Anikulapo is a 2022-released Nigerian fantasy film directed by Kunle Afolayan. The recently released Netflix drama Anikulapo: Rise of the Spectre is the continuation of the previous film that focuses on the aftermath of what happened to the central protagonists of the story, Saro and Arolake. In the film, we learn how Saro, after Arolake had given him the power to resurrect dead people, became blinded by his pride. Completely forsaking Arolake’s contribution to his life, he became ignorant of her and married other women, which ultimately broke Arolake’s heart. Eventually, when Saro’s power failed him as he tried to resurrect a dead man in the king’s court, he faced the consequences of his mistake. In this continuation of the film, Saro is brought back to the kingdom of Oyo, where he has to pay his debt to the bird named Akala so that he can be forgiven for his past mistakes. Let’s see how that pans out in Anikulapo: Rise of the Spectre.
Spoilers Ahead
Plot Synopsis: What Happens In The Series?
The series picked up where the film had left off. After Saro’s fate wasn’t clearly revealed in the film, in the series we saw him wake up in his afterlife, where he realized that, to get back to the land of the living, he would have to pay his debts to Akala by killing all the people he had resurrected. If he couldn’t repay his debts, he would be cursed to roam around the earth as a lost soul who’d never be able to rest in peace. After gaining an amulet from heaven, he returned to the land of the living and set out on his journey to pay his debts.
After returning to earth, he killed only three of the resurrected people, whose spirits began to haunt him. Knowing that Saro no longer possessed the power of Anikulapo, the spirits gave him three years to remain as a human, but after that, he would have to go back to heaven, taking these ghosts along with him to give them freedom. In the meantime, Saro, who had been granted three years to live, started his business of selling palm wine, and a palm wine tapper named Karounwi became his competition. Meanwhile, Karounwi and Awarun’s daughter Olatorera caught Saro’s attention. Enamored by Olatorera’s beauty, Saro wished to marry her, and against Karounwi’s wishes, his daughter tied the knot with Saro.
On the other hand, the kingdom of Oyo had been suffering from Akala’s curse, so Fasogun and Bashorun, who was the chief of the king’s oracle, decided to bring Queen Arolake back to the kingdom. They told the king to bring Arolake and get her to sacrifice herself to save the kingdom from Akala’s curse. However, the king wasn’t against Arolake and didn’t want her to be killed, so Bashorun, who bore animosity toward the king, set out on his mission to find the queen. In this journey, he tasked Adigun with finding the queen, but Adigun, who had previously been resurrected by Saro, lied to Bashorun, saying that the queen was already dead. Bashorun struggled to trust Adigun’s words, so he pressed him to tell the truth, and once the truth was revealed, Bashorun not only demanded the queen back but also wanted to acquire Saro’s power to become the Anikulapo.
Who Did Arolake End Up With?
Arolake was lost in a forest where she was gifted with a magical pouch containing the bliss of endless wealth, which changed Arolake’s situation. She was in love with a man named Akin, with whom she settled down and built a house together, but when Arolake learned that the king of Oyo was after her life, she devised a plan with her beloved Akin. Arolake, who had previously been wronged by her lover, Saro, had lost her belief in love and a peaceful life. She was also against running away out of fear of death, so she wanted to win the king’s favor by sending him gifts. Akin presented those gifts to the king of Oyo and told him about a beautiful, wealthy woman in the forest, which prompted the king to wish to meet with Arolake without knowing her real identity. As Arolake came to meet the king, she revealed her true identity, and the king welcomed her back into his court. As Arolake and the king reconciled, it hurt Akin, who began to lose touch with the queen.
Arolake had no idea of Saro’s existence, while Saro had been enjoying his life and a blissful marriage with Olatorera, who was expecting his child. Meanwhile, when Olatorera came to find out that Bashorun was after Saro’s life, she became worried. She was also aware of the spirits who had granted her husband only three years to live among the humans.
How Was Bashorun Killed?
In the meantime, there was an ongoing rivalry between the two kingdoms, Oyo and Ede. Bashorun was all set if, under any circumstances, the kingdom of Oyo had to wage a war against Ede. Meanwhile, the prince of Ede, Kuranga, fell for a woman named Omowunmi, who was Bashorun’s son and Awolaran’s fiance. Bashorun saw it as an opportunity to get involved in a war with Ede, so he decided to marry Omowunmi to Kuranga. A duel ensued between Awolaran and Kuranga, as the deal was that whoever won would win the hand of Omowunmi. Awolaran was badly defeated by Kuranga, who gained the chance to marry Omowunmi, but on the night of their wedding, Bashorun killed Kuranga to incite hostility against Ede. Meanwhile, Awolaran ran away from the kingdom and later ended up joining Akin’s force to get revenge on his father.
The kingdom of Ede was informed of Kuranga’s death, so they came to Oyo to confront Bashorun, but instead of getting into a fight, Bashorun told them that Kuranga was alive, as he had been scheming to bring Saro in to resurrect Kuranga, so that while doing so, he could steal the power of Anikulapo that Saro had possessed. However, Bashorun had no idea that Saro no longer possessed the power to bring the dead back to life, so when Adigun captured Saro and brought him to the kingdom to resurrect Kuranga, he pleaded with the spirits for their assistance. The spirits possessed Kuranga’s dead body and gave him a temporary life, only to deceive Bashorun. Bashorun learned that the power Saro had possessed was inside his amulet, which became his actual target. He snatched Saro’s amulet and held him captive. Bashorun had also managed to capture Arolake, who met Saro in prison.
Bashorun had no way of knowing that Kuranga’s resurrection was temporary, as after the people of Ede brought Kuranga back to their kingdom, Kuranga lost his life once again because of the ghosts leaving his body. The people of Ede became furious to learn that Bashorun had fooled them once again. Meanwhile, Bashorun had not only captured the amulet, but now he also possessed Arolake’s magical pouch filled with endless wealth. However, his win was short-lived when the kingdom of Ede orchestrated an unannounced attack on Oyo and killed Bashorun in the process.
Did Saro And Arolake Reunite?
Arolake was safe and alive, as she was rescued by Awolaran, who became a member of Akin’s force. After Bashorun’s death, Arolake got her hands on the pouch once again and felt relieved. Akin had forgiven her for her mistakes, and the two of them once again reunited. However, Akin didn’t want a lavish lifestyle anymore, so the two of them sold their property and decided to leave the behind.
While in prison, Saro and Arolake reunited, but their reunion was short-lived. The two of them reconciled as Saro apologized for his past mistakes, but both of them knew that it wasn’t possible for them to get back with each other. Saro had his wife and child waiting for him at his house, while Arolake chose to be with Akin forever. After Arolake’s rescue, she had a dream of Saro, who told her that his time on earth had come to an end, so he would soon perish and lead the ghosts back to heaven. As Saro would be gone, he requested Arolake take care of Olatorera and her child. Arolake had a heavy heart knowing that Saro’s time on earth had finished, so she felt for the poor Olatorera and her offspring. She wanted to fulfill her past lover’s last wish, so she paid a visit to Olatorera to honor Saro’s demand.
In the concluding part of Anikulapo: Rise of the Spectre, we saw that it wasn’t Saro who led the spirits to the afterlife, but Bashorun, who had the amulet in his possession. It suggested that he might return to life, as the amulet had previously been used as a ticket to return to the land of living. Although it is not official whether the series will return for a second season, we can expect another season of this saga to follow Bashorun’s return to earth as another threat to Arolake’s life.
