Shadow and Bone season 2 ending explained: Does Alina turn to the dark side?

Shadow and Bone returned with its second season on March 16, 2023, bringing back the magic of Leigh Bardugo's Grishaverse in a more fast-paced storyline, which saw our heroes getting pushed to their limits.

The eight-episode second season may be considered a bit confusing because of multiple plotlines intersecting too often, but it was still a great follow-up to the brilliant first season from 2021.

Shadow and Bone season 2 set up many plotlines throughout its run and resolved most of them by the final episode. But the final episode also managed to introduce a series of new storylines just before the series concluded, keeping fans guessing about a possible third season, which is anyway in the books for creator Eric Heisserer.

The finale saw the Crows and Alina (Jessie Mei Li), Nikolai (Paddy Gibson), Mal (Archie Renaux), and all their allies fighting against General Kirigan aka The Darkling (Ben Barnes) and his forces in a bloody showdown.

*Warning - Major spoilers ahead.

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Shadow and Bone season 2 ending explained: Did The Darkling die?

The entire second season followed multiple perspectives and characters, but it centered around Alina's quest for the second and third amplifiers, which would further magnify her powers and help her put an end to the Fold forever.

After she and her crew managed to grab hold of the sea whip early on in season 2, Alina turned her focus to Morozova’s third amplifier, known as the Firebird. After Mal led a full-fledged expedition to find the Firebird, it was revealed that Mal was indeed the Firebird that Alina was seeking.

This pushed the finale of Shadow and Bone season 2 in an offbeat direction. It meant that Mal would have to die for Alina to fulfill the prophecy. After briefly debating the possibility, the group came up with a new plan.

They decided that by using Tamar's (Anna Leong Brophy) heartrender gift, they could stop Mal's heart long enough to allow Alina to take down the Fold.

Before they could pull this scheme off, the Fold ambushed the heroes and took down Mal. With Mal gravely injured, Alina made a last-minute call and stabbed Mal fatally to unleash Firebird's power. This destroyed the entire Fold, leaving Kirigan and his shadow monsters as the only survivors.

Funnily enough, Kirigan asked Alina to join him one more time. As the group fought the shadow monsters, Alina caught Kirigan off-guard and stabbed him with the Neshyenyer sword.

After ending the saga of The Darkling once and for all, Alina turned her attention back to Mal. Unable to take the loss, the Sun Summoner managed to use merzost, tapping into dark energy in the process. This made Mal return to life.

In the aftermath of the battle in the finale of Shadow and Bone, Mal struggled to find a new purpose, and hence, he and Alina decided to split ways till fate brings them back together again. Nikolai gave him his special compass and Mal set out for a new adventure.

Alina burned Kirigan's body to ashes. Nikolai also noticed a wound on his shoulder, hinting that he could turn into a shadow monster as his wound was spreading.

Another incident sprung up during the coronation which gave us a glimpse of Alina's new powers. When a woman attacked the crowd during the coronation, Alina used her magic to stop her. But in the process, it was revealed that Alina's magic is coming out as dark magic now.

This has worrying consequences for the future of Shadow and Bone, which will most likely return for a third season to complete the tale.

All the episodes of Shadow and Bone are now streaming on Netflix.