One Piece Exec Quietly Confirms Exactly Where Season 2 Ends Ahead of Netflix’s Major Comeback

The greatest modern odyssey may not be over for a while yet, but Netflix's take on One Piece is tackling one of its most famous adventures. With season 2 now a matter of weeks and no longer months away, this means its vast viewership can see the Straw Hats grow their numbers by its finale, and face the daunting path ahead.

To clear any doubts, new One Piece writer, executive producer, and showrunner Joe Tracz spoke to Future's SFX magazine as reported by GamesRadar+ about where season 2 will end. Confirming what was indicated already by the revealed episode titles, One Piece season 2 will end with the Drum Island Arc's conclusion leading into season 3's Alabasta Arc.

One Piece Live-Action Season 2 Confirms Where It Leaves Off

Tracz confirmed to SFX that One Piece is adapting several exciting small arcs as the Straw Hats enters the Grand Line. This means the show is primed to enter season 3 seamlessly. The truly climactic portion of the Alabasta Saga won't come until season 3, but all of its major players and moving parts are introduced in season 2.

"Season two has an incredible ending on its own that emotionally moves me every time I watch it, I think it tells an emotional journey, getting to a place that manga fans will know, where the story of Drum Kingdom ends. It's beautiful and moving. It's both visually spectacular and emotionally heartbreaking. I think the season has a complete story to tell, and yet it's setting up the following season that we're so lucky to get to be in Cape Town filming right now."

-Joe Tracz

It serves as a reminder that while the biggest battle with Baroque Works isn't perhaps in season 2, One Piece still has plenty of powerful emotional beats ahead. Laboon's introduction serves a tragic prelude to a ravaged pirate crew's sole survivor and his debut, Mr. 3 puts the crew in a sticky situation, and Nami has a brush with death.

All this happens before the crew gets their sixth member by One Piece season 2's finale, approximately reaching chapter #155 in the manga, making it a glorious journey as they discover the scope of peril on the Grand Line. It also means there's still hope yet for an appearance by some yet-unrevealed fan-favorites, namely Karoo or the Kung-Fu Dugongs.

Netflix's One Piece Is Picking Up the Pace, but for How Long?

It's certainly thrilling to see One Piece returning roughly two and a half years after its season 1 debut, with season 3 already being promoted in earnest. While this means a strong pipeline for future adventures in more rapid succession, it also begs the question of how long the series will go.

Given optimistic hopes for a 12-season run, the natural question will come next about whether One Piece's gorgeous cast will feasibly keep playing the characters at their static ages from the manga. Mikaela Hoover's Chopper and future CGI or prosthetics-heavy characters like Brook, Franky, and Jinbe have reasonable excuses, but de-aging for the actors can only go so far.

For now, this is a distant problem as the show is rapidly producing new content for its adoring fans. Skypiea will be the next challenge to follow, and Water 7 and Enies Lobby will be epic for Franky and Robin fans, as well as visually stunning. But the truly arduous adaptation work comes with showcases like Impel Down and Marineford.

This all comes before even mentioning Wano, which feels like a distant fantasy and both way too long and far too visually ambitious to adapt for streaming. One Piece has plenty of steam right now, but it'll be interesting to see whether it keeps this momentum once season 2 drops, into the windup of season 3, and how quickly season 4 and beyond are confirmed.