Shadow And Bone Season 2 was released on Netflix, and we will explain the ending of the season and where things are heading; Netflix should light a third season of the series and some of the changes between the show and the novels. That means there will be spoilers for shadow and Bone Season 2.
The first season of Shadow and Bone covered the events of the first Grishaverse novel, Shadow and Bone, and offered a prequel of Swords to the events in the “Six of Crows” novel.
Shadow And Bone Season 2 covers the second and third books in the series, “Siege and Storm” and “Ruin and Rising,” as well as touching on some of the events and “Six of Crows.” Most of the events featuring the Crows are completely new but widely based on what happens in “Six of Crows,” as that’s where it seems a potential season three will lead.
Shadow And Bone Season 2 Explained
The darklings survived the events of season one, and now Alina and Mal must find the second and third amplifiers to make Alina strong enough to take down the fold and defeat Kerrigan. Along the way, they encounter Stirman the Privateer, who is not a pirate and ends up being the King’s second son.
This also leads them to ally with Baghra, the Darkling’s mother, in search of the third amplifier created by her father, the Darkling’s grandfather. It was originally thought this amplifier was a firebird, but in reality, it was a bloodline. When Baghra was young, she accidentally killed her sister. However, their father resurrected her sister, essentially turning her sister’s bloodline into the Firebird, which is just another name for Phoenix that represents resurrection.
Over the years, the bloodline was passed down from generation to generation, eventually ending up in Mal, meaning that Mal is the cousin of Kerrigan, the Darkling. That also meant Mal had to die for Alina to use him as an amplifier. This happens in the Shadow And Bone Season 2’s Ending. But Alina then uses powers similar to the darkling Shadow monsters, the Nicchi Voya. This will almost certainly lead to unique consequences in season three, probably resulting in Alina’s death.
Quite a lot happens at the end of the season, and while most of it should be familiar to fans of the books, the show has taken several liberties, especially in the Second Season. Some of the explanations in this Shadow And Bone Season 2 Ending Explained article may be slightly different once a third season comes around, depending on how closely the next season sticks to the lore in the books.
Jurda Parem Amplifier
First, let’s address the big Shadow And Bone Season 2 Ending. We see a heart render at the King’s coronation, but there’s something wrong with her. She’s extremely powerful, able to cripple the entire room. But she’s not well. This is a result of the Gerda per drug.
As Kaz says in his dialogue, this new drug amplifies Grisha’s abilities 1000 times over, but it’s extremely addictive and lethal to non-Grisha. While it’s an amazing amplifier, like many drugs, it drastically weakens the body of the Grisha user. It’s killed every Grisha that’s used it, except for one, and that sole survivor was forever changed.
Shadow And Bone Season 3 Tease
Introducing the new drugs leads right into Shadow And Bone Season 3 and is a big part of the “Six of Crows” novel that the next season will likely focus on. In it, Nina becomes a Badass more than she already is. A new actor will likely play Wylan. Sorry, Jack Wolfe fans.
Wylan goes undercover in the “Six of Crows” novel, which means he has to look like someone else for most of the book, and likely most of season 3. Technically, Nina also goes undercover, but her physical changes are less significant. So, Netflix may keep the same actress, only making minor changes to the color of her hair and eyes.
Darkling Alina
The final scene of Season 2 ends when Alina uses the Darkling’s power to slice the Grisha in half. This is where things get a little bit confusing. How does Alina suddenly have the Darkling’s power? The books have a much better explanation; we may get this series version in season 3. But essentially, when Alina killed Kerrigan, she absorbed some of his power.
In the books, this happens much sooner in Alina’s training, with Baghra learning to control her Shadow power somewhat. But that won’t happen in the series since Baghra is now gone. Therefore, Alina will likely train alone or possibly with Zoya. But expect her to get those powers under control and become a formidable opponent in the future.
Nikolai’s Affliction
Now let’s back up and discuss what happens to the new King Nikolai. His wound from the darklings Nichiviya causes him to turn into one himself at night. This will plague the King throughout season three and likely be his main storyline for the next season.
Nikolai must go to great lengths to rid himself of this illness. Despite the darkling being gone, his impact will remain on many of these characters as the series shifts into the next season.
Mal’s New Role
Mal being the new Sturm und is a completely new direction and a big change from the book. As we’ll discuss in a moment, this was done to keep Mal in the story for season three, which means Mal is likely going to have new adventures that will tie into either the Crow story arc for Season three or his crew will help Nikolai get rid of the shadow creature within him.
Mal has become his character and is no longer directly attached to Alina, so he will likely see big changes between now and the end of the third season.
Shadow And Bone Season 2 Book Changes
Since season 2 covers two books in only eight episodes, several liberties were taken to make this work and maintain one focused storyline for this series instead of the various branching storylines from all the novels in the Grishaverse. Book readers may be a little upset at some changes, but overall, it probably works better for the TV series format.
One of the biggest changes is that Alina and Mal leave at the end of “Ruin and Rising,” which would end season two. The public thinks Alina died in battle, but the reality is that Alina no longer has her powers after the final battle that destroyed the fold. Alina and Mal get married, return to where they were raised, and eventually take over the orphanage.
This was likely changed because the showrunner wanted to keep Alina and Mal in the series. If they had followed the book, neither would show up in season 3. With these changes, both should be a big part of the next season and even a potential season four, depending on how much ground is covered in season 3.
This change is similar to the changes for the Crows. If the show followed the books more closely, none of the crows would be involved in the first two seasons. While many of the events in season 2 featuring the Crows are taken directly from the Six of Crows novel, or set up in the events of that novel, many of these characters do not interact with the main cast of Alina, Mal, and the rest. The way these storylines are woven together in the series allows fans to see all these characters interact, which is a great change but still very different from the books.
Some other minor changes in the show are done mainly to prolong certain events. For example, Bhagra sacrifices herself in a battle with the Darkling, but it’s a big battle and not directly related to Morozov and finding the Firebird. In fact, after her death, they search for the Firebird, with Mal attempting to track it for several days before they finally realize Mal is the Firebird. Nikolai also turns into a shadow monster during the battle and isn’t changed until after the Darkwing dies.
As you can see, most of the major plot beats are still there. It’s just which characters are involved and how they get to those plot beats that’s been changed. And, of course, Inej and Nina are not part of the final battle against the Darkling either. Instead, Tola and Tamar, who are also the ones who save Mal’s life, instead of Alina, seemingly use Mirzos to make it happen.
So what did you think of Shadow and Bones Season 2? Are you OK with some big changes from the book to the series? How will Alina and Mal be integrated into the next season?
Also Read: Shadow and Bone Season 3: Everything You Need To Know
