Netflix's One Piece Season 2 Secretly Introduces A Future Member Of The Straw Hat Pirates

"One Piece" is now the best-selling comic series of all time, tied with "Superman," and for good reason. One of Eiichiro Oda's greatest strengths is writing characters that are archetypal on the surface (the funny one, the coward, the broody one), yet have enough nuance, depth, and development to feel like real people. Every member of the Straw Hat Pirates is fun to see, has a tragic backstory, and is essential to the story. Together, they are what make "One Piece" an epic journey worth embarking on.

The problem is that, as important as these characters are, most of them aren't introduced until much later in the story. Of the 10 members of the crew, one doesn't show up until episode 337, and one doesn't join the crew until episode 981. Thankfully, Netflix's live-action adaptation doesn't have those issues.

This show has taken a different approach when it comes to the timeline of "One Piece. "It brings in several characters and moments that are revealed much later, but alluded to have happened near the start of the story. That means introducing characters that won't play a big part in the story for several hundred episodes. For example, "One Piece" season 2 proves a popular fan theory in episode 1 by showing a character earlier than in the manga.

But that's nothing compared to the big debut of a future member of the Straw Hat Pirates. Episode 2 shows a brief flashback to when the giant whale Laboon was, but a baby who loved listening to some pirates play him music. Among them is a tall man with an afro and a fantastic voice. The show doesn't pay much attention to him, but longtime fans know him as the future musician of the Straw Hat Pirates, Brook.

Huge spoilers for the anime ahead.

Martial Batchamen plays Brook, the joyful violin player with a signature "Yo, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho!" laugh. Like the rest of the Rumbar Pirates, he loves music, and he loves the baby whale Laboon. One of the most emotionally devastating scenes in a season full of them comes later in the episode when Brook says goodbye to Laboon and promises they'll reunite in just a couple of years.

Of course, that didn't happen. In the anime and manga, the Rumbar Pirates faced tragedy after tragedy once they reached the Grand Line. Their captain gets sick and has to quit their journey earlier than planned. Later, enemy pirates shoot the entire crew with deadly, poisonous weapons. Their reunion with the sweet, adorable whale never came to be. In one of the best episodes of "One Piece," and one of the most memorable and heartbreaking scenes in the entire anime, Brook and his crew decide to go out singing. They take out their instruments and perform one last joyful rendition of "Bink's Brew," the song they used to sing to Laboon. Granted, because Brook had eaten the revive-revive fruit, he came back to life after his death, becoming a skeleton.

Brook becomes a member of the Straw Hat Pirates at the end of the Thriller Bark arc. He is convinced by Luffy to accompany them, as Luffy promises the musician will get to meet Laboon again. Sure, they haven't yet, but at least Brook has become a world-renowned musician named Soul King, so that's something!

Now, the inclusion of Brook in the episode is a fantastic decision. The anime and manga include a brief flashback to a nondescript pirate crew that Laboon hung out with, which he abandoned because it was dangerous for him to go with them. It is only much later that we discover the connection between Brook and Laboon, making the already-tragic story of Laboon even more heartbreaking in hindsight.

To properly show the Rumbar Pirates and already establish the connection between the violin-playing Brook and the baby whale makes their relationship better. For one, it establishes that the bond between the crew and the whale was a real one. He isn't just a puppy abandoned by any family, but a beloved companion who was left behind for his own good — despite everyone being against it. It also gives Laboon a bit of a personality by showing him as a big music lover in the episode, all while continuing to show the importance of "Bink's Brew" as a popular pirate song Luffy (Iñaki Godoy) recognizes because he used to hear Shanks (Peter Gadiot) and his crew sing it.

Before you accuse the show of spoiling the anime or manga, stop. If you're not familiar with the source material, you have no idea who Brook is. The show doesn't pay particularly strong attention to him or make a big deal of his appearance. He's just one of the pirates who sings to the whale. Instead, this is the best kind of fan service. It's a choice that doesn't distract or take away from the viewing experience if you don't recognize it, but for longtime fans, it is an absolute treat.