Netflix’s Shadow and Bone: Who is Inej?

The time has come! We’ve finally got to see what Netflix’s Shadow and Bone is going to look like. Fans (including me) have been waiting for this day for well over a year. But for people who haven’t read the books, these characters and this story are brand new. So let’s discuss one of the best characters in the entire Grishaverse series: Inej Ghafa.

Inej has deep brown skin and black hair that she normally keeps in a braid running down her back (which the series has done perfectly based on the new pictures). She grew up in a family of acrobats in Ravka. They traveled and performed together which is why Inej is so good at getting into places others wouldn’t dream of.

But a few days before her fourteenth birthday, she is kidnapped and sold to a woman named Tante Heleen, the owner of a pleasure house in Ketterdam. Inej is forced to work there until one day, Kaz Brekker shows up.

Kaz, as usual, was looking for information about high-profile people from Tante Heleen. Inej saw that as her chance to get out and approached him offering her help. At first, he doesn’t respond, but ends up coming back later and recruits her into his gang, The Dregs.

Inej is played by Amita Suman on Netflix’s Shadow and Bone

In the Dregs, Inej becomes The Wraith. She can sneak up on just about anyone without them knowing. She is stealthy, agile, and can climb just about anything. Her weapons of choice are knives that she keeps on her at all times.

She also happens to name all her knives. The first knife she ever received was from Kaz. The others include Sankta Alina, a bone-handled knife, Sankta Marya and Anastasia which she keeps on her thighs, and Sankta Vladamir is in one of her boots.

Her closest relationships are with Kaz and Nina Zenik, but Kaz is definitely the one she feels the greatest bond with. The tension between Inej and him is legendary. They’re are the perfect example of a will-they-won’t-they couple. They have their own dark pasts and their own issues that keep them from taking the leap to being together, but that doesn’t make their dynamic and chemistry any less interesting.

With the Grishaverse fandom, every fan has their favorite character but Inej is definitely one that’s near the top of everyone’s list. She is 100% my favorite character. It’s hard not to fall in love with someone who has been through so much but has been able to fight their way back and become such a bad*ss. She also has some of the best quotes in the series and I’m a sucker for good dialogue.

I can’t wait to see how Amita Suman plays her. Based on the pictures alone, she looks perfect. Luckily, we don’t have to wait long to see Inej in action as the Netflix show comes out on Friday, April 23.

Shadow and Bone character poster: Inej

Are you excited to see Inej come to life on Shadow and Bone? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!