Why was Shadow and Bone season 2 so different from the books?

Did Netflix scuttle Shadow and Bone to create a cinematic universe?

Since the second season came out, we’ve learned that the Shadow and Bone producers have been quietly planning a Six of Crows spinoff. Netflix has made no secret of its ambitions to build its own successful cinematic universes; just look at properties like The Gray Man or The Witcher, both of which had multiple spinoffs in development before the original properties had much time to breathe. It looks like Netflix wants the same thing for Shadow and Bone.

And those ambitions may have tripped up the second season. Exhibit A: Showrunner Eric Heisserer has admitted that Netflix asked for more crossover between the Crows and Alina. “What we heard from Netflix [about Season 1] was that their data showed that the mix of the Crows’ heist and the Shadow and Bone characters was fun and exciting,” Heisserer told Mashable. “And can we do that magic again this season?”

Presumably, that would have shut down any chance of working the events of Six of Crows into season 2, since the main event of that book — the Ice Court Heist — take the Crows to the nation of Fjerda, far away from Alina.

The producers were pushing to include the Crows since the beginning. In fact, Eric Heisserer only agreed to do Shadow and Bone in the first place under the condition that he be allowed to include characters from Six of Crows. And it’s easy to understand why you would want to give the Crows a spinoff; the source material is there, after all. And while Bardugo’s original trilogy has its fans, the Six of Crows duology is what really made her a superstar. It was many readers’ entry point into her Grishaverse, including Heisserer’s; he famously got the gig to create the Netflix series because he tweeted at Leigh Bardugo about how much he enjoyed Six of Crows.

“The Crows absolutely require their own show for that heist, and I know that because we’ve written all eight scripts for that. It’s the best writing my team has done,” Heisserer told ComicBook.com. “In part, it’s because it’s the best writing that Leigh has built for us.”

When did Netflix start planning a Six of Crows spinoff?

It’s not really clear if it was always the plan to do a Six of Crows spinoff, or something that developed after the success of the first season. Heisserer served as the sole showrunner on Shadow and Bone’s season 1. But not long before the news broke about the Six of Crows spinoff, it was revealed that collaborator Daegan Fryklind had quietly taken over a substantial amount of the duties on Shadow and Bone in order to allow Heisserer more time to develop the Crows spinoff. So the producers divided their time developing multiple shows at once, which could account for why parts of season 2 feel so wrong-headed.

Then there’s the issue of actors and multi-season contracts. Heisserer has said that part of the reason the show had to make such sweeping changes was because lead actors like Jessie Mei Li (Alina) and Archie Renoux (Mal) are under contract for more seasons, and after the Shadow Fold is destroyed in the books their characters take a back seat. We know that originally Heisserer pitched Shadow and Bone as three seasons; that plan has since changed to five total, with the Crows spinoff potentially running for two seasons alongside Shadow and Bone seasons 3 and 4 before all the characters are reunited for the big finale in season 5.

Since we know that the series was once planned to last three seasons, and that both Renoux and Li are potentially contracted for at least one more, I’m guessing that Netflix locked them in for three seasons at the start. The original plan would likely have been to adapt one book of the Shadow and Bone trilogy per season; don’t forget, Bardugo hadn’t even finished The King of Scars duology when the show was moving into development, and Netflix didn’t have the rights to it. Season 1 started down that path by spending an entire season on the first Shadow and Bone book.

Under the new five-season plan, however, it feels an awful lot like Heisserer and company wanted to get through the Shadow and Bone material as quickly as possible to spend more time with the Crows. But Li and Renoux are still under contract. That could explain why the show felt the need to come up with new stories for Alina and Mal even though their tales are practically over in the books.

Shadow and Bone season 2 was an interesting affair. Should it get renewed, season 3 will have to invent a lot of new material for Alina and Mal, though Heisserer has teased that it could also include some of the book elements that were cut from season 2.

We’ll see how things work out if Shadow and Bone is renewed or the Six of Crows spinoff gets the official greenlight. Until then, we’ll remain confused about how exactly Shadow and Bone season 2 ended up where it did.

To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.

Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels