Summary
An all-action finale puts a poignant, exciting exclamation point on the season, bringing many of the conflicts and character arcs to fitting conclusions and setting up an already confirmed continuation.
This recap of See season 2, episode 8, “Rock-A-Bye”, contains spoilers, including a discussion of the See Season 2 ending.
Last week’s episode of See ended on a cliffhanger so big that it would have been cruel not to pick up from there in the finale, “Rock-A-Bye”, a dynamite all-action closer for a significantly above-average sophomore season of Apple TV+’s action-fantasy hit. This show knows how to craft a finale. The first season’s did a good job of bringing a lot of the ongoing character arcs and story threads to a logical conclusion while also setting the stage for a continuation; this one does the same, though on a much grander scale, thanks in large part to another eight episodes’ worth of worldbuilding and a lot more money invested in the production. Whatever you’ve thought of See Season 2 thus far, it’s hard to argue that “Rock-A-Bye” isn’t a stirring and well-executed (albeit temporary) send-off.
See season 2, episode 8 recap
As we saw last week, the battle between the Payans and Trivantians has begun. As our heroes flee inside the fortress at Greenhill Gap, the Trivantian army marches steadily on, vastly outnumbering their forces. Almost everyone present believes their deaths are imminent. Baba even orders Haniwa and Kofun to ride back to Pennsa, to save themselves and tell Maghra to evacuate the city, but both refuse. Someone else can deliver her that message. Baba Voss’s children are with him to the end.
The end might be near. The Trivantians turn a battering ram on the fortress gates, and with each blow, the tension ratchets up. But in the distance, Baba hears something — the cries of the Hidden Tribes, led by Bow Lion, Paris, and Toad. They bring another 100 fighters with them, all loyal to Baba Voss. It’s a big moment, this. It ropes characters like Bow Lion back into the action. It pays off the deviation we had with the hidden tribes in a previous episode, and gets some more mileage out of Kofun and Toad’s relationship, even if it’s easy to see how that’s going to end. And it gives Baba Voss an excuse to deliver a dynamite speech that almost made me want to go to war. It’s so loud and alpha that even Edo can hear it outside. Rather than wait for the Trivantians to break the door down, he suggests they just open it and let them in. And that’s exactly what they do.
This show has always had excellent, unique action choreography, but it really excels in “Rock-A-Bye”. If you were wondering how a large-scale siege would work in a world where almost nobody can see, you have your answer. There’s a tremendous moment of silence and stillness after the gate opens — the Trivantians can’t simply charge in, because they don’t know what they’re charging into. Baba and Tamacti Jun snatch them silently. Haniwa picks them off. The build-up is excruciating. As things escalate, so many different dynamics come into play. Edo’s little scout, the one who can see, directs his crossbowmen. Baba and Tamacti lead troops down a trench booby-trapped with bags of pitch, but at the end of the path, they squabble a little because Baba accidentally extinguishes the flame they need to light the trap (because he can’t see!). The hidden tribes swoop down on ropes and hammer skulls in; Edo and Wren fight side by side; Haniwa, Kofun, Charlotte, Bow Lion, and Toad all get their individual moments to shine.
Kofun gives a good account of himself in See season 2, episode 8, honestly. You can see him actively putting into practice what Baba and Toad have both taught him during the season. It’s even Kofun who takes down Edo’s sighted scout, though he doesn’t kill him. But it’s also Kofun who, inadvertently or not, gets Toad killed, which I couldn’t help but be frustrated by, even if I knew it was coming. There was more that could have been done with this character. As he bleeds out, he implores Kofun to “tell Paris,” claiming she’ll know what he means, and then gets some on-brand final words: “Now, do me a favor. Go kill someone.”
Thanks to the ingenuity of the tribes and the various quirks of the fort, the Trivantians can’t get a foothold in the battle. And there’s a battle-ending cheat code the good guys get to employ, dragging a giant boulder from above and letting it smash the icy floor of the fortress, collapsing the floes and condemning the Trivantians to a freezing, watery death. Baba handles this after we get a cool scene of him hearing the battle, figuring out the geography, where his allies and enemies are. He strips his armour off, for some reason, revealing his Jedi-style — or, more accurately, Samurai-style — robes underneath. It’s probably so he can be more agile during his escape since he’s right in the middle of the chaos when the ice breaks. Wren realizes what’s happening too late. She orders everyone to retreat, but they’re already on the ice. It collapses beneath them, plunging them all — including Wren — into the water. Edo screams for her, devastated. He has already walked away when she surfaces a moment later, alive, but barely.
See Season 2 ending
Every major character except Toad survives the battle. Even the sighted little boy lives — Charlotte is going to take him somewhere safe. When he spots that Haniwa is sighted, he claims she’s fighting on the wrong side, but she tells him people like them have always been on the wrong side; the isolated, the ostracised. That’s probably why she says her farewells to Wren. Kofun is fuming about this, appalled at the idea of just letting a Trivantian soldier go free, but Haniwa gives him the “she is my people” line. The idea of Kofun, of all people, judging someone for their decision-making is pretty rich.
The sibling rivalry between Baba and Edo Voss also reaches a poignant conclusion in “Rock-A-Bye”. After the battle, Edo lures his brother to a nearby bridge, where, despite the battle being over, they lay down their weapons and get into a good old-fashioned fistfight. It’s well-choreographed again, especially for two big men. This time, though, Baba, not quite as injured as he was during their first encounter, is able to get the upper hand. Edo won’t quit, though. “My father couldn’t make me kill you,” says Baba, “and neither will you.” But he’s wrong. Edo essentially commits suicide-by-brother, stabbing Baba from behind with his own sword, forcing Baba to retaliate. They both collapse to the ground as Edo bleeds out. “Tell me, did father really instruct you to kill me?” asks Edo. “Yes, he did,” replies Baba. Edo’s final words are, “What a prick.” It’s hard to tell, as he dies, whether Baba is laughing or crying.
Baba and the kids return to a warm welcome at Pennsa, but things aren’t necessarily going swimmingly at the keep. Earlier, Sibeth told Maghra that her baby was Kofun’s and gloated about the incest, which almost got her strangled to death, but Maghra instead decides to take the child away as soon he’s born. “Take care of my crown, Maghra,” says Sibeth, “I’ll be wanting it back.” It’s a mixed bag, too, when Maghra gives a speech after the battle, explaining that there are no more witches in the world, and thus no more Witchfinders. She promotes Tamacti Jun to the general of the Payan army, and the Witchfinders to the royal guard, but many up and leave in moral disagreement. There’s a clear conflict being teased here between Tamacti and one of the other hardline Witchfinders, who he later explains to Maghra will doubtlessly recruit more to his cause and return. He thinks his days of service might be over, but Maghra says she needs him, and since, according to him, she’s her father’s daughter in every way, he says he’ll consider it. A story for another season.
Speaking of which, whatever Baba’s story will be, it won’t be occurring in Pennsa. Even after enjoying the night with his wife, he tells her he doesn’t belong here. He rejects Lord Harlan’s offer of joining the Payan army, telling Harlan that, at least for him, the war is over. That night, he says goodbye to his sleeping wife and children and slips quietly away in the night, trudging across a vast, snowy landscape, alone.
We also finally check back in with Jerlamarel’s son, who has been chilling with Edo’s minder the whole season, evidently developing some type of explosives. In the latest demonstration, the bombs are a success. It looks like we have another of next season’s villains here.
In an epilogue, Sibeth calls out in pain in the night. Paris visits her, given all her midwifery experience. Sibeth plays for sympathy about being parted from the child, which is a relatable concern, but when she leans into Paris, she slices her throat with a hidden blade. As she bleeds out, Sibeth explains that she’ll kill the child before seeing it taken, and kill anyone who tries to take it. Quietly, she sings “Rock-A-Bye” to close out the episode and the season.
You can stream See season 2, episode 8, “Rock-A-Bye”, exclusively on Apple TV+. Do you have any thoughts on the See Season 2 ending? Let us know in the comments.
