Invisible City – Season 2 Episode 5 Recap, Review & Ending Explained

Marangatu: A Sacred Place

Episode 5 of Invisible City season 2 starts this finale with a flashback. Castro’s father discovers Lazo’s talents for spotting gold and takes him out into the woods. He forces the Zaori to lead the group up to a pool, where he finds lumps of gold. Holding a large chunk, he begins to laugh incredulously. Castro’s father promises to come back with 30 men and dig the whole place up, but Lazo refuses to help them and tries to flee.

Jaciara happens to be watching all of this unfold from the trees in the distance, and as a result she blesses both her babes (Hono and Debora), giving them the Muiraquitas so that the place will be protected from interlopers and invaders.

Further flashbacks bleed through as Debora shows up at her old house, where Telma and Daniel points out that Maira was her mum. Years of working with Castro have turned Debora into a bitter, twisted woman intent on finding Marangatu, not for a spiritual reason but for greed and gold. Debora was taken by Castro’s father, and since then has been raised as one of his own.

Does Eric find Luna?

Back in the present, Matinta continues to watch over Ines and Luna, guiding them into Marangatu. They follow the owl quickly, but Eric is hot on their heels given he has Debora’s powers now. That, coupled with Bento’s wolf abilities, gives him unimaginable strength and he starts to lose himself.

In fact, Eric grabs Bento when he shows up and uses Debora’s mind-controlling powers to force the boy to tell him where Luna and Ines are going. Unfortunately, Lazo’s attempts to quell him do no good, as he takes on the ability to spot gold. He follows the trail to Marangatu, while Ines tells Luna that she needs to go it alone, promising that they’ll see each other soon.

Back in the village, Castro shows up looking for Debora, while Ines works her magic with Eric, telling him that there’s no “normal” for Luna, especially as her destiny is intrinsically linked with Marangatu. Eric ends up taking Ines powers, which causes a whole bunch of flashbacks to bleed through.

What is Luna’s purpose?

Whilst Luna was going through her cleansing ritual last episode, memories of Gabriela bleed through, specifically that of her giving over the necklace she’s currently wearing and telling her that it will protect her. However, there will come a time when she needs to give the necklace to its rightful owner – and she’ll know who this is.

We also learn the truth about Luna and what her purpose actually is. Luna was always meant to find Marangatu and is the “key” because her destiny lies with returning as a guardian entity, something that Ines was tasked with helping by bringing her there. Eric though can’t join her because he’s rotting from the inside out. It’s a heavy burden to carry but the forest needs its protectors, otherwise everything will be lost.

Ines puts her faith in Eric, telling Matinta defiantly (in this vision) that Eric could control his powers and use that as a force for good. Ines refuses to abandon Eric, believing he has the strength to see this through to the end.

What happens to Ines?

Wirthout her powers, Eric snaps out of these visions and realizes he has inadvertently killed Ines. He watches as she grows older in his arms, shocked and struggling to hold back tears. When Eric finally catches up with Luna he apologizes for what he’s done and decides to embrace Luna’s destiny, understanding they need to reach Marangatu.

Back in the village, Debora has embraced her origins and her ancestors, deciding to embrace her indigenous roots after all. She turns on Castro and the other hunters, pointing out that he (and his father by extension) have lied to her and manipulated her all this time. Before things spiral out of control, Matinta shows and distracts Castro enough for Debora to skip out into the woods and hide.

Lazo also arrives in the village and decides to help Danilo and Castro reach the village. Bento is there too but he knows this search is futile given Lazo doesn’t have his powers anymore.

Does Eric sacrifice himself?

Back with Eric, he and Luna arrive at the pool where he was first awoken all those episodes ago. As Telma’s chanting bleeds through, Luna lets Eric go and he decides to willingly sacrifice himself for the greater good. Jaciara appears too, calling out for Eric to pass. In doing so, Luna plunges her head into the water and notices her parents together, holding hands and symbolizing that they’ve passed from this world into the next.

This is what was supposed to happen all this time, and as a result all the powers return to their rightful owners. Bento becomes the wolf boy and takes out the hunters, Lazo can sense gold again and Debora has her snake powers. The latter though, decides to use her powers for good and takes out the hunter after her. Danilo is killed too, while Castro scrambles away.

Luna returns the necklace that was rightfully meant for Debora, understanding she’s the real guardian of the forest, who has embraced her roots now and is one of them, an action that presumably forgives all her villainous antics across the whole season.

How does Invisible City season 2 end?

We then jump forward in time. Telma gives evidence in court about how the Castro family needs to make amends for what they’ve done to the rainforest, going on to mention how they deserve a sentence befitting dishing out years of destruction, pain and suffering.

After handing over all the evidence about their illegal mining and destruction of nature, not to mention the formation of a criminal organization and tainting the water, Castro is found guilty and imprisoned. He promises to be out in two weeks as he’s taken away though, but in his cell a snake slithers out from under the bed.

The Episode Review

Invisible City stumbles at the ending, delivering a rushed ending that brings everything together but it does so in a way that feels rather anticlimactic and unsatisfying. The way Eric was brought back just to die at the end is a bit disappointing, albeit understandable, while characters like Clarice and the priest don’t really get very satisfying endings.

If that wasn’t enough, the finale also does a 180 turn on us, with Debora shown to be the good guy after all but manipulated by the real villains, which happen to be the Castro family. While I can buy that happening, the sheer velocity at which we get this whiplashed plot point leaves a lot to be desired. It’s also worth pointing out that Debora hypnotized and controlled people. She was the one who was seemingly in charge of the whole operation at the mansion and given her headstrong demeanor and her powers, it’s a bit of a stretch to lead us to believe she was manipulated so easily.

We definitely needed some nuance with her character to really buy this turn but instead we get a rushed turn that seems to come out of absolutely nowhere!

I’m not sure what happened in the editing room but this show’s cuts between episodes leave a lot to be desired. The end scene is also another point of contention too. I’m not sure if we’re led to believe Ines is still alive, especially with that final shot of the butterfly fluttering around Daniel’s head, but that’s what the show appears to be hinting. With everyone’s powers returning, it makes sense right?

This second season has been an enjoyable watch, even with its narrative flaws, but compared to what we received in 2021, this follow-up is a bit of a disappointment.