Shadow And Bone: 9 Questions We Have After Season 2

(L to R) Anna Leong Brophy as Tamar, Jessie Mei Li as Alina Starkov, Joanna McGibbon as Nadia in episode 204 of Shadow and Bone.
(Image credit: Dávid Lukács/Netflix)

Shadow and Bone Season 2 has finally come to an end and wow, what a final episode. 

It had been about two years since Shadow and Bone originally came to a close with Season 1, leaving fans with more questions than answers – and then we had to wait a whole two years before we finally got to see what came after. As part of the 2023 TV release schedule, though, we were finally given Season 2 – and with that finale, we were given even more questions. 

If you’re like me and you’re wondering what that final scene meant, or what’s next for the Crows, here are nine questions that we positively hope Season 3 of the show answers – if it gets renewed, that is.

Nikolai in Shadow and Bone.

(Image credit: Netflix)

Has Some Of The Fold Embedded Itself Into King Nikolai?

Nikolai honestly became one of my favorite members of the series over the course of eight episodes. He almost felt like one of the all-stars you would expect from a show like Stranger Things or Cobra Kai that really stole the entire second season, and he truly did become a character that I started to enjoy. 

However, those last scenes with him make me a little nervous about what is going to happen with him in the next part of the story. As we saw with Alina, she was able to tear down the Fold, and kill the Darkling in the process, his body being burned. But Nikolai was stabbed by one of the shadow creatures from the Fold – and when he looked in the mirror after experiencing that stabbing pain, he saw a nichevo’ya in his reflection. 

Does that mean some of the Fold lives within him? Does he have magic powers now? There are so many questions. 

The murderer in Shadow and Bone.

(Image credit: Netflix)

Is The Third Season Going To Be All About Ravka Vs. Fjerda?

While Shadow and Bone is mainly known for being an awesome fantasy show, there’s still an ongoing war that takes up a big part of the series – and from the last minutes of the finale, it makes me wonder – is the next season going to be all about Ravka vs. Fjerda? 

We’ve seen how tense things are between the two of them before, in Season 1 – when the classic enemies to lovers trope played out with Nina and Matthias – but now, we saw it on an even bigger scale with that finale scene when the Heartrender from Fjerda took that drug, and basically committed a Game of Thrones style-epic level massacre. 

Alina in Shadow and Bone.

(Image credit: Netflix)

What’s Going On With Alina And The Cut?

It’s funny how Alina is constantly called a Saint in the show, because in that final scene, I’m not really feeling super saintly about this Sun Summoner. 

In order to stop the murdering Heartrender, Alina summons power to use, but instead of her light powers being what emits from her hands, she emits the Cut, the same thing that the Darkling used in the past, and cuts the woman in two. Where this power came from, I have no idea – but we all saw that subtle hint of a smile on Alina’s face at the end, and to me, that doesn’t bode very well.  

The main stars of Shadow and Bone.

(Image credit: Netflix)

Mal And Alina Are Separated – Will They Come Back Together?

I have to say that while I wasn’t a huge fan of all the romances that we had to endure throughout this season, I did enjoy Alina, Mal, and their adventures, and it did sadden me to see them separate. 

Watch The Shadow And Bone Cast Hilariously Explain What Grishaverse Terms They Couldn’t Pronounce

But it made sense on a story level, because Mal needs to sort of find his own purpose after discovering he was, in fact, the Firebird, one of the amplifiers that we needed to remember before going into this season. 

It makes me wonder if their separation is going to better them or worsen them in the long run. Mal, on one hand, seems to adapt well to the privateer life, while Alina, even as Queen of Ravka now, seems like she’s going to be taking on some heavy enemies. I’m wondering if their romance can ever resume. 

Inej in Shadow and Bone.

(Image credit: Netflix)

How Long Are Mal, Inej, And Everyone Else Going To Be On This Mission?

While we don’t know exactly all of the trips that Mal and everyone else are going to go on, we do know that right now, Inej left the Crows – since Kaz gave her a lead to start looking for her long-lost brother. The last time we see her in Season 2, it looks as if the ship they are on has found the slaver boat – and they are preparing to head right towards it. 

I wonder if these are the only missions they are going to go on. Is this the only slaver ship they will pass, or are they going to adventure into realms unknown for all of us to see? I’m eager to see how it plays out. 

Matthias about to fight in the Hell Show ring, kneeling with a wolf on both sides of him

(Image credit: Netflix)

What’s Going To Happen With Matthias In The Prison?

Man, poor Matthias. He got the short-end of the stick this season because he was just stuck in that prison for ages – and now, when Nina finally gets a pardon from Nikolai, she isn’t even able to use it because everyone pushed her out of the prison gates after she made a scene at the fights. 

Matthias, who refuses to fight the wolves and then attacks the guards, is taken away, and it leaves the viewers wondering if we’re going to end up seeing him alive again, or if he might end up being severely hurt for wounding and/or killing the guards. 

Amita Suman as Inej walking toward a boat with a bag in hand in Shadow and Bone

(Image credit: Netflix)

Are The Crows Ever Going To Reunite? 

I’m not surprised Inej left to go on this adventure with the others after how she has been feeling with everything going on with Kaz, but I will say I am a little saddened that the Crows are broken apart at this point. The only ones that remain are Kaz, Jesper, Nina and Wylan. And while I do love a good Jesper and Wylan romance, I was really hoping Kaz and Inej were going to give in. 

A mutual pining love story is something that always makes me want to return to a show – just like Bridgerton Season 2 did – but at this point I was about ready to jump out a window. I question if the Crows are going to reunite after what happened. If they do, it would probably connect to the actual novel, Six of Crows, and the story there, but we will just have to wait and see.  

Kaz and Inej in Shadow and Bone.

(Image credit: Netflix)

And If They Do, Will Inej And Kaz Get Together? Or Is She Going To Move On To Someone Else?

Again, Inej and Kaz made me throw my pillow across the room in frustration this season. I actually screamed at my television – sort of surprised I didn’t get a noise complaint. 

Either way, if they do come back together, I wonder if they’ll give into their feelings – but, a part of me also believes that Inej deserves someone better than Kaz, who is so flip-floppy in the way he expresses himself. That look that Tolya gave her as she got on the boat didn’t just feel like a friendly smile, and I would support her going for someone else 100% if it made her happy, even if a part of my heart dies. 

The murderer under the influence in Shadow and Bone.

(Image credit: Netflix)

How Terrifying Is This Drug Going To Be?

To be honest, I didn’t think a drug-based storyline was going to be where this story was taken next – didn’t know we were going into Breaking Bad levels of fantasy, but here we are, and that drug is freaking scary in those final minutes. That one Heartrender taking it led to several deaths, almost including the king. 

What are the levels of atrocities that we will see when it comes to how dangerous this drug is going to be? Will we see armies taking it? Entire armadas? I feel like this level of power is equivalent to a God. I’m terrified to see what comes next with it. 

What are you excited for with Shadow and Bone? Hopefully the show gets renewed for Season 3, because I can’t wait to see where it goes next – and what journeys we are taken on. 

Alexandra Ramos
Content Producer

A self-proclaimed nerd and lover of Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire, Alexandra Ramos is a Content Producer at CinemaBlend. She first started off working in December 2020 as a Freelance Writer after graduating from the Pennsylvania State University with a degree in Journalism and a minor in English. She primarily works in features for movies, TV, and sometimes video games. (Please don't debate her on The Last of Us 2, it was amazing!) She is also the main person who runs both our daily newsletter, The CinemaBlend Daily, and our ReelBlend newsletter.