“Shadow and Bone” returns to Netflix with its beloved cast and some new characters all thrown at us in episode 1. We ended last season with the eternal general Kirigan emerging from the dead, or rather the Shadow Fold, with some new friends. Alina is on a ship headed somewhere along with Kaz and his crew. Nina Zenik, too, happens to be on the same ride. How will their paths cross? A lot of magic, action, and heisting await as we step into the Grishaverse for the second time.
Spoilers Ahead
What Happens In Episode 1 of ‘Shadow And Bone’ Season 2?
We’d like to address the elephant in the room first, or should we say the ‘Fold’? It looks like love is in the air. Mal and Alina finally give in to their feelings for each other and leave no opportunities behind. Kaz gives Inej a chance to walk away, but she won’t leave him behind. Nina confesses to Kaz and the crew that Matthias is the love of her life—can it get better than this? The perfect start to the show, if we could say so. In Ketterdam, the Stadwatch (Ketterdam’s police force) is on the lookout for Kaz, Inej, and Jesper for the murder of Tante Heleen, which is scandalous because they weren’t even around when she was killed. It was Pekka Rollins who wrongfully accused the trio as revenge for taking up the one million Kruge job from Dreesen. The only thing is, it wasn’t Dreesen’s money at all but a man named Sturmhond.
Like many in the world, Sturmhond, a privateer (not a pirate, as he calls himself), is on the hunt for Alina because of her mighty power. Now there’s a bounty of 20 million Kruge on her head by the Fjerdans. The world believes Alina and Aleksander were partners who expanded the Fold together. This, of course, isn’t true, and the people of Novyi Zem know so because they saved Alina and Mal from the first army. After Kirigan’s shenanigans, Alina and Mal, along with Kaz and the rest, ended up on a ship to Novyi Zem. The trio and Nina got off at Ketterdam, whereas Alina and Mal continued onto Novyi Zem in search of a second amplifier called the Sea Whip.
Alina is also having nightmares, which we later find out are premonitions of the Darkling expanding the Fold back in Ravka. She even has a conversation with him in one of these dreams, but Mal is convinced that Kirigan died after the Volcra attacked him. Kaz and Jesper get caught by the Stadwatch, and we get a glimpse into Kaz’s dark past. It looks like he had a traumatic childhood, and he seems to have some kind of unrest when people are physically too close to him or essentially touching him. We’re also introduced to two more characters who look like they’re from Shu Han overhearing the first army looking for Mal and Alina, but we’ll get to them in just a bit.
Whose Ship Did Mal And Alina Get On? What Is Kaz Planning?
As Kaz has given Sturmhond Alina’s location in return for some money and an escape from the Stadwatch, Sturmhond has made it to Novyi Zem. Shockingly, Jesper is actually a durast, and that is why he never misses a shot. While the Zemeni were able to keep Alina and Mal safe from the first army for a little bit, they had to find their way out to the sea to find the amplifier Sea Whip. Alina is looking for this amplifier because it will help her get powerful enough to destroy the Fold on her own. She may be looking for two more amplifiers after the Stag because it would help her become the most powerful Saint. Back in Ketterdam, Nina saves Inej from Pekka Rollin’s men, also known as the Dime Lions. Inej’s indenture and the Crow Club are now owned by Pekka Rollins because he took over the menagerie after killing Tante Heleen. While Kaz plots his revenge on Pekka Rollins for not just taking over his dear club and the place he grew up in but also for something he did in the past, he is looking for a Heartrender and demolition man to help him out. Nina happens to be the perfect person for the job because she isn’t owned by Pekka and has just saved Inej’s life.
The crew is quite surprised to hear it is her, and she doesn’t quite understand how she’s so famous. Kaz tells her about the Conductor and asks Nina if she trusts the man. Nina scoffs at this question, proving to Kaz that she’s the right woman for the job. Wylan, on the other hand, happens to be the guy who made a hand bomb that Kaz used against the Darkling before he could shred him to pieces. We get the impression that Wylan is much more privileged than Jesper, Kaz, and Inej, but he’s now trying to make it on his own. When we first meet him, he’s playing the flute on the streets. Nina wants Kaz to help her break out Matthias, but Kaz can only promise her a visit considering how protected Hellgate prison is. They agree on the deal, and we see them all together on the roof of the building, five of them (yes, we finally have the Six of Crows in the series) looking over the Barrel. There’s a blast somewhere ahead, and it happens to be Pekka’s Crow Club. Kaz is ready to face his enemy with his friends and team on his side. As he exits, he gives us the wise words that the Barrel does not belong to people like Pekka but to people like himself.
Alina and Mal find a ship that belongs to no country and charter it. The two people we spoke about earlier who overheard the first army? They are Sturmhond’s crew. The first army calls out Mal for being a deserter and asks them to hand Alina and Mal over, but the crew disagrees, instigating a war between Ravka and themselves. The General of the first army doesn’t want to incite a war with them, and thus he backs off and lets Alina and Mal go. Sturmhond is the captain of the ship and takes orders from no one. He tells them about the bounty on their head and suggests they cooperate unless they want to be handed off to the Fjerdans dead.
