im very excited for s2 of shadow and bone because i want to see the crows and also i'm dreading it because if i have to see another "book kaz would NEVER get his ass beat like that" post im going to stapling chapters to foreheads.

our FIRST pov chapter from kaz brekker begins with him saying "If you couldn't walk by yourself through Ketterdam after dark, then you might as well hang a sign that read "soft" around your neck and lie down for a beating." followed, not THREE PAGES LATER, by him, in fact, getting drugged in an alley and beat! the whole point of kaz, the reason why he's interesting, is because so much of his reputation and his strength is built on lies. he lets people believe that he's worse than he is, that he has no heart, that he feels nothing, because that's the only way he wins. the truth of it, the actual truth of the thing is that kaz is only as invulnerable as his mental state: the reason he gets beat in the books in his first pov chapter is becuase he's distracted by the trauma of his brother coming back as a ghost. the reason he gets beat in the show is becuase he's distracted by the trauma of pekka rollins.

what makes kaz compelling is that there is always this tension between the reputation and revenge he has fought so hard for and how close he is, at all times, to losing it. if the right person finds out about his vulnerabilities and figures out how to use them, then it's over for him and he knows that. you need to be able to represent that tension in kaz or he's literally not interesting!! people without vulnerabilities, who do not ever fail, who do not ever fall down, are not interesting!!!

the show needs to be able to represent that tension and that arc in kaz, and one of the ways it (and the book!) had introduced that to us is by first introducing the idea that here is this character who is fearsome, who is impervious, who is brutal and terrifying, and then, once you know all of that, saying, and here's what scares him. here's what you need to understand could take him down, here's why you need to worry about him, root for him, care about him!! it's like some people are so obsessed with this narrow image of kaz that they are willing to sacrifice good story telling to keep it. we need to see kaz lose battles or we aren't going to care when he wins wars!!!

there's a lot you could say about the changes they've chosen to make for the show, and some of them i agree with, but this "kaz would NEVER lose a fight, ever" motif just frustrates me so bad because it's just like. categorically false. it's in chapter 3. page 43 of the book. the first chapter we have to introduce us to kaz brekker. not only would he absolutely get his ass beat like that, it is a fundamental part of him as a character !