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Shadow and Bone: What could be in store for Season 2 of the Netflix show?
The first season of Shadow and Bone, the Netflix show based on the books by Leigh Bardugo, has finally dropped, introducing viewers to the Grishaverse and the characters found within.
Those who've read the books know that much of the show followed what took place in those pages, although there were some significant changes. As we look forward to a potential second season, however, it's clear that the series is teeing up some of the events that take place in Six of Crows as well as the second book in the Shadow and Bone trilogy, Siege and Storm.
What are some characters and/or events from the books we think might show up in Season 2 of the show? Read on to see what may be in store as we await news of a possible second season.
**Warning! MAJOR spoilers for the books and, as such, potentially for future seasons of Shadow and Bone!**
CHASING THE SEA WHIP
The stag isn't the only amplifier out there that can give a Grisha a power boost. Early on in Siege and Storm, Alina (Jessie Mei Li) and Mal (Archie Reneaux) get re-captured by The Darkling (Ben Barnes) and are forced to hunt down the mythical sea whip, a sea monster that happens to be another amplifier. Alina ultimately kills it, however, and gets another amplifier in the form of a bracelet (or fetter, as she calls it) around her wrist.
THE DARKLING (AND PROBABLY ALINA) WILL GET SOME NEW POWERS
We know that The Darkling is still alive at the end of Season 1, and that he can conjure up vicious shadow creatures called nichevo'ya (we saw a glimpse of them at the very end of Season 1 when The Darkling comes out of The Fold). Those creatures play a pretty big role in Siege and Storm — one bites Alina when the Darkling captures them, for example, and creates a magical connection between the two of them.
Alina might also get some extra powers beyond the additional amplifier. In the first book, Shadow and Bone, she — like The Darkling — also learns to do The Cut, the ability to basically cut anything in half using the power of light or darkness. Alina never learned this in Season 1 of the show, but it seems likely she'll eventually pick up that skill if/when the series continues.
WE MEET NEW CHARACTERS
In Siege and Storm, Alina and Mal ultimately team up with Nikolai Lantsov, the charismatic second son of the King and Queen of Ravka. Nikolai is a fan favorite of those who have read the books (he even has his own duology, King of Scars and Rule of Wolves) and has spent most of his time working incognito as a privateer before running into Alina and Mal. In the second book, he ultimately rescues the two from The Darkling and takes them across The Fold to the Little Palace in a steampunk-like flying ship (something that many fans would be very excited to see on screen).
In the show, the Apparat (Kevin Eldon) is left in power once the King and Queen fall ill (aka are poisoned). In the books, however, it is Vasily — the sniveling first son — who is left in charge. We see Vasily briefly in the first season, so it's possible that he'll play a larger role as the show progresses.
A character we'll definitely see in a second season — as showrunner Eric Heisserer has already teased — is Wylan Van Eck, the one missing member of the Crows. In the books, Wylan is a demolitions expert who also happens to be the son of a rich Kerch merchant. He's also a love interest for Jesper (Kit Young), which many book fans can't wait to see on-screen.
THE CROWS WILL HAVE MORE HEISTS
The Crows in Season 2 will likely be getting into all sorts of trouble when they get back to Ketterdam. One plotline from the book Six of Crows we didn't see in the first season was breaking Matthias (Calahan Skogman) out of jail. The show sets up that caper at the end of Season 1, as well as the likelihood that Nina (Danielle Galligan) will become one of Kaz Brekker's (Freddy Carter) crew.
The odds are especially good that Season 2 will cover the Crows breaking Matthias out of jail because they need him for a big heist in Fjerda. What's that heist all about? In the Six of Crows book, the crew plans to kidnap a Shu scientist from the Fjerdan Ice Court. Some of the elements from this heist were in Season 1 when Kaz, Inej (Amita Suman), and Jesper try to kidnap Alina, but there's a lot more to the Ice Court heist than just the attempted rescue/kidnapping.
THE DRUG, JURDA PAREM, WILL LIKELY COME INTO PLAY
The impetus behind the Ice Court heist involves Jurda parem, a drug that gives Grisha a huge power boost but is also extremely addictive. A Shu scientist has developed the drug, and the Fjerdans have kidnapped him and plan to use his formula to continue their horrific testing on Grisha. The Crows — which include Nina, Matthias, and Wylan in the book — agree to kidnap the Shu scientist for a large sum of money. Not surprisingly, the impact of the creation of Jurda parem goes beyond the Crows' heist — the power struggle to make and control it has geopolitical ramifications as well.
This is all speculation, of course — we don't know yet if Netflix will greenlight a second season of Shadow and Bone, much less what will be in it. But given the popularity of the first season and the similarities between the adaptation and the books, we'd bet a million kruge that at least one of these elements will be found in Season 2. What lies ahead for Alina and the rest of the Shadow and Bone cast members, however, remains a mystery, at least for now.
In the meantime, we can all (re)watch the first season of Shadow and Bone on Netflix.
