Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for Season 2 of Shadow and Bone.Season 2 of Shadow and Bone is officially out, delving further into the intricate Grishaverse and its complicated history. Whilst there are multiple storylines in the show, the major one follows Alina Starkov's (Jessie Mei Li) journey to defeat the Darkling (Ben Barnes) through searching for the powerful Morozova amplifiers. Using these amplifiers, she also aims to dissipate the Fold, a scar-like wall of darkness dividing Ravka in half, filled with volcra who were former citizens. Throughout the show, we learn more about the versatility of amplifiers and are shocked by many revelations regarding our most beloved characters. Whilst we delve into the legendary Morozova family in this article, there will be spoilers for Season 2.

Amplifiers are the bones, scales, or claws of particular animals that can increase a Grisha's power, and they are incredibly hard and rare to find. The Grisha that kills the animal becomes the owner of the amplifier and generally are only limited to one in their lifetime. However, the only recorded Grisha to have possessed more than one amplifier is Alina. That being said, "living amplifiers" also exist and are humans (usually Grisha) that can amplify other Grisha's powers through touch and identify other Grisha the same way.

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Archie Renaux in Shadow and Bone Season 2
Image via Netflix

Ilya Morozova was also known as the Sankt Ilya in Chains and was one of the first and most powerful Grisha. He was also considered a madman by many due to his twisted experiments with the "small science," the power that Grisha practice, and merzost, a darker form of magic that requires grave sacrifices. In Season 2, Baghra (Zoë Wanamaker) leads Alina and Mal (Archie Renaux) to the Morozova crypt, in which papers and books are strewn around in disarray, characteristic of a mad scientist. Even the Darkling himself refers to Morozova's journal as the "scrawling of a madman." It was rumored that he had created three powerful amplifiers - the stag, the sea whip, and the firebird - but as we find out in Season 1 of the show, the myth was proven true. Despite being a dead madman, Morozova's influence on Grisha history is undeniable.

However, it is his family tree is mainly dealt with in Season 2, and it plays an integral role in the show's most iconic plot twist. Baghra gradually reveals her family's history throughout the two seasons. When she helps Alina escape the Grand Palace through a secret passageway in the first season, her maternal relationship with the Darkling is exposed, as well as his identity as the Black Heretic (the Grisha that created the Fold using merzost centuries ago). During the second season, we find out Baghra herself is the daughter of Ilya Morozova, making the Darkling his grandson. In the crypt, Baghra begins to recount a tale to Mal, horror creeping up with every word she utters as she unravels the biggest revelation on the show. After creating his first two amplifiers, Morozova had to pause due to his wife's pregnancy, when Baghra was born.

However, due to her affinity with darkness, he is distant, especially when her younger sister was also born. Baghra recalls a clay swan he had gifted her and that he had loved her sister as much as she had loved that clay swan. So, when her sister severed the swan's head, Baghra impulsively severed her sister using one of the most potent magical moves called "the Cut." As Mal uncovers Baghra's sister's tomb, it is apparent that her sister was resurrected by Morozova, who tauntingly left the decapitated clay swam in the tomb. Her sister's revival transformed her into the third amplifier, a trait that was hereditary. Baghra suspects Mal is a direct descendant of her sister and this is confirmed when the crypt opens in response to his blood. Mal is a Morozova: the third amplifier: the firebird.

The Three Morozova Amplifiers

Alina with the Morozova stag in Shadow and Bone Season 1
Image via Netflix

Morozova's amplifiers are key contributors to eradicating the Fold and uniting Ravka. As the Sun Summoner and thus the only Grisha that could fight against the darkness of the Fold, Alina searches for these three amplifiers: the stag, the sea whip and the firebird.

The stag is Alina's first amplifier that consistently appeared in her dreams. This fueled the Darkling's search for Morozova's amplifiers in Season 1, claiming he would help Alina destroy the Fold. Alina only finds the stag once she escapes the palace and accepts Mal's innate tracking abilities to guide her. Upon discovering the stag, she sparks a mystical connection with it, insisting that she could absorb the powers without having to kill it. However, the Darkling manages to kill it first and uses its antlers to form a collar around Alina's neck which painfully embeds into her skin. A piece of the antler is also woven into his hand, allowing him to have distinct control over her new magnitude of powers. By the end of the first season, Alina drives a knife into his hand to displace the antler, freeing her from his command and allowing her to wholly embrace the amplification of her powers, symbolized by her skin fully embracing the antlers until they stop protruding.

How Does Alina Gain Three Amplifiers?

Jessie Mei Li as Alina Starkov in Season 2 of Shadow and Bone
Image via Netflix

Season 2 follows her journey to obtain the next two amplifiers, as she finds herself on Sturmhond's (Patrick Gibson) ship on the way to the sea whip. By accessing ancient nautical maps in Novyi Zem, she locates the sea whip, once again assisted by Mal's instinctive ability to track the amplifiers. When Alina kills the sea whip, she witnesses its final moments which seemed to center around Mal. Once the scales are melded to her wrist by a Fabrikator, she appears to be more powerful than ever, experiencing the unwieldy rage of the sea whip. However, it proves to be inadequate after her failed attempt to defeat the Fold. The three Morozova amplifiers were connected to each other and yearned to be whole.

As such, when it was revealed that Mal was the final amplifier, the firebird, his draw towards the previous two finally made sense. Alina rebelled against the idea of killing him, leading to a compromise that involved wearing his finger bone and stopping his heart for two minutes until she could remove the darkness. But when they reach the depths of the Fold, they realize that Alina could still perform her magic through touch instead of death, creating a sun-like sphere around them that gradually pushed away the pervading darkness. Like most well-laid plans, the Darkling foils it by attacking Mal. As Mal is dying he insists Alina push a knife through his heart in a heart-wrenching scene, allowing her to fully dissipate the Fold and ultimately cause the Darkling's demise. When Alina revives him using merzorst, he loses his tracking instinct, suggesting that he is no longer an amplifier and that they are now united in Alina. Perhaps, that is why Alina was able to obtain more than one amplifier, as Morozova's amplifiers seemed to be incomplete when they were separated and have now found their rightful place together.