One Piece season 2 ending explained: Who is Mr 0 and what happens to Chopper?

**Warning: contains full spoilers for all episodes of One Piece season 2.**

With the end of One Piece season 2, the Straw Hats are just a teensy bit closer to finding the fabled One Piece. But with hundreds more anime episodes to adapt, don't expect Luffy and co to find it on Netflix anytime soon.

That's OK though. There's more than enough going on here anyway. Between Chopper's intro, Princess Nefeltari Vivi's journey home and the looming presence of Baroque Works leader Mr 0, there are many, many pieces moving around in One Piece.

So what does this mean for the season 2 finale and what's to come next?

The penultimate episode of season 2 mostly consisted of a devastating flashback where we learned how Tony Tony Chopper came under Dr Kureha's care. So it's with tears in our eyes that we jump back to the present and find out how the Drum Island arc reaches its end.

One Piece season 2 ending explained: Who is Mr 0 and what happens to Chopper?

The final episode begins with Wapol, leader of Drum Island, showing off the new power Mr 0 gave him through eating some devil fruit. We watch as he devours a wooden pole and then transforms his arm into a metal sword. Wapol's body has become like a factory, able to consume, transform and combine anything he eats into what he wants.

I would eat cakes and turn them into money, but that's just me.

Dalton, the former captain of Wapol's Royal guard, rebelled against Wapol, and now he proves himself to be a "monster" too when he transforms into a minotaur-like beast to fight back. The King quickly stabs him though and then transforms his metal mouth into a much bigger metal mouth with what looks like an arm inside?

Meanwhile, Miss All Sunday taunts Vivi, telling the Princess that her friends will die and so will her people thanks to Wapol's new army.

Yep, that was an arm in his mouth before. It turns out Wapol ate his entire army and transformed them into metallic monsters to ravage what's left of the Drum Island uprising. Big ew.

While Usopp and Zoro defend the village, Vivi runs off to Kureha's hideout in search of Luffy, using a new grappling hook device Usopp created for this very occasion.

Up in Kureha's castle, Nami listens to Sanji share a story from his childhood that explains why he enjoys taking care of loved ones through his cooking. It's the exact kind of tender scene that's needed amidst all the action, giving Sanji his big moment and us yet another reason to cry this season.

When Vivi arrives to update everyone on what's happening, Kureha suggests they run, but Chopper pushes back, saying they must stay to help those who will get hurt in the coming battle. "That's what a doctor does."

I just want to smush and squish Chopper's little cheeks. What a sweetheart.

Wapol suddenly appears then, ambushing the gang via a secret passageway. He makes a big blustering bad guy speech, but Luffy isn't listening because he's too busy warming up and stretching for their big fight.

Vivi stands up to this hideous dictator and punches him in the face as Zoro and Usopp discover back in the village that his metal army is a lot more resilient than they thought. Usopp's "Sure Kill Fire Star" move doesn't produce a sure kill, after all, and neither does Zoro's sword.

Nami is still too weak to fight as she's recovering from her sickness, so Chopper and Sanji protect her from Wapol's henchmen. When Chopper grows bigger all of a sudden, the effects are kind of rubbish, but we'll forgive One Piece because tiny Chopper is just the best still.

Wapol is keen to eat another devil fruit, by which we mean he wants to eat Luffy. Our rubber boy holds Wapol's giant metal mouth open with his fingers stretched out and then Vivi uses her weapons to close it just as he's about to fire a cannon. With nowhere to go, the cannonball explodes in Wapol's mouth, and he's mad about it too.

"I'm a member of the world's government," says Wapol. "Attacking me is a crime."

It's funny how a character created decades ago feels more relevant than ever today.

But then, sneaky Wapol surprises the gang with his attempt to destroy Luffy's flag, the one Dr Hiruluk gave him before he died. Urgh, why did I have to bring that up again? Luffy being Luffy won't let that happen though, so he jumps in the way of Wapol's cannonball, saving the flag.

Flags are a big deal when you're trying to be King of the Pirates.

Luffy and Sanji team up with an air assault combo which, ironically enough, is just Wolverine's 'cannonball special' move (from X-Men) in all but name.

With Wapol defeated, Luffy assumes Chopper is going to join him and the Straw Hats on their next adventure.

"I’m very grateful to you all," says Chopper. "You’ve been so nice to me… but I’m not a human like the rest of you."

All those years of rejection, first by the other reindeer and then by his good doctor friend, have taken their toll on Chopper's self-esteem. The gang doesn't care though. They're all weirdos and now Chopper is one of them too.

"Just shut up and come with us!!" shouts Luffy, and it works. They all laugh together as Chopper agrees in a very cute, wholesome moment. What's not cute, however, is Kureha's response when she finds out that Chopper is leaving.

"You ungrateful little s**t! After all I’ve done for you. You’ll never survive out on the seas…"

Kureha can be a bit of a meanie, yes, but really she's just sad to see Chopper leave, even if she knows it's the best thing for him. The poor little guy needs to follow his dreams, after all.

Chopper lives up to his reindeer heritage and pulls the gang along in a sleigh out of the castle to their ship which they now live on together.

"My very first pirate ship," says Chopper, all happy. But then he realises that he's leaving home for good, and the tears soon start to flow.

"I know what it feels like leaving home," says Usopp. "But you don’t have to be nervous…. We’ve got your back always."

Chopper realises then he left his backpack with all his medical supplies back home. But Nami found them in the sleigh, which means Kureha must have put them there to help Chopper on his journey.

The supplies include a jar of what looks like golden balls. Chopper tells the crew that their purpose is a secret, but we're all friends here so I'll tell you exactly what they are.

These balls are actually Rumble Balls, small pills invented by Chopper to enhance his transformative powers. Their effect only lasts for three minutes, however, and eating too many too fast can transform Chopper into a huge monster.

As Kureha watches the Straw Hats sail away, she gets out a cannon that she can use to fulfil the dying wishes of Dr Hiruluk. He found a way to "cure this country, but never got to do it himself…" says Kureha. "Let's find out if he was right."

The sky lights up then, not with explosions, but with a pink, snow-like substance.

"It looks like cherry blossoms," says Chopper, watching from the ship.

The deceased doctor's words return in voiceover then, reminding us that "Once people lose hope, they turn to fear." He believed that looking at cherry blossoms like this can give the islanders hope again and turn the tide against fascist forces.

Chopper cries again, because of course he does. But Zoro puts him on his shoulder and the gang watch this beauty unfold together. The island looks like one giant cherry blossom tree now, which is exactly why Drum Island will likely be renamed Sakura Island from now on, just like it is in the source material.

"If a man can bring cherry blossoms to this frozen land, maybe a reindeer can be a pirate," says Dalton. Kureha agrees, suggesting that Chopper's new friends are very special. "Perhaps [Luffy] will be the one who will find the One Piece."

"He does share certain traits with Gol D Roger…" You know, the Pirate King Luffy has always admired and aspired to be

Back on the ship, everyone parties to celebrate Chopper joining their crew. But one person doesn't look so merry.

"I’m gonna miss this, says Vivi, assuming that they will all go their separate ways once she's returned to her kingdom.

That is the plan, agrees Luffy, but not until they defeat the Baroque Works and help Vivi save Arabasta.

"You’re one of us too," says Zoro. "And friends help each other."

"I never should have doubted it," replies Vivi. "I appreciate you all."

But with this development, Vivi realises that she must tell the gang what she learned about the Baroque Works when she worked with them undercover.

We then cut to marine captain Smoker who talks of a secret that "could rock the foundations of everything…" And it seems all eyes are pointing to Vivi's kingdom, Arabasta.

In one final scene, Miss All Sunday convenes with her boss at Baroque Works to tell him that Wapo failed. Mr 0 isn't fazed by this though, because Wapo's royal treasury will "help with our cause."

"Don't you mean your cause?" replies Miss All Sunday.

"What’s good for me is good for you," he replies rather vaguely. "For all of us, Nico Robin."

"I’ve told you not to call me by that name," says Miss All Sunday, aka, Nico Robin.

Mr 0 doesn't care. Instead, he talks of plans to commence Operation Utopia, which will lead to the fall of Arabasta and take him "one step closer to obtaining the One Piece".

We zoom out then to see that his lair is underwater and a huge crocodile-like creature is swimming outside.

So who is Nico Robin? Who is Mr 0? And why should we care about Operation Utopia?

Without spoiling too much, Robin is so much more than just another assassin with freaky powers. She's actually the only survivor of the island Ohara, which means she's the only person left who can read ancient stones called Poneglyphs which contain secrets deemed threatening by the World Government. Expect to see a whole lot more of Robin in season 3, not to mention a few twists and turns when it comes to her relationship with the Straw Hats.

And what of Mr 0? The Warlord actually goes by the name Crocodile, using his intellect and cunning to trick Arabasta and the marines into thinking he's on their side. In reality, he's been secretly using Baroque Works to weaken Arabasta for eventual conquest, betraying the World Government while he's at it.

It's clear that Crocodile will play a much bigger role in season 3, and that should come as a huge worry to the Straw Hat gang. Using his ability to become sand, Crocodile is easily one of the most dangerous foes the crew have ever faced. In fact, he's the first to ever defeat Luffy in combat, at least if the source material is anything to go by.

The plan Crocodile mentioned, Operation Utopia, aims to take out King Nefertari Cobra so the throne of Arabasta will be his. This is all in aid of finding an ancient weapon named Pluton which is supposedly hidden somewhere in the kingdom. Using this, Crocodile will be able to create his own "utopia" which can compete with the World Government. But only if the Straw Hat crew can't stop him first.

Let's just say it's no stretch to imagine a world where Luffy manages to do exactly that, but at what cost? I guess we'll find out when season 3 finally sails into view on Netflix in the next year or two.

One Piece is available to stream on Netflix.

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