#but i'd love to see them help malina in a big way one more time before they separate

[gracestone]

I'm reading Siege and Storm for the first time after first having watching the show twice and then reading Shadow and Bone for the first time. After binging the show, I read in interviews that the showrunner thinks the show could run for more than three seasons. And after having read about 1/4 of S&S, I actually think it definitely needs to run for more than 3 seasons, because I don't think they can cover that book in just one season. In this post, I want to outline why and to give my version of how I’d write Alina’s storyline in season 2.

Before I go into my reasons why I think so and what I hope the show will do, I just wanna say that I haven't read the books about the crows yet, so I have no idea what their book plot is and how to incorporate that into the show. Therefore I'm mostly leaving them aside, apart from some instances where I think there could be potential for them to be involved.

After finishing the first book, what stood out to me the most was that the show didn't cover several important parts of Alina’s arc:

Her deep fear of being captured and controlled by the Darkling. She was so afraid of that she asked Mal to kill her rather than let her be captured.

The immensity of her power with the amplifier and how intoxicating having that much power already is to her. 

Her using the Cut for the first time.

Mal and Alina getting together.

I think all of those things are essential to convey to the audience before Mal and Alina get captured by the Darkling again to hunt Rusalye. Yes, Mal and Alina getting together could potentially be postponed a bit and wasn’t essential to get to in season 1, but I think them being together raises the stakes for when they do get captured again. Plus, from what I’ve heard, a lot of the second book relies on them not being able to be together, so we need to see their honeymoon period, so to speak, to make that work. Therefore, imo, the best thing for the show to do is to split the second book in two parts and take a few episodes of season 2 to cover some of the things from S&B they skipped in the show. Here’s how I would write that:

Have Mal and Alina go to Ketterdam first with the crows. There, they can spend a few episodes bonding with the crows, but more importantly exploring Alina's new amplified powers, her fear of what could happen if the Darkling regained control of her, and her and Mal getting into a romantic relationship. The show could still hit some similar beats with them as the book did, just in a different place. Let them stay in the same room, afraid what would happen if they were separated, but also hesitant to make that first move. Have them sleep together in the same bed, back to back at first, until Mal puts his arm around her when she’s having a nightmare about what happened with Novokribirsk. After that, show how they now sleep like that every night, just like in the book, with an emphasis on how Mal’s trying to help her fight the nightmares. 

Have Alina talk to Mal about her fear of the Darkling regaining control of her pwoers. She can still ask Mal to promise to kill her if it comes to that. It’d make sense for her to do so after seeing the destruction that could come of the Darkling having control of her powers. Given that I’m not that far into S&S yet, I’m not sure when Mal could be challenged to act on that promise and fail. Perhaps at some point after they realise the Darkling can influence Alina through that bite from his creature.

Alina finds or is given a place where she can train. She is be determined to master the Cut, as a way to fight back against the Darkling. In the book, Alina and Mal don't find the stag until they kiss and Alina reconciles her human part with her powers, instead of burying one of them for the other. I think the show could show Alina struggling with the Cut and her new amplified abilities. At the same time, she could still be struggling with some of her insecurities both in regards to her place in the world and in regards to Mal. At the beginning of S&S she feels like Mal is so competent while she isn’t. This could flare up some of her insecurities in regards to her belonging with Mal too. Mal could notice this while she’s touching her hand where her scar used to be. This could lead to a convo about her time at the palace, how isolated she felt from him and her feeling of not belonging anywhere, especially now that she can’t even control her power. Which in turn could lead to Mal’s epic “So don’t tell me that we don’t belong together” speech and their first kiss. In the book, Alina described her love for Mal as “just as bright, just as undeniable” as her power. The show could visualise that by having her powers come out as they kiss, surrounding them with beautiful white light. After that, she attempts the Cut and succeeds. Something in her has shifted and she suddenly feels more whole, more at peace with herself (like she did in the book). This could also help foreshadow what Mal really is (yes I’ve been spoiled on this lol) and set up how he helps her regain control of her power after she puts on the second amplifier.

There could be a short honeymoon period for them (a few scenes or so) where we see them in this newfound relationship, trying to build a temporary life in Ketterdam as they figure out their next move. This is when the Darkling could show up, but given that I’d love to see the Malina jail kiss, I’d prefer another scenario. One that parallels the scene in which Mal gets himself locked up in jail just to be with Alina. Instead of the jail kiss happening when they’re captured by the Darkling before going into the Fold, have it happen when Mal has been captured by Fjerdans. Now, I’ll admit that I don’t know all the details of their politics and if what I’m about to suggest is realistic within the Grishaverse. But the way I imagine this scenario, Mal gets recognised as a Ravkan soldier and captured so he can stand trial, just like they have grisha stand trial. Alina asks the crows to help her save him. This could be an interesting opportunity for Matthias to show his allegiance to the crows, but I’m hesitant to suggest that since idk what his canon storyline is. Alina gains access to the Fjerdans’ ship by asking if she can say goodbye to Mal. They agree to let her do so, but only after she proves she’s not grisha. They cut her arm before she can answer, so the pain is sudden. But Alina was warned about this by Matthias and, just like during her test, is holding a sharp object in the palm of her left hand. She gets to see Mal and they kiss through the bars. Mal notices her bleeding hand and the wound that will definitely leave a scar, and says “We match again.” Alina and the crows’ plan unfolds, but something happens that forces Alina to use her power. They barely make it off their ship but Alina realises that they will keep coming after her now that they know who she is. In that moment, she makes the choice to use the Cut to sink their ship and kill everyone on board, just like she did in the Fold in S&B (the book). 

After these events, the crows tell Mal and Alina that it’s too dangerous to stay in Ketterdam. Mal and Alina agree and make their way to Novyi Zem. I don’t think the show needs to spend much time there, but it’d be good to show Alina struggling with how she felt about the immense power she wielded when using the Cut and how it has her torn. Maybe she can voice that to Mal, or maybe we see her struggling with it through her nightmares as she sleeps in Mal’s arms. That would set up her inner struggle quite well, imo. 

While all of this is happening with Alina and Mal, we could see the Darkling return to court to gather his grisha to go after Alina and Mal. This could be an opportunity to see the grisha react to the Darkling’s new powers and why they came to be so afraid of him. At the same time, we could see Genya and David struggling with what they did to Alina and their allegiance to the Darkling. Maybe show some moments of doubt before Genya joins the Darkling in his mission to capture Alina and Mal and kill Rusalye. 

Mal and Alina don’t have to spend much time, if any, in Novyi Zem before they’re captured by the Darkling after all of this has been covered. But I think the show can’t jump straight into the events of S&S without covering all of this first in some shape or form. Alina getting a second amplifier happens so quickly in the books but it doesn’t have the same resonance or present the same inner struggle for her if the show doesn’t show how she already struggles with wielding one amplifier. So they need to take some time to set that up. And that time could also be used to dig into the backstories of the crows and show us what the grisha left at the Little Palace are going through, especially Genya and David. 

#shadow and bone #alina starkov #malyen oretsev #malina #shadow and bone spoilers #siege and storm #siege and storm spoilers #shadow and bone speculation #i suppose #more like borderline fanfic #just my take on how they should start season 2 #i couldn't suggest a natural stopping point for s2 though since i'm not that far into the book yet #but i really think it'd be wise for them to not cover the entire book in one season #not when they skipped over some important moments in alina's arc #skipping them in s1 is fine in theory #but they need to cover them before getting into the s&s plot #this is very malina focussed but i'd obviously love to see some interaction between them and the crows too #i just don't know what the crows will be up to so idk how they could interact with malina inbetween doing whatever it is they'll be doing #but i'd love to see them help malina in a big way one more time before they separate #anyways i'm done rambling #i'm open to suggestions based on this but try not to give me too many book spoilers