The second season of Netflix’s young adult fantasy show,Shadow and Bonehas been released. It continues the journey of Alina (Jessie Mei Li), the Darkling (Ben Barnes), as well as The Crows. Faithfully adapting the novels by Leigh Bardugo, the series brought some exciting new elements from the pages to the screen. Longtime fans and new ones alike have much to be excited about in the continuation of this tale as the series dives deeper into politics, brings fan-favorite characters to life, and expands on itselaborate world-building.
This is not a usual adaptation, as two novels were used in the first and second seasons — at the same time. The show is named after the trilogyShadow and Bone,but also features characters and storylines fromSix of Crows. This can be somewhat confusing to newcomers but extremely exciting to the book fans.
Here is how the world ofShadow and Boneworks and exactly how these characters and stories are intertwined.
The Grishaverse Books
Leigh Bardugo wrote 10 books that constitute the Grishaverse, a world quicklyinfluenced by tsarist Russia. It is a fantasy fictional world that has its own map and constitutes two main continents separated by The True Sea. Every country on the map is inspired by places and cities that indeed exist, such as the fictional Ketterdam and the real Amsterdam. They have their politics, cultures, and even different religions. How they interact with each other makes these differences clash, and these interactions are not always without war in mind.
The Grishaverse is named after the Grishas, people who can manipulate matter on a fundamental level. This is called Small Science; it is not magic, it follows the physical laws. Creating things that don’t exist is called Merzost — and it has great prices for those who attempt doing it, as seen in season two ofShadow and Bone. Therefore, while it appears that the Grishas are creating fire, water, wind, etc. out of nothing; in reality, they are manipulating the matter around them. In Ravka, Grishas are separated into three orders: Corporalki (The Order of The Living and The Dead), Etherealki (The Order of The Summoners), and Materialki (The Order of Fabrikators). They have different colored Kefta garments, used to identify which order they belong to.
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However, inside this universe, there are also some Grishas that can manipulate darkness and light – these are extremely rare. In a fit of anger, the Black Heretic (a powerful Grisha who could control darkness) created the Fold, also called The Unsea in the books. This tore the country Ravka in half. Inside the Fold, some creatures and monsters live — making it almost impossible to cross. Many fear the Grisha exactly because of the Fold and how much power they have when compared to normal people.
Shadow and Bone
Shadow and Boneis the first trilogy set in the Grishaverse. Sun Summoners, Grishas who are able to dominate light, were so rare that they were considered a myth. They would be the only ones capable of terminating the Fold and restoring the country. However, the idea of hope in this dark universe was simply impossible. That’s until Alina, an orphan cartographer, went inside the Fold and was under attack; her power showcased itself and saved her and the other people trying to cross the Fold, including her best friend Mal (Archie Renaux), from the monsters (called Vulcras) that were attacking.
Related:Shadow and Bone: How Season 1 Differs From the Books
Shadow and Bonefollow Alina in her journey as she learns to dominate her powers as well as who she can trust in the process; as she has more power than anyone has ever had, there are many people in power interested in taking advantage of her. Alina also has to deal with prejudice against being a Grisha, as many countries hate them and even hunt them down, in fear of their powers. This story impacts all the other books that come later, as it is a cataclysm for the whole continent – and even the countries that are on the other side of The True Sea.
Six of Crows
The group of outlaws that compose The Crows story is told in a duology:Six of CrowsandCrooked Kingdom. Set in the dangerous Ketterdam, a city on the island of Kerch where crime and pleasure walk hand in hand, this group of characters is a fan favorite. The duology is set chronologically after the end of theShadow and Bonetrilogy. However, for the sake of the narrative (and one of the best choices made in recent adaptations), the showrunner Eric Heisserer decided to bring this and theShadow and Bonestories together – and it was incredibly well done.
Apart from the geographical sense, The Crows know Alina and the Darkling because of all the repercussions of their actions and fights. Inej (Amita Suman), especially, is very emotionally connected to Alina, as she is considered a living Saint, and Inej is quite religious.
In the books,Six of Crows' characters didn’t meet most of the ones that appeared in theShadow and Bonetrilogy. There was an overlap with a few characters, briefly in the duology. Zoya (Sujaya Dasgupta) and some other characters appear in minor roles in the novelCrooked Kingdom. But, there is a hint of that happening in the literary world in the last published duology of the universeKing of Scars, which focuses on the King of Ravka: Nikolai Lantsov (Patrick Gibson). The last couple of pages talks about a possible new journey mixing these characters. The author has stated that she is not currently working on a new series for the universe – even though she has some new novels planned.
The second season ofShadow and Boneis doing quite well regarding the number of viewers. Fans will have to wait to know if the series will be renewed for a new season. There are also talks about a spin-off series about The Crows, which was received with much excitement. There are still many stories to tell in the Grishaverse filled with action, romance, and beloved characters.
