From entirely new plots to a big twist ending, Season 2 of Netflix’s Shadow and Bone takes great liberties with its source material: the Grishaverse novels by Leigh Bardugo. These liberties will come as no surprise to fans of Season 1, which combined the plots of Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone trilogy and her Six of Crows duology with several big changes of its own. Those Season 1 changes build on each other in Season 2, taking us in surprising directions that are reminiscent of Bardugo’s novels but remain very much their own entity.
As the season begins, we pick up with Sun Summoner Alina Starkov (Jessie Mei Li) and her best friend Mal Oretsev (Archie Renaux). They’re tracking the mythical creatures that will amplify Alina’s power so she can finally defeat General Kirigan (Ben Barnes) and destroy the Shadow Fold. Kirigan, otherwise known as the Darkling, has created an army of shadow monsters to do his bidding. Alina must make allies of her own to survive, like Prince (and privateer) Nikolai Lantsov (Patrick Gibson), and warrior twins Tolya and Tamar (Lewis Tan and Anna Leong Brophy).
Everything to know about ‘Shadow and Bone’ before it airs
Over in the city of Ketterdam, the Crows — Kaz Brekker (Freddy Carter), Inej Ghafa (Amita Suman), and Jesper Fahey (Kit Young) — find themselves in a war against notorious gang leader Pekka Rollins (Dean Lennox Kelly). With the help of Heartrender Nina Zenik (Danielle Galligan) and demolitions expert Wylan (Jack Wolfe), they might just have a chance to beat him at his own game.
That’s already a lot of ground to cover, and we haven’t even gotten to the heists, marriage proposals, and horrifying sacrifices we’ll experience before the season’s done. We’re going to dive into how each of these events and more differ from Bardugo’s books below, but beware: Spoiler warning is in full effect for the show, the Shadow and Bone trilogy, the Six of Crows duology, and even the following King of Scars trilogy. Without further ado, here are 10 major ways Shadow and Bone Season 2 is different from the Grishaverse novels.
1. Speedrunning Siege and Storm and Ruin and Rising
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Since Netflix’s Shadow and Bone adapts multiple series, I’ll tackle the changes between each individual series before looking at what happens when the show brings them together. First, up: the Shadow and Bone book trilogy.
Season 1 of Shadow and Bone only adapted the events of the first book in Bardugo’s trilogy. This season takes on the events of books two and three, Siege and Storm and Ruin and Rising. The two books do feature some similar plot points, such as an early imprisonment of Alina and ambushes by the Darkling. By melding the two books together and eliminating some of these redundancies, the second season of the show is able to keep a propulsive pace until the end.
On the Siege and Storm side of things, we immediately get off to a different start. In the show, Alina gains more agency by choosing to seek out the Sea Whip instead of getting kidnapped and being forced to do so on the Darkling’s behalf. Once she allies with the Nikolai, we spend most of the book in the capital of Os Alta, where they attempt to bring the First and Second Armies together — a fascinating look at the inner workings of Grisha that we sadly don’t get much of in the show. The novel concludes with the Darkling ambush on Os Alta, which the show moves to Nikolai’s Spinning Wheel fortress.
Many of the beats here are the same, except for the crucial “chapel scene”: In the book, Alina pretends to join the Darkling before taking control of the power they share through their bond. She creates nichevo’ya creatures of her own and nearly kills herself and the Darkling in the process, but her allies help her escape before she can finish the job. The show contains a stand-off between Alina and the Darkling in the Spinning Wheel, but there’s no such fight for power.
Ruin and Rising picks up with Alina and her friends hiding in the White Cathedral, part of a series of tunnels running under Ravka. They are essentially prisoners of the religious leader the Apparat (Kevin Eldon), who presents Alina as a saint. Weakened, Alina loses her powers underground. The show axes this entire arc, as well as much of the Apparat’s role. Gone are the many pilgrims who clamor for a glimpse of Alina and the Soldat Sol who promise to fight for her. The show does examine Alina’s saintliness through Inej, but without a larger gesture as to the religious impact of Alina’s arrival, we miss a lot of Alina’s inner turmoil over what it means to assume the role of a saint.
Much of the rest of Ruin and Rising, including Mal and Alina’s hunt for the Firebird and the final battle, changes as well. The show pairs Mal and Alina with Baghra (Zoë Wanamaker) as they search for the Firebird instead of Zoya (Sujaya Dasgupta), Genya (Daisy Head), and David (Luke Pasqualino). This way, Baghra is able to reveal that Mal is the third amplifier, a moment that hits harder in the show than in the books as it allows Mal to reckon with his ancestry and gives him the hard task of telling Alina the truth. Speaking of Mal, let’s talk about…
2. Alina’s multiple love interests
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Shadow and Bone continues to alter Mal somewhat from his book counterpart. He doesn’t start his Grisha fight club, he doesn’t get a tattoo proclaiming “I am become a blade,” and he doesn’t make out with Zoya right in front of Alina. Alina and Mal fight, just as they do in the books, but there’s never a truly massive separation. Nor is there too much jealousy or possessiveness on Mal’s part as Alina allies with Nikolai. In the show, he understands that it’s important the two of them present a united front, and he ends up much friendlier with Nikolai. Chalk this up as a win for Malina, because it only made me root for the two of them even harder.
Then, there’s the matter of Nikolai. Alina doesn’t appear to have feelings for him until potentially the end of season, when there are some charged glances between the two. However, in the books, Alina is much more confused about her relationship with him, especially given her relationship with Mal. The books also see her reject his marriage proposal, while she accepts it in the show in an attempt to consolidate power and present a better path forward for Grisha in Ravka. I respect the political gambit, and so, it seems, do both Nikolai and Mal.
But you can’t count out the dark(ling) horse: General Kirigan. The lovers-to-enemies chemistry remains strong, especially when Alina connects with the Darkling via the stag amplifier. There’s a lot less actual touching and romance between the two in the show than the books, except for one show-only scene that sees Alina attempt to trick him with seduction — again, giving her more agency and power in the relationship. Things might not go Darklina shippers’ way in the rest of the show, but it’s impossible to deny that the vibes of those scenes are immaculate.
3. More time with the Darkling
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The Shadow and Bone trilogy’s first-person narrative means that we only get Alina’s perspective. For much of Siege and Storm and Ruin and Rising, we have no idea what the Darkling is up to beyond the few glimpses of him Alina catches in her visions. The show gives us much more time with him, showing how he commands his own Grisha army and searches for ways to take back power.
In a fascinating turn of events, we also see him struggle more than we do in Bardugo’s novels. The creation of the nichevo’ya was an act of merzost: magical abomination. As such, it demands a steep price. Shadow and Bone depicts the toll this new power takes on the Darkling’s physical and mental health. Plus, it adds the new twist that he isn’t always in control of the nichevo’ya: For example, he is powerless to stop them as they kill Baghra. These extra details are essential bits of characterization, and they continue to render Kirigan a more sympathetic, understandable villain. He commits atrocities throughout the season, but in the scenes solely focused on him, we see the horrendous harm he is also wreaking on himself.
4. Nikolai’s connection to the Crows
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Moving into the Six of Crows side of things, let’s start with the biggest reveal of the first episode. Turns out that Nikolai (as Sturmhond) paid Kerch merchant Dreesen (Sean Gilder) to put together a crew to kidnap the Sun Summoner, kicking off the entire Season 1 Crow plotline from afar. While this obviously doesn’t happen in the novels, as that storyline was created for the show, it’s not too far-fetched given what happens in Bardugo’s world. Nikolai works with the Crows in both Crooked Kingdom and Rule of Wolves. The show is simply establishing that relationship much earlier and expanding on it.
5. It’s getting awfully crooked in this kingdom
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For the first half of Season 2, the Crows are fighting to regain their place in Ketterdam, since Pekka Rollins has taken over the old Crow Club and framed them for murder. Shadow and Bone Season 2 shows how Kaz takes over the Dregs gang and starts a new Crow Club, getting the gang in position for the status they have at the start of Six of Crows.
Although the show hasn’t covered the events of Six of Crows yet — including the all-important Ice Court heist — this season takes us through the events of some of its sequel, Crooked Kingdom. Large sections of Kaz’s retaliation against Pekka, including the fake plague used to shut down his gambling empire and his brutal threats towards his son, are drawn directly from Crooked Kingdom. Inej’s encounters with the frightening Taxidermist are reminiscent of her fights against trained assassin Dunyasha. Similarly, the scenes where Kaz attempts to bandage her and tells her to look for the Taxidermist’s weakness are lifted from the book.
Finally, Jesper and Wylan begin their romantic relationship this season, with the added twist that they’ve spent the night together a long time ago. This drastically escalates the timeline of their relationship, but since Kaz and Inej are still working through their trauma, and Matthias (Calahan Skogman) is still furious at Nina for landing him in jail, this is Shadow and Bone‘s way of giving fans one happy Six of Crows pairing early.
The Crooked Kingdom incorporation this early in the Crows’ storyline threw me for a major loop, as I was worried we wouldn’t have anywhere to go following the Ice Court heist. Now that Pekka Rollins is in jail, what comes next for our crew? Luckily, Rollins isn’t the only enemy the Crows face off against in Crooked Kingdom. They also have to contend with merchant Jan Van Eck, an adversary the show has yet to introduce. Since Shadow and Bone hasn’t touched that plotline at all, we’re still in for a lot of Crooked Kingdom material to come.
6. A heist in Shu Han
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Shadow and Bone once again reunites the Crows with Alina and friends, giving us a whole new plotline to enjoy. This time, the Crows journey to Shu Han along with Tolya and Zoya to find a legendary sword. Forged by Sankta Neyar, the sword Neshyenyer is said to be able to slice through even shadow, making it the perfect weapon to use against the nichevo’ya.
While the heist is a show-only creation, Sankta Neyar and Neshyenyer do have their roots in the Grishaverse, although they are somewhat deep cuts. They appear in Bargudo’s The Lives of Saints, a book chronicling the various Saints of the Grishaverse that Alina actually reads throughout the series.
7. A final showdown in the Fold
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With so many changes throughout the season, it only makes since that the end of Shadow and Bone Season 2 diverges greatly from the books. Let’s start by looking at the final battle between Alina and the Darkling. In Ruin and Rising, Alina, her Grisha army, and the Soldat Sol ambush the Darkling trying to cross the Fold. The show sees him expand the Fold to the Spinning Wheel, trapping all the major players in surprise darkness. Key parts of the battle remain the same: Alina sacrifices Mal and destroys the Fold, then kills a bereaved Darkling.
However, since the show doesn’t introduce the Soldat Sol, we lose the moment when Alina’s sacrifice gives them the power to summon the sun and help her tear down the Fold. Another big change: Alina doesn’t lose her summoning powers on the Fold, nor does she choose to fake her death and martyrdom as she does in the books. Instead, she is going to stick around as Nikolai’s betrothed and help guide Ravka into a new age. The change makes sense in the context of the show: Alina and Mal are phased out as major Grishaverse players once their trilogy is complete, but since they’re such key members of this TV ensemble, it’s only natural that they stick around.
8. Mal takes on the mantle of Sturmhond
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Alina brings Mal back to life without the help of any Heartrender Grisha (more on that later), after which the two have a very mature conversation about what comes next for them. They cherish their connection but wonder if they were only brought together because Mal was an amplifier and Alina was the Sun Summoner. In the book, Mal refuses this outright, but in the show, the two decide to go their separate ways and see if they find their way back to each other.
Alina’s path takes her to the court of Ravka, while Mal’s takes him to the sea. Nikolai lets Mal assume the title of Sturmhond and continue privateering in the prince’s name. This is a show-only development for Mal, but there is precedent for a non-Nikolai Sturmhond in the books. While Nikolai is at court, he passes the title to others, such as his first mate Privyet. Here, Shadow and Bone is allowing a principal character to fill that role.
9. RIP David
Master Fabrikator David dies in the Darkling’s attack on the Spinning Wheel (I’m holding out some hope for him given we don’t see a body, but his chances are slim). David does die in the books, but not until the latest book in the series, Rule of Wolves. Aside from being a tragic casualty and causing more grief to Genya, David’s death opens up a new opportunity for Alina’s role in court going forward.
After Alina fakes her death in Ruin and Rising, she establishes the Grisha Triumvirate: a team of three Grisha, one from each order, who lead the Second Army. In the books, those Grisha are Genya, representing the Corporalki; Zoya, representing the Etherealki; and David, representing the Materialki. In the show, Alina tells Zoya and Genya that the three of them can be their own Triumvirate, meaning she’ll take over from David’s spot in the books. The only problem? Alina is an Etherealki as well, meaning the Materialki have no representation in this new Triumvirate. Will this cause strife within the Grisha community? Or will the Materialki be happy to stay in their workshops?
10. Alina and Nikolai’s dark secrets
Shadow and Bone Season 2 ends with two major secrets coming to light. The first is Nikolai’s, whose encounter with a nichevo’ya has left him with a nasty wound that has yet to heal. Darkness is spreading from the wound, and when he looks in the mirror, he sees a nichevo’ya where his reflection should be. This transformation is roughly in keeping with the books, where a nichevo’ya and Darkling attack transforms Nikolai into a winged, volcra-like beast. Upon the Darkling’s defeat, he returns to his human form, but the scars of his trauma — and the occasional nighttime transformation — remain. With this quick mirror moment, it’s clear that Shadow and Bone is setting up Nikolai’s coming battle with his literal inner demon.
But if you thought Nikolai’s secret was wild, just wait until you see what’s happened to Alina. Remember, at this point in the books, she has lost her Grisha power and is off running an orphanage with Mal. Wherever we go next with Alina is new territory for her. And that territory becomes frighteningly clear in the show’s final scene, when a Fjerdan attack on Nikolai’s coronation (also a show-only scene) forces Alina to use the Cut. But instead of stopping the threat with light, she stops it with shadow.
That’s right: Alina now has the Darkling’s powers as well as Sun Summoning powers. There’s a precedent for this in the books. After the chapel scene where Alina draws on the Darkling’s power, she is able to control shadows. Not enough to summon the Cut, but just enough to make them dance on the wall. However, in the show, she gains access to Shadow Summoning in a different way. She used merzost to bring Mal back to life, and now she’s paying the price. That price may seem cool initially — more power is useful, right? — but based on the look on her face at the end, we may be seeing a darker side of Alina in the future. And that spells trouble for Ravka.
What comes next?
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Shadow and Bone Season 2 keeps book fans on their toes throughout. Often, we know where the story is headed, but we have no idea how we’ll get there. Those are my feelings going forward: I have an idea of what to expect based on Bardugo’s books, but the exact specifics of how we’ll arrive at those points is foggy.
The biggest clue dropped in the finale is the reveal of the drug jurda parem, which heightens a Grisha’s powers but also gets them badly addicted. Kaz reveals to his Crows that jurda parem is the key to their most lucrative job yet, which can only mean one thing: It’s Ice Court time! As we head into the events of Six of Crows, we’ll see our heroes venture deep into Fjerda. Good thing Nina knows a Fjerdan in prison who can help, right?
The Grisha who attacks Nikolai’s coronation is also clearly under the influence of jurda parem, meaning that this massacre is a direct act of aggression by Fjerda. This scene sets us up for King of Scars and Rule of Wolves, where Ravka and Fjerda go head-to-head in an all-out war. But once again, we now have Alina in the mix — and with her new powers, there’s no telling what she’ll do.
Shadow and Bone Season 2 is now streaming on Netflix.
