Clash of New and Old Fans Here We Go:
Alright ya’ll. I saw a special code word posted around Instagram that lets book fans discern themselves from the tv fans.
That’s called gatekeeping and it’s a toxic mindset to have when new fans to come to the fandom.
Will they have read the books? Maybe, but the point is that they like the same thing we like, The Grisha Trilogy and Six of Crows. We should welcome them, after all it means our great love of Bardugo’s stories won’t be such a niche interest anymore!
New fans may actually be respectful of the topics explored (sex trafficking, PTSD, slavery, dyslexia, racism, LGBTQIA+, etc) and will be understanding of that and won’t try and change it. Will they know super niche things only in the books? Probably not so don’t be an asshole about it. Will they feel they connect with the characters as much as we do? Of course they will! They are seeing them on screen through amazing portrayals by the actors, which is as a valid as reading their backstories and interactions in the book.
The point is, we all consume media in different ways so for the people who consume the grishaverse visually through Netflix are just as valid as those who consume it through reading the books. So I better not see fans getting a hell of an ego because they were ‘the original fans’ who ‘read the books ONLY and SCREW THE SHOW’.
Although, we will get fans that won’t be understanding of the story and characters, who will want Inej and Kaz to kiss, who think Nina is skinny, who think Jesper should not be darker. These are the people the fandom is worried about and want to keep out. Don’t group these people with the other potential fans who will get around in merch and talk about the show all the time because it’s the difference between narrow minded arrogance and enjoying a tv show. These two types of fans are not synonymous with each other, as I have seen lots of people upset with the idea that we will have fans that act like they know the grishaverse better than the readers, wear all the merch and talk about it a lot like we aren’t all going to do exactly that too. (Maybe beside the egotistical part).
Fans who are just enjoying the show a lot aren’t the ones we want to gatekeep. It’s the fans who are going to be rude and bigoted towards the character’s races, sexualities, and trauma. We already have a racism problem within the fandom, so let’s not try and fool ourselves that the new tv fans are going to ruin it because we don’t want to accept change or look our problems head on and accept our flaws and try to fix them.
So for the new fans who will find us in the streets of Ketterdam or the halls of Little Palace through the Netflix show, you are welcome! Just please be respectful of the grishaverse and other fans, much how we all do too.