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Netflix’s Shadow and Bone Brings the Darkness (and the Darkling) Back in March

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Published on December 8, 2022

Image: Netflix
Image: Netflix

He’s still your villain. Netflix’s has finally offered up a release date for the second season of its dramatically entertaining Shadow and Bone adaptation, which smashes together two Leigh Bardugo series into one charming whole. Alina, Mal, and the Darkling—along with Kaz Brekker and his gang—all return to our screens March 16th!

Netflix has not said anything about which plotlines will be woven into season two, but if they don’t do a certain ice-bound heist, I will give myself brain freeze with a magical Slurpee. At the end of the first season, Sun Summoner Alina (Jessie Mei Li) escaped from the clutches of General Kirigan/the Darkling (Ben Barnes). She and her childhood bestie Mal (Archie Renaux) are on the run—on the same boat as Kaz (Freddy Carter), Inej (Amita Suman), Jesper (Kit Young), and Nina (Danielle Galligan) and Matthias (Calahan Skogman), who have just survived their own wacky adventure. It is patently absurd and totally delicious. Will they all work together on some new scheme? Or at least some of them? Signs point to yes. Meanwhile, the Darkling is still alive and making friends with shadows. As one does.

Netflix’s sneak peeks at season two show a few new characters, including young demolition master Wylan (Jack Wolfe); Heartrender twins Tamar Kir-Bataar (Anna Leong Brophy) and Tolya Yul-Bataar (Lewis Tan); and Nikolai Lantsov (Patrick Gibson).

That picture of Jesper and Wylan is precisely calculated to send a certain portion of the series’ fandom into chaos, and it’s working, at least on me. I do have some quibbles—the Darkling’s scars look rather like someone drew them on with a Sharpie—but who cares! Another Grisha will probably fix them anyway.

The adventure continues on Netflix on March 16th.


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Shadow and Bone

Shadow and Bone

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Molly Templeton

Author

Molly Templeton has been a bookseller, an alt-weekly editor, and assistant managing editor of Tor.com, among other things. She now lives and writes in Oregon, and spends as much time as possible in the woods.
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