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Shadow and Bone adapts the popular book series, but also weaves in a handful of characters from an entirely different series set in the same world.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Season 1 of Shadow and Bone, as well as the book Six of Crows.
Netflix’s Shadow and Bone is obviously based on the book of the same name, but it’s a bit more complicated an adaptation than that. The series also incorporates characters and story elements from Six of Crows, another book written by Leigh Bardugo. Both books are part of the “Grishaverse,” a larger setting created by Bardugo. Six of Crows is set two years after the events of Shadow and Bone, but the television adaptation takes the book’s gang of scrappy thieves and weaves them into the plot. This primarily includes the Crows Kaz, Inej and Jesper, but also the Grisha Nina Zenik and Drüskelle Matthias Helvar.
In Six of Crows Kaz, Inej and Jesper are tasked with the retrieval of a Shu Han scientist who’s discovered the secret of a chemical compound called jurda parem. The stimulant allows Grisha to overcome mental barriers of perception, resulting in strange and unusual powers. Shadow and Bone keeps the general premise of the trio being tasked with a retrieval, but instead sends them on a quest to kidnap Alina Starkov. Nina and Matthias join their fellowship on a quest to the Fjerdan Ice Court, but are put to a different purpose in Shadow and Bone, acting out a backstory only hinted at in Six of Crows.
Let’s break down each character’s storyline in book and film, keeping an eye on all of the changes made in the adaptation process.
Kaz Brekker
Kaz is the “Bastard of the Barrel,” although the book more commonly uses the nickname of “Dirtyhands.” Either way, he’s defined by his greed and ruthlessness. His original backstory has him obsessed with getting revenge on Pekka Rollins, while the show consigns Rollins to the role of a minor antagonist. He maintains a sharp distaste for Ketterdam’s merchant class in either case, although his avarice still compels him to accept a job from one. But there’s a big differences in the figures presented — he and the rest of the Crows are offered $4 million apiece in the book, while he accepts the job to capture Alina for only one million. The change of mission also results in different character growth for him, since Alina’s saintly nature results in a conflict between him and Inej over whether or not her magic is truly divine.
Inej Ghafa
Inej is referred to in the book as the “Wraith,” a nickname the show mostly omits. But either way her backstory is the same. She became an indenture through unclear circumstances and ended up in Ketterdam’s Menagerie. She served as a prostitute at the brothel until her contract was bought out by Kaz, who made use of her skills as an acrobat to gather secrets and serve as an enforcer. She accompanies Kaz on his job in both versions, although her piety is more relevant in the show since they’re on a quest to kidnap a literal saint. She doesn’t know Alina personally in the book, although she has heard of her (as evidenced by one of her knives, which is named after the Sun Summoner).
Jesper Fahey
Jesper changes the least in the process of adaptation, although the show has only made its way part of the way through his character arc. He’s a Zemeni sharpshooter in either case, with a gambling problem and an impulsive nature. But the show only hinted at his greatest secret, which the Heartrender Ivan discovered in his fight with Jesper before being knocked out. He’s a Fabrikator Grisha in the books, an ability he constantly ignores and suppresses through his foolhardy nature. But it’s entirely possible the show will change Jesper’s nature. He’s likely still a Grisha, but he could have any number of possible power sets.
Nina & Matthias
Nina and Matthias see the biggest change from the book to the show, since Shadow and Bone chooses to start with their backstory, which is only told through flashbacks and exposition in the books. Nina was originally a Heartrender Grisha working under the Second Army, but was kidnapped by Matthias and his Drüskelle companions so that she could be brought to stand “trial” before the Ice Court of the Fjerdans. A shipwreck left the two stranded and freezing, only kept alive by Nina’s Heartrender ability to warm blood. They then developed an unlikely rapport, ending in tragedy when Nina accused Matthias of being a slaver to stop him from being executed by her Grisha comrades. The book starts with Matthias in prison, while Shadow and Bone‘s first season ends with him en route to his imprisonment. This leaves a promising plot hook for the show’s second season, which could see the Crows break Matthias out of jail for help with their next scheme.
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