Baahubali: The Beginning ends with . . . well, not a cliffhanger, per se. An unanswered question. Why would Kattapa kill Baahubali? Why would a devoted servant, who has dedicated his entire life to fulfilling his ancestors' vow to serve the royal family at all costs and obey every order despite his own conscience and feelings kill Baahubali? It's not actually a very hard question, but Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017) still answers the heck out of it.
We begin where the last movie left off, with an extended flashback narrated by Kattapa. Bercause of his brave deeds in battle, and specifically because of the care he showed for his subjects, Baahubali has been named as the future king of Mahishmati. The people are thrilled, but Baahubali's adopted brother Bhallaledeva and adopted father Bijjaladeva are less enthusiastic. Before they can begin any proper evil scheming, though, Baahubali and Kattapa leave to tour the kingdom and learn about what the people want and need.
And it's while on this tour that Baahubali meets actual warrior princess Devasena and falls in love. He decides to pretend to be an unemployed simpleton in need of work rather than reveal his true royal identity and woo Devasena on equal terms, because shut up, that's why. (Kattapa actually asks him why he's doing this, and Baahubali replies with a weird speech about how Kattapa doesn't understand love. Neither do I, I guess.)
The deception gives Bhallaladeva his opportunity, though. Upon hearing that his brother is wooing the princess in disguise, he goes to his mother Sivagami and asks for the princess openly. Sivagami sends Devasena a condescending letter congratulating her on the match while not specifying which prince she is to be engaged to, and Devasena sends back an insulting reply, prompting Sivagami to demand that Baahubali take the princess captive, since he's in the neighborhood and all. When he receives the message, Baahubali has just defeated a horde of bandits and revealed his true identity, so Devasena is willing to play along after he swears to protect her honor and dignity.
And that's where things start to get complicated. Baahubali is forced to choose between his love and the throne, and he chooses love. Worse, he also tells Sivagami that she is wrong. Bhalla takes the throne, but the people continue to love Baahubali more. Bhalla removes baahubali from his position as commander-in-chief, but the people continue to love Baahubali more. Baahubali is exiled from the palace (the new commander-in-chief was using his position to grope women at the palace gates, including Devasena, so she severed his fingers and when confronted Baahubali decapitated him) and the people rejoice, because that means Baahubali will be living among them.
Clearly, the situation requires advanced evil scheming, so Bhalla fakes an assassination plot against himself, driving Sivagami to give Kattapa the fateful order, and the question is finally answered. Baahubali is betrayed, Sivagami is killed just after declaring that Baahubali's son will be the next king, and Devasena is chained up in the courtyard and busies herself building Bhalla's funeral pyre.
And after hearing all this, Baahubali's son Shiva raises an army to take the throne and avenge his parents, because really, what choice does he have?
Like the previous film, Baahubali 2 draws heavily from the Hindu epic tradition, and in particular the Mahabharata. Things are obviously much more black and white in the movies, of course. For instance, Bhallaladeva's epic counterpart Duryodhan is an excellent king, while Bhallaladeva is not.
Still, both stories rely on everybody making ill-conceived declarations and stupid vows when they don't have all the facts. That's Baahubali's secret super power - he recognizes that while keeping your word is important, it is a warrior's duty to stand up for justice. Unfortunately, he's caught between people who can't get past their own personal honor and people with no honor who are willing to exploit the honor of others.
Of course, the movie isn't just a demonstration of Krishna's advice to Arjun, there's also the spectacle to consider. The first Baahubali movie was big, and the conclusion is bigger. Bigger fights, more ridiculous battle tactics, a bigger romance, and not one but two shouty queens. Baahubali 2 doesn't just go over the top, it sails over it in a flying ship which might be real and might just be the backdrop to a particularly good dance number. It's epic in more ways than one.
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