The following contains spoilers for Solo Leveling Season 2 -Arise from the Shadow- Episode 13, “On to the Next Target”, available onCrunchyroll.
Summary
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The 13th and final episode ofSolo Leveling Season 2 -Arise from the Shadow-saw the conclusion to the Jeju Island Raid Arc, and the ascension of Sung Jinwoo to the subject of legend as word spreads of his instrumentality to the overall success of the Jeju Island Raid operation.
With Cha Hae In’s life hanging in the balance, the episode is off to a tense start, but wraps up very neatly while setting up for what will definitely be an eventful third season asnot one, buttwoMonarchsmake cameo appearances towards the end of the episode, which also had several eye-catching moments in what was a rather cinematic end to what has been a cinematic season ofSolo Leveling.
Sung Jinwoo Does Something Deplorable to Save a Life
Byung-Gu’s Emotional Final Act
After the defeat of the Ant King in the dazzling previous episode ofSolo Leveling Season 2 -Arise from the Shadow-, Sung Jinwoo and the other Hunters present are faced with a huge problem, with swarms of ants still filing into the nest and flying around Jeju Island, and Cha Hae In succumbing to her injuries from the Ant King.He asks the cameraman to turn off his deviceas his Shadows present Byung-Gu’s headless corpse. Jinwoo extracts the S-Rank Healer’s Shadow, and with his exceptional healing abilities, Cha Hae In is saved from certain death. Having seen what Sung Jinwoo did to save Cha Hae In’s life, The group can understand why Jinwoo wanted the cameras turned off, as such a power would rouse controversy in the public eye.
After Cha Hae In’s injuries are healed, Baek Yoonho requests that Jinwoo release his Shadow because he never wanted to fight in life, leading to the episode’s most emotional moment as Jinwoo accepts the request, adding that it was always his intention to release Byung-Gu after the task was done. With that, Byung-Gu’s Shadow turned to face his friend one last time, and before disappearing forever, fires him a pain-filled smile that showed recognition of the man who was his best friend in life. Yoonho bites back tears as the final vestiges of his friend disappear forever. What added to this scene was the fact thatByung-Gu himself asked to be extractedand saved Cha Hae In of his own accord, and because of that, Jinwoo got a sense of kind of person when he was. That was most likely the moment Baek Yoonho came to truly respect Sung Jinwoo. As a necromancer, Jinwoo’s respect for the dead is a reassuring marker of the retention of his humanity, which has been in contention all season.
Finally, Level 100
Sung Jinwoo Reaches a New Milestone While Japan Withdraws
When the other Hunters take Cha Hae In to the extraction helicopter, Jinwoo takes down the remaining ants in the nest and reaches a new millestone: Level 100. He thenfinally calls forth his single most powerful Shadow, which he extracts from the carcass of the Ant King himself. The Shadow is extracted without issue, and immediately speaks, asking Jinwoo, whom it recognizes as its “King”, to grant it a name. Thus, one of the fandom’s most beloved characters, Beru, is born. Jinwoo extracts the Shadows of some of the other ants and, with the help of his new General-class Shadow, he gets to work cleaning up Jeju Island for good. The Korean strike team and the cameraman have their work cutout for them as they try to evacuate, but their path away from the carnage is far from straightforward as the ants, without their Queen, have gone completely berserk. In nature,when an ant queen dies, the remaining ants in her colony continue their activities, but without a Queen, no new workers are hatched and thus the colony collapses. Jinwoo sends Beru to deal with some of the 4000 or so remaining ants, and he sets off on his first mission, which is when we get the cameos of Jinwoo’s former allies, Song Chiyul and Lee Joohee; the former would have been killed by an ant if it weren’t for Beru’s intervention.
What’s very interesting about this is seeing how Beru’s character has changed somewhat as a Shadow, indicated by the now blue streak of light he leaves behind in his high-speed flight. During the battle between Jinwoo and Beru, the latter was associated with the colour red, while Jinwoo was blue, and at some point, they were indicated by clashing streaks of light which moved in completely different ways, with Jinwoo’s blue lines having graceful arcs while Beru’s were erratic, a visual expression of the battle between human and beast.
However, as a Shadow, Beru’s lines now exude thesame sense of logic and reason as his master’sduring their fight, which was a really nice touch. As he flies away, Joohee can just tell that Jinwoo had something to do with the blue light that saved Chiyul. Jinwoo ensured the safe departure of the Korean S-Rankers and afterwards, the various Hunters on the ground managed to deal with the multitude of ants that had left the island, minimizing the impact on the mainland. With just one S-Rank death, and the complete defeat of the ants on the island, the Jeju Island Raid operation ends in victory for Korea.
Hunters are born to hunt. Dungeons are worlds where survival is all that matters, and a Hunter has to be prepared to become prey at any time. That’s because there’s no telling when the roles might be reversed. You’re always one step away from death, but Hunters are still willing to fight, no matter how many enemies they face, or how much stronger those enemies might be. They’ve all got different reasons for fighting: to protect their family; to uphold their ideals; to prove who they are; to defy fate. So Hunters continue to hunt, and none of them are ready to stop.
– Sung Jinwoo, Solo Leveling Season 2 -Arise from the Shadow- outro
The Aftermath
Sung Jinwoo Is Hailed as a National Hero
Inthe aftermath of the Jeju Island Raid, Japan suffered heavy losses and thus could not participate in the final clean-up operations on Jeju Island as further casualties would affect their ability to defend themselves from the Gates that emerge domestically. Korea erected a monument in memory of those who lost their lives on the island. The media hailed Sung Jinwoo as a hero, with several key participants in the raid citing him as the catalyst for victory, while some people are of the opinion that his earlier participation could have prevented countless deaths. Other countries in the vicinity of Jeju Island had Hunters waiting at sea to deal with the swarms of ants flying in, giving us a first taste of the power of Chinese National Level Hunter, Liu Zhigang, in a lovely animated sequence in which he destroys an entire swarm of ants in a single draw of his twin blades.
Back at the Hunter Association, Go Gunhee calls Jinwoo to his office to ask about his plans for the future, to which Jinwoo replies that he’s planning on starting his own Guild. On the drive home, Jinwoo is caught in a heavy traffic jam caused by a B-Rank Gate that opened up on the road. He talks to Jinho on the phone about his decision to start a new guild, and E-Rank Hunter Han Song Yi can barely contain her excitement as she begs to be one of their first signings. With countless Hunters either cleaning up the remaining ants on Jeju Island or injured, Jinwoo is the only one who can intervene in the newly opened Gate. He enters by himself, and immediatelyit turns into a Red Gate.
Setting Up For the Future
Two Monarchs Make Cameos
During the memorial, the Knights Guild was entrusted with the final sweep of the nest and the rest of Jeju Island, during which they encountered not one, buttwomonarchs:Rakan, the Monarch of Fangs, and Sillad, the Frost Monarch. Not realizing the danger they’re in, Knights Guild leader Park Jongsoo asks Rakan to identify himself, but for the first few seconds of their interaction, Rakan’s words are unintelligible before Sillad appears and casts a spell that knocks them all out. They then talk about being able to sense the vestiges of “his” power, most likely in reference to Sung Jinwoo, but they can also sense the presence of yet another individual in the cave: Sung Il Hwan, who was eavesdropping on their conversation. The two Monarchs tear separate holes in spacetime and disappear. Their cameos position the second season ofSolo Levelingfor the continuation of the story in season 3, which, based on the appearance of Rakan and Sillad, will finally get into the true lore of the series.
Back in Korea, while Jinwoo prepares to deal with the Red Gate he’s stepped into, we see the resolve of various other characters who have been inspired by his actions on Jeju Island, with Cha Hae In lamenting her powerlessness during the latter stages of the Raid. She has set her sights on catching up to, and standing beside Jinwoo as a Hunter. In the Red Gate, Jinwoo unleashes his forces against swarms of enemies as he does a voice-over monologue to wrap up the season and also serves as evidence that he’s not quite done being a Hunter. It was a great end to what has been an absolutely brilliant season ofSolo Leveling, and to top off the ending, the final credits had the first season’s opening playing instead ofthe TK from Ling Tosite Sigure bangerwe’ve come to hate as the harbinger of another week-long wait for the series.
Solo Leveling Season 2 -Arise from the Shadow- is available onCrunchyroll.
Solo Leveling
Cast
A-1 Pictures' Solo Leveling is an anime based on Chugong’s popular web novel. Set in an unforgiving fantasy world where hunters explore dungeons filled with monsters, the vulnerable Sung Jinwoo gains a significant power boost after he is picked to be a solo player by the System.
