The Grishaverse is back! Considering it’s been almost two years since the first season of Shadow and Bone, this has been a long time coming. Fans have been anxiously waiting for this season to drop, and we are ready. With new characters coming in, higher-stakes plots, bigger action sequences, and better special effects, we are sure to be knocked off our feet. But in case you need a refresher on everything that’s happened in the Grishaverse, here is everything you need to know before watching Shadow and Bone season two.
Picking up where we left off
Shadow and Bone is the first book in a young adult fantasy trilogy that was published in 2012 by author Leigh Bardugo. The series quickly grew to success and the Grishaverse expanded with the spinoff duologies Six of Crows and King of Scars. The series was then turned into a TV show by Netflix on April 2021.
The first season of Shadow and Bone ended with Alina Starkov, our leading lady and Sun Summoner, and crew defeating the Darkling in a battle trapped in the Fold. Alina and her best friend Mal resolve to lay low for a while before coming back to tear down the Fold for good. The Crows (Kaz, Inej, and Jesper) are on their way back to Ketterdam. Little do they know that the Darkling survived the battle and is now seeking revenge.
The second season will likely pick up how it does in the second book of the trilogy, Siege and Storm, with Alina and Mal jumping from country to country to avoid detection from people who might be searching for the Sun Summoner. They will soon get pulled back to Ravka on the hunt for the remaining amplifiers (like Morozova’s stag from the first season) and encounter the Darkling once again. It’s also important to note that this season will be combining content from the second and third books of the Shadow and Bone trilogy, so the plot will certainly be jam-packed.
The new characters
This season, we have four new characters to add to the roster — Nikolai Lanstov, Tamar and Tolya Yul-Bataar, and Wylan Hendricks.
Nikolai Lanstov is the charming and adventurous prince who will become Alina’s third potential love interest. He’s a fan-favorite character with his witty personality and obvious charisma. Watch out because he’s always got a trick or two up his sleeve!
Tamar and Tolya Yul-Bataar are twin heartrenders that work in Nikolai’s crew. Tamar loves her axes, and Tolya loves his poetry. They didn’t grow up learning their Corporalki skills at the Little Palace, but they are still incredibly talented and deadly.
Wylan is our last crow to finally join the show (the sixth in “Six” of Crows). He’s the wayward son of a wealthy merchant back in Ketterdam who is also weirdly skilled at demolitions, an asset perfectly suited for Kaz Brekker’s team. Oh, he’s also a great musician.
How do the Crows fit in?
And yes, of course, I have to talk about the Crows. If you don’t know who they are, they are the six main characters of Bardugo’s “Six of Crows” duology which is arguably more popular now than the original trilogy. The fan support for the Crows was so huge that the creators of the show knew that they had to integrate them somehow into the Shadow and Bone storyline even though the events of the duology happen years later.
Last season, Kaz, Inej, and Jesper took on the job of capturing Alina in exchange for a great sum of money but ended up on her side in the final battle against the Darkling. This season, it is still unsure how exactly the Crows will fit in, but it is likely that they will be off on another heist (as is true Crow fashion). The heist will need to require some demolitions and heartrending because Kaz employs Wylan and Nina Zenik for the job. And since Matthias was taken as a prisoner last season, their shenanigans must also include breaking him out of (or at least visiting him in) Hellgate — a high-security prison in Ketterdam.
How you should prepare
- Rewatch the first season to fill any gaps in your memory
- Read or re-read Siege and Storm
- Watch the cast interviews (they have the best chemistry, I swear!)
- Buy some Grishaverse merch (Etsy is your bestie)
Conclusion
Now you’re ready to dive back into the Grishaverse with season two premiering this week. Get your binge-watching pants on, make yourself a big plate of waffles, and I’ll see you on the other side of the Fold. No mourners, no funerals!