More waiting and serious cliffhangers in episode 8 of “Shadow And Bone” Season 2. The struggle is real, and yet another excellent season has come to an end. Is there such a thing as post-series depression? Because we’re feeling it already. We’re going to go rewatch the show immediately to catch all the easter eggs and find relief in making our profile picture on Netflix “Shadow And Bone” themed.
Spoilers Ahead
What Happens In Episode 8 of ‘Shadow And Bone’ Season 2?
After entering the Fold, Nikolai, the Crows, and everybody else with them finds themselves hunted by the Volcra. Kaz, who is supposed to have a heart of stone, hands his cane over to Nikolai, whose leg is badly hurt (what are you trying to do, Mr. Brekker?) They hide in a room until they’re attacked by the shadow monsters. Without the blade, they do not have much to defeat them except some explosives and wind power that can slow them down.
In the meanwhile, Mal sadly convinces Alina to kill him so she can destroy the Fold and Kirigan once and for all. With a heavy heart, Alina drives the knife through Mal’s heart, gaining the power of the Firebird and destroying the Fold. It’s not over yet, though, because the nichevo’ya are still around, and so is Aleksander. Alina is too busy looking for Nina to resurrect Mal, while Nikolai gets attacked by one of the nichevo’ya on the other side because all Kirigan wanted was his death. Aleksander, who found Alina’s light show ‘incredible,’ offers her his sympathies for the large sacrifice she’s made. Alina is proud that Mal died a hero, and that their love could bring the world back together—or at least, Ravka. Kirigan admits it is a great feat they have achieved, but this doesn’t mean the problems of Ravka will magically disappear.
Without a monster to face, Alina’s strength will be wasted, and she will not be able to stand withering away with all that power. In the meanwhile, Inej and Zoya are a team like no other, who possibly have a secret connection that book readers know very well about. They continue to fight the nichevo’ya as Alina and Aleksander have their little chat. Kirigan is warning her about the future, and as she tries to attack him, the nichevo’ya emerge to kill her. Inej valiantly throws the Neshyenyer at the shadow monster, saving her saint and possibly all of Ravka yet again. Alina realizes that even Aleksander can’t control the monsters and, while he’s distracted, drives the sword through him, killing him and the shadow monsters. Kirigan’s last request to his ‘little saint’ is that she must get rid of all of him and leave no traces behind. Nikolai is saved by the bell and manages to survive the nasty nichevo’ya attack.
Finally, Nina, who was unconscious and missed the show, wakes up. Alina hopes that she can bring Mal’s heart back to life with her Heartrendering skills, as Tamar had suggested, but it might be too late. Alina realizes this, too, and she remembers that she can do it by using Merzost. Nina is taken aback when Mal comes back to life with a little nudge from Alina. Mal doesn’t understand what’s happened either, but Alina is ecstatic. The team returns to their sanctuary from before. Zoya waits at Aleksander’s body so they can burn it before anybody else can find it. Kaz, who had been split from Inej, is relieved to see her, but of course, he doesn’t know how to express it.
Mal tells Alina that he can’t find true north anymore and that his little gift was possibly only for him to be Alina’s firebird, and that was his purpose. He doesn’t know if his love for Alina is even real after everything that has happened, and he would rather believe it’s true feelings and not just destiny (was it all a fake love?). Although most of our favorite characters survived, David didn’t turn out to be so lucky. Genya is devastated to find a design for a ring he would’ve made for her with Ruby if he were alive. It’s sad to see that Genya’s happy ending is out of her hands yet again, but maybe there’s something good coming for her too.
They burn Kirigan’s body, and Nikolai gives a speech like no other, proving his worth as the king to unify Ravka and deal with the aftermath of tearing down the mighty Fold. While the girls watch, a bee sits on Zoya’s shoulder for a split second. This is an interesting Easter Egg that may signify that Kirigan might, after all, return even though he’s ideally completely washed off of the face of the Grishaverse? Mal, on the other hand, who did want to be gone for good after he made peace with his purpose, is a lost puppy. Alina suggests he take up the role of a privateer for a bit to see how that works for him. Mal agrees that this might be the best direction for him, but what if this means he’s exiting Alina’s life for good? It is true he wants to know if she really is his true north, but what if he doesn’t find her again?
Kaz receives his money from Nikolai, who is largely thankful for everything the Crows have done for him. Kaz and Inej share a moment where Kaz finally puts his heart out on his sleeve, or rather glove, but Inej rejects him. Kaz wants Inej to return to Ketterdam with him because he has finally realized his feelings for her, but Inej knows that Kaz hasn’t dealt with his inner demons yet, so how will he really be able to love her? There are no Crows without Inej, so she must return to them, maybe after a little break. Nina receives a pardon for her desertion and one for her dear Fjerdan. Nikolai knows that the world needs a Sturmhond, and obviously, as the king of Ravka, he can’t continue to do that, but Mal can serve in his stead. To our utter shock, Inej is joining the Hummingbird, and it looks like Tolya has developed a little crush. They’re on a mission to save slaves from being traded.
‘Shadow And Bone’ Season 2: Ending Explained: Is The Darkling Defeated For Good?
Earlier, we saw Pekka interacting with Matthias in Hellgate; now, Matthias wants to enter the fights. Pekka says Kaz Brekker is the man who had paid to keep him out of the fights, but Matthias sourly responds that he has no idea who Kaz is. Foolishly falling into Pekka’s trap, Matthias is made to fight wolves. As a Drüskelle and follower of Djel, Matthias cannot fight the sacred wolves. As he refuses to fight, the Stadwatch arrives to take out the wolves. Matthias won’t allow such a thing and ends up fighting the Stadwatch as Nina watches. Nina had handed over the pardon to one of the prison guards, but nothing could have stopped Matthias’ fight. With that, the pardon is lost, and Matthias’ stay in Hellgate continues under worse conditions.
On the other hand, Kaz has a new Crow Club, basically the Dregs Club. He offers the girls of the menagerie salaried work as the kind man he is…lots has changed since Inej left. While things look like they’ve just started to settle in, a new adventure awaits the Crows. Kaz tells Nina, Wylan, and Jesper that they have a new job offer. It looks like there’s a new drug called the Jurda Parem, which is capable of amplifying Grisha powers tenfolds. The Crows’ task is to find the chemist who made the drug and ran away, only to be caught by the Fjerdans. Worst kind of people to be caught by, in our opinion. Anyway, Kaz and the team have to get him out of the Ice Court so that the Fjerdans don’t weaponize the Jurda Parem. But it looks like things are already fast-moving.
Back in the Little Palace, Nikolai meets with the Apparat before his coronation. The man is skeptical about Nikolai becoming the next ruler because he knows all his little secrets, including that he doesn’t have any Lantsov blood to take the crown. Nikolai has decided to host his coronation on the same day as the enemy country Fjerda’s big Hringkälla festival takes place. Hringkälla is when new Drüskelle get initiated into Grisha hunting. But there’s another problem at hand: Nikolai, who was wounded by the nichevo’ya, happens to see them in the mirror now. It seems the king has been marked by the shadow monsters. Without paying much heed to it, Nikolai heads to Alina to thank her for making him a less lonely king. Alina jokes about faking kisses in front of the Ravkans, but Nikolai admits he will only kiss her if it’s true feelings from Alina and not because she’s trying to erase Mal from her memory (just romantically, you know). Zoya and Genya are Alina’s escorts to the coronation, and oh, how the tables have turned for them. Zoya seems to have taken a special liking to Nikolai, too (hmm, we wonder what’s next). Alina believes the three of them together can change the world, asking them for help. She puts Genya in charge of saving refugee Grisha at the Little Palace, just like the Spinning Wheel used to be, and Zoya has to look after training the Grisha, which of course, she would do perfectly.
While Kaz believes the Jurda Parem job will bring him a lot of money, as he likes, it seems he hasn’t realized the true nature of this problem. At the coronation, many guests sit and watch Nikolai become the official king of Ravka, only to be harmed by a Heartrender on Jurda Parem. Before she begins her small science, she speaks Fjerdan words, meaning what Kaz feared has already happened. Alina is able to kill the Heartrender with a cut, but the cut is black and not light as her power should be. This means the Merzost has already taken over the Sun Summoner. “Shadow And Bone” Season 2 ends with Alina smiling off into the distance because she has managed the cut, but what will come of the new shadows that will haunt all of Ravka?
Expectations For Season 3
The weight of saving the world is back on the Crows’ shoulders, and we think they are mighty strong. Sure, they can take up a few Fjerdans, but they will need some help to defeat the Grisha addicted to the Jurda Parem. Maybe Alina has to deal with inner monsters rather than external ones, contrary to what Kirigan predicted for her. Mal might come to her rescue yet again, or maybe with the help of her girl gang, she will be rebirthed. Lots to expect, but only time will tell what’s to come of “Shadow And Bone.”
