Season 2 of Shadow and Bone is an amalgamation of several books from Leigh Bardugo’s various Grishaverse series, combining plots from Siege and Storm, Ruin and Rising, and Crooked Kingdom with some wholly new storylines.
One such storyline is the Crows’ quest to Shu Han, where they hope to find a legendary blade known as Neshyenyer, meaning “the relentless.” Forged by Sankta Neyar, the sword is rumored to be so sharp it can cut through shadow — making it the perfect tool to use against the Darkling’s (Ben Barnes) army of unkillable shadow creatures known as the nichevo’ya. While Sankta Neyar’s story has roots in Bardugo’s The Lives of Saints, it is not something any Shadow and Bone book characters interact with.
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The Crows successfully bring Neshyenyer to Ravka after an encounter with Sankta Neyar herself. Once there, Inej Ghafa (Amita Suman) brilliantly wields Neshyenyer against the nichevo’ya, helping save Sun Summoner Alina Starkov (Jessie Mei Li) so she can tear down the Shadow Fold.
Now, I love Inej getting to use Neshyenyer. She’s an incredible fighter whose penchant for using knives has earned her the nickname of “knife wife” from the Shadow and Bone fandom. She is also devoted to the Ravkan saints and views Alina as one, often referring to her as Sankta Alina. It makes sense that she would take up a mythical sword in service to her saint.
Yet a part of me wishes one other character could have wielded Neshyenyer, even just for a little bit. And that character is none other than Mal Oretsev (Archie Renaux), Alina’s devoted love interest.
Credit: Dávid Lukács / Netflix
To be clear, my desire for Mal to have used Neshyenyer doesn’t stem from a belief that Mal should be the only one to protect Alina — and Inej is still a great choice to wield the blade. However, I think Mal using Neshyenyer would have been a fun nod to a moment from Ruin and Rising that we don’t get in the show: Mal’s infamous sword tattoo.
In Bardugo’s novels, Mal becomes captain of Alina’s guard and gets an angsty back tattoo declaring, “I am become a blade” in Old Ravkan. It’s an oft-maligned quote within the Grishaverse fandom, especially given people’s less-than-favorable views of book Mal. Given that Mal is much less angsty in the show, it makes sense that Shadow and Bone would also steer clear of the intense meme potential of “I am become a blade.” (However, in what has to be a nod to the original line, Mal does tell Alina that “this entire country will become your blade.”)
But you know what would have been a fun way to pay tribute to that line and also give Mal a big, epic moment in the final showdown with the Darkling? Having him use Neshyenyer, the blade that everyone has been making a huge fuss about all season long! Maybe Inej tosses it to him when she sees Mal in danger, or maybe Mal picks it up if Inej drops it. I don’t care how it happens, I would just love a smidge of Mal and blade fan service.
Neshyenyer being from Shu Han adds another layer to the Mal connection: Both Mal and Alina are part Shu, and they’ve experienced racism all their lives because of it. (Shadow and Bone‘s handling of race has garnered compelling criticism.) A moment with Mal and Neshyenyer could speak to him connecting to a part of his heritage that has been grossly maligned by others.
Tragically, Shadow and Bone deprives us of Mal wielding the coolest blade in the series, but the good news is that, in a change from the books, Mal will be sticking around after the destruction of the Shadow Fold. If we get a Season 3, that means we’ll hopefully get more chances for Mal to (figuratively) become a blade. Someone give that man a sword!
