Spoilers ahead for Shadow and Bone season two finale. If you haven't watched the entire season—especially the last scene of season two, episode eight—turn back now!
In the final moments of Shadow and Bone season two, Nikolai Lantsov becomes the king of Ravka, with Alina by his side. His victorious coronation is interrupted, however, by an attack from a Fjerdan operative, who takes a drug called jurda parem to amplify her power.
The attack happens as Kaz narrates to the Crows about the dangerous threat of the drug. "There's a new weapon about to hit the market. If it does, it could make the destruction of the Shadow Fold seem like a spring picnic," Kaz says. "Every corner of the world would feel the effects. It's as drug called jurda parem. Highly addictive. And if Grisha take it, their power is amplified a thousand times over. The chemist who created it fled to Kerch once he realized what he'd done, but the Fjerdans caught him. He now awaits trial. If the Fjerdans weaponize this drug, the consequences would be unimaginable. Everything we've ever known, every strength we've relied upon, shattered."
What Kaz doesn't know, of course, is that the Fjerdans have already weaponized it—as evidenced by the woman who takes it to attack Nikolai's coronation. It's a shocking, violent finale, and one that sets up a possible third season of the hit Netflix fantasy series to follow the storyline of Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows books.
Actor Patrick "Paddy" Gibson, who plays Nikolai, tells Town & Country he was "so excited" when he read the scripts and came upon that scene. "I knew that we were doing a couple of books, but there's a lot to pack in and I wasn't sure if we'd make it that far," he says. The scene, he adds, is a "mad place" to end the season.
T&C chatted with Gibson all about the finale of Shadow and Bone season two, what it was like playing Sturmhond and Prince Nikolai, and what he's hoping for in season three.
This conversation has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
What was it like joining the cast of Shadow and Bone for season two?
I was familiar with the show and the books and everything. In a strange coincidence, I started watching episodes one and two before about the audition and I loved it. I loved the tone of it; it was really, really fun to watch. I loved what everyone was doing in those first couple episodes with Archie [Renaux, who plays Mal] and Jessie [Mei Li, who plays Alina]. I thought all the performances are so great.
I initially got Sturhmond for a couple of tapes—it didn't say anything about Nikolai. At that point, I hadn't read the book yet, so I was so intrigued by who this character was. And then, even more so after I did that first audition and they brought both sides of him to me; that's when I really fell in love with it. Knowing that Sturhmond was this persona and armor that he put on, it was really exciting to see the man behind that mask.
I did a couple of meetings, and then I had a Zoom with Jessie. I had just moved into a new apartment, and I had no wifi, so I sprinted down to like my dad's, showed up incredibly sweaty and flustered and they were all very, very understanding. Jessie was just so amazing on that Zoom that I remember logging off and being like, I'm gonna be heartbroken if I don't get this because she's so great. Everyone was so, so fantastic.
Within the Shadow and Bone fandom, Nikolai is such a fan favorite character, and he has his own series, the King of Scars duology. How did you handle the pressure of the fandom?
It definitely became apparent when I read the book. I was like, wow, this guy is so cool and such a great character and so multilayered. I knew what I was in for, a little bit. It is always pressure! I have characters that I love—especially when you read something and you build a picture of them in your mind. When you read a book, you're acting out the characters, and through that, you view a lot of your own experience, so it becomes a very personal thing. I think that happens when you play a character, too; I did feel a lot of connection with Nikolai.
When it's revealed Sturmhond is actually royalty, a.k.a Prince Nikolai, did anything change in your approach to the scenes where you are playing just Nikolai—without the mask of the swaggering privateer?
Because of the fact that he's living outside of the court, Sturmhond has let himself to be this version of himself that is a a lot more flamboyant and free. Having to go back to the court and the palace means reminds him of all those constraints that he was living under. People have this idea of him as being a royal, and I don't think he's ever really felt like he fits into that. He's always felt like a bit of an outsider. It's interesting to see somebody who goes from being an ultra-confident free spirit to seeing him in an environment where he has to censor himself, and yet be vulnerable for the first time in a long time.
Was there anything that you relate to about his character?
In a sense, he is an actor. He's taken on this role of Sturmhond, and it's wish fulfillment for him. I think a lot of the time when you're acting, when you're drawn to a character, there is something that—because it's an aspirational way of being, you're like, I relate to that. I could see myself as that.
When he comes home, he's stripped of all of that stuff and he has to be himself and bear his true colors because everybody knows him. In a way, it's similar to when you go off on an acting job; you get to pretend to be this other person and live in this fantasy world, and then you come home and everyone knows you and all your flaws. You get brought back down to earth. In a good way, that happens to Nikolai. I definitely felt a lot of similarities there.
When we get to the finale and Nikolai gives Sturmhond's boat to Mal, do you think he's thinking about Mal in terms of Alina?
I don't think that's it. It's such a multi-layered and complicated relationship that all three of them have. Mal, at that point, feels like he's kind of been living for Alina for the longest time and that's what he wanted to do. But after it's all over, and they've taken down the Fold, he's like, who am I now? Can I hang around here? He has to go off and find out who he is without her, in order to maybe come back and be together. But I think Nikolai isn't doing that for selfish reason, but I'm curious to see what happens with their relationship.
What's your take on Nikolai and Alina's relationship?
It's quite a lovely, delicate storyline there and something of a love triangle. It's a subtle thing that happens—it's really nice to see them interacting, and they can't really broach [romance] because there's so much going on. He has a line at the end where he tells Alina, "Not until you're thinking about me, instead of trying to forget him." It sounds egotistical, but I think he really means "I don't want you to have to pretend, and I'm willing to wait."
With the finale coronation scene, did you turn to any historical references?
I did look at some real coronations because there's a bunch of videos online. There's lots of footage. I watched [Queen Elizabeth's] coronation. What's interesting is they're so stoic when they do theirs, because that's how you behave in court, you don't show emotion and you're very much like a powerful figurehead. They were very stiff, but in this [coronation] Nikolai wouldn't go as far as giving someone a wink, but he acknowledges he's there and he's like we did this together. Nikolai is such a man of the people, he doesn't feel like he got himself there on his own, everyone helped him to get there.
When you read the script for episode eight, what was your reaction to what was going to go down in those last moments?
It's such a dramatic climax! We've been through this huge battle and so much has happened, Nikolai almost feels that sigh of relief, and things are starting to fall into place: Mal's gone off and taken the Sturmhond role; Nikolai has finally accepted that he can be himself; he's finally accepted that he's fallen in love with Alina. And then of course, like everything in the Grishaverse, they just throw a spanner in the works. Just as he's having a good day and they're having a coronation, some Grisha who's taken jurda parem just goes on a rampage. It's a mad place to end a season. It's so violent and really intense.
I know we don't see Nikolai's reaction or what comes next, but what do you think his reaction to that moment would be like?
Initially, seeing all his people suffering and dying in front of him is incredibly traumatic. Then also he sees Alina use the Cut [a power that uses shadows/darkness to slice something]; that's a huge power that she has, it's what the Darkling had. It's on the verge of dangerous. She's so powerful. That level of violence we haven't seen from her, which is so exciting. I think Nikolai is like, Oh, wow. He knows he's got nichevo'ya [shadow monsters] in him. For good triumphing over evil, maybe there's a price to pay for that. It raises a lot of questions.
If Shadow and Bone comes back for season three, what do you hope to explore with Nikolai in the next season?
He goes on such a journey in this season. Out of all the characters I've ever done, he's probably the most just good. He's suspiciously good. Like, really? You're this nice of a guy? But he really is! He may have to really battle with an inner darkness that he hasn't had before, and I think that will be really interesting because his intentions are so good, and his motivations are so good, but having a bit of the Darkling get inside you...there's going to be a battle of good versus evil that is within him, and not just outside. That would be really cool because I love playing darker characters. It is normally what I end up doing. It would be interesting to play Nikolai with more of an inner struggle.
Without that inner struggle, what was your way in to play Nikolai this season?
You know, I just did it like meself [laughs]. When he drops the façade of Sturmhond, and sees that those around him accept and love him, and he doesn't have to be this person that he thinks he has to play, that's something I think a lot of people can relate to.
Emily Burack (she/her) is the Senior News Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, culture, the royals, and a range of other subjects. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram.
