Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Shadow and Bone Season 2 as well as major spoilers for the Six of Crow duology.Shadow and Bone‘s choice to adapt author Leigh Bardugo’s original Grishaverse trilogy (Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm, and Ruin and Rising) while simultaneously including characters from the trilogy’s first spin-off, Six of Crows, was always going to be tricky. For one, the events of Shadow and Bone take place years before the Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom duology, and the main characters never meet. Including the Crows in Season 1 meant inventing new storylines and a plausible reason for their collision course with Alina Starkov (Jessie Mei Li). Many praised the integration, however, and highlighted the Crows — Kaz Brekker (Freddy Carter), Inej Ghafa (Amita Suman), and Jesper Fahey (Kit Young) — as the Netflix series’ strongest element by far.
Season 2 took a similar path. The Crows had bloody business to attend to back in Ketterdam, but they had to remain relevant to Alina’s mission and once again meet her at a pivotal moment. Sadly, as a result of balancing nonstop plotlines between an ever-expanding cast of individuals, the Crows character arcs’ flew by faster than a bullet train. Their narrative goals were muddled, and moments from the books were adapted out of chronological order, leading to a disjointed journey for all six members. Although showing the writers’ room grace is necessary for any adaptation, especially since Netflix instructed the creative team to include the Crows as often as possible in Season 2, it was hard for book fans not to feel dissatisfied for how our favorite mercenaries were sidelined despite the creative teams’ best efforts.
The Crows Are Strong Enough To Carry Their Own Series
The inherent problem is simple: the Crows deserved their own series from the start. Wanting to include some of the Grishaverse’s best characters right away is understandable, and if their appearance secures that rumored spin-off, praise the Saints. But the Crows were always strong enough to warrant a show dedicated solely to their exploits. I’ll never say a bad word about my beloved Alina (who faces harder choices and endures a darker journey in the books), but the Crows are a deliberately more complex lot. Gray morality is the way of Bardugo; she moved from a more traditional YA fantasy atmosphere to the grittier, grounded Charles Dickensian-city of Ketterdam for a reason. The Crows are a more insular tale about cleverness and healing from trauma, not saving the wider world.
A ‘Six of Crows’ Show Has To Take Its Time
So, would a spin-off fix the creative missteps of Season 2? Maybe. The odds, to quote another YA masterpiece, are in their favor. There’s plenty of material left to adapt despite Season 2 snatching pieces from the duology and combining them ala carte style — but let’s put a brief pin in that. Season 2’s biggest hurdle and primary element necessitating adjustment is its pacing. A Crows-centric show could let the characters, and events, breathe without the distractions of Alina and Company. The audience could experience a build-up, the execution, and the emotional and narrative aftermath; arguably the most important aspect of storytelling and something not afforded to most Shadow and Bone characters. Look at The Last of Us, which absolutely did not have filler episodes. Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann knew their tale needed to invest its hours into character development so the audience cared. Nothing was rushed, and nothing was wasted. Both seasons of Shadow and Bone felt breakneck for various reasons. A show devoted to the Crows only could nip that problem in the bud. The Ice Court heist and all its complexities could span 8-10 episodes without breaking a sweat.
A Crows-centric Series Would Let All the Characters Flourish
Moreover, this group’s individual intricacies and their six-way interactions deserve to flourish. To that point, the wealth of material available is the definition of an abundance of riches. Take Wylan (Jack Wolfe): his father, Jan Van Eck, plays a massive role in both Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom. Without diving too deeply into spoilers, Van Eck is the businessman who offers the Ice Court heist to the Crows. He abuses Wylan, lies to him about his mother, and tries to kill his son multiple times. Van Eck blames his loathing for his son on Wylan’s dyslexia, citing him as a worthless and shameful heir because he cannot read or write. Wylan deserves to take a front and center role in anything going forward.
In contrast, we have Jesper, who adores his father Colm and harbors extreme guilt over how his gambling debts put his family’s farm in danger. Colm thinks Jesper attends school in Ketterdam and has no idea of his criminal doings. Therefore, Jesper and Colm’s reunion in Crooked Kingdom is one of joy followed by pained sorrow once the truth emerges. Jesper’s restlessness, which can be read as neurodivergent, should be explored with depth and care, as should his acceptance of the Fabrikator abilities Colm told him to hide after the death of Jesper’s mother.
How convenient that these events can serve a dual purpose and deepen Jesper and Wylan’s relationship! The two cuties might already be a couple as of Season 2 rather than the books’ slow-burn romance, but they catch more than surface-level feelings as time progresses. Fans may riot if that isn’t given its due, which a spin-off can allow. Nina (Danielle Galligan) and Matthias (Calahan Skogman) also have plenty to work out before rekindling their love affair. Spending so long in Hellgate conditions Matthias into surviving through hatred. The two are standoffish until Matthias unlearns his radicalized hatred of the Grisha and Nina deals with her guilt. Matthias’s knowledge of the Ice Court’s architectural layout proves essential for the heist as well, so every character brings something to the table.
Where to Inej and Kaz Go From Here?
Now, back to Season 2 shuffling the novels’ events out of order. Including massive moments in the Crows’ journeys this early means they lacked the proper impact. We might adore their presence, but we haven’t been with them long enough for moments like Inej leaving the group or Kaz’s victory over Pekka Rollins (Dean Lennox Kelly) to truly matter. The heist can’t happen without Inej, but after setting out on her journey of self-discovery, would Inej’s love for her found family be enough to draw her back to Ketterdam? Would Kaz even suck up his pride long enough to ask? The scenarios are juicy to imagine, but Inej returning right away might play awkwardly for her character arc.
The same goes for Kaz, whose takedown of Rollins — although brilliantly portrayed by Carter — is the end of his story in the books. Kaz could theoretically take a backseat to highlight the other Crows since the heist will keep him busy, but the writers have to invent new material again to keep him from becoming static. Exploring who someone is after their revenge is a rich concept and the thematic question Kaz is left with in Crooked Kingdom. As long as he remains brutal and isn’t sanitized as he develops, the potential is there. At the same time, the writers may have written themselves into a corner by incorporating drama and characterization growth that wasn’t earned yet.
A spin-off is precisely what the Crows need to truly thrive onscreen. Truthfully, very little needs changing from Six of Crows to begin with. Bardugo’s suspenseful, precisely layered, and ingeniously intelligent plots, as well as her complex characters, are why her stories are beloved. If a Crows series holds true to the tone, creates coherent original material, and gives the characters the time they deserve, they can walk back their errors and craft a wholly satisfying series. There’s hope for our ragtag band yet, even if it’s not a guaranteed outcome.
