Solo Leveling Season 2 has finally ended but some scenes in the finale may have raised some questions among viewers. Here's the season ending explained.
Solo Leveling Season 2 has finally ended, and while I didn’t expect it to end on an action-heavy note, I felt that episode 25, named "On to the Next Target," was a satisfying in a sort of feel-good way to wrap up the season.
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
The finale did well in focusing on Jinwoo’s strength but balancing this with some moments of triumph even for the weaker hunters. I loved how there were plenty of scenes where hunters of all ranks (not you, Minseok!) did all they could to subdue the remaining ants. Viewers were treated to scenes of strength from hunters Jinwoo encountered, including his first teammates Lee Joohee and Song Chi-Yul, to the surviving hunters from the Red Gate, the competent Strike B team from the Hunters Guild, and more.
However, while Jinwoo and the rest of the hunters have finally subdued the ants on Jeju Island and everything looks slightly peaceful for now, trouble continues to brew in the future.
There are too many good scenes in the season finale, but let’s take a quick look at some of the most important events and what some of the other scenes may mean for the future once season 3 is confirmed.
Did Jinwoo do the right thing by canceling Byung-gu’s extraction?
The scene where Byung-gu’s shadow was extracted was way different from the manhwa, but honestly, I prefer the anime version because it gives so much more respect to his character and makes his farewell more fitting.
In the manhwa, Jinwoo for some reason finds Byung-gu’s body and fails to extract his shadow twice. And although he was able to successfully do so a third time, Yoonho and Jinwoo both agreed that it’s not the deceased healer anymore.
However, the anime was able to highlight Byung-gu’s compassionate and helpful personality more. If you recall in episode 24, Jinwoo heard a whisper right before the credits rolled. Apparently, this was Min Byung-gu telling Jinwoo to “use his [my] power.” This was why Jinwoo was able to extract Byung-gu’s shadow right away, and that’s when he healed Hae-in, even without his orders.
This way, as he smiles at Yoonho, it’s still Byung-gu’s shadow bidding them farewell.
Beru joins the shadow army
Many things were skipped from the manhwa, like the Queen ant’s extraction, but they weren’t really too plot-breaking. Instead, I’m pretty glad that they focused on how helpful Beru and the shadow army were in eliminating the rest of the ants.
Another thing that wasn’t explained was where Beru’s name came from. According to the author (explanation also present in the light novel), Beru was named after Bernard Werber, the French author famous for his 1991 sci-fi novel, "Empire of the Ants." Beru’s rank is also higher than the rest of Jinwoo’s current shadows, so it looks like the other shadows may get the chance to talk in the future. It’s a shame, though, that Beru’s chibi form doesn’t appear yet, but we’ll see more of that in the future, hopefully.
Aside from Beru, the rest of the shadow army had some ample screen time too, and I love the formations the animators chose to showcase them each time — it feels like an unfolding pop-up. It was easy for the eyes to follow, and the progression of their strength was obvious with how they were introduced into different scenes.
Jinwoo continues to aura farm until the end
For some reason, despite everything that happened in the season finale, Jinwoo continued to be the biggest aura farmer until the end. Finally, our protagonist has reached level 100 — and although it was skipped in episode 24, he also gains the shadows of the other ants aside from Beru.
I also loved how heroic his entrance was in saving the helicopter that carried the injured S-rank hunters — the S-rank hunters must have felt awestruck by the sight of Jinwoo riding Kaisel and saving them. It was also an awesome moment to see him and the shadow army quickly finish off the red gate. But probably one of the most awesome moments of the episode was the part where finally, all the members of his shadow army were lined up and kneeling in front of him and even if he's in a suit (which looked great on him too), completely wet from the rain, they were able to depict him as a king of the shadow army, a Monarch.
However, there was an important portion in the manhwa that was skipped — Jinwoo’s meeting with a certain woman with the ability to help hunters increase their potential. I felt like it may have been removed in favour of the flow of the story, but if the series continues to a season 3, there’s a possibility that this scene will still play out in the future.
Who were the national level hunters?
A few curious scenes also introduced some very important characters to the viewers, although, except for the Chinese national hunter, their faces were mostly just previewed very quickly. First briefly introduced was Hwang Dong Soo, who has been aiming to be a national hunter for a while now. Then we also saw Matsumoto Shigeo — although not a national hunter, he is an external force leading the Japanese Hunters Association. The guy on the top image with long blonde hair was also briefly shown.
Two of the more notable ones in the drawing are Liu Zhigang from China — whose power was so immense, I’m starting to wonder if Byung-gu or the other Japanese hunters would survive — and the blonde guy at the top, Thomas Andre, who was supposed to make an appearance in episode 22 (it was all worth it). In the manhwa, Thomas Andre appears to observe the hunters train but doesn’t join the raid.
Who were the mysterious characters that appeared in the ant cave during cleanup?
Finally, there were three mysterious characters in the cave when the lower-ranking hunters were cleaning up — and their presence spells nothing but trouble on the horizon. Who are they?
One of them, hiding inside the cave and never showing himself, was Jinwoo’s father, Sung Il-hwan. If you recall, Il-hwan previously appeared in episode 15, looking for his son — but more importantly, to stop a catastrophic event from happening. What that event is has not been hinted at yet, but the appearance of the other two mysterious characters provides clues for the viewers.
The first one is a burly man with a long, unruly mane, wearing animal fur, named Rakan. The second one bears an uncanny resemblance to Baruka — an elderly elf with blue skin, long silver hair, and blank white eyes wearing a cloak — and his name is Sillad. Both of them mentioned feeling traces of power from someone, and both wondered why “he was helping the humans.” These two are some of the future antagonists of the series called Monarchs — and they will be some of the most difficult enemies Jinwoo and the other hunters will face.
Solo Leveling Season 2 may have ended but if you want to take a look back at what happened in the previous episodes, check out our Solo Leveling review compilation here.
