Here’s a crash course into your next fantasy TV obsession.
Netflix has your next fantasy TV obsession already teed up.
It’s notGame of Thrones.
Netflix’s ‘Shadow and Bone.'.Illustration by EW; Netflix (2); DAVID APPLEBY/NETFLIX (2); ATTILA SZVACSEK/NETFLIX
There are no dragons or shame bells here.
First of all, what the heck is the Grishaverse?
There’s the primaryShadow and Bonetrilogy, consisting ofShadow and Bone,Siege and Storm, andRuin and Rising.
Julian Kostov as Grisha Heartrender in ‘Shadow and Bone.'.Netflix
Bardugo then wrote other supplemental materials, likeThe Language of ThornsandThe Lives of Saints.
So, yeah, there’s a lot.
The Grishaverse gets its nickname from the Grisha centered in this…
Wait, what are Grisha?
Ben Barnes as General Kirigan in ‘Shadow and Bone.'.Netflix
“Grisha” is what the people of this world use to refer to magic users.
Although, they don’t really call it magic.
They call it the “Small Science.”
Netflix
Grisha can manipulate matter at its most fundamental level.
Think of them like the benders ofAvatar: The Last Airbender.
They can’t create matter out of nothing, they manipulate what’s around them.
Ben Barnes and Jessie Mei Li in ‘Shadow and Bone.'.NETFLIX
Healers, on the other hand, are… self-explanatory.
The Etherealki are the summoners.
Squallers can call upon wind, Inferni can manipulate fire, and Tidemakers can control water.
Kit Young, Amita Suman, and Freddy Carter in ‘Shadow and Bone.'.Netflix
There aren’t really earth summoners in the sense of Grisha flinging boulders over their heads.
But there are Materialki, or Fabrikators.
They are more like tinkerers than fighters, though some do head into battle.
Danielle Galligan and Calahan Skogman in ‘Shadow and Bone.'.Netflix
Alkemi are known for chemical manipulation, which comes in handy for making blasting powders and poisons.
There are a few other types of Grisha you’ll encounter inShadow and Bonethat are rarer.
Tailors are like illusionists who can temporarily change the physical appearance of themselves and others.
The king and queen of Ravka have one at their disposal in the palace.
Shadow Summoners can manipulate darkness, which is a lot more powerful than it sounds.
The most coveted of the Grisha is the elusive Sun Summoner, who can conjure light.
Why are Sun Summoners so coveted?
So, it’s kind of a long story, but here’s the short version.
He then used a forbidden form of Small Science called merzost in an attempt to form his own army.
What’s The Shadow Fold?
This prevents East Ravka from trading with other territories.
The creation of The Fold also created a stigma around Grisha for some time, especially Shadow Summoners.
So, a Sun Summoner could disperse The Fold?
That’s what the legend says.
Many have disregarded her as a result.
That puts her on the Grisha’s radar, specifically General Kirigan, who welcomes her into their ranks.
That’s the main starting point forShadow and BoneBook 1, as well as season 1 of the show.
Is season 1 strictly adapting the events of Shadow and Bone, then?
It’s the epicenter of criminals and con artists, much different from the landscape of Ravka.
It is one too many antagonists, it’s too much magic too fast.
Will season 2 then adapt Siege of Storm and Crooked Kingdom simultaneously?
It’s too soon to say.
“I have stacks of material.
I don’t know if they’ll ever see the light of day,” Heisserer tells EW.
“We have a lot of big, grand plans.
But one step at a time.
Let’s just see if season 1 lands the way we hope it does.”
