Shadow and Bone Season 1 Episode 3: Recap and Explainer

Based on Israeli-American author Leigh Bardugo’s ‘Grisha’ trilogy and ‘Six of Crows’ duology, ‘Shadow and Bone’ is a gunpowder fantasy adventure series developed by Netflix. Eric Heisserer (‘Arrival’) served as the showrunner on the project. Part of the story takes place in the Kingdom of Ravka, where a narrow area of darkness known as the Fold has caused much misery and strife. However, it is revealed that the young cartographer Alina Starkov (Jessie Mei Li) is actually the Sun Summoner, a rare type of the Grisha who can destroy the Fold.

Episode 3, titled ‘The Making at the Heart of the World,’ focuses on Alina’s initial experience at the Little Palace. She meets the King and the rest of the Royal family and later discovers that Zoya (Sujaya Dasgupta) is angry with all the attention that she is getting. The Conductor puts Kaz (Freddy Carter) and his crew inside a steam locomotive and drives it through the Fold. Here is everything you need to know about the ending of episode 3. SPOILERS AHEAD.

Shadow and Bone Season 1 Episode 3 Recap

Alina keeps having these recurring dreams about a stag. One day, when she wakes up, Genya Safin (Daisy Head), a Grisha with tailoring abilities, is there to prepare her for her audience with the King. During her introduction to the royal family, General Kirigan (Ben Barnes) amplifies her power, enabling it to come out and offer a grand demonstration.

Alina makes some friends at the Little Palace, including Marie (Jasmine Blackborow) and Nadia (Gabrielle Brooks). While the former is an Inferni or fire user, the latter is a Squaller or a wind user. However, Alina seems to have earned Zoya’s ire. She later meets Baghra (Zoë Wanamaker), a woman of indistinguishable age who trains the Grisha to harness their abilities. Alina also has a conversation with the Apparat (Kevin Eldon), a priest who serves as the spiritual advisor to the Ravkan King.

The Conductor sets up a meeting with his contact inside the Little Palace, Nina Zenik (Danielle Galligan), a radical and rebellious heartrender who opposes the mandatory conscription. However, before Kaz and the others can see her, Nina gets abducted by the Drüskelle and placed on a ship bound for Fjerda. The Conductor thinks that his and Kaz’s business arrangement has come to an end, but the latter has no desire to give up. He still plans to go to Os Alta and decides to figure out his next step once he is there.

The Conductor subsequently tasks his three soon-to-be passengers with getting him 20 pounds of alabaster coal, a peck of Majdaloun jurda (dried leaves from the plant of the same name used as a stimulant), and a goat. Jesper (Kit Young), who has been assigned to get the coal, inevitably gets involved in gambling. Kaz learns that revolution is brewing in West Ravka under the leadership of General Zlatan.

Shadow and Bone Season 1 Episode 3 Ending: Why Has the Drüskelle Abducted Nina and Other Grisha?

The Fjerdan society seems to be modeled after Scandinavia and is more technologically advanced than Ravka. In episode 2, we learn from a conversation between Mal and Bohdan that Fjerdans have repeating rifles, which have served as an equalizer between the two nations. Fjerdans regard all Grisha with suspicion and believe their ability to be a form of witchcraft.

One of Nina’s captors (Calahan Skogman) even tells her that he doesn’t consider her a woman. It’s a sentiment likely shared by almost all his countrymen. The Drüskelle is apparently taking the Grisha to Fjerda, where they will face trial. As Nina correctly recognizes, it’s all a sham. Fjerdans have decided that the primary cause for their suffering is the Grisha and have created laws specifically to punish them.

Is Zoya Jealous of Alina?

She probably is. Before Alina’s arrival, Kirigan likely spent more time with Zoya than any other Grisha, giving her a sense of importance that she believes she has earned. But the manifestation of Alina’s power has changed all that; she is now literally regarded as the saint who will save the country. Zoya probably feels that she is gradually being replaced from her position within the Grisha. It is quite clear that the members of the Grisha are not above political maneuvering.

Who Was the Bonesmith?

According to the Apparat, the Bonesmith was one of the first Grisha in recorded history. He created animals from his finger bones, which were infused with Grisha powers. He knew that the Grisha will always be persecuted and left these animals as gifts for posterity. It was later discovered that killing one of these animals and then making a piece of it a part of a Grisha’s body amplifies their power. Alina’s dreams about the stag are most likely linked to the lore of the Bonesmith. The dreams might be showing her a possible future in which she has to kill the stag and meld a part of it into herself to gain more power. It is possible that Kirigan garnered some of his additional abilities through this process.

Read More: What Are the Amplifiers in Shadow and Bone?

SPONSORED LINKS