Shadow and Bone’s Kaz Brekker and Inej Ghafa are a rare, one-of-a-kind ship. The understanding that runs through them both, the unyielding loyalty, and the determination to do whatever is necessary to protect each other are essentially undefeated. Author Leigh Bardugo writes it best in Crooked Kingdom when she paints them through Nina Zenik’s point of view. “Nina knew that look. It came after the shipwreck, when the tide moved against you and the sky had gone dark. It was the first sight of land, the hope of shelter and even salvation that might await you on a distant shore.” Kanej, as fans lovingly call them, are the partners-in-crime, ultimate slow burn pairing. The til death do us part, it’ll always be you and no one else, I’ll always find you, come for you, fight for you—you name it.
There’s nothing they wouldn’t do for each other, and there’s no challenge they aren’t willing to overcome to ensure the other is safe. As two people who’ve had far too much taken from them, Kaz and Inej consistently give everything they have to each other. There’s something to be said about how the books and the TV series showcase all of this through subtle means of exhibition, too. Because of Kaz’s haphephobia and Inej’s trauma from the Menagerie, intimate physical contact is out of the question for now, but they’ll try still. Kaz will put his fears aside to help bandage her wound. He’ll try to open up even when it feels damn near impossible.
They fight and push each other to new heights, ensuring that everything we see between them is love in its most unwavering form. They’re two halves of similar coins but different enough to be exactly what the other needs. There’s a deep connection between them that goes beyond anything else they’ve known because they choose to be beside each other even while everything else is uncertain. And perhaps, more importantly, they give each other agency, the one thing that no one else has trusted to grant them. They choose to give each other freedom.
Further, for their dynamic work, the show needed two actors who could communicate in silence—two performers who embody the roles so perfectly that they easily show us far more than the words on the page. Amita Suman and Freddy Carter are perfectly cast because a significant reason why their interactions consistently hit like a ton of bricks is because the actors understand everything that’s deep within their characters. Simultaneously, they know each other’s characters on intimate levels, making even the more mundane interactions pack a punch.
And now, without further ado, if you’re missing them as fervently as we are, here are the best fan videos to drown in your feelings with.
1. Kaz and Inej | “Beautiful Crime” by Natalie Sweet
2. Kaz and Inej | “I’ll Crawl Home to Her” [+S2] by bloodymarie
3. Kaz and Inej | “Walk Through the Fire” by Consu Frutos
4. Kaz and Inej | “Are You With Me?” by Aphrodite
5. Kaz + Inej | “Take on the World” by smileedits
6. Kaz + Inej | “Hurricane” by Jesscahhhh
7. Kaz and Inej | “Never Let Me Go” by Sleepinginthedark 2211
8. Kaz and Inej | “Iris” [+S2] by WickedGame
9. Kaz and Inej | “Just Stay” (S2) by sunnyvids
10. Kaz and Inej | “I Need My Girl” by Limerence
Shadow and Bone Season 1 and 2 are now streaming on Netflix.
