Previously on…

Mal and Alina have narrowly escaped the wrath of General Kirigan, and the clutches of The Fold. After a deadly face-off between Kirigan and the Second Army and those siding with Alina and the safety of Ravka, all surviving parties of Alina’s extended crew have boarded a ship to start a new chapter for themselves. Mal and Alina are headed west to Cofton in hopes of getting a fresh start while Kaz, Inej, and Jasper head back to Ketterdam to find a way to make good on their debt now that they’re returning home without the Sun Summoner. Also on board is Second Army defector, Nina Zenik, as a passenger, and Fjerdan witch hunter, Matthias Helvas, as a prisoner on his way to Hellgate on Kerch. Unbeknownst to all of them, General Kirigan has managed to survive the attacks he encountered within The Fold and was last seen exiting its dark borders with large, unknown shadow creatures in tow. Now that General Kirigan is alive, he presumably is back with more vengeance to unite all of Ravka under his control and to put Grishas at the top of power and authority, as he feels they should be. It’s only a matter of time before he regains his strength and doubles down to look for ways to make his dream a reality, and that includes stopping anything and anyone that may get in his way.

Within The Crows, Inej and Kaz find themselves at an impasse with both their feelings and their professional relationship. Inej, her faith and her morals are all currently at odds with one another as she mentally heals from taking a life to save Kaz, experiencing a Saint in real life through Alina’s powers, and regaining her freedom after being enslaved for nearly two years. Her desire to remain loyal to Kaz challenges the inner turmoil she’s experiencing from recent events. Kaz cares for Inej and truly wants to support her and her newfound freedom now that her indenture to The Menagerie has been paid off, but at his core, he’s selfish and wants to keep her close for both her skills and her company.

Mal and Alina have encountered some feelings for one another over the course of their lifelong friendship. In the last few episodes of season one, we really started to see the depth of their feelings through the compassion and support they bring each other. To this point, neither of them has addressed the other directly about how they feel, which has led to longing stares and lingering touches. The biggest hindrance to their relationship is the difficult feelings Alina has for General Kirigan. Although a feeling of deep betrayal has marred their current relationship, Alina struggles with the fact that Kirigan is the only one she truly feels as an equal to given her powers as the Sun Summoner and his powers as The Darkling.