No Funerals is the eighth episode of season 2 of Netflix's Shadow and Bone and the sixteenth episode of the series overall.
As it was canceled in 2023, this episode is the series finale.
Synopsis[]
Forced into an impossible situation during her fight with Kirigan, Alina makes a fateful decision that alters her relationship with magic- and Mal.
Plot summary[]
Nikolai and the others are worried about Alina's safety when they realize that the Fold still hasn't been destroyed. They decide to enter the Fold on foot to help her, and Kaz lends his cane to Nikolai to assist with his leg injury. They make their way through the fort, narrowly escaping two volcra, but encounter a nichevo’ya. Wylan uses a phosphorus bomb, which seems to work, but the creature regenerates quickly.
Alina is with Mal, who is dying, while the Darkling writhes on the ground. He hands Alina his knife and they share a poignant moment before she drives it through his heart, unleashing a massive display of power that destroys the Fold. However, the shadow monster still lives, and Nikolai and the others must continue fighting for their lives.
A small army of shadow monsters approaches Inej and Zoya, but they use the Neshyenyer to take them on. Alina cries out for Nina as she holds Mal's lifeless body, begging the Heartrender for help. The Darkling rises and tells Alina that she now understands sacrifice. Without him, she has no counterbalance, no darkness to stand against the light. She needs someone to save her in the years of loneliness to come.
Alina rejects him and stabs him with the blade. As he collapses, he tells her to ensure there is nothing left of him. Alina uses merzost to revive Mal. When the Crows regroup, Jesper suggests writing a story about their adventures, and they brainstorm various titles.
Meanwhile, Mal informs Alina that he can no longer feel his gift of true north and doesn't know what he is meant for now that he has fulfilled his duty as her amplifier.
Genya searches for David with Adrik's assistance, but discovers blood on the wall and cannot feel his heartbeat. Later, she finds a ruby and David's sketches, which he was using to create a ring for her, and she breaks down in tears. At Alina's request, they burn the Darkling's body, and Zoya and Genya light the pyre first. Alina tells Mal that he could become a privateer and that they will wait and see if their paths lead them back to each other now that they are living by choice rather than destiny.
While Inej is praying alone, Kaz finds her and informs her that Nikolai has paid them and arranged for a pardon for Nina and Matthias. In addition, he reveals to Inej that he has been searching for her family and gives her a lead to follow. Although Inej gives Kaz an opportunity to confess his feelings, he avoids it. As she prepares to leave, Kaz stops her and begs her to stay in Ketterdam with him. He finally admits that he wants her, but Inej challenges him to figure out how they can be together.
Meanwhile, Nikolai is delighted to see Mal setting sail and passes on the mantle of Sturmhond to him, giving him his lucky compass. Mal joins Inej, Tamar, Tolya, and Nadia on the flying ship, and they reunite with the rest of Sturmhond's crew at sea. Their new mission is to hunt slaver ships.
Matthias asks Pekka to help him get back into the fights, revealing that Kaz has been bribing the guards to keep him out. Pekka agrees, and the crowd cheers as Matthias enters the ring. But Nina appears with a pardon from Nikolai, demanding his release. The guards refuse, and Matthias is forced to fight two wolves instead of a human opponent. He can't kill them because he is a drüskelle, so he kneels down. The guards begin to whip the animals. Matthias fights back, and Nina drops the pardon as she's dragged away.
Nikolai shows Alina a wound on his chest caused by the nichevo'ya and sees a shadow monster in the mirror. He thanks Alina for being with him during the coronation and jokes about kissing, but they're interrupted by Genya and Zoya. Alina proposes working together to rebuild Ravka and wants to end the separation of Grisha orders by colored keftas.
As Nikolai is crowned King of Ravka, a woman in the crowd remains seated and looks unwell. Kaz explains to Jesper, Wylan, and Nina that their next job involves a new drug called jurda parem, which amplifies Grisha power. The woman reveals herself as a Heartrender and causes the crowd to collapse in pain and cough up blood until Alina kills her with the Cut. Her power is now made of shadows.
Cast[]
Starring[]
- Jessie Mei Li as Alina Starkov
- Archie Renaux as Malyen Oretsev
- Freddy Carter as Kaz Brekker
- Amita Suman as Inej Ghafa
- Kit Young as Jesper Fahey
- Patrick Gibson as Nikolai Lantsov
- Daisy Head as Genya Safin
- Danielle Galligan as Nina Zenik
- Calahan Skogman as Matthias Helvar
- Lewis Tan as Tolya Yul-Bataar
- Jack Wolfe as Wylan Hendriks
- Anna Leong Brophy as Tamar Kir-Bataar
- Zoë Wanamaker as Baghra
- Ben Barnes as General Kirigan
Guest starring[]
Co-starring[]
- Sujaya Dasgupta as Zoya Nazyalensky
- Kevin Eldon as The Apparat
- Mariann Hermányi as Grisha Woman
- Zoltán Hetényi as Hiemstra
- András Korcsmáros as Grevyen
- Alistair Nwachukwu as Adrik Zhabin
- Iván Orsányi as Bouncer
Gallery[]
- See more here
Trivia[]
- The title of the season 2 finale "No Funerals" is directly tied with the title of the season 1 finale "No Mourners". The Crows always say "No mourners, no funerals" before a big job. The relationship between the two finale episodes is, according to Eric Heisserer, "that the two groups are united again, however fleeting, and that they need each other."[1]