This past week, I met with fellow Grishaverse fan and Pace Honors student, Jillian Igneri ‘26, to discuss Netflix’s Shadow and Bone in preparation for the release of its second season. The Netflix series is an adaptation of Leigh Bardugo’s magnificent books set in the Grishaverse, specifically the Shadow and Bone trilogy and the Six of Crows duology. The show combines the stories, following Alina Starkov, an army cartographer who has a power that could change the course of history, and the Crows, a gang of criminals who will do anything for the right price. Here’s a bit of our discussion.
Autumn: When were you first introduced to the Grishaverse?
Jillian: During the pandemic, I read the Six of Crows duology and loved it. I still haven’t read anything beyond that, but I really need to.
Autumn: Which character is your favorite and why?
Jillian: Inej has the most integrity and she’s the overall best human being I think. But also, Kaz is amazing and you kind of have to like him and understand where he’s coming from or the story won’t hold up.
Autumn: If you could visit anywhere in the Grishaverse, where would it be?
Jillian: Ketterdam. People say it’s dangerous and that you’ll get ripped off but people say that about here [New York City], too. I wouldn’t gamble, I just want to see everything. I don’t like the outdoors, forests and everything look very nice but they’re just not for me. Ketterdam is so vibrant.
Autumn: You’d go to the University District (I hope) and not the Barrel, because then you would probably definitely get ripped off, or worse.
Jillian: *laughs* Yeah, I’d only ever go there in the daylight.
Autumn: Good decision. What type of Grisha would be most helpful to be in the modern era?
Jillian: I like the ones that can manipulate fire, the Inferni, but I suppose that isn’t overly useful. In this modern era, with disinformation and everything, being a Heartrender and being able to tell when someone’s lying would be really helpful. With politicians, you can tell what they’re really thinking.
Autumn: Great answer. What did you think of season one of Shadow and Bone?
Jillian: I thought it was such a great way to bring the books to life. Just from the first episode, everything is so rich and there are so many details in there. It looks amazing, which is definitely a plus.
Autumn: Even Kaz’s fedora? I know that was a point of contention within the fandom.
Jillian: I have a personal bias against fedoras to begin with. But, you know, it was alright. *laughs*
Autumn: You thought all of the sets and everything were accurate representations of how you imagined the world?
Jillian: Part of it was exactly as I imagined and part of it was way better. Right at the first episode, I was thinking, there’s mobsters, there’s war, there’s depictions of xenophobia and refugees, there’s religious conflicts and everything. So, it’s basically like the real world, but way better. A little more violent maybe, but better. Like, Milo. How many of us in real life get to carry around a goat? Who doesn’t like goats?
Autumn: *laughs* If there was anything you could change about season one of Shadow and Bone, what would it be?
Jillian: More Crows and more Milo the goat. I hope he comes back.
Autumn: Of course, we all love Milo. What about certain characterizations? I know people were saying Kaz wasn’t like his book counterpart. I felt like that worked in the show. If he was just terrible and you didn’t get the backstory people would hate him.
Jillian: I feel like season one was like a soft launch for Kaz. In season two, especially if they focus more on him and the Crows, you’ll get a fuller picture and I think he’ll be more accurate.
Autumn: Are you hoping for backstories in this season?
Jillian: Oh my gosh, yes! And I really want to see how they portray Kaz’s condition in a visual sense.
Autumn: Yes! In season one he took off his gloves in one scene and book readers were freaking out but non-book readers didn’t really get it.
Jillian: Yeah, it’s like, you don’t even know. There’s so much going on here but you don’t even know.
Autumn: Exactly. There wasn’t really any context. What are your thoughts on the footage we currently have of season two?
Jillian: I’m really excited for it. I was doing okay in terms of having to wait, like, a month, 2 weeks, or however long for season two, but the more the footage comes out and the closer we get, the more I’m like, ‘okay, where’s the 16th?’ So far it’s really exciting, I’m really looking forward to it. I think it’s really gonna carry on from season one in terms of having stunning visuals and being a very well written show and everything.
Autumn: What about Wylan specifically and the changing of his hair color?
Jillian: That was a little weird to me. He is the only one that didn’t look exactly how I imagined. But, I guess we’ll learn to live with it and I’m sure the overall portrayal will be great.
Autumn: Indeed. I can’t wait to see what Jack Wolfe does with the part. Any predictions for season two?
Jillian: I’m really hoping for the Ice Court heist, or at least the beginning of it. I think from the track list that recently came out, it kind of hints that it’s gonna happen. I think [I’d want] a deeper dive into the characters, like we were saying with Kaz. They’re going to have to focus a lot more on his backstory, on Inej’s backstory and how they deal with his condition, [and] how they deal with everything that’s thrown at them. Definitely more Crows overall is what I hope for and what I expect. I mean, the first season was amazing in terms of how detailed the world was, but I think going even deeper into that is gonna be really cool.
Autumn: Leigh Bardugo announced that Kaz is short for something, she’s just never revealed what. Any thoughts on what it could be?
Jillian: Oh my god… no. I feel like anything is gonna be both terrifying and funny.
Autumn: Right? He’s not anyone I ever thought of as having a full name beyond that.
Jillian: Yeah, it works so well as just ‘Kaz.’ But also, Leigh’s a genius, so I’m sure she knows better, but we’ll see.
Autumn: Assuming the show gets renewed for a third season and the second and third books of the Shadow and Bone trilogy are combined in this season, where do you think the show goes from here?
Jillian: I don’t think they’ll get rid of the Shadow and Bone book characters and plotlines completely from the show in the third season. Maybe they play a smaller part in it, but I don’t think they’ll ever be gone.
Autumn: Lately we’ve been shown what spin-offs can do with high quality shows like Better Call Saul and House of the Dragon, whereas before it was widely thought that they were throwaway money grabs. Thoughts on a possible Six of Crows spinoff?
Jillian: I would definitely want a Crows spin-off. In some ways the books are perfect and they end perfectly, but I would also love it if we got new stories. They wrote the prequel to the duology in season one so well, I feel like they could do the same thing with a post-books storyline. If they did it right, I would absolutely love that.
Season two of Shadow and Bone premieres on March 16th on Netflix. No mourners, no funerals.
Feature image via Netflix