A significant reveal in the Shadow and Bone book series came to life on Netflix’s adaptation.
Strumhond’s secret (true) identity got revealed on Shadow and Bone Season 2 Episode 3.
Strumhund is Nikolai Lanstov, the King’s second son, the spare Prince of Ravka, and a high-ranking officer.
Alina immediately felt betrayed and got angry, and punched the prince in the jaw when she found out.
Her anger dissipated a bit when she learned his reasons and when he made a case for their alliance.
This all happened after Alina tried to take down the fold with the power of the second amplifier.
Nikolai (aka Strumhond) brought her, Mal, and some of his crew into the Fold so that Alina could attempt to take it down from the inside.
Sadly, the combined power of both amplifiers, the stag and the sea whip, were not enough to overcome the power of the fold.
Their ship got attacked by Volcra, the creatures housed inside the fold, and they managed to escape to the other side without losing any lives.
That’s when Strumhond revealed his true identity as Nikolai, thinking Alina would be grateful for his friendship politically.
Eventually, she understood why he kept it a secret, which prompted Nikolai to reveal his plan to make the Grisha safer in Ravka: they should get married.
Well, maybe not fully married, but their engagement, even though it would be a facade, would assist in making the political environment safer for Grisha.
Alina again got angry at him but cooled down when she realized it was a series offer that could potentially have beneficial, long-lasting effects for everyone across Ravka.
The episode left us with a cliffhanger and didn’t reveal Alina’s answer to his offer.
But we can guess that she said yes, as she came to his room in the middle of the night to tell him her decision.
Alina also determined she needed to find the firebird, as did Kirigan. He wanted to get to it before her, to prevent her from gaining the power of a third amplifier.
He asked his mother, Baghra, what she knew about the amplifier, but she had no information to give him.
We like seeing Baghra back, as Zoe Wanamaker’s presence on-screen is incredible, but we hated to see her locked up in a cage the whole time.
The hunt for the firebird will most likely take up the next few episodes, but neither party seemed to know too much about it, and Kirigan still had to deal with his health.
He recruited a reluctant David, an important character from last season and a close friend of Genya’s.
Genya tried to warn him about Kirigan’s shadow monsters, and David determined he needed to escape once Kirigan cut off one of his mother’s fingers to use as an amplifier.
He and Genya attempted to escape, but only David managed to escape. Genya got taken in by Kirigan via his terrifying shadow monsters.
We are now incredibly fearful for one of our favorite characters in the series!
Kirigan has slowly lost his mind throughout the first few episodes of the new season, and we worry that Genya (along with his mother, Baghra) will take the brunt of his wrath.
Hopefully, Genya will get saved soon because we don’t want to see her go through any more trauma than she already has.
Kaz and The Crows’ storyline took centerstage over the hour-long episode.
Kaz continued his quest to destroy Pekka Rollins, and it seemed he wouldn’t stop at anything to destroy the man that killed his brother.
Inej managed to get the location of the man that Pekka hired to kill her, and she got the drop on him, ending his life before he could be hired again, while Jesper scouted one of Pekka’s businesses with Wylan.
Inej, Jesper, and Wylan questioned Kaz’s motives throughout the hour, and Kaz did not appreciate their questions: but they were valid concerns.
We’re glad that Inej and Jesper called him out over his rash actions that could get them all killed because he seemed blinded by his rage.
Their distrust for Kaz is understandable, as he acted rashly over the last few episodes regarding his fight with Pekka.
He put his crew in danger, which they may be used to, but he also put Nina and Wylan in danger on Shadow and Bone Season 2 Episode 2.
These two are new to the Crows and don’t have much experience with Kaz, and Nina got shot. That’s asking a lot for two new people you just hired.
Nina already has a lot on her plate, with her efforts to free Matthias from Hellgate stalled in their tracks.
She visited Hellgate during one of the planned prison cage matches to send a message to Matthias but instead got to witness Matthias fight and kill a man.
Also present at the fight was Pekka, who recognized Nina and demanded she bring him Kaz, or he’ll make sure Matthias died the next fight.
She got left with the impossible decision (of course, it ended up being a cliffhanger): Will she turn Kaz over to Pekka?
There are many moving parts on Shadow and Bone Season 2, but the longer episodes allow them to make the transitions between each storyline feel satisfactory.
Luckily, this hour felt less rushed than the previous two episodes, so maybe they’ve found a good stride for the pacing.
We’re excited to see where the show goes next, as the tensions are ramping up for another showdown between Kirigan and Alina: between darkness and light.
So Grishaverse Fanatics, what did you think of the third episode?
Are you as worried for Genya as we are? What do you think about Nikolai’s offer?
Let us know in the comments below. Shadow and Bone’s second season is now streaming on Netflix.
Michael Stack is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.