my friend @dancingafterdark compare S2 Viktor to mother Mary (something that I have personally always associated with his look when he first walks from the lab to Zaun), I feel compelled to draw a connection between the implied religious imagery and Viktor's infusion with the hexcore:
First, the necromancy scene. It probably comes as no surprise, that some fan-artists use Viktor’s expressions here as reference for his O-face. You could write that off as artists simply being resourceful. However, I think we can reasonably see it is as another instance of Viktor paralleling Mel - in this case her sex-scene with Jayce: Both are framed with intimacy, vulnerability, and an act of “insertion” - one sexual, one desperate. The show itself establishes Viktor as a counterpart to Mel.
There have been many times where I was tempted to half-jokingly say: "Actually, Jayce has two sex scenes in Arcane." But it’s not entirely a joke. You DO see the phallic imagery in the negative space of Jayces arms and the tongs here, right?
Now, Viktor’s blanket fit. Why does it give “Mother Mary” vibes to some viewers (myself included)? Because Western visual culture has imprinted this image onto us: Mary with a veil, blue outer cloak, red inner garment. From Renaissance altarpieces to kitschy prayer cards - it’s everywhere. Jayce’s blanket on Viktor echoes this: blue outside, red inside. Whether intentional or not, the resemblance taps into a deep cultural code.
And Mary’s defining trait? Conception without a man. That’s what makes the necromancy scene so fascinating. Jayce “places” the hexcore inside Viktor - a non-sexual, quasi-divine act of both resurrection and impregnation. Viktor becomes the vessel, of what will ultimately “give birth” to a new, godly version of himself.
The show reinforces this with more imagery evoking birth. The Sphere in the commune, where Viktor resides, is shaped like a protective womb. Yes, it also resembles the top of the hex-gates, but the visual language of Arcane is layered, always allowing for multiple interpretations. Later, before Viktor transforms into the Arcane Herald, he’s again encased in a womb-like space:
And when the Machine Herald finally emerges, it doesn’t just replace him, but it splits him open from the inside. It is violent and unmistakably tied to the theme of being torn apart to bring forth something new.
One last thing: I know some people don’t love the idea of Viktor being "feminized." But I think whatever femininity is evoked in him during S2 comes directly from what I’ve mentioned (and a few other things I might get into another time). In part, fan interpretations are simply reflecting what the source material already suggests very strongly.
And then there’s the other pole: Jesus imagery. MageViktor - exalted yet sacrificed - fits that archetype. But S2 Viktor? Draped in red and blue, cloaked, veiled, carrying within him the seed of divinity - that’s Mary to me.
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