‘Shadow and Bone’: The Introduction of The Six of Crows
In ‘Shadow and Bone’ season 2, the Six of Crows are introduced, featuring Nina Zenik, Matthias Helvar, and Wylan Van Eck. Nina and Wylan join Inej and Jesper to work for Kaz, while Matthias remains imprisoned throughout the season. The series hints at the notorious Ice Court heist, but this storyline remains unfinished due to the show’s cancellation.
Elements from Six of Crows, such as the Ice Court revelations, Wylan’s backstory, and the reconciliation between Nina and Matthias, are woven into the plot. However, the novels and their sequel, Crooked Kingdom, provide a richer exploration of the Crows’ motivations, relationships, and ultimate successes.
Also Read: Movies And TV Shows to Watch Before ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’
Kaz Brekker
Kaz, a masterful conman, keeps everyone guessing by frequently shifting tactics and unveiling crucial details. His supposed betrayal of the Conductor by the Crows mirrors the countless times adversaries believed they had outsmarted him. Kaz’s long-term strategy is to ascend as the most formidable crime lord in Ketterdam, exacting revenge on those who wronged him.
Offered a job to infiltrate the Ice Court and retrieve scientist Bo Yul-Bayur for 30 million kruge, Kaz is driven by the promise of wealth. He assembles a team to destroy Pekka Rollins, who once scammed Kaz and his brother Jordie, leading to their tragic demise. With Rollins’ betrayal fueling his quest, Kaz aims to use the reward money as a step towards his long-sought revenge.
Jesper Fahey
Jesper, a concealed Grisha and expert marksman, joins Kaz’s crew upon arriving in Ketterdam. Originally from Novyi Zem, he abandoned university and worked for the Dregs to settle his debts, exacerbated by using his father’s farm as loan collateral. The funds from the Ice Court heist are crucial for clearing these debts.
Jesper is renowned for his metal-manipulating skills and plays a pivotal role in Kaz’s plans. His mother perished while using her Grisha abilities, and his father had advised him to keep his powers hidden. Jesper also maintains a relationship with Wylan, another Crow, though their story diverges from the books.
Inej Ghafa
Inej, a talented acrobat, was abducted by slavers and sold to a brothel in Ketterdam. Kaz acquired her contract, enabling her to work for the Dregs. Unlike the books, which depict her long history as an assassin and mention no siblings, the show alters her backstory, introducing her brother as a slaver and minimising lethal actions.
Kaz’s Ice Court heist presents Inej with the chance to settle her contract and have funds for a new beginning. During the heist, she resolves to buy her ship and pursue slavers. However, in the final moments of Shadow and Bone season 2, Inej joins Sturmhond’s crew instead of commanding her ship. The series also incorporates elements of Kaz and Inej’s romance, including some verbatim lines.
Nina Zenik
In the show’s adaptation of Nina’s pre-Crows/Ketterdam arc, the timeline differs, though the essence remains the same. Separated from the Grisha during a Second Army mission, Nina is captured by Fjerdans. She and Fjerdan drüskelle Matthias are shipwrecked together and fall in love. During a crisis, Nina accuses Matthias of kidnapping, leading to his arrest by the Kerch authorities rather than the Second Army.
Nina follows Matthias to Ketterdam, where she resides while seeking to free him from Hellgate Prison. Recruited by the Dregs, she only receives Kaz’s help when he needs Matthias’ expertise for an Ice Court mission. Nina and Matthias infiltrate the Ice Court but decide that Yul-Bayur’s survival would be detrimental to their nations, planning to kill him instead of rescuing him.
Matthias Helvar
Raised in Fjerda, Matthias initially views the Grisha as malevolent creatures. However, his perception changes when he sees Nina as a human, though he reverts to his old beliefs after she arrests him. Matthias then joins the Crows, hoping Kaz will grant him a pardon. Their mission is complicated by Yul-Bayur’s jurdam parem drug, which boosts and addictively enhances Grisha’s abilities. To counter this threat, Matthias and Nina plan to kill the scientist behind the drug.
Their efforts fail when they find him dead, leaving only his innocent teenage son. After escaping the Ice Court, Nina and Matthias stay loyal to Kaz to avoid arrest and keep the secrets of jurdam parem concealed. Their relationship mends and Matthias gains a new understanding of the Grisha, but he is ultimately killed by a Fjerdan soldier during the chaos of the Crooked Kingdom’s final act.
Wylan Van Eck
In the second season of ‘Shadow and Bone,’ Wylan Hendricks, the son of the merchant Kaz, struggles with a learning disability that hinders his ability to read. This condition leads his father to deem him unfit to inherit the family business. Following his father’s remarriage and a series of assassination attempts, Wylan escapes to the streets of Ketterdam.
There, he uses his scientific knowledge to create explosives and occasionally supplies Kaz. Kaz recruits Wylan for a mission at the Ice Court, hoping to use him as a pawn against his father. As Wylan forms a bond with Jesper, they enjoy a luxurious life in Wylan’s former family home. However, Wylan’s fortunes change drastically when Kaz exposes his father’s corrupt practices, leading to his arrest at the end of ‘Crooked Kingdom.’
