Inej Ghafa from Shadow and Bone
Having enjoyed Leigh Bardugo’s “Grishaverse” books (man I hate that term though) I knew I was going to have a good time with the Netflix adaptation of her first book, Shadow and Bone. What was most fascinating to me was the choices made by showrunner Eric Heisserer, who insisted that he be allowed to bring several characters into the story that aren’t actually present in the trilogy – rather, they’re the main characters of the sequel duology Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom.
It’s easy to understand why this was a condition of his employment: the duology is a much more complex and polished work of fiction, and the characters less drawn from the typical YA mould (plucky heroine, broody villain, childhood best friend).
Among these characters is Inej Ghafa, who is safe to say, the fandom darling. And let’s be brutally honest here guys – it’s very rare that a brown girl ever becomes the undisputed favourite in fandom. Usually it’s difficult enough for female characters period to become so popular, yet Inej seems to be one of those rare “golden” characters that are universally beloved.
I recall actress Amita Suman saying in an interview that she was excited about playing Inej because the character was written as non-white (in the Grishaverse, her race is known as Suli) as opposed someone who was race-lifted to increase the diversity quota*, and was therefore a character who belonged to her entirely.
I get that, and Inej is certainly a gift to any actress, not only in getting to do loads of cool stuff (acrobatics, knife-throwing, stunt-work) but in the darkness of the backstory she’s given, and the way in which her every word, action and decision is a journey away from the trauma it has inflicted on her. In many ways she reminds me of Max from Black Sails; another young woman who has endured sexual violence, but who makes a clear and determined decision – over and over again – that she will not let it change her inherent goodness.
But as it happens, the show (like the book) is very lightweight when it comes to depicting the full extent of Inej’s suffering. I watched this show with a friend who had no foreknowledge of the books, and he didn’t pick up the fact she was captured as a slave, separated from her family, and made into an indentured sex worker. On the one hand, I can understand why the show (and Bardugo herself) wouldn’t want to delve too deeply into the horrors of this; on the other... well, like I said – it’s left extremely unclear just what the Menagerie is and why Inej is so desperate to escape it.
But Amita Suman carries the trauma of Inej’s time there in everything she says and does. She’s always controlled and contained, but there’s so much sadness in her eyes and the expressions on her face. I honestly think she put in the best performance, all the more so because it wasn’t as showy as her main screen partners, Freddy Carter and Kit Young, which meant she was putting more work in.
And Heisserer even finds the space to weave in a clear arc for her to follow: namely that her religious conviction makes her hesitant about kidnapping someone she believes is a living saint, and that she must confront her reluctance to kill when the people she cares about are on the line.
They’re both unique to the show, and therefore not perfectly integrated with the rest of the plot, but it provides her with a thoroughfare that can be picked up on later down the track (just as they seeded Jesper’s gambling problems and explored Kaz’s proclivity as a flawed genius who will one day concoct the Ice Court heist – he succeeded here largely through luck, but you can tell he’s learning as he goes).
The best part is that, having read the books, there’s some fantastic material ahead of her. Let’s just hope they make it that far.
* This is not a dig at Jessie Mei Li and the choice to make Alina half-Shu. They did some interesting things with that casting decision and how it affected her character, but at the same time I can understand why Amina Suman would make these comments about how Inej is portrayed in the book itself.
No comments:
Post a Comment