Shadow and Bone is a Netflix original. It is based on a book series by Leigh Bardugo. Picture this: a world full of magic and danger. Alina, a young orphan, discovers her powers. These powers might save her world. She faces political drama, personal relationships and deadly foes. All while trying to fulfill her destiny. Sounds like a fun Saturday night, right?

Meet the characters from Shadow and Bone

Alina Starkov

Alina is this extraordinary, messy sun-thing who suddenly becomes the center of everyone’s drama — a true power on the page but also kind of awkward and adorable in how she doesn’t always know what to do with it. Brave and stubborn, she wants to do the right thing but also panics and Googles feelings in her head (not literally, but you know). She’s both a symbol and a very real person who misses home and has terrible handwriting for some reason — I swear she doodles maps when she should be making plans. And of course she’s more complicated than “chosen one”; she second-guesses herself, then surprises everyone by refusing to be boxed in.

The Darkling

Oh man, the Darkling is peak broody-power; he walks into a room and the air feels dramatic even if it’s just a kitchen, honestly. Commanding, dangerous, persuasive — like he could convince you that you wanted to be convinced — but also weirdly lonely, and sometimes he’ll do something small and domestic (I can picture him reorganizing a cabinet at two a.m. — don’t ask why). He believes in a vision so hard it bends morality around it, which is thrilling and terrifying at once. You’d follow him for the view and then regret the trip but also be secretly impressed.

Kaz Brekker

Kaz is the scheming mastermind with mud on his boots and a ledger of grudges — cold, clever, and always three steps ahead, except on Saturdays when he misplaces his cane (or he actually never misplaces it, who knows). He’s ruthless to enemies and weirdly sentimental about one coin or maybe a broken watch he swears he’ll fix “someday,” which he never does because plans are for other people. Leader of the Dregs, low-key terrified of feelings, but also has like one very specific soft spot and he’ll cut someone’s throat for it and then apologize later. He’s the kind of guy who hates losing and loves rules he wrote himself.

Malyen Oretsev

Mal is the gruff, practical hero type — loyal to a fault, brilliant with a bow, and has this stubborn, outdoorsy energy like he lives on rations and honest sweat. He’s protective over Alina in a way that’s equal parts sweet and possessive and sometimes he sulks like a misplaced mountain goat; yes he definitely whistles tunelessly when nervous. There’s this simplicity to him that’s comforting — troops, trackers, and people who know how to make a camp look like a painting — but he’s not a flat “good guy,” he’s complicated and prickly and really honest about it. Also, he swears by tea and I think he loses his gloves a lot, which is tragic.

Inej Ghafa

Inej is literally grace with knives — quiet, observant, spiritual, and terrifyingly good at slipping through shadows; she’s called the Wraith for a reason and yes she can probably climb a curtain if you blink. She’s got this calm moral center that balances out the crew’s worst impulses, but she’s not soft; she has boundaries and a kind of fierce, pragmatic faith that surprises people who expect sainthood. She believes in a kind of gentle justice and in helping people, and also collects tiny, useless souvenirs (a pressed leaf? a strange button?) that she hides in her pocket. There’s warmth under the silence — and don’t make her mad because she’ll get you where you can’t see her coming.

Jesper Fahey

Jesper is guns, jokes, and a terrible gambler who will flirt with danger and with literally everyone in the room — addictively fun and loudly alive, but with an undercurrent that makes you worry about him. He’s the one who smiles through chaos, cracks a joke at a funeral probably, and then cries into his pillow later; also he has excellent aim and a suspiciously large hat collection. He likes dice, fireworks, small animal print scarves (maybe), and somehow manages to make even reckless choices feel like a performance. Charming, chaotic, and heartbreakingly loyal, he’s the heart that sometimes forgets to breathe.

Ivan

Ivan is the big, silent type who somehow carries both the threat of a storm and the weird comfort of a heavy blanket — hulking, steady, maybe a little scary but weirdly soft around people he trusts. Loyal to his cause in a way that’s almost simple, he’s a go-to for the physically impossible and also quietly collects something like old stamps? (I might be mixing that up, but I love the idea.) He’s stoic in battle but if you catch him off-guard he’ll show a goofy grin like he’s secretly delighted by small joys, and that contrast is everything. He’s the muscle with a mystery novel’s emotional depth, basically.

Fedyor Kaminsky

Fedyor is the calm, practical backbone — the sort of person who seems small until you see how steady he is in a crisis, and then you remember he’s the one who keeps things from falling apart. He speaks quietly, plans better than you do, and probably has a cupboard of secret snacks he will never admit to — maybe pickles? — I can never be sure. He’s not flashy, but his reliability is scarier than flash because you can’t surprise him; he’s already three moves ahead and mildly amused. He also hums old marching songs when he thinks no one’s listening, and that makes him oddly human.

Nina Zenik

Nina is loud and loving and will punch you in the face for being mean to her friends, then bake you a cake because feelings are complicated and so is she. She’s warm, brave, and a veteran at wearing multiple hats — spy, healer-ish? (I can never remember the exact labels, who cares) — but the point is she does what needs doing and makes it look charming. She loves food almost as much as loyalty, has a sing-song laugh that ruins plans and fixes them simultaneously, and is the kind of person who will adopt stray animals and also smuggle you across borders. Fierce, generous, and perpetually ready to shake you awake with sensible shoes and an impossible grin.