The name Monkey D. Luffy might not immediately strike fear into the hearts of adversaries (maybe rubber limbs don’t either), but over the course of ONE PIECE Season 1’s eight episodes, the young pirate (Iñaki Godoy) proves his enemies wrong and shows them that his crew isn’t just about monkey business.

In the live-action adaptation of Eiichiro Oda’s bestselling manga series, Luffy is determined to become King of the Pirates and find the mysterious One Piece treasure. The prized possession once belonged to infamous pirate Gold Roger (Michael Dorman), and Luffy must navigate dangerous seas and some unsavory characters on his quest to find it.

Before setting sail, Luffy assembles his own crew of pirates, including swordsman Roronoa Zoro (Mackenyu), cartographer Nami (Emily Rudd), storyteller Usopp (Jacob Romero), and chef Sanji (Taz Skylar). Calling themselves the Straw Hats, the crew of misfits comes face-to-face with all sorts of villains — from evil clowns to an army of Marines. Each rival proves to be more dangerous than the last, but the Straw Hats’ final encounter with the Arlong Pirates — a group of fish men who’ve taken over Coco Village — is the saltiest of them all. So, by the season’s end, does Luffy take down these frightening guppies and achieve his dream of becoming King of the Pirates? Let’s dive right into the action and break down the ONE PIECE finale.

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Why does Nami double-cross the Straw Hats?

In Episode 6, Nami blindsides the Straw Hats by stealing the Grand Line map and giving it to the Arlong Pirates. We find out the navigator has been working for the fish men this entire time. Despite the betrayal, Luffy won’t give up on Nami, and the crew travels to Arlong Park to get her back. When they arrive, they meet her sister, Nojiko (Chioma Umeala), who tells them that Arlong (McKinley Belcher III) murdered their mother when they were young. With their childhood home of Coco Village under Arlong’s rule, Nami agreed to work for him to buy her village back. 

“All she wants is to adventure and explore,” Rudd told Netflix during production last summer. “And she’s not able to do that because Arlong is holding her town and many other towns hostage, and her ultimate plan is to get enough money to buy back her village from Arlong.”

The plan seems to be working because Nami’s saved up a hundred million Berry over the years and keeps the precious cargo hidden in the ground. However, Arlong betrays Nami in Episode 7 and sends Captain Nezumi (Rory Acton Burnell) to confiscate all of her earnings. Realizing that she’s been played by Arlong all these years, Nami finally rejoins the Straw Hats to take down the Arlong Pirates and save her village in the finale. 

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Does Luffy defeat Arlong?

The secret to defeating an army of fish isn’t frying them — it’s the Gum-Gum fruit. Everything comes to a halt at Arlong Park when Luffy and Arlong face off one last time. The rest of the Straw Hats anxiously wait outside the building as the two pirate captains battle it out on the top floor. Luffy uses his special acrobatic skills to punch Arlong into a brick wall, which has already begun crumbling around them from the fighting. “No puny human can bring down Arlong Park!” yells the fish captain.

It’s too late. With one final kick, Luffy’s stretchy leg busts through the roof and kicks Arlong through several stories of the building. As the Straw Hats watch Arlong Park disintegrate, they fear that Luffy might be dead as well. All of a sudden, a fist bursts through the rubble and out jumps the young pirate — alive and in one piece!

What happens between Luffy and Vice Admiral Garp?

The battle against the Arlong Pirates is finally over, but the fight’s not done yet. After a short-lived celebration in Coco Village, Vice Admiral Garp (Vincent Regan) — Luffy’s estranged grandfather — arrives with the Marines to arrest the Straw Hats. As the Marines point their guns at the young pirates, Garp takes matters into his own hands. “I gave you every opportunity to follow my path to become a respected Marine,” he tells his grandson. “But instead, you chose to become a pirate.” Luffy doesn’t back down and says that he’s always been a pirate. 

Although Luffy doesn’t want to fight his grandfather, he has no choice. The pirate and admiral swing several powerful punches at each other, but Luffy can’t catch a break. He might have defeated Arlong with his rubber limbs, but even that can’t save him against Garp. The admiral holds his grandson up in the air with both fists, and it looks like he’s really going to finish Luffy for good… but at the last minute, Garps stops. It turns out he’s been testing Luffy this entire time to see if he’s really cut out for the pirate life. He spares Luffy and the Straw Hats and orders the Marines to retreat. “You’re on your own now,” he tells Luffy, finally giving his grandson his blessing.

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Where are the Straw Hats headed next?

It’s the morning after the Arlong defeat, and Koby (Morgan Davies) comes to pay Luffy one last visit. In Episode 1, the young boys quickly strike up a friendship after Luffy saves Koby from Alvida (Ilia Isorelýs Paulino), but their paths diverge when Koby enters the Marines. “I’m not here as a Marine, Luffy. I’m here as your friend,” he says. He hands the pirate a parting gift: a wanted poster with Luffy’s face on it. There’s a 30 million-berry bounty on his head, making it the highest bounty in the East Blue. Not bad for a young pirate! Luffy’s never been happier and screams with joy.

After saying goodbye to Koby, he shows the rest of the Straw Hats the poster. While some share his excitement, others are worried. “With that price on your head, every bounty hunter in the East Blue will be gunning for you,” warns Zoro. “Not just Luffy. They’re going to be gunning for all of us,” Nami adds. As the East Blue’s most-wanted criminals, the Straw Hats set their sights on new territory. It’s time to head to the Grand Line to continue their search for the One Piece. “To me, what it means to be a Straw Hat is to chase after your dreams and stand up for what you think is right, even when it scares you,” said Romero during production last summer.

Luffy’s poster circulates across the East Blue, with allies like Kaya (Celeste Loots) and Chef Zeff (Craig Fairbrass) looking on proudly. Meanwhile, villains Buggy (Jeff Ward) and Alvida team up and promise to take down the young pirate.

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Do Shanks and Luffy reunite?

Early on in the season, we meet Shanks (Peter Gadiot), captain of the Red-Hair Pirates. He inspires a young Luffy to follow in his pirating footsteps, but Shanks won’t let him join the crew because he’s just a kid. Although Luffy doesn’t make the cut, Shanks gifts him his most prized possession: a straw hat. As Luffy grows up and wears the headpiece everywhere he goes, he’s determined to prove Shanks wrong. “[Luffy] made a promise to Shanks that he would be a great pirate and find the One Piece,” Godoy told Netflix on set last year. “So he will make that promise come true, and he will have fun while doing so.”

Although the mentor and mentee don’t reunite, we do see Shanks again at the end of Episode 8. Luffy’s wanted poster makes its way to the Red-Hair Pirates, and Shanks has never been prouder. “Luffy! He really did it,” the captain shouts with glee.

Who set Luffy’s wanted poster on fire?

With the Straw Hats eagerly sailing off to the Grand Line, someone else is determined to get their hands on Luffy. In the final scene, a mysterious figure with white hair, brown gloves, and two cigars in hand is sitting in a dark and smoky room. They look down at Luffy’s wanted poster and burn it with their cigar. Although we never see their face, something tells us they’re not a fan of the Straw Hats.

Does Luffy become King of the Pirates at the end of ONE PIECE Season 1?

No, but he intends to make it happen. In the episode’s closing moments, the Straw Hats gather around a barrel for a cast-off ceremony in which they share their big dreams before sailing into the Grand Line. Sanji declares that he will find the All Blue, Luffy vows to be King of the Pirates, Zoro is determined to be the world’s greatest swordsman, Nami resolves to draw a map of the world, and Usopp pledges to be a great warrior of the sea. 

ONE PIECE is a live-action pirate adventure created in partnership with Shueisha and produced by Tomorrow Studios and Netflix. Matt Owens and Steven Maeda are writers, executive producers, and showrunners for Season 1. Eiichiro Oda, Marty Adelstein, and Becky Clements also executive produce.

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Stream ONE PIECE on Netflix.