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Jhin Theory Crafting (my two cents)

Caetoma·1/9/2016, 3:11:46 AM·3 votes·1,517 views

Alright, as we all have probably by now seen the latest teaser for the next big champion to hit the rift in all his mysterious glory, likely we are all just abuzz like a stirred hive over what his lore, appearance, and most importantly what kind of Gimmick this guy is bringing to the rift. I myself have a few ideas as to what his kit might be like, but that is not the topic I wish to approach on in this thread. Instead, I'd like to go over some of my thought in regards to his lore: why is he here? where did he come from? why is Gypsylord his creator such a massive tease about his newest child/creation?!

clears throat for a moment to regain a bit of composure

To help me explain a bit of my thoughts, I will be referring to many of the teasers up to this point and including the latest video clip that had been released for this process.

ready? here we go

His name, Jhin. Very reminiscent of the mythological creature known as a Djinn, an entity that grants a wish to the person that frees them. But at a great cost. Someone had mentioned this little note in one of the deadeye teasers on surrenderat20, and it was from this little note that my theory for Jhin's reason and purpose for being in the league had come to be. I believe Jhin is attempting to grant the wishes of certain individuals in order to make them 'complete'. The biggest contributor for this possible motive lies right in the description of his teaser video.

"I will make you beautiful. I will make you perfect"

A very disturbing line given to what the video depicts and what we have seen him do to Garen, Vi, Zed, and Sona in each of their deadeye teasers. But, this is probably the most important clue and insight as to what kind of person we are dealing with here. In each of the teasers, the champions depicted are shot in very peculiar places. Zed through his eyes, Garen through his chest, Sona through her throat, and Vi seemingly the odd one out as hers was through her lower back and possibly through both her hex-tech gauntlets. As we have already come to a seemingly united consensus, each of these spots are related to key points of their person and/or their lore, again with Vi being the odd one out. However, what I have come to in my own conclusion, Vi is actually fitting right in there with the rest. And this is the part where things get interesting.

What if each of those selected points were flaws that Jhin saw in those champions?

For Zed, he believed that the clan that he belonged to was blind to the truth, to the power that came from using the dark arts. He felt that those around him are all blind to the power that could be obtained. And so Jhin, seeing that Zed wished to view the truth to the dark world that he walked in, chose to 'open' Zed's eyes to the truth he sought, to push him to become what he desired

For Garen (before I get into this, I am using the lore variation of his relationship with Kat, as a fellow warrior on the battlefield. I do not wish to step foot in the flame/ship war of the pairing between these two so I just want to make that clear) he is a paragon of Demacian justice. A man whose strong heart can overcome any challenges or difficulties before him. Yet, underneath that iron will, there lies a desire to see someone again on the fields of battle, to cross blades with them once more. Jhin then decided to 'clear' this blemish from the heart of the Sword of Justice, returning Garen back to what he once was.

For Sona, she had a prestigious ability with her instrument, playing chords, strings, and notes that filled the air in a way that could only be described as Art. Melodies that could sway a person's thoughts, their feelings, their desires from one pluck of the string to the next. Yet, despite her talent and her unearthly beauty, she was voiceless. So Jhin came to 'bestow' upon Sona a voice of her own, to clear the way for a voice that could possibly move the heavens themselves at it's sound.

(wow, I'm starting to delve into my descriptive side again)

and Finally Vi, the seemingly odd one out.

A person who revels in chaos, taking joy in destruction by her own making, yet choses to obey law and order as her moral compass. Someone who is seemingly caught between two worlds, having a foot in each while belonging to neither and both at the same time. Jhin this time choses to remove the 'source' of Vi's duality, her hex-tech gantlets. By removing these, a tool of destruction now used for the sake of peace, Jhin is essentially wiping the slate clear for Vi, returning her to a state of perfect neutrality to then be able to chose which life she would live.

Jhin, in all of these cases, is making each of these champions 'perfect' in his eyes. He is removing each of their flaws to make them whole in a sense, to fully become what they are meant to be or represent. Zed to learn the absolute truths in the shadows, Garen to become an unwavering blade of justice, Sona to achieve the highest point of music possible, and Vi to become fully Chaotic or Lawful.

but, as we have seen, Jhin's method for making these champions perfect is well. . . deadly

I don't want to say he is like a clone (oh god the term pun) of a certain demonic jester we all love to hate, but I think the state of mind for both are exactly the same. Jhin has a disturbed mind, seeking to grant the wishes of people in order to make them perfect beings. But how does know of these secret wants and desires of these people? Not from the source of course, but from the rumors surrounding each of them. It is from these rumors that Jhin sets out to fix their flaws and make them perfect.

A man who is blinded by the lies of others

A man who holds a desire in his pure and courageous heart

A woman who plays the music of gods but lacks a voice in which to sing

A woman who seems to have been taken out of one world to live in another

So there is my theory for Jhin's motives, a man who seeks to grant the wishes of others by the voices that float on the winds. Of course I would love to talk about how I believe he came from Piltover based upon his gun as depicted in the trailer and what the possible themes of the elements on each of the killed champions could represent in his kit, but I feel that I have made this post long enough and that is a discussion for another time.

leave your comments in the sections below to say what you think of this little train of thought presented today, I hope this theory crafting proved to be as good of a read as it was for fun for me to write up!

2 Comments

Hunter Orion 71/9/2016, 4:02:43 AM2 votes

I like your idea of how his origin comes from people's personal wish they never tell anyone may summon him and leave them as his targets. Rather, instead of him seeing them as imperfect, maybe the characters see themselves as imperfect. And the great virtuoso that is Jhin will use these people as his muses. He will create the perfect art by perfecting these people.

Zed, as you said, was blinded by lies and maybe wishes to finally see the truth. His personal wish would be too finally find the true power he's been seeking thats been hidden away from him by his former masters, which Jhin happily answers by doing something to his eyes.

Garen is a man who embodies the ideals of Demacia. He is courageous, brave, and upholds the beliefs of all demacians. However, he has met Katarina and found a rival that he simply cannot allow to die. Be it out of love or the indescribable comraderie that comes from a fight between equals, Garen cannot let his sworn enemy to die. He wishes to be free from this ambivalence, the conflict within his heart. Jhin answers by "freeing" or "perfecting" his heart

Sona is the paramount musician. Her music can impose any emotion she wishes into her audience. For Sona, no language can better express herself than the music she creates with her Etwahl. However, one fateful day, she lost control of her Etwahl and if she had the power to speak, the power to command the etwahl to stop, she could have saved the person she loved the most in the world. As a result, she wishes for a voice so she can control the etwahl wholly.

As a kid, Vi always was with the "wrong crowd." However, when it came down to the wire, her heart compelled her to save lives she had no obligation to save. As a result, she may wish to have the power to protect what she feels important and do what she feels is right. Jhin answers this wish by shooting her hands and heart, giving her the power to do what she needs to do.

Just my two cents

Paenitentia1/9/2016, 5:24:10 AM2 votes

I think if Jhin is well done he will be a lot more chilling than some of the other champions with shades of crazy that we've gotten in the past, in reference to you mentioning Shaco in this post. Shaco, Nocturne and Fiddlesticks are all creatures, they're embodiments of concepts and while these concepts are very human things, the characters themselves are inhuman. While we can appreciate them accentuating parts of the human experience as any good horrific creature should, I think Jhin hits a different point entirely. His creator mentioned that this was the first time he'd felt like he needed to remove himself from the character's headspace while designing him, because he was disturbed by it. So, obviously this is also different from the human example we have of a shade of craziness (Jinx). He isn't a simple sadist, pyromaniac or destruction junkie. My current theory/assumpion in light of the most recent teaser is that he seems to be a fully fledged delusional serial killer of some sort, who is within the realm of true human viability, aside from his abilities. His motivations of beauty and perfection likely don't account for what anybody else desires. He may think of himself as especially chosen or qualified to "fix" the world. This is all assuming, of course, that he's human. I hope he really is as deeply disturbed and poignant as his creator is suggesting, and that he's someone that could, in some respects at least, be real.

If Shaco is actually a human, then he's definitely presented as more of a representation of insanity, especially the laughing lunatic, and doesn't seem to be meant to be a complex head-space or realistic in psyche. That could change in a future lore rework, though.

As for your theories on character flaws, it was a nice read. Really all of it was, and seems really well thought out. Just thought I'd mention this point in relation purely to your statements on Shaco and Jhin's character.