We’re entering the final stretch of the season! As you know, every day, we will analyze an aspect of each episode. Thus, we will fully delve into what is behind the story that we see. In Shadow and Bone 2×06 “Ni Weh Sesh (I Have No Heart),” Jesper confronts why he’s hiding who he really is…and what that means for his relationship with Wylan. Ready?
Here we go!
Painful and Necessary Confrontations in Shadow and Bone 2×06 “Ni Weh Sesh (I Have No Heart)”
In Jesper’s poison-induced vision in Shadow and Bone 2×06 “Ni Weh Sesh (I Have No Heart),” he sees his mother and confronts what has tormented him for so long — his power and his reluctance to accept who he is.
Jesper grew up believing that being Grisha is a curse. Her mother was Grisha and she used her powers to save a little girl, poisoning herself. Jesper needed to blame someone for the loss of his mother and he blamed her for leaving him alone. For Jesper, his mother chose her power and a stranger, over him. This caused him unimaginable pain and made him feel like he wasn’t enough. He wasn’t enough for her to stay. And Jesper holds a lot of grudges against her. He loves her but also hates her for leaving him alone at the mercy of his pain.
Rejecting his power was Jesper’s way of disowning his mother. Because if she hadn’t been Grisha…he would still have her by his side. But, in Shadow and Bone 2×06 “Ni Weh Sesh (I Have No Heart),” Jesper gets the chance to ask his mom something he always wanted to know “why?” Why did she help that girl? Why did she choose that kid instead of her own child?
Accepting Yourself is the Key
And Jesper’s mother helped him understand. Being Grisha is not a curse, but a blessing. She saved many people thanks to her power. And she had to save that kid because she just couldn’t let her die. She would have done anything to save her because her heart told her so.
As she explains to Jesper in Shadow and Bone 2×06 “Ni Weh Sesh (I Have No Heart),” for her it wasn’t a choice between him and that little girl, there was no choice. She had to save her. But that doesn’t mean she didn’t love Jesper, she loves him with all her heart and she is proud of the man he is.
Now it’s Jesper’s turn to let go of the past and accept himself. Denying a part of him is not working, because that part will never go away. Jesper can use his power to help his family, the Crows, from the dangers of the war, which are immense. But, until Jesper accepts himself as he is, until stops hiding, he won’t feel whole and safe to move on.
Jesper knows that his mother is right in everything she tells him in Shadow and Bone 2×06 “Ni Weh Sesh (I Have No Heart).” Without meaning to, he realizes that he understands her. Jesper understands the decision she made and forgives her for it.
He says goodbye to her, peacefully. And, forgiving his mother, realizing that he was always more than enough for her, he can accept his Grisha powers and stop hiding from the world.
Wesper Gets Rid of Fear in Shadow and Bone 2×06 “Ni Weh Sesh (I Have No Heart)”
Jesper’s decision to stop hiding is a big change for Wesper. Until his reverie in Shadow and Bone 2×06 “Ni Weh Sesh (I Have No Heart),” Jesper was driven by fear. Fear of being known too much, fear of loving someone and leaving him as his mother did, fear of finding out about his past.
The only stable thing in his life is the Crows. Four broken people who fixed in whatever way they could, with pieces missing. Still broken, but there. That’s why Wylan scares him. What Jesper feels for him, what they have, is very different than what Jesper allows himself to feel for anyone.
Wylan is good, honest, brilliant, and innocent. He looks at Jesper with such trust in his eyes, with so much feeling… that it scares him. That’s why he doesn’t know how to behave. Jesper doesn’t think he deserves a look like that, a love like that, someone as good as Wylan. Jesper feels that he is flying too close to the sun and that, at any moment, he will get burned.
But seeing his mother in Shadow and Bone 2×06 “Ni Weh Sesh (I Have No Heart)” helps Jesper realize that he deserves to be loved. He deserves that love, he deserves Wylan. And he deserves to live what is happening between them. So he tells Wylan everything he feels. No doubts, no fears. And Wylan accepts him with open arms.
Until that moment, Wylan hadn’t believed that Jesper was going to fall in love with him. He’s just a shy explosives expert and Jesper is a seasoned gunslinger and the word shy isn’t in his vocabulary.
Jesper was more of a one-night stand and that was fine…until it wasn’t. Wylan wanted more and was unsure if Jesper was on the same page. When he realizes that he is, he also leaps and plans to live what was born between him and Jesper. No matter what.
And we love them, your honor.
Shadow and Bone season 2 is streaming now on Netflix.
I totally agree with all of this. I really love your article. Keep it up!!