Episode 1 of “Shadow and Bone” Season 2 ended with Alina and Mal aboard Sturmhond’s ship. Kaz has just burned down his Crow Club to start a war with Pekka Rollins and the Dime Lions. So much happens in each episode of “Shadow and Bone” that we need to take a breath and remember all that the many characters of the show have gone through. Did you know that the Crows are from the duology that takes place after the events of the last book of the “Shadow and Bone” trilogy? Well, if you didn’t, you learn something new every day.
Spoilers Ahead
What Happens In Episode 2 of ‘Shadow And Bone’ Season 2?
Alina and Mal convince Sturmhond to keep them on board and help them find the Sea Whip because Alina can get him all the money he needs from the king of Ravka. Sturmhond agrees and introduces them to his ship as Alina, the Sun Summoner, and her guest. Mal is annoyed but lets it go for now. Later, when Sturmhond recognizes Mal’s skills as a tracker, he wants to be best friends, comically. Sturmhond also knows Alina is special, and he makes it known to her, too—something that she doesn’t realize herself. They find their way to an island where the Sea Whip resides. Unlike the Stag, the Sea Whip is a ferocious, dragon-like creature that is not going to let just anyone pass by and kill it. While the crew trudge the watery depth of its home, a few of them are killed by the camouflaging Sea Whip.
In “Shadow and Bone” novels, the Sea Whip, or Rusalye (the name of the episode), was a prince who was cursed to become a sea serpent to guard the waters of Bone Road. It is said that Rusalye’s scales are the amplifier that Alina needs. According to Alina’s conversation with the crew, including the Shu twins, Toyla and Tamar, the two of them also happen to be Heartrenders. The crew also includes a Zemini Durast, who can help Alina harness the powers of the scales of the Sea Whip. Finally, when the Sea Whip is attacking Mal, Alina, who didn’t want to kill it before, ends up doing so anyway.
This time we see a dream from the point of view of the Darkling rather than Alina. He happens to be seeing them too. A new development is that he is now calling her “My Alina.” Kirigan is very unwell because of the power he used to create the shadow creatures and have them follow him around outside the Fold. Now that he is collecting Grisha to join forces with him with the excuse of protection, he feels like he’s getting strong again. Genya happens to be one of these Grisha, and he asks her to help him get rid of the scars created by the Volcra. Genya is unable to remove them entirely. He also asks her to check how badly he is wounded on the inside, but she isn’t capable of doing so. Genya is clearly very uncomfortable being here, but Kirigan wants to keep her close. Genya misses David and is only concerned about his whereabouts. Amongst the Grisha he has managed to ‘save’ is also Vladim Gulav from the Alkemi order, who believes that the Darkling can be saved by using more Merzost (the dark side of small science). The Darkling had initially come to him to find a cure for his ailments. Now, he chooses to agree with this idea and brings back the journal with all the information he needs and his mother, Baghra, from a secret hideout he had put her in for weeks.
Over at Ketterdam, Kaz is fleshing out his plan to get to Pekka Rollins. Pekka is furious because he has lost a lot of money from the loss of the Crow Club. He also wants the Wraith back at the Menagerie. We find out that Kaz’s surname was not Brekker but Rietveld, and he had an older brother when he was young. Kaz’s brother Jordie had been looking for jobs for them until he met a man named Jakob Hertzoon. We also see flashes of Kaz on a pile of bodies, crying. Jakob Hertzoon is none other than Pekka Rollins himself, and that is where the whole story begins. In “Shadow and Bone” season 1, Kaz asked Pekka if they had ever done a deal before, and Pekka answered in the negative.
Clearly, there’s been a broken deal in the many years in between, which we will find out soon enough. Inej is not so lucky at the moment, though, because although she tries to get Kaz to open up to her and trust her, she fails. Since the incident with the Crow Club, all the other clubs are against Kaz and will not let him in. He speaks with a man named Per Haskell, owner of the Dregs Club, but to no avail. Finally, he gets them all to meet at a random diner to discuss the next steps of his revenge. Nina and Wylan are now officially part of the team. Over in Hellgate, Matthias has to eat hard bread and rotten lobsters. He knows he can’t spend the rest of his days in a place like this. His cellmate calms him down and gives him warnings because he’s Fjerdan, too, and believes in the forgiveness of Djel. Matthias thinks he will never be forgiven by Djel because he can’t stop thinking about being with Nina. Kaz’s plan is to enter a building where Pekka’s books are. He divides the group so that they can keep an eye on Pekka while stealing what Kaz needs, and everyone can stay safe. Unfortunately, this is not what happens, and Pekka is already two steps ahead. He has a man named Mogens after Inej, a trap for Jesper, and he himself shows up burning the midnight oil for Kaz. What Pekka doesn’t know is that they have a Heartrender in hand.
Will Alina Be Able To Handle The Power Of Two Amplifiers? And Will Kaz And His Team Escape Pekka’s Nasty Grasp?
Alina believes she is dreaming about the three amplifiers because the combined power will help her destroy the Fold. It has never been done by any Saints before, so this would be a big risk to take. Strumhond’s crew is willing to take the risk because they believe in Alina and would like the world to be rid of the Fold and all its darkness too. The Durast on board manages to merge the scales into Alina’s body. Alina sees the Sea Whip’s dying vision just as she did the Stag’s, but this time it’s Mal’s face that appears. Alina appears to be confused by this. When both scales are in her, she transforms and produces huge, gorgeous waves of light from her body. Alina doesn’t realize how massive they are and that it’s making the crew uncomfortable. Mal has to reach out to her and give her a hug for it to stop. When he does, she’s in a trance of power and kisses him. Sturmhond is excited to see her strength and asks her where they must head next. Alina plans on heading to East Ravka and then destroying the Fold.
The Darkling, on the other side, is doing his little experiments with the Merzost and can see through the hole in his hand where the Stag bone used to be that Alina is much stronger now. He happens to call her “My Alina” yet again because he truly believes that the two of them—eternal beings, opposites of each other, light and dark—belong together forever.
While Kaz speaks with Pekka, Nina manages to get most of his people under her spell until one of them shoots her in the arm; this leads to Kaz having to bomb the room for his escape. Inej is terribly wounded by Mogens, who came very close to taking her in for Pekka and his Dime Lions. Jesper and Wylan escape because of Jesper’s wonderful aim. Jesper wonders if the Crows will really be alright after all of what has happened to them, especially after making Pekka, the king of the Barrel, their biggest enemy. Inej is furious with Kaz because he’s putting all of them at risk for his personal vendetta, but he won’t even tell them what it’s about. They convene at the Black Veil cemetery, where no one would dare go to clean up, and Kaz confirms that he has taken what he needed from Pekka, leaving everything else destroyed thanks to Wylan’s explosives.