Shadow and Bone Season 2 on Netflix: Recap, story, and what we know so far

Shadow and Bone, the beloved television show adapted from Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse of two different series of books, is set to make a Netflix return for Season 2!

Netflix has announced the date for the return, with it dropping on March 16, 2023.

Combining the Shadow and Bone Trilogy and the Six of Crows duology, the series was an immediate hit with fans. Alina’s plight at being discovered as a Grisha (a person with special abilities), and that too one with the gift that could save the universe, caught everyone’s heart. On top of that, a full-scale heist featuring the Crows (a criminal gang, but a well-liked one), made sure the audience was spellbound.

With the show returning on March 16, 2023, what do we know so far about the upcoming season? And where did we leave our protagonists the last time around? Let’s take a look.

Caution: Spoilers for Shadow and Bone ahead. 

Shadow and Bone Season 1: What happened?

Shadow and Bone‘s first season introduced the audience to the world created by Bardugo. Based on early 19th Century Tsarist Russia, half the population is Grisha. They have the ability to manipulate the different elements in various ways, to heal, fight, or even create.

Now, the story finds Alina, an orphan young girl who has joined the regular army as a mapmaker. Her childhood best friend from the orphanage, Mal, is also a part of the army as a tracker.

Alina harbors feelings for Mal, and although she does not confess them, it shows when she is willing to go into the Shadow Fold for him, a huge dark expanse that has monsters inside it, that attack any that go in. It is here, with Mal in danger that her power reveals her to be a Sun Summoner, a prophecies Grisha who has the ability to destroy the Shadow Fold.

With an added element of Alina being taken away by the mysterious and enigmatic leader of the Grisha – the Darkling – for training, the story develops throughout the season.

Meanwhile, the Crows, a misfit criminal group led by Kaz, plan and carry out a heist.

After the Darkling’s true nature reveals itself, the finale of the story set up future plots but left many questions unanswered.