All the Easter Eggs in Shadow and Bone season 1

The reoccurring De Kappel mention

Speaking of, let’s talk about the De Kappel painting that we see in Kaz’s office in the series premiere, which Rotty reports is missing from a rich merchant’s house. Naturally, Kaz denies having a hand in stealing it.

In the books, this heist is referred to repeatedly. It’s the reason why Kaz and Inej know the layout of Van Eck’s house. It was lovely to see this detail added to the show, especially in an unexpectedly comedic context.

The Chapel

As most of the guests of the winter fete enjoy the party in Episode 5, Kaz and Inej fight the twin Inferni Polina and Pavel in the royal chapel at the Grand Palace. This could be written off as just another fight scene, but it’s a very emotionally-charged moment because it’s the first time Inej kills someone in the show. When we meet her in the books, Inej has no qualms about killing in a fight, but knowing her and her devotion, she must have hesitated at first. The show’s choice to make Inej’s first kill a desperate act to save Kaz is very poignant. It’s like Inej is sacrificing a part of herself.

This felt like foreshadowing for a much bigger fight that takes place at the Grand Palace at the end of Siege and Storm, the second book in the Shadow and Bone trilogy. The attack takes place during Prince Nikolai Lantsov’s birthday party and ends with the ultimate confrontation between Alina and the Darkling in the same chapel that we saw in the show. In that scene, our protagonist Alina is forced to sacrifice her innocence, a part of herself, to ensure that her companions can escape unscathed. The parallel is veiled, but it shows just with how much care the writers had while crafting the show.