Warning: Spoilers fromShadow and Bone’s first season are discussed in this article.
Shadow and Boneseason 1 is but the tip of a vast iceberg that is the Grishaverse.
So, that ending…
Ben Barnes as General Kirigan in ‘Shadow and Bone.'.Netflix
It looks like General Kirigan learned a new trick… and made some new friends.
They leave the Fold believing Kirigan has been torn apart by volcra.
But that’s not the case…
Alina and Mal set sail across the sea in ‘Shadow and Bone.'.Attila Szvacsek/Netflix
But Bardugo believes we could see this “more powerfully” in a potential second season.
“Seige and Stormis limited to Alina’s point of view.
It’s “a concoction of things,” he adds.
Danielle Galligan as Nina Zenik in ‘Shadow and Bone.'.Attila Szvacsek/Netflix
“I’m interested to see what that isolation does to him as a man,” Barnes muses.
“He expected to be chewed up in the Fold and realized that he was more powerful.
So, there’s an ego to it as well.”
Sujaya Dasgupta as Zoya in ‘Shadow and Bone.'.DAVID APPLEBY/NETFLIX
Somewhere beyond the sea
The season 1 conclusion plays out differently for Alina, as well.
Bardugo sees Alina as being in the same mental place as the book by the end of it.
“This is somebody whose responsibilities are deeply at odds with her desires,” she explains.
“She has been through a lot.
What Kerrigan does to her, I don’t think can be underestimated.
There’s something incredibly visceral about seeing him put that collar around her neck in the show.”
Bardugo acknowledges the writers made “a decision to treat amplifiers differently in this story.”
For the screen, Kirigan has the antler collar embedded in her flesh.
The reason for that change is because the subtext of that collar becomes more overt.
“That moment in the books has always been a moment of tremendous violation,” Bardugo says.
“It’s something that I find unforgivable.
It is an incredibly gruesome set of events.”
Onwards to Fjerda!
That novel presents an intriguing mystery surrounding a drug that is lethal to humans but addictive to Grisha.
And where is Matthias now heading?
On the page, Zoya doesn’t have much to do beyond being a mean girl towards Alina.
She has (or had?)
family there and wants to see if anyone still remains.
I know now where Zoya’s story is going.
So, the show had the opportunity to build some of those layers sooner rather than later.”
“We left a lot of spaces that can be filled in later,” Bardugo concludes.
“We don’t get all the information about the Crows.
We don’t get every bit of the story that we want to see.
I hope that those will create intrigue for audiences so that we’ve created something stands on its own.
But there’s a lot of road that we could travel.”
Barnes isn’t worried about creating that intrigue for audiences.
“This is the beginning of a show that has been made by fans,” he says.
“Eric is a massive fan.
We are going to someone who is translating things into [the fictional language of Kerch.
He’s fascinated by all that stuff.”
Here’s hoping that attention to detail and stage-setting pay off.
