#schemebean post

[misterbrekker]

Kidnapping Alina? 1 million kruge.

Breaking into the ice court? 30 million kruge.

Kaz whacking the Darkling with his cane? Priceless.

[misterbrekker]

GLOVES! CROW CANE! I— JAKDIDKAKALAISJAKA

[misterbrekker]

"The easiest way to steal a man's wallet is to tell him you're going to steal his watch."

—Leigh Bardugo, Six of Crows

[misterbrekker]

THE CROWS ARE KIDNAPPING ALINA!!!! HOW CHAOTIC I LOVE IT.

[misterbrekker]

SHE'S REAL.

HOW MANY BULLETS DO YOU HAVE?

NOT ENOUGH.

[misterbrekker]

Via Eric on reddit (very interesting, but excuse me while i scream over Eric calling us gorgeous clowns)

Edit: he's one of us

[misterbrekker]

I have a feeling shadow & bone is going to be widely popular and it's sorta crazy to wrap my mind around the fact the book fandom I've been a part of for years on this little (but certainly growing) corner of the internet is about to become a part of pop culture.

[misterbrekker]

Some thoughts on the crows kidnapping Alina: Why only 1 million kruge?

1) The sun summoner does not exist. 

It can be predicted from the way Kaz says "she's real" in the trailer, that he's in awe and somewhat surprised. Kaz would be the type of person to not believe in the existence of a sun summoner. So, if he believes Alina is not actually a sun summoner, why not take the 1 million? If they find Alina, they get the money. It would be easy money too, because odds are she’s just an ordinary person. And sure, it could be that Kaz believes Alina does not exist at all, but in order to accept the job he’s going need a decent amount of information on her. So odds are, in Kaz’s mind she exists but she’s just not who everyone thinks she is. 

“Sure, I’ll kidnap the sUn SuMmOneR, who totally exists, for 1 MILLION kruge.” 

Inej on the other hand, would be more likely to believe in the sun summoner. Evident in her slight nod when Kaz says “she’s real,” she appears to also be in awe, but unlike Kaz, not surprised. Her nod is more symbolic of confirmation. 

This is something that could even cause conflict among the crows as they journey to Ravka. As they face any extreme danger, they could be questioning why they are even going after an ordinary girl for just one million. It could also be as simple as Kaz insisting Alina is just an ordinary girl and Inej insisting otherwise. 

2) Kaz is less experienced. 

Now, it can be predicted the crows will end up at the Ravkan palace at some point, both by the setting when Inej is on her ropes in the teaser, and also by the fact a Darkling and Kaz encounter has been hinted at. So, Kaz needs to be capable of getting into the palace and kidnapping Alina both for him to be hired and for this storyline to work. Yet, with this being season 1, Kaz is not yet the version of himself that will break into the ice court. That doesn’t mean he is not as skilled, but it could mean that at this point in his career, 1 million kruge is a great amount of money for a job. Maybe it’s even the most he’s ever been offered, so it makes sense for him to take the job. 

3) To set up the ice court heist. 

If kidnapping THE sun summoner only earns the crows 1 million kruge, the offer of 30 million kruge is going to immediately show the audience this new job is a HUGE deal. Especially since there’s a chance Kaz will be offered the job at the end of season 1, the audience is going to be left wondering... 30 million? If THE sun summoner was only 1 million, what job could be even BIGGER?

This is trickier to predict, as we do not know whether the crows will actually get the money. I personally think there are two ways things could go, although with either option I do expect the crows to end up helping Alina after they reach her. So, option 1 is the crows help Alina and give up the money. But, knowing Kaz, it is highly unlikely he is okay with not being paid. For that reason, option 2 is more probable, where the crows are able to help Alina and somehow able to still earn their money in the process. 

Circling back to my point on Kaz’s experience level, within six of crows, Van Eck originally offers Kaz 20 million for the ice court heist. In comparison to 1 million kruge, 20 million is a lot more. But let’s say just for the sake of discussion, option 2 is what happens and the crows are able to both help Alina and get paid. Kidnapping Alina was a success at least in terms of Kaz proving he could do it. If that is the case, Kaz has now shown himself to be highly skilled. Consequently, his skills are more in demand. Not only does he have the ability to negotiate a higher price, but maybe he knows better than to pass up a chance to negotiate too. When he set out to kidnap Alina, 1 million seemed reasonable for an ordinary girl. Yet, she ended up being a real sun summoner. After everything they went through, 1 million no longer feels like a reasonable amount for the job. Thus, Kaz won’t be making that mistake again. If he’s going to the ice court, he’s getting paid 30 million kruge.  

What does this mean for season 2?

And just to address my thoughts on the fact the crows being hired to kidnap Alina in season 1 means their storyline will be comparable to season 2, where they are hired to kidnap Bo Yul-Bayur... I don’t think this is a bad thing.

At least personally, I think it’s cool we’ll get to see the crows complete two “heists.” Will this establish the crows as “heist” people? Yes, but that’s also what they are. They’re thieves: they break into Van Eck’s house to steal the DeKappel, they break into the Ravkan palace, they break into the ice court... It’s the way they make their money. Of course, there is an undeniable similarity in that both seasons 1 and 2 will presumably involve kidnapping a person (which is a pretty specific job description). But, reducing season 1 and 2 to “kidnapping Alina” and “kidnapping Bo Yul-Bayur” strips the storylines down to their most basic forms. I don’t love the ice court heist because the crows kidnap someone, I love it because of the journey the crows take in order to do so. Ravka and the ice court are two completely different places. Plus, most importantly, the season 1 team is only Kaz, Inej, and Jesper. When the ice court heist occurs, Nina, Matthias, and Wylan will be there too. It’s going to be a new dynamic with new stakes, and because of that--the ice court heist will feel completely different.