Three episodes into Netflix’s second-season adaptation of Leigh Bardugo‘s Shadow & Bone, and we are hooked. So much has happened in a short amount of time, and it’s only the beginning. In the third episode, “Like Calls to Like,” Alina (Jessie Mei Li) and Mal (Archie Renaux) find some powerful help in their mission to tear down the Fold, while Kaz (Freddy Carter) tackles ghosts from his past. Let’s not waste any more time and dive in!
DISCLAIMER: This is a recap and, by definition, will contain spoilers. Tread cautiously; if you haven’t watched the second episode, check it out here.
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“Like Calls to Like” opens as Alina and Mal prepare to return to the Fold. Sturmhond (Patrick Gibson) isn’t ready to let go of his adventure just yet and agrees to go with them. But when they try to plan to go by land, he tells them that land travel is boring compared to flying. And our favorite privateer is one hell of an inventor. What would have taken a few days takes a measly few minutes.
In Ketterdam, the Crows all seem to be butting heads. Kaz is so worked up over everything with Pekka Rollins (Dean Lennox Kelly), and Jesper (Kit Young) is angry that Inej (Amita Suman) and the rest of them almost died. Even Wylan (Jack Wolfe) gets snapped at over sharing some historical facts that seem to hit a bit too close to home for Kaz. Jesper and Wylan hit the road to get answers about one of Pekka’s dealings while Nina (Danielle Galligan) heads off to meet with her contact at Hellgate.
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We get a brief flashback to a young Kaz (Fflyn Edwards) and his brother meeting with Pekka Rollins, though he is working under a different name. We get the impression that Pekka convinced Kaz’s brother to get into some shady business and stole his money. It seems that even as a child, Kaz could recognize a trick though he probably couldn’t do much about the one happening to his family. In the present, he also seems to have lost Inej, who snuck out after being patched up by Nina.
Kaz isn’t alone in dealing with past mistakes and family. “Like Calls to Like” jumps to Kirigan (Ben Barnes) as he works through some stuff with his mother (Zoë Wanamaker). He plans to take over the entire country and make them pay for how they treat the Grisha. Baghra doesn’t seem to be on his side at all and even throws in a snide remark about his mistake when dealing with Alina.
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On the other side of the Fold, we watch Alina, Mal, Strumhond, Tolya (Lewis Tan), and Tamar (Anna Leong Brophy) get ready to tear it down. Except that Alina isn’t quite strong enough yet, even with the Sea Whip amplifier. Plus, she has Kirigan’s crappy voice in her head. A fight against the volkra breaks out, and the group goes tumbling out onto the otherside. The crash lands them right into First Army territory, which would be bad if Strumhond didn’t drop the big news that he is actually Prince Nikolai. He deserved to get punched by Alina.

Elsewhere, Genya (Daisy Head) finally finds David (Luke Pasqualino). She tries to warn him to leave, but Kirigan spots her. The two discuss Kirigan’s current situation, and he tasks David to figure out how to control it. Kirigan also wants to know if he could still feel Alina if she were alive and what kind of connection they have.
“Like Calls to Like” shifts back to Alina and Nikolai, who bicker about his lie. His choice to be Strumhond was always a way to help his family and people. There were things he could never do under the name of a Prince. The group arrives at the Spinning Wheel just in time to see Alina’s old friend Nadia (Joanna McGibbon). She isn’t the only one. Zoya (Sujaya Dasgupta) is also there, ready to apologize and swear her alliance to Alina. It seems she, too, knows something about Kirigan’s betrayal.
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At the “glass factory,” Jesper and Wylan investigate what Pekka might be up to. Wylan doesn’t seem too big on breaking in, but Jesper isn’t letting him off that easy. Inside they realize that this isn’t a front for one of Pekka’s illegal scams but a house for his son. Things look like they are about to go south before Wylan steps up and pretends they are there to fix the piano. It seems like Jesper, Wylan is also hiding some things from the world. And what did Jesper mean when he said he woke up and Wylan was gone?
Back outside of Ketterdam, Kaz finally gets to speak with Inej. She isn’t too keen at first, seeing as Mogens (Pääru Oja) nearly killed her during the mission, and she doesn’t even know why. But Kaz finally opens up about Pekka killing his brother. And like the true friend she is, Inej promises him that Pekka will pay. Kaz opening up seems to soften him a little, and he even attempts to help clean Inej’s wound and a rather tension-filled moment that gets broken up when Nina returns.
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Kaz returns to Per Haskell (Tim Plester), whose men have been offered a pretty penny for Kaz’s beaten corpse. But that doesn’t stop Kaz from asking for men to help. Haskell still doesn’t seem keen on helping and even gets his men to try and beat up Kaz. And try they do, but our fearless leader knows how to take a hit and give one. Eventually, he proves to them that he is the one they should be following, and now Kaz has his new blood for his mission against Pekka.
“Like Calls to Like” shifts to Inej as she faces off against Mogens. This time Inej is more prepared and even uses advice from Kaz to finally take him down. It’s an epic fight between two masters of the blade, but Inej proves that there is a reason she is Kaz’s Wraith.

We shift to Kirigan, who has finally learned that Alina is back in Ravka and attempting to tear down the Fold. He knows he needs the Firebird, but Bahgra has no idea where it would be. She knows that if he doesn’t get it before Alina does, he is as good as dead. She will have the support and following of Grisha.
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It seems like Kirigan is slowly going crazy over what is happening when he literally cuts off his mother’s little finger to use as an amplifier. David rushes to tell Genya about what has happened, and she’s right to want to leave. Kirigan is going a bit off the deep end. They also owe it to Alina. Genya sends David to hide in the ruins until she can meet them there.
“Like Calls to Like” returns to Alina at the Spinning Wheel, where they are reviewing reports of what has happened in East Ravka. It’s pretty clear now that Kirigan is still alive and will eventually learn of Alina’s attempt in the Fold. She needs to find the Firebird, and she needs protection while she is doing it. So what does Nikolai propose? Marriage, of course. It makes sense, though, and Mal at least understands that. Pretending to be engaged to the Prince will give them access and protection they wouldn’t have on their own. All that matters is that they know what is real and fake.
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At Kirigan’s camp, Genya tries to run from Kirigan to meet with David. He refuses to let her leave and sends his shadow creatures after her. We can hear the sounds of her screaming though we don’t see her dead body. And like most television shows – no body means they could come back. But David doesn’t look like he will be safe either, as Kirigan sends the shadows after him too.

Back in Ketterdam, Jesper and Wylan return and agree not to tell Kaz about Pekka’s son. Jesper tries to convince Wylan to walk away, but he isn’t interested. Inside, Kaz informs them of their new deal with the Dregs and asks about Pekka’s son because, of course, he already knows there is a son. Wylan tries to convince Kaz not to harm the child and no more explosions. But it seems like Kaz has something else on his mind.
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“Like Calls to Like” shifts to Hellgate as Matthias (Calahan Skogman) cleans the stalls. It seems like the prison allows battles against magical beasts and terrifying creatures, all for fun and show. Matthias comes across wolves which angers him, but before he can argue further, he is dragged into the ring. It would make sense that this would happen at the same time Nina shows up to try and get a message to him and when Pekka is there for the show.
But it isn’t a creature Matthias has to fight; it’s another man. Still a monster but a man nonetheless. It’s a tough fight, but Matthias wins in the end. Nina tries to call out to him, and he eventually hears her, though he has nothing to say. However, Pekka does. He wants her to bring him Kaz in return for Matthias’ life. It’s risky to assume she will just hand him over, but Pekka must believe she is desperate enough to turn on Kaz. And is she?
“Like Call to Like” comes to a close as Kirigan lets it be known that Genya is alive and will be made an example of. It also appears that David got away with the journal. Kirigan finds his way into Alina’s mind and taunts her about the country’s future. And just as the credits are about to roll, Alina awakens and heads to Nikolai’s room.
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What is Alina’s decision? Is it worth having a fake engagement? We think so. Mal and her need all the protection they can get while hunting for the Firebird, and if playing pretend will get them that, she needs to. But she isn’t the only one making deals. Nina has no real alliance with the Crows. Will she take Pekka up on his deal? Can she trust him to get Matthias out? And what happens between her and the others if she does double-cross Kaz? And finally, what happened between Wylan and Jesper? Because we are going to need more answers.
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