I recently watched Shadow and Bone on Netflix, and while it has its issues, I enjoyed it quite a bit on the whole. I haven’t yet read any of the books it’s based on – that’s on the to-do list, along with writing an overall show review and maybe a couple other posts. But because Priorities, and because it’s Pride Month, I had to start with my absolute favorite, a certain charming bisexual sharpshooter. Here we go!
Evidently, in the series that Shadow and Bone comes from, Jesper and his compatriots, the Crows, aren’t in the original trilogy that forms the basis for season 1’s story. They don’t appear until a later duology set in the same universe, but whoever decided to bring them up and incorporate them into the story earlier (along with a few other later-book characters) definitely deserves a raise. Because I like the story of Shadow and Bone. I enjoy the main character’s journey, and the world she exists in is neat. But I adore Jesper, and if I had to wait like three seasons to meet him, the books wouldn’t currently be at the top of my reading list. He and the Crows are awesome, and in my admittedly-uninformed estimation, the show is all the better for having them in it from jump.
While the main action in the series takes place in the fantasy country of Ravka, Jesper lives on an island off the coast, in a city that’s a textbook wretched hive of scum and villainy. He and his friends Kaz and Inej are ne’er-do-wells of the lovable-criminal variety, in a similar vein to Han Solo or the Firefly crew, albeit in a fantasy setting and with their own vibe that’s uniquely them. I’ll get to the Crows as a unit on another day, but right now, let’s look solely at Jesper.
The immediate air Jesper gives off is that of the charismatic troublemaker. He’s funny and personable, he enjoys provoking people, and he has enough of a gambling problem that he allows it to get in the way of the Crows’ illegitimate business dealings. The crew very nearly doesn’t survive the onset of the job they’re attempting to pull throughout the season because Jesper gets distracted at the tables instead of holding up his end of the preparations. Kaz and Inej are both more serious than he is and, at first blush, better at what they do. They’re the ones with their head in the game, while Jesper is the one Kaz admonishes to pay attention and not screw it up.
Which would be a perfectly-entertaining character type all on its own. Every ragtag band of outsiders needs some good comic relief, and story-wise, it never hurts to have a wildcard who keeps things from going too smoothly. On both counts, Jesper fits the bill nicely. And if he was just those things, he’d probably still be my favorite character, because he’s just so much fun. But what I really appreciate about Jesper is that, in a particular respect, he’s also devastatingly hyper-competent. As he points out to Kaz, the chief “Jesper talent” is to “shoot things with style” (and to look good while doing it – oh, Jesper.) He has an everpresent pair of revolvers at his side, and when he lets loose with them, his precision and focus are just stunning. When Jesper’s sharpshooting skills are called upon, he transforms. Not that he loses his humor or panache, but this ability comes from somewhere deep within him, and whether he’s saving himself and his friends from literal death or simply causing an expertly-timed distraction, he’s unmatched.
I love that. I love when largely-comedic characters show a different side to themselves. It may not always involve unleashing their inner badass, like it does with Jesper, but it’s an important way to show why they shouldn’t be underestimated. There are a few displays of Jesper’s unparalleled marksmanship in the first two episodes of the season, but he gets a showcase scene in episode 3 – one, by the way, that comes pretty quickly on the heels of a major “lovable screw-up” moment – that instantly shows just how much he’s capable of. It’s the scene in which my opinion of Jesper went from “okay, this guy is delightful” to “I just met my new platonic crush.”
Aside from the fun one-liners, the unpredictability, and the killer action scenes, there’s plenty more to love about Jesper. I love that, despite sometimes being a mess, there’s little he wouldn’t do for his friends. It’s clear that he and Inej have been through things together and understand one another at a pretty deep level, and even though he and Kaz butt heads on more than one occasion, he ultimately puts his faith in Kaz as their fearless leader. He’s definitely vain, something of a show-off, and more than a bit of a rascal, but he has an honesty to him too. He’s open about his fear or sadness or confusion, and he doesn’t use bluster or bravado to brush aside his feelings.
Finally, I like the way Jesper’s queerness is portrayed as a facet of his character, one of many. It’s not a constant parade of “look at Bisexual Jesper the Bisexual Character!!”, where his LGBTQ identity is his only characterization (as evidenced by all the previous paragraphs of this write-up,) but the show also doesn’t go the route of downplaying it, throwing in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it reference and nothing more, or just hinting at it without any explicit acknowledgement. Additionally, from a bi-specific standpoint, I appreciate that he’s shown to be a cheeky, affectionate person who’s not afraid to flirt but who isn’t constantly flirting with/trying to sleep with every attractive person he comes across. When it comes to bi/pan characters, TV (genre TV especially) tends so often toward the latter – think of Captain Jack Harkness’s “so many species, so little time” approach to the universe, Oberyn Martell viewing the Seven Kingdoms as his personal sex buffet, or the fact that most of Mangus Bane’s stories about life as an immortal warlock involve a tryst with a historical figure. I love all these characters, but they hit a very particular button, and I’m glad that Jesper’s bisexuality isn’t painted as, “It’s open season on everyone!!” He’s just bi; it’s a thing. He’s into guys, he’s into women, and he’s also a joker, a gambler, a sharpshooter, a criminal, a loyal friend, and so much more.
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