Ben Barnes & Jessie Mei Li talk about the end of Shadow and Bone & Darklina

During Empire Conventions' #asocas3, Ben Barnes & Jessie Mei Li has talked about the end of #shadowandbone & the Darkling and Alina's relationship, Darklina.
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Pictures of the event : frconventions.com/event/a-sto...
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FrConventions is a media about French fan events.
Our website : www.frconventions.com

[@aboutnici]

I agree with Ben Barnes and Jessie Mei Li about the development of their characters and their relationship, how they wanted to add more scenes, but the writers disappointed them, I would love for them to star in a rom-com together!

[@ullamorozova]

If they had just let Ben and Jessie write their parts. We would have had sooooo much angst and enemies to lovers energy - the exact thing that attracts general audiences!!! We would have gotten a s3

[@Chasingdreams25]

​@@ullamorozovaThey just had to stick to the books.

[@all-for-one--]

s2 should have ended with the actual church scene from the books. And if they had kept the actual enemies to lovers vibes of the books, then general audiences would have tuned in even more. He was playing with viewership numbers to get his spinoff and he chose the poison pill malina to tank his own shot. The amount of locals who openly say they skipped malina parts is insane. Eric should have chosen the route that got the MOST views and that would be crows + darklina.

[@ullamorozova]

IF THEY HAD DONE DARKLINA WE WOULD HAVE GOTTEN A S3!!!! The enemies to lovers angst is what made the s&b side interesting in the first place!! The ending of her choosing mercy for him with the knife was pivotal. It wasn’t emotionless or hate filled, it was a beautiful tragedy.

[@all-for-one--]

I can't believe they didn't read the mercy monologue. Show how little Eric and Co cared about S&B, their main focus was just the crows

[@Chasingdreams25]

​@@all-for-one-- Whenever I remember that Karma bit them at the end, it's the only thing that satisfy me.

[@all-for-one--]

@@Chasingdreams25 As Taylor Swift says "Karma's a relaxing thought"

[@Sunshine-od2cd]

Malina is literally what made us lose the spinoff. Audiences wanted darklina. Removing darklina made alina's story fall drastically. They were literally what MADE s&b become famous, they attracted general audiences. Not malina

[@ullamorozova]

@@Sunshine-od2cd Yeah, malina ruined the whole franchise. Crow fans should never have sided with that boring pairing. It sunk our chances for the spinoff. Karma is strong

[@moonreverie]

once again mourning what s2 could have been

[@MegaQuistis]

If we got Darklina and more scenes in season 2, season 3 would be guaranteed. Their relationship was beautiful and we knew from the beginning that it was toxic, but as Jessie herself admitted, people want to watch it, they understand it and they are interested in it. And Ben wanting Darklina endgame? And in such a beautiful way? It's a dream come true and what ordinary viewers wanted.

[@ullamorozova]

Yes. It’s amazing how the producers and writers shot themselves in the foot. By removing darklina, they removed the core of SaB, the element that pushed it to international fame in 2010s. Their complex dynamic is appealing to general audiences and would have gotten us a s3 for sure.

[@MegaQuistis]

@@ullamorozova Yes, I was attracted to the dynamics of Darkling and Alina because I didn't know SaB before and they were the ones who kept me interested in this series. It's sad how they were treated, but I believe that SaB will be saved and the writers will think about it, fix the mistakes and give people what they wanted. Jessie herself admitted that people like it and identify with it.

[@Sunshine-od2cd]

It's even more concerning that the writers and Jessie aren't talking about how toxic mal truly is. He is literally the toxic man every single person can easily find irl.

[@MegaQuistis]

@@Sunshine-od2cd in this series everyone was polished compared to the books, especially Mal who was completely stripped of his character in an attempt to make him the good guy😅😅

[@moonreverie]

1:12 jessie simply gets it ahhh

[@heyfelixxxheyyyigottheimpo4560]

It's amazing to see more of these interactions, I'd love to see more videos of this event! Thank you so much for posting these

[@bbria28]

I would have died for Darklina!! Their relationship was toxic true but it was also honest and raw. Hell they could have taken out some of the worst things and given the Darkling a redemption arc. Like damn its your adaption! Adapt that shit!

[@MegaQuistis]

We all wanted and still want his redemption because he deserves it. Ana Darklina...it would be fantastic to see them again.

[@all-for-one--]

@@MegaQuistis Not with Eric Heisserer on board. He, and some writers like Christina Strain, made it their personal mission to destroy the character. Strain was even on social media telling everyone how she destroyed The Darkling's backstory and added the really dumb and non-sense finger scenes in s2 JUST to destroy the character. Someone even told her how it was making the character seem like a flat, one-dimensional villain and she literally said that's the point.They don't want a darklina romance. Worst of all, they had and still have ZERO respect for the character and the fans. Do not give them your support when Strain and Eric very openly hate the character and the fans.

[@all-for-one--]

IF, and that's a big if, we somehow got a s3....Eric would make sure to use it to ruin the character even more. Strain would once again make it her personal mission to destroy the character and brag about doing it online. The best thing for the fans of original books was to see the show get cancelled so these showrunner and writers who hate the OG fans who were there since 2012 don't continue ruining the show. They sadly only cared about the Crows.

[@MegaQuistis]

@@all-for-one-- I don't like s2 either. I was very disappointed and I know how many other people were too. However, it seems to me that these do not necessarily have to be the same scriptwriters. Netflix clearly didn't like what they did after 1 wonderful season, especially ChS. What if it's them? Believe me, they are certainly aware of how poor the reception was after the premiere and that every mistake can be fixed. Darkling and Darklina have proven to be the driving force behind SaB, and although some of the fandom doesn't want to admit it, the general audience has the upper hand here and they loved Aleksander and Alina together. This gave results, so if we have evidence of poor reception of s2, in s3 we can easily return to the track of success with s1. I still believe that it will work and that this time the people who failed will either not take part in it, or will come to their senses and correct their mistakes.

[@all-for-one--]

@@MegaQuistis sadly removing the writers will be very unlikely, some like Christina Strain are friends with Leigh Bardugo. And worse, Eric will be the hardest to remove he's the showrunner who is calling all the major shots. He'll make sure the bad writers stay and Eric himself hates half the fanbase and the darkling. he didn't have to go on multiple interviews to bash him but he did. I don't think Eric will ever change even when shown that malina tanked the show he still insisted on the poison pill to say they'd be explored in s3 even when he knowns the general audience did NOT watch, and even skipped, that bland ship. It's not just the writers. Eric is part of the problem

[@magnolious._.n]

you know what, Ben's version/changes for his charachter about the Darkling gaining light powers and Alina having to navigate her shadow powers is actually GREAT- we could get a darklina endgame throught it when Alina gets to understand the darkling's perspective and the influences his powers had on his disposition and decision-making and perhaps grow softer towards him? (needless to say his powers weren't the only source of his sinister bearings- his circumstances also played a role its developement so it can't completely undone without major intervetions like idk therapy and redemption arc but nothing is perfect so ? ) and the darkling could finally disassociate from the melancholy hold of his powers on him as well as help Alina elude the dark hold and lean into the powers according to her inclinations ? THERE'S SOMETHING THERE

[@clementinebreeden7030]

jessie is the only person beside my mom who i’ve seen bite their knuckles like that😭😭 i think it’s so funny

[@OpenSoulTarot]

Thanks for posting this! 🖤

[@lost0055]

Both leads being disappointed by the turn their stories took... yeah the show being cancelled isn't a surprise at all. the writers completely fucked it up.

[@ullamorozova]

Amen. Writers and producers, the producers could have reigned in the writers and given at least some Darklina crumbs. They gave us nothing. They got karma back

[@AuthorZaraHoffman]

@@ullamorozovaexactly!

[@all-for-one--]

It was so disappointing

[@quinevere]

I blame the writers WAY more than the producers. I mean Eric messed up by combining them but beyond that? Writers.​@@ullamorozova

[@ullamorozova]

@@quinevere yeah, but Eric Heisserer was head writer and the main showrunner. He okayed the bad decision to tank Darklina and tank the show. He even said if there’s a s3 he’s pushing malina….again….even when it’s obvious that pairing was not only boring but made casual viewers skip/downright stop watching

[@aurelijasakalauskaite7998]

3:41 Ben just stares into your soul😂😂

[@diosbatman]

Holy f lmao

[@Tuberiascaesar]

Speaking only for my own fanfic head cannon, if I'd been writing the show I'd have wanted to see them do a game of thrones thing where they discover you can bond with the amplifier rather than having to kill it, like Alina was starting to do with the stag. Also, whether it was through flashbacks or pulling a soap opera way to bring them back from the dead, I'd have foudn a way to weave morozova and his unnamed wife so I could do a kaz brekker style punishment on them and same with several other awful people in the story. Lastly I'd have developed more of the save the world subplot from the last two books to make it more epic, while also including other things from companion books to make it an epic ride, without going too fast.

[@magnolious._.n]

this is them AFTER the cancellation news ?

[@allison3852]

is there going to be a 3 season

[@ullamorozova]

No. By removing Darklina, the writers let half the fan base know not to watch. General audiences, who had been enticed by Darklina and crow dynamic, either didn’t finish s2 or skipped the malina parts - they had very low completion rates.

[@ullamorozova]

It was officially cancelled November 2023. The actors are finally free to speak their truth

[@irenerodriguezcanal5876]

The cancelation of Shadow and Bone was and is UNFAIR. Please, everyone, SAVE SHADOW AND BONE, we NEED the 3rd season and the Six of Crows spin off 💪🏻🍀

[@all-for-one--]

Only if we can guarantee that the same writers who pushed to "remove all undertones of romance" for darklina stays away from s3. That decision nuked the fan base in half and pushed away general audience members who came in because they liked s1 darklina and crows dynamic. Instead, for s2 all I saw and heard was locals saying they skipped the malina parts and watched the crows. this lowered the completion rate for the show and Netflix cares about that.