“Shadow and Bone” Season 2 welcomes new and old faces back into the Fold. Season 2 of the Netflix YA fantasy series drops on Netflix Thursday, March 16 with eight episodes of new adventures for Alina the Sun Summoner, Mal the Tracker, General Kirigan the Darkling or Shadow Summoner and more.
Based on the books by Leigh Bardugo, the television adaptation combined elements from the “Six of Crows” duology and the first book of the “Shadow and Bone” trilogy. Season 2 follows this up by adapting the final two books in the trilogy — “Siege and Storm” and “Ruin and Rising” — with more Crows plot mixed in. The Crows return with a vengeance this season, and they welcome some new characters to the flock.
Here are the cast and characters of “Shadow and Bone” Season 2:
Alina Starkov (Jessie Mei Li)
Originally an orphan from Keramzin, where she grew up alongside Mal Oretsev, Alina Starkov considered herself an average Ravkan citizen. She chose to pursue cartography for the First Army, or the King’s line of defense made up of soldiers and non-Grisha. Last season, Alina snuck onto a skiff to accompany Mal, who serves the First Army as a tracker, across the fold. When a volcra threatens to take him away, she unknowingly summons sunlight to keep the winged creature at bay. A Sun Summoner is needed to destroy the Shadow Fold entirely, and once her true talents come to light, she is whisked away by the Darkling, aka General Kirigan (Ben Barnes) to fully realize her ability. Now, Alina is on the run from Kirigan, who doesn’t intend to help her destroy the fold but rather use her sunlight to keep the volcra at bay while he expends it.
Jessi Mei Li has previously appeared as Lara in “Last Night in Soho” (2021), Christina Jocko in the “Locked Up Abroad” TV series and Claudia Casswell in “All About Eve.”
Malyen Oretsev (Archie Renaux)
Malyen Oretsev, or Mal for short, is Alina’s best friend and fellow orphan. The pair met at the Keramzin orphanage, where Mal showed his uncanny tracking abilities early on in childhood. It was Mal who tracked down Morozova’s stag in Season 1, and now he and Alina are searching for The Sea Whip, a mythical serpent also amplified (or genetically enhanced) to boost Grisha power by Morozova, near the island of Jelka. Mal and Alina gravitate toward each other for many reasons.
Archie Renaux has previously worked with Ben Barnes on the “Gold Digger” television miniseries. He played Jamie in “Body of Water” (2020) and Alex in “Voyagers” (2021). He appeared in “Morbius” (2022) as Bobby, and he played Edward the Monk in Lena Dunham’s “Catherine Called Birdy” (2022). He starred opposite Zac Efron in “The Greatest Beer Run Ever” as Tom Collins, and most recently played Dev in “Zero” (2022).
The Darkling aka General Kirigan (Ben Barnes)
General Kirigan is called The Darkling because of his ability to summon Shadow. He is the highest-standing Grisha due to the scale of his power, and he answers only to The King. In Season 1, it was believed that Kirigan’s ancestor The Black Heretic created the Shadow Fold on accident when his magic went out of control, but later it is revealed that Kirigan, whose first name is Aleksander, IS the Black Heretic. He has remolded his image over the decades to avoid detection, and now he intends to harness The Sun Summoner’s power to expand his fold and take over the world for Grisha.
Ben Barnes is most well-known for portraying Prince Caspian in “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” (2008) and “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” (2010). He also played Alejandro in “The Big Wedding” and Tom Ward in “Seventh Son” (2014). Other TV credits include Logan in “Westworld,” Billy Russo in “The Punisher,” Benjamin Greene in “Gold Digger” and William Thurber in an episode of “Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities.”
Kaz Brekker (Freddy Carter)
Kaz Brekker leads The Crows, a group of clever, skilled thieves in one way or another, in the Barrel, or the dangerous underbelly of Ketterdam, a trading port and black market city on the island of Kerch. Kaz runs the Crow Club, where gambling and debauchery is encouraged. Kaz makes his own under-the-table deals with various clients for large sums of money, enlisting Jesper Fahey (Kit Young), Inej Ghafa (Amita Suman) and more to accomplish these dangerous tasks.
Freddy Carter first appeared as a soldier in “Wonder Woman” (2017). He played Tom in the show “15 Days,” and he portrays Pin in “Free Rein: The Twelve Neighs of Christmas” (2018) as well as the “Free Rein” television series. He also portrayed Scott in “American Carnage” (2022).
Jesper Fahey (Kit Young)
Jesper Fahey is a skilled gunslinger who has a sharp eye and never misses a shot. His affinity for hats and fashion make him a stylish wielder of pistols, and he often asks what everyone is thinking.
Kit Young played Chris in the “Endeavour” TV series. He also starred as Lysander in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” for National Theatre Live in 2019. More recently he portrayed the younger version of the School Master twins Rafal and Rhian (whose older counterparts are played by Laurence Fishburne) in Netflix’s “The School for Good and Evil” (2022).
Inej Ghafa (Amita Suman)
Known as The Wraith, Inej serves Kaz because he has bought out her contract at The Menagerie, the brothel of Ketterdam. She can sneak into any building on any surface without making a sound, and she can wield any number of weapons that she keeps concealed in her bodice. Inej is also agile and acrobatic.
Besides “Shadow and Bone,” Amita Suman is known for playing Naya in The CW’s “The Outpost.” She also appeared as Nora in an episode of Netflix’s “The Sandman” and Umbreen in “Doctor Who.”
Tolya Yul-Bataar (Lewis Tan)
Tolya is Tamar’s twin brother. Skilled with his long knife, he prefers physical combat over his heartrending Grisha abilities. Tolya, who is from Shu Han, fits right into the large ensemble cast of this second season, first meeting Mal and Alina and then going off with The Crows for a big task.
Lewis Tan is known for playing Shatterstar in “Deadpool 2” (2018), Lu Xin Lee in the TV show “Wu Assassins” and Cole Young in James Wans’ WB reboot of “Mortal Kombat” (2021). He also played Kip in “About Fate” (2022). He also played the series regular Gaius Chau in Season 3 of AMC’s “Into The Badlands.”
Tamar Kir-Bataar (Anna Leong Brophy)
Tamar is Tolya’s twin sister, who also has heartrending capabilities, which she chooses to ignore over axe throwing. Tamar sticks more with Alina and Mal’s side of things, keeping Alina company on Sturmhond’s ship as one of the only other women and flirting with Nadia (Joanna McGibbon).
Anna Leong Brophy is known for playing Louise Chiu-Jones in the show “Traces.” Other TV credits include Bryony in “Back” and Hannah in “Ragdoll.”
Wylan Hendriks (Jack Wolfe)
Wylan is a gentle soul with a penchant for pyrotechnics and explosives. He joins The Crows as Kaz’s demolitions expert who can make all sorts of chemical concoctions out of various powders, minerals and more. He also recognizes elements out in the wild, and Jesper brings him out of his shy, quiet shell.
Jack Wolfe is known for playing Tim Walker in “The Magic Flute” (2022), Nadbor in “The Witcher” and Oliver in “Inside No. 9.”
Sturmhond/Nikolai Lantsov (Patrick Gibson)
Sturmhond is not a pirate, but a privateer who travels the world to keep an eye on other countries. He pays Kaz Brekker to lure Alina and Mal onto his ship so that he can return her to Ravka where she rightfully belongs. Revealing that he is actually Nikolai Lantsov, the younger son of the King and commander of the First Army, Nikolai has many ideas and tricks up his sleeves. There are rumors that the King is not his true father, which lower his already less powerful status as the king’s younger son.
Patrick Gibson is known for playing Steve Winchell in “The OA” on Netflix. He also portrayed Robert Gilson in “Tolkien” (2019). Another recent TV credit includes “Before We Die” in which he plays Christian Radicl/Laing.
Nina Zenik (Danielle Galligan)
Nina is a Heartrender who happens to fall in love with a Fjerdan Drüskelle, or military soldier trained to hunt, capture and execute Grisha. She and Matthias (Calahan Skogman) get separated and she joins The Crows in their planned heists connected once more to Alina and Mal.
Danielle Galligan is known for short films like “Strangers in the Park” and “Pernicio.” She appears in Hulu’s “The Great” as Yula and also in “Game of Thrones” as Sarra.
Matthias Helvar (Calahan Skogman)
Matthias is a Drüskelle, or a member of the elite military force of Fjerdans who worship the sacred Wellspring god Djel. Wolves are sacred to the Drüskelle, who train them as fighting companions. Matthias overcomes his learned prejudice toward Grisha when he meets Nina in Season 1 and falls in love with her. Now he has become imprisoned at Hellgate near Ketterdam.
Before “Shadow and Bone,” Calahan Skogman appeared in the short film “G.I. Jose” as Agent Mills.
Genya Safin (Daisy Head)
Genya is a unique Grisha who would be classified as Corporalki, but her craft is more delicate than even a Heartrenders. She is a tailor, and she can temporarily mend blemishes and other imperfections in one’s physical appearance. Genya serves the Darkling faithfully, even when he asks her to make some serious sacrifices.
Daisy Head is known for portraying Alexia in Underworld: Blood Wars” (2016), Arriane Alter in “Fallen” (2016) and Edith in “Wrong Turn” (2021). She also appeared as Jenny Crisp in “Endeavour,” the TV series and as Judy Talbot in “The Sandman” series on Netflix. She will soon appear in “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” alongside Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez and Regé-Jean Page.
David Kostyk (Luke Pasqualino)
David is a Fabrikator, the order of Grisha who can manipulate and shape substances. He and Genya are in love, but he carries out sinister duties for The Darkling, such as conducting research on Morozova and amplifiers. David is more rigid and cerebral, like an engineer of sorts, but he loves Genya fiercely.
Luke Pasqualino is known for playing Elvis Harte in the TV show “Our Girl.” He also played Grey in “Snowpiercer” (2013) and Greg in “The Apparition” (2012). He appears as Albert Hill in “Snatch” and D’Artagnana in BBC’s “The Musketeers” tv series.
Pekka Rollins (Dean Lennox Kelly)
Pekka Rollins is a rival of Kaz Brekker’s. He heads the Dime Lions gang, rival to The Crows. Pekka pulls many strings in the Barrel just like Kaz, competing with him for more influence. Pekka is not afraid to take lives for money, either.
Dean Lennox Kelly is known for playing Kev Ball in “Shameless,” Liam in “The Secret Life of Words” (2005), Sergeant Dixon in “Fleming” and Pete in “Frequently Asked Questions” (2009).
Baghra (Zoë Wanamaker)
Baghra is The Darkling’s mother, and she is a powerful shadow summoner as well. She trains Grisha to reach their full potential, and in Season 1, she helped Alina realize who The Darkling really was.
Zoë Wanamaker is known for playing Paula Strasberg in “My Week with Marilyn” (2011), Susan Harper in “My Family,” Moyra Henson in “Prime Suspect” and Madame Hooch in “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” (2001).
