Во втором эпизоде сюжет стал сложнее, а героиня — смелее.

In the second episode the plot became more complex, and the heroine became braver.

Breakdown of Во втором эпизоде сюжет стал сложнее, а героиня — смелее.

• стать: to become
• второй: second
• а: but
• во: in
• эпизод: the episode
• сюжет: the plot
• сложнее: more complex
• героиня: the heroine
• смелее: braver

Questions & Answers about Во втором эпизоде сюжет стал сложнее, а героиня — смелее.

Why is it во втором and not в втором?

Russian uses во (instead of в) before some words for easier pronunciation (euphony), especially:

• before words starting with вт-, вд-, вс-, фт- etc.
• in several very common fixed combinations.

Saying в втором is awkward to pronounce, so it becomes во втором. The same happens in:

• во вторник (on Tuesday)
• во время (during)
• во Франции (in France)
• во дворе (in the yard)

So во втором is the normal, almost obligatory form here; в втором sounds wrong.

Why does эпизоде end in -е instead of just эпизод?

Эпизоде is in the prepositional case (also called locative), because of the preposition во and the meaning in the second episode.

Pattern:

• nominative: эпизод
• prepositional (after в / во with location or time): в эпизоде

This follows the regular pattern for many masculine nouns ending in a consonant:

• дом → в доме
• город → в городе
• эпизод → в эпизоде

So во втором эпизоде literally means in the second episode.

What case is во втором эпизоде, and what is its function in the sentence?

Во втором эпизоде is a prepositional-case phrase used as an adverbial modifier of time/setting. It answers when/where?:

• Во втором эпизоде (when/where?) сюжет стал сложнее…

It sets the scene: it is in the second episode that these changes happen. Russian often places such time/setting phrases at the beginning of the sentence to establish context.

Why do we use стал here? Could we just say the plot is more complex?

The verb стать means to become and expresses a change of state.

• сюжет стал сложнее = the plot became more complex / got more complex

If you said:

• сюжет сложнее (without стал) – that would simply describe a state (the plot is more complex), without clearly expressing the idea of getting more complex.
• сюжет был сложнее – the plot was more complex (in the past), but this does not highlight the process of change; it just states a past fact.

By using стал, the sentence focuses on the development: by the second episode, something has changed compared to before.

What exactly are сложнее and смелее grammatically?

Сложнее and смелее are comparative forms of adjectives:

• сложный → сложнее (complex → more complex)
• смелый → смелее (brave → braver / more brave)

These are synthetic comparatives (single words), very common in Russian. They:

• do not change for gender, number, or case
• are often used as predicates after verbs like быть, стать, становиться:
  • сюжет стал сложнее
  • героиня стала смелее

You can also use an analytic form with более:

• стал более сложным
• стала более смелой

Both choices are correct here; сложнее / смелее is just shorter and very natural.

Than what? What is сложнее and смелее being compared to?

Russian often leaves the comparison target implicit when it is obvious from context.

In this sentence, the implied meaning is:

• сложнее (чем в первом эпизоде / чем раньше)
• смелее (чем в первом эпизоде / чем раньше)

So a fuller version could be:

• Во втором эпизоде сюжет стал сложнее, чем в первом, а героиня — смелее, чем раньше.

Because the context (first vs second episode) is clear, native speakers feel no need to say чем… explicitly.

Why is the conjunction а used here instead of и?

Both а and и can be translated as and, but they are used differently:

• и simply adds another similar item: A and B.
• а often shows contrast or opposition between two things: A, while B / A, but B.

In сюжет стал сложнее, а героиня — смелее:

• а highlights that we are talking about two different elements of the show changing in different ways:
  • the plot changed in one way (more complex),
  • the heroine changed in another (braver).

И would be grammatically possible, but а sounds more natural and expressive here because it subtly contrasts сюжет and героиня.

What is the purpose of the long dash before смелее? Is a word missing?

Yes, a verb is omitted. The full form would be:

• …сюжет стал сложнее, а героиня стала смелее.

To avoid repeating стала, Russian often:

1. omits the repeated verb in the second clause, and
2. puts a long dash — between the subject and the remaining part:

• сюжет стал сложнее, а героиня — смелее.

So the dash marks an elliptical (incomplete) clause where the verb is understood from context. This is very common and stylistically normal in Russian.

Is the word order fixed, or could we move parts of the sentence around?

Russian word order is relatively flexible. The original:

• Во втором эпизоде сюжет стал сложнее, а героиня — смелее.

Some possible variants (all grammatical, with slightly different emphasis):

• Сюжет во втором эпизоде стал сложнее, а героиня — смелее.
  – Keeps the focus on the plot first, then the heroine.

• Сюжет стал сложнее во втором эпизоде, а героиня — смелее.
  – Puts a bit more emphasis on when the plot became more complex.

• Во втором эпизоде героиня стала смелее, а сюжет — сложнее.
  – Starts by highlighting the heroine, then the plot.

The original word order is very natural: во втором эпизоде sets context, then the changes are described.

How should I pronounce this sentence? Where is the stress?

Stresses (stressed vowel in capitals):

• во вторОм
• эпизОде
• сюжЕт
• стал
• сложнЕе
• а
• героИня
• смелЕе

Notes:

• эпизОде – the stress stays on о, just like in эпизОд.
• In сложнЕе, смелЕе, stress is on -ее, and -ее is pronounced as -йе-е (two vowel sounds, not just one).
• героИня has stress on и, not on the first е.

Saying it smoothly with a slight pause at the dash will make it sound natural: Во втором эпизОде сюжЕт стал сложнЕе, а героИня — смелЕе.