Welcome to a brief recap of episode 1 of the Netflix show “Shadow and Bone”, Season 2.
If you are looking for details, you will find these recaps neither very helpful nor profound, I strive to be as brief as possible and only comment on things that stand out the most. If you have not read Six of Crows, I recommend doing so. The show can wait.
HOW SEASON 1 ENDS
The Darkling, leader of the Grisha, is alive and intends to weaponize the Shadow Fold and capture Alina Starkov, his “sun summoner” (in a lot of senses).
Alina wants to destroy the Shadow Fold but is not strong enough to do so and has gone into hiding with her friend Mal.
Kaz and the Crows fail to kidnap Alina Starkov and are on their way back to Ketterdam to see what they can do about money.
EPISODE 1 RECAP
Alina has a plan to take on the Shadow Fold: finding another amplifier so she can up her game in light summoning. Amplifiers are tokens made from animals’ bones to enhance Grisha’s powers.
Alina’s logic: More power = more light = destroy shadow (hopefully). It isn’t a reliable plan, but to be fair, she doesn’t have a lot to go on.
She and her childhood sweetheart Mal arrive at a city where they hope to find some information on the Sea Whip – a sea creature Alina can make an amplifier out of.
They use the paperwork forged by Kaz to get past customs and rent a deluxe suit at an inn. With only one bed.
Mal’s “are you seriously forcing this trope on me” face is the cutest thing.
Alina is comfortable with the idea of sharing the bed, though. They kiss. I’m not sure what the show is going for here, but I guess it’s all down to viewers’ interpretation. Romantic? Adorable? Awkward? Incest (hey I know a lot of viewers out there feel like Alina and Mal give off siblings vibe)? Bland? Your stance on Mal and Alina’s relationship at this point should decide how you feel about this moment.
For me personally, it is more or less like a morning chore. It isn’t bad, it isn’t good, but it’s there; it’s the right thing to do and you have to get through it before moving on to more exciting things.
The odd thing is, somehow it feels like the writers of the show also treat it like a chore. I mean… it’s your golden couple which you made us watch fifteen identical “meadow” scenes for and you’re not even going to give their first kiss any proper build-up?
Next, Alina visits the library to look at maps. Mal goes out to ask around about fish and ships. You’ve gotta start somewhere, I guess.
This city isn’t part of Ravka, they respect Grisha. Although, propaganda newspapers have been printing fake stories about Alina joining forces with the Darkling to wage war on the whole world, so now the people who have lost their families because of the Fold’s expansion aren’t exactly happy about Alina.
These papers even make it look like Alina and the Darkling held hands on their front pages, like pfffft, can you believe them? Those two DID NOT hold hands, OK? They made out on a desk.
Alina overhears these unpleasant things about her in the library. Which is kind of confusing, what are people who have lost everything – family, jobs, money – doing in a LIBRARY?
Anyway, a woman recognizes Alina from the newspaper and alerts everyone around. I’m not sure how, though. The sketch they made of Alina in that newspaper is especially hideous and nothing like her at all.
Alina bolts out and runs into Mal, who is also fleeing some officers who have recognized him. And let me tell you that Mal has some impressive skills when it comes to breaking the law. He jumps up and down stairs and roofs, reaches, ducks, leaps, and flies like Aladdin.
When he and Alina reach locked gates, the city people help them thwart the officers so they can get out. They board an independent ship run by a pair of presumably Shu-han fighters.
But when Mal and Alina meet the young captain of the ship, it turns out that they might have just walked into a trap. Though it isn’t that hard to believe, Mal and Alina aren’t Harry and Hermione. This captain knows what Alina is, and it looks like he has plans for her.
In Ketterdam, Kaz, Jesper and Inej find out that while they were gone somebody has bought out the Crows Club, killed Inej’s old boss, and framed them for murder. That somebody is Pekka Rollins, Kaz’s mortal enemy. But worry not, Kaz has a plan.
Wylan is a wide-eyed full-time chemist with daddy issues who ran away from home and lives in a den full of cool… chemistry stuff. Kaz hires him to make a bomb which he later uses to blow up the Crows Club, declaring war on Pekka Rollins. OK, I will take the “Kaz has a plan” back until I see more details.
Nina the Heartrender is in need of money and help to free Matthias, her friend that she kind of, sort of put in a prison that may or may not torture him to death. So she joins Kaz’s gang in return for Kaz’s aid.
Near the Fold, a group of Grisha is being locked up in cages and humiliated by some First Army’s men. Grisha haven’t been treated well since their leader demonstrated a clear desire to overthrow the king on his last day out. By the look of it, these soldiers are about to feed the Grisha in the cages to the volcra.
But in the middle of their taunting, a shadow shoots out of the Fold. It’s the Darkling; he is alive and has learnt some new shadow tricks.
Did they have to make him say “I have returned” out loud like a cartoon villain, though? I mean, we can all see that he has returned.
Note that this is what Alina keeps having dreams about recently: the Darkling controlling shadow monsters and destroying towns. Are they just dreams or is there a connection between them that allows Alina to see and feel what her murderous ex-boyfriend is doing? Hmm… *puts on Sherlock Holmes hat*.
He summons some mini blades – it’s the upgraded version of his famous trick “The Cut”, smaller and more precise – and frees the Grisha, among whom is Genya. He tells them all that he is hungry and would like to make some dinner when they reach town if they join him. Ooohh, the Darkling wants to make dinner, that means… OK, I have no idea what that means.
I know he’s probably going to kill someone, but “dinner”? Is this the show’s way of saying “it’s gonna be a sexy murder” or what?
Genya seems to understand, though, as fear spreads over her face.
MORE COMMENTS
I very much look forward to Kaz and Pekka Rollins’ next confrontation. The actor who plays Rollins certainly nails the part and makes this character even more interesting and dangerous than in the books, even though his physical appearance doesn’t match the books’ description very much.
And as always, Jesper continues to be a joy in this world of grumpy, dark-robed drama queens.