"The world's growing smaller every day, thanks to Hexgates. And now, we're cut off. The topsiders are leaving us further and further behind."
— Silco
Several years after the previous episode, Jayce and Viktor's breakthrough with Hextech has led to much gain and progress for Piltover. The technology has revitalized its culture and turned it into an even more prosperous city. Said prosperity is about to be celebrated at Progress Day, the 200th year of its founding. Jayce had hoped to unveil a stabilized Hex Crystal called a Gemstone that could provide Hextech technology for everyone at the ceremony, but Heimerdinger talks him out of it.
Powder has now become "Jinx", Silco's dangerous but mentally unstable top enforcer, and helps him smuggle a shipment of Shimmer into Piltover. However, the shipment is interrupted by the Firelights, a renegade gang subverting Silco's authority, and goes awry. To make up for it, Jinx causes another attack and steals the Gemstone in the process.
As a result of Mel's machinations, Jayce is named to the council. His childhood friend Caitlyn, now an Enforcer, investigates the attacks. Though Marcus (now on Silco's payroll) dissuades her from looking further into Silco, Caitlyn goes behind his back to interrogate an arrested Zaunite thug, but becomes intrigued by Vi instead.
Tropes in this episode include:
- Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Caitlyn just gets a cut above her eyebrow from a bomb that killed six of her fellow Enforcers.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Caitlyn wanted to be more involved in her Enforcer work than just security. By the end, Jinx unknowingly gives her that wish after blowing up her associates.
- Berserker Tears: The chance encounter with the red-haired Firelight girl shakes Jinx, leading to her eyes tearing up as she fires around with her gatlin gun.
- Big "NO!": The leader of the Firelights gives a shout when watching one his own get gunned down by Jinx.
- Booby Trap: Jinx has placed one below deck that when triggered shuts the hatch close.
- Brick Joke: The children's toy Mel gave to a fellow councilor as a veiled joke during the second episode makes a return. Years later, he still hasn't managed to solve it.
- Butt-Monkey: Lock gets gut shot by Jinx (someone on his side), thrown in prison, then beaten up by Vi-who One-Hit KO'd him years ago.
- Call-Forward:
- Heimerdinger wears goggles for Jayce and Viktor's demonstration, just like the ones he wears in his art-card.
- Jayce shows a hextech-powered gauntlet, which will almost certainly be given to Vi to be used in her crime-fighting days.
- Viktor shows a light ray powered by Hextech, which appears to be a prototype for his Death Ray from the videogame.
- Disorganized Outline Speech: Jayce's last-minute decision not to show the new Hextech as he flinches from Heimerdinger's disapproving gaze forces him to improvise into a generic speech about how the future was bright because Piltover was such a great place. All things considered, it doesn't go too badly, though Mel isn't happy about this last-minute change.
- Dramatic Drop: Caitlyn drops her fire extinguisher once she realizes that they have been Lured into a Trap.
- The Dreaded: Jinx seems to have made a name for herself amongst the Firelights. When two of the Firelights see spray-painted neon graffiti on the walls, they immediately tense up, realizing that Jinx herself can't be far behind.
- Eye Scream: Jinx gives Silco an injection of Shimmer as a treatment for his infected eye. There's a closeup of a needle hitting right in the center of his pupil.
- Feet-First Introduction: Our introduction to a teenage Jinx is her boots with the tips of her long blue Braids of Action brushing against them, as she steps out of the smoke.
- Fictional Holiday: The titular Progress Day, celebrating the founding of Piltover, the City of Progress.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: Jinx can be briefly seen working on metal bugs foreshadowing her weaponizing them in Episode 7.
- Futile Hand Reach: One of the Firelights lets out a Big "NO!" and reaches out to a female companion when she gets shot In the Back by Jinx.
- Gatling Good: Jinx goes on a killing spree with her Gatling gun after her Freak Out.
- Get Out!: Caitlyn evicts Jayce from her room after she learns that she has been removed from her job.
- Gory Discretion Shot: At Stillwater Hold, Vi bashes Lock with a metal plate and proceeds to smash it down on his face as the scene cuts away. The warden notes that Lock's jaw isn't able to move.
- Hypocrite: The Piltover Council was extra cautious about magic and wanted nothing to do with it, for fear of it falling into the wrong hands. When Jayce offers to suspend Hextech services to investigate the theft of one of his gemstones, they are hesitant because it will impact their city's investments.
- Ironic Echo: The Council kicked Jayce out of the Academy for even considering the concept of harnessing magic through science, if only to save him from exile. Here, they appoint him as the newest councilor so he can be authorized to investigate the gemstone theft and attacks, if only to save themselves from halting Hextech production. The ironic part comes from the fact that Jayce is unable to protest either way.
- Lonely Doll Girl: Jinx has a mannequin that looks like Mylo and a doll that looks like Claggor in her lair.
- Madness Montage: Jinx when she sees the pink-haired Firelight, and later when denying to herself that she saw her sister. While playing with live grenades.
- Mook Horror Show: The two Firelights who get trapped down below deck and realize from the spray-painted neon graffiti in the room that Jinx is in the room with them get subjected to this, showing the drastic change in Powder's personality and competence since the Time Skip.
- My God, You Are Serious!: When Jayce reveals to Caitlyn that he has now become a Councilor, she starts laughing but stops when she realizes he means it.
- Nepotism: Inverted; Caitlyn's mother disapproves of her becoming an Enforcer, so she uses her connections to get Caitlyn all the safe, boring jobs, rather than where she can actually be useful. When Caitlyn is caught in an explosion, her mother talks to the sheriff and has her let go.
- Oh, Crap!: Lock has just enough time to look alarmed before (an offscreen) Vi attacks him.
- Out of Focus: Vi only appears at the very end of the episode, with an air of menace from Caitlyn's perspective.
- Pineapple Surprise: Jinx pulls the pins from the Firelights' grenades below deck leading to a Sound-Only Death as the camera focuses on the hatch from the outside.
- Pin-Pulling Teeth: Jinx does a double one while fighting the Firelights at the beginning.
- Portal Network: Jayce's Hexgates allow instantaneous travel all over the world, and have made Piltover a travel and trading hub.
- Pragmatic Villainy: Silco is initially furious with Jinx over her attack on the Progress Day Festival. Not out of any love for Piltover or its Enforcers, but because of how much heat and attention it will attract to their operations.
- Prisons Are Gymnasiums: Downplayed to a degree since Vi was already fairly muscular as a teenager and capable of beating up a small army of goons by herself. But in a Hellhole Prison she becomes even more muscular, capable of punching holes into concrete walls.
- Punch a Wall: Vi punches the wall of her cell for exercise while imprisoned.
- Rapid-Fire "No!": One of the Firelights reacts this way after getting trapped below deck.
- Reassigned to Antarctica: Caitlyn treats being assigned to guard her family's tent at the Progress Day festival as this since she wants to be out there solving crimes, not herding drunks.
- Reassignment Backfire: Marcus punishes Caitlyn for leaving her post at her family's tent and getting involved in a crime scene without permission by sending her to the graveyard shift guarding the fairgrounds. Her narrow survival of Jinx's bombing that night only drives her on even more to investigate the crimes, convinced of a criminal conspiracy.
- Source Music: Jinx grooves to the gramophone in her lair when it plays the song from her League of Legends music video.
- Spent Shells Shower: Empty shells are showering down from Jinx's gatling gun.
- String Theory: Caitlyn has a huge map in her room where clues are connected by red strings.
- Technology Porn: Jayce and Viktor showing off the gauntlets and laser to Heimerdinger.
- Time Skip: It's been several years since the last episode.
Word of God puts it at about 6-7 years. - Trauma Button: Seeing one of the Firelights with pink hair causes Jinx to freeze up before snapping and spraying the entire airship with her gatling gun.
- Unfriendly Fire: Jinx shoots the big guy in her crew when spraying the airship with gatling fire. This leads to his capture when he takes refuge in the hold.
- We Need a Distraction: Oh sure, Jinx could just set a fire to draw away the Enforcers so she can steal from Jayce's laboratory. But where would be the fun in that? Luring Enforcers into a burning building rigged to blow with fake cries of help from what sounds like a little girl, now that's properly hilarious to her.
- What Were You Thinking?: Silco has put up with Jinx's recklessness, but is furious that Jinx went out on her own to cause chaos in Piltover, taking the lives of six enforcers. He yells at her before she hands him a refined gemstone.
- Whoosh in Front of the Camera: Jinx does this to the two Firelights below deck.
- Working-Class Hero: Jayce tries to frame himself as one in his Rags to Riches story...but given that he mentions his family owned a factory, they clearly weren't working class. He does know how to work in a factory though, which is more than the other council members can say.
