"Show Me Who You Are"
The stakes are getting higher now as we enter the second half of the season, where tensions rise, plot threads start to build up and become more significant, all with the backdrop of a grand ball to show all the most significant members of Ravka's nobility that the Sun Summoner is real and things are going to change for the country soon enough. Many characters are pulled into the same scene for the first time and the religious belief of Ravkans in their Saints is truly on display.
The episode briefly opens with Mal returning to camp, alone and likely wounded after his ordeal with the Fjerdans. From there it moves straight on to Os Alta and the Crows attempting to enter palace grounds with the performing crew they've joined, with Kaz wearing a guard's uniform. At last the two timelines that were weeks apart in the first episode are in alignment. After the end of the previous episode where Genya removes the scar from Alina's hand, the latter seems to have become more comfortable with life at the Little Palace, for once seeming at ease when she is in Nadia and Marie's company. It's here that I noticed they have cut out the other Grisha's general treatment of Genya as someone lower than them, Nadia and Marie aren't gossips like they were in the books but I feel like Daisy Head still put a bit of bite into Genya's brief few words to Marie. Their general cruelty is quite absent.
Here we get a brief hint to Genya's situation as the Queen's personal Tailor. "It tends to shift the King's gaze in her direction." It's small but key to understanding Genya's position and her later motivations. But it's obviously something Alina understands the meaning of but does not want to acknowledge explicitly at this point. She turns the conversation to more light hearted topics like the possibilities awaiting Grisha when the Fold is destroyed, clearly not ready for uncomfortable topics of conversation. A further sign of her growing comfort in Os Alta is her choice to wear the black kefta and abandon the blue one, becoming more trusting of and drawn to Kirigan. And we are at last introduced to David Kostyk - expert Fabrikator and so important to the remainder of this season. Though he brings something to help Alina with her sun summoning, it seems that by using them once she becomes more capable of using her power as she needs to.
The Crows have made it into the Little Palace, plotting their route to kidnap Alina. The emphasis on Kaz's leg beginning to hurt as he's been walking without a cane for so long is so important because it reminds the audience that he is physically less capable than most characters and his strengths lie in his mind. And it's with the presence of the Crows that Alina's decision to go outside to the fair becomes a little mistake as Jesper is also hanging around so it gives them earlier knowledge than thought of what Alina looks like which could give them the upper hand. The show also characterises the Ravkan people as how they see their Sun Saint - a young woman playing her on stage is white, blonde haired and likely blue eyed. They would not accept that she is half Shu, something that was news to Jesper, something that would stand out and be easy to identify.
Back at Kribirsk, news of Morozova's Stag is about to be sent to Os Alta with the soldier that found it - Mal. It gives him a chance to possibly see Alina and provide news with something he knows will help her without knowing it. The Crows seem to be putting too much trust in Arken, the Conductor, to grab Alina for them as they clear a path, it's one of those moments where they just may be using some sort of code between themselves as a safety net.
Alina's sense of belonging is incredibly on show during this episode, showing that she has finally become comfortable being Grisha and is happy with her place. She is more at ease in Kirigan's presence than she ever was before, even being the more forward of the two being the one to kiss him. Meanwhile, guests from all over gather for the celebrations, showing two nobles who are allies with the West Ravkan General Zlatan, reconsidering their support for the country to officially be split in two if Alina's performance is successful. So much is going on in every corner of this episode that is converging every story thread as possible. But all that is put on hold when the attention is turned to Alina's display of her power to show to so many nobles that the Sun Saint is real and that Ravka may be saved from the Shadow Fold. But of all the people whispering "Sankt Alina" and touching their foreheads in prayer, the most touching is Inej - Amita Suman play's Inej's faith with such a beautiful religious joy that it's hard not to believe in it.
Speaking of religious zeal, the Apparat more than ever is cryptic in his words and actions around Alina. His words sound like warnings but whether they are about her becoming consumed by her power or the pawn of powerful people remains unclear, though it may most likely be the latter as it's followed by Kirigan meeting Mal with news of the Stag, manipulating information out of him to further his hold on Alina. Mal's entry into the Little Palace did not go unnoticed as a soldier watching over the gate reported it straight to Baghra, who was certainly worried with the news of the Stag being found and reported to Kirigan.
Arken's true intentions are revealed when he goes into the chambers Alina is meant to change in and attacks her, holding a knife to her throat but interrupted halfway through slitting it by Genya. Though Genya was gifted to the Queen at a very young age, she is clearly not untrained in combat with the way she fights before Arken gets away. However, we find out that the Alina whose throat was slit was actually Marie who had been tailored as a decoy to look like Alina - the second death in the series that is vastly changed from the book death. Both were originally killed by volcra in the books yet died by other meaningful means in the show. And so we find out what the lynx flush was mentioned during their planning, to get rid of the Conductor. And so the Crows come upon their perfect way to grab hold of Alina by "escorting her to dinner" which is interrupted by Kirigan showing up with blue irises after getting that information from Mal, who is was now being attacked to by the guard that reported to Baghra in the hopes that killing him will prevent more information about the Stag reaching Kirigan. It's these acts of Mal's getting more and more invested in helping Alina that make it all the more conflicting to see her moving on as she and Kirigan are that much closer to becoming more intimate before news of the attack on Marie comes to them.
The elation she feels is cut short though by Baghra pulling her down a hidden corridor, trying to save her from Kirigan, telling her the truth at last - that Alexander is the Black Heretic who created the Fold and she knows because he is her son. How he has recreated himself as his own descendant many times over, waiting for something to use the Fold to his benefit, using his act as a lonely boy to draw her in. Though Alina realises the truth at last, she doesn't follow Baghra's plan to wait for Grisha loyal to her, instead going another way so she can find a way to hide herself.
Though I said before that the display of Kaz's pain in his leg is important to show he's not a physically strong character, he is more than able to hold his own against an Inferni, breaking an arm to weaken his summoning. However, Kaz's lapse in judgement almost proves fatal when the Inferni gets up to attack right before Inej's blade lands in his head - her first kill, something she had been determined not to do. This is one of those moments that show Kaz and Inej's relationship being all about what they do for each other, she didn't just kill a Grisha, she did what she had to do to save Kaz's life.
When Kirigan finds Alina has gone, he goes searching for Mal thinking he probably took her away. Instead he finds Baghra waiting to tell him he's lost, that she had Mal killed so that he could never get the Stag, so he could never use Alina for his own gains. You see that Kirigan truly believes in the future Alina's power could give them all but you also get the sense that the future he envisions is not the one everyone else hopes for, something that becomes clearer and clearer as this episode has its reveals. There is no love lost between this mother and son, however, as their conversation does not lack threats from both sides. It seems that by this point, after living for so long, they have come to just tolerate each other's presence, control one another as best they can.
The episode ends with the wildest bit of luck for Jesper. As he waits for Kaz and Inej to show up at the carriage he has ready with the Sun Saint captured, Alina conveniently walks out and hides in the trunk. Instead of the Crows actively kidnapping the Sun Summoner, she practically hands herself to them without knowing it. It leads to the most amusing back and forth of Kaz just not asking Jesper the right question when trying to get a location on their target. It ends with them riding off and Jesper laughing gleefully knowing that a million kruge came straight to him.
Reasons to Recommend:
- Three of the main story threads coming together
- Jesper's general confident and cocky demeanour throughout the whole episode
- Massive changes for Inej
- Baghra's grand reveal (Zoe Wanamaker is the perfect fit for that role)
- Seeing Alina feel happy and like she belongs for some time before the betrayal of finding that she is a pawn in someone else's plans
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