Massive spoilers for the Season 2 finale of Shadow and Bone, "No Funerals," and light spoilers for the book Six of Crows ahead.
Since Shadow and Bone started, and the Grishaverse fans learned that the Crows would be incorporated into the show, an underlying question has always been: When are we getting the Six of Crows story on screen? The first book in the Crow’s duology is beloved by fans, and the Ice Court heist is one of the most iconic storylines in the series, so seeing it on screen would be a dream. While there wasn’t much from the first book about these thieves in Season 2 of Shadow and Bone, the finale did clearly set up the stakes for the Ice Court Hiest, and if you’ve read the books, you know that the foundation has been laid for an epic adventure in Fjerda with our favorite crew from Ketterdam.
Along with the fan demand for Six of Crows, it’s also been confirmed, by EW, that a writers' room has started working on a spinoff involving Kaz, Jesper, Inej, Nina, Matthias and Wylan. Showrunner Eric Heisserer said in the article, that if Shadow and Bone Season 2 performs well, and gets renewed, there will be an official spin-off involving the events of Six of Crows. And lucky for us, Season 2 of Shadow and Bone ended in a way that perfectly sets up a spin-off that will finally show fans one of the stories from the Grishaverse we’ve been hoping for.
Kaz Sets Up The Ice Court Heist In The Same Way It’s Presented In The Book
Just like in the book Six of Crows, Kaz Brekker and his crew are offered their "most lucrative job" yet, as Brekker explains in the finale. He explains that a scientist who developed a lethal and addictive drug was captured by the Fjerdans, and the Crows have been hired to steal him back, just like in the novel. So, by hearing Kaz pitch the Ice Heist to Jesper, Wylan and Nina, the wheels are officially, and obviously, in motion for a Six of Crows spin-off.
This job is the entire plot of Six of Crows as the crew risks their lives to pull off an impossible heist at the Ice Court in Fjerda. We also learn that the crew is after the same thing they’re after in the books, the scientist I mentioned who developed the drug Jurda Parem, but more on that later. Finally, the show confirmed that they’ll be going to the Ice Court during a highfalutin festival that happens in the book. What we don’t know is who is paying the Crows.
However, I have a theory. In the books, the Crows are hired by Jan Van Eck, which could very well be the case for the show too. However, in the series, Nikolai Lantsov hired the crew to find Alina in Season 1, and I think it’s possible that he’s the one employing them again, since the drug they're after almost killed him, and everyone at his coronation.
Jurda Parem Is Introduced As The Next Big Threat
As you'll remember from Seasons 1 and 2 of Shadow and Bone, the Shadow Fold was the big problem that our heroes were working tirelessly to destroy. It caused major power struggles, a literal and figurative rift in a country, and was the origin of our big bad The Darkling. However, now that it's destroyed a new deadly drug is being set up as the next lethal issue the crew will have to deal with, and it might be worse than The Fold.
I say this because, when Nikolai is crowned king of Ravka, a Fjerdan hijacks the ceremony and tries to kill everyone in the room, including the new leader, Alina, Zoya and Genya. When she does this it’s clear she’s on Jurda Parem, the drug developed by the scientist the Crows are after, and her powers are amplified 1,000 times over making it possible for her to nearly kill many of the most powerful Grisha in the world.
Luckily, she fails as Alina kills her with The Cut (which also proves that Alina has Darkling powers in her, but that’s an issue for another day). However, the power of this new lethal drug is obvious, and the audience is now very aware that it’s going to be a massive problem for everyone.
Nina Is Determined To Get Matthias Out Of Prison, However, They’ll Have To Break Him Out
Nina had been on a mission to get Matthias out of Hellgate the whole season, however, she became even more determined in the finale, and she had Kaz to back her up. While they do manage to get a pardon from the king of Ravka for the Fjerdan, Matthias gets in trouble after killing a guard, making that piece of paper useless.
The pardon becomes irrelevant after Pekka Rollins, Kaz's nemesis, forces Matthias to fight wolves, which are sacred animals to the Drüskelle (the order of soldiers Matthias belonged to). He refuses to fight the animals, and he kills a guard instead. This means Nina’s love has absolutely no chance of being let out of prison, and the man has a newfound hatred for Kaz’s worst enemy.
In the books, Kaz and the crew help Nina break her Fjerdan beau out of prison so he can help with the Ice Court Heist, because he grew up there and knows the lay of the land. However, with the way it’s set up in the show, Matthias also has a stake in this game because he not only knows the Ice Court, he now hates Pekka as much as Kaz, and will likely want his revenge. And you know what they say: The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Now, with the setup of the Crows going to Matthias' home country, and the entire crew wanting him out of prison, and the Fjerdan's likely newfound motivation to help the crew, it seems like mission breakout is ago.
Inej Goes Off With Tolya, Tamar And Mal (AKA New Sturmhond)
Now, this bit is very different from the books. Inej is always with the Crows in both Crooked Kingdom and Six of Crows however, Season 2 ends with her going joining the pirates, or excuse me privateers, as they try to find the slaver ships that took her family. While she’s not with the Crows at the moment, the crew is going to need transport from Ketterdam to Fjerda, and I think Sturmhond’s ship is the perfect vessel to take them there, especially since Inej is on that boat, and the thieves going to need their Wraith.
Jesper Almost Says Six Of Crows
If that wasn’t enough for you, Jesper just about says the words “Six of Crows” in the finale as he’s talking about why someone should write the crew’s adventures down. The sharp-shooter says:
We should hire a writer to jot down our story. What will we call it? The four Charming Rogues of Ketterdam? Yes.
To which Kaz corrects him, and points at Nina to signal that there are five Crows now, and then Jesper gets cut off saying:
Right. The Five of Cr…
He was so close to saying it, and it just made it obvious that we’re so, so close to getting Six of Crows.
Hopefully, Season 2 of Shadow and Bone becomes a big hit on the 2023 TV schedule, and the series gets renewed, because I desperately need to see Jesper finish that sentence after our favorite band of thieves pulls off the Ice Court Heist!
Everything truly has been set up perfectly for a Six of Crows spinoff, all the right characters have been introduced, nearly all of them are in the same or similar places they were in the book, and the big threat of the Crows’ duology has been explicitly introduced. All that considered, it feels like we are bound to see the Shadow and Bone cast back at it again, but instead of Ravka or Ketterdam, they’ll be making their way to Fjerda for one hell of a heist.
You can stream Seasons 1 and 2 of Shadow and Bone with a Netflix subscription.
