The Darkling | So Far [character study] 

alina and The Darkling are like two sides of the same coin... Forever connected. I haven't read the books but the Netflix show has shown so much depth in his character, and the flashbacks show that he had reasons for what he did, he really was trying to protect his people, you could tell that he didn't actually aim to create the fold, it came from his immense pain and anger from his never-ending persecution and loss and It took on a life of its own. I don't think he is pure evil at all, yes he has done evil things, but I believe that no one is beyond redemption and it would be really good if the series played this out... You could see that he did have genuine feelings for Alina, it wasn't all manipulation. It would be so good if they would look more until their connection in season 2 and that inspite of her better judgement that she starts to understand him and actually cares for him. he is such an intriguing character with so many layers to him and I hope Netflix will continue to give us that, and not make him some one dimensional villian. there could be potential for Alina's light to save him from himself and let go of the bitterness and revenge that has blighted his existence! I really hope they explore this possibility! also, at the end of the season he was really doing what he thought was the only option at that point, he knew they would all be killed on approach, but his thinking has been marred by hate. I hope he can be saved somehow, please Netflix! also the chemistry is so much stronger between Darkling and Alina, Mal is a bit bland and they really seem more like loving friends than anything else at this point, I know in the end Mal will be her destiny, but please give us some more Darkling and Alina content before that time!

Alexander feels deeply for her. It's not just power. Similar attraction damon had to elena.

He's such a good actor!!!! You see the emotion in his eyes. It's convincing! Why isn't Ben Barnes in everything? He freaking killed this role!!!

😥😥😥😥 Why can't Alina just be patient and look a little deeper? I'm not saying she has to agree with him, but just hear him out.

:(( my baby ❤️❤️❤️ He needs a hug, and no one just listens to him. They just need to talk with him normaly, not push him away and deny that he has a point. Understand him. May the show give him more justice please 😭✊ Books need to explore him more

I heard that on Netflix some other character elements have been changed a bit from the book, so that gives me hope that they will continue with this! Someone commented that Mal has a softer character , and that in the books he was a bit of a player, and a prat at times. Another point is that with Aleksander, the kissing scenes are changed from the book - Alina kisses him first, then in the next scene he also asks 'are you sure?' ....again, this shows that he cares about what she wants to a degree. He doesn't want to force her into anything. So he is not the completely power mad, controlling villain etc... This shows an element of his humanity...

If you want to know what kind of Childhood he had and see all the things he had to deal with read the Demon in the Wood it breaks my heart 💔 he just wanted to make a safe place for the grisha So no one else would have to live like he did never be afraid or hunted but I think deep down he wanted to build a place so he can feel safe do you know he is scared of the dark and love sunlight his favorite color is Rainbow and favorite food is dessert 😢 when you see how grisha used to live and think how they live now you will see how much he did for the geisha but no one remember the good he did just the bad 😭

He has such a good villain story tho. He has good meaning reasons for his initial action. He still did a lot of evil things down the road, but I wouldn’t put it past him to be able to change. (I do know the basic storyline of the books, but who knows of that will be identical).

It hurts me seeing him like that and I really wish he doesn't end up like in the book.. Darkling stans! 😭🖤

He was never the same, when he saw the love of his life murder in front of him. But when he meant Alina she brought back his laughter, smile’s , and heart. ❤️🥰

In the books a lot of his actions were not redeemable and he was sort of one dimensional but here they have shown so much more reason and depth within his actions, he has a potential to become anti hero instead of the villain of this story. And Alina is like a child who is not willing to understand anything tbh she’s so bland sometimes that I can’t. They have improved mals character a lot thou. I hated him in the books.

It had just occurred to me maybe that’s why he wants her so badly. That for once it’s someone as strong as him. He wouldn’t have to be as worried about losing her. I know in the book he didn’t seem as attached but in the show he does seem devastated when she leaves. Yes he takes her power but I do think he thinks she will forgive him one day. Maybe he was waiting for someone as strong as him so he could actually for once not watch them die. Just a thought 🤔🤔 obviously it isn’t the only reason. He uses protection as a excuse to take power. But it never occurred to me till now.

He and Baghra are just so interesting. I mean, she was the first but she still chose to have powerful children she can later train and use instead of taking everything herself. Her most talented son then had no choice. Yes, he wanted to be normal but even without his mother, the world was too cruel to his kind. Later, she realized made a mistake but again, didn't take action. She just repeated herself and trained Grisha, probably not even caring anymore. Then Alina came into the game and Bargha had access to something she knew Darkling would want. I wonder if she was to kill the sun summoner if she refused to run away.

But wasn’t he right about zlatan? If he hadn’t killed them first they would have attacked them and maybe darkling and alina could have survived due to their powers but the others had no chance!

I have to confess, I didn’t yet watch the series nor read the books 😅 But I definitely will in the future ♥️ 11 hours later I binged all of it 😂

I disagree. Aleksander isn't the villain, he is not my villain. Humans are, we are always the parasites that go everywhere kill everything and then move on to kill some more. Sometimes turning the cheek isn't possible, sometimes you have to strike back. Why do y'all feel so bad for that village? They wanted to kill everyone on board of that ship as soon as they arrived to exploit and maintain power. Kill Grisha because they are afraid of them. If I were Alina I would have joined Aleksander, he isn't evil, he's just tired of everyone's shit.

My heart will forever ache for this man.

I really hope that they get more scenes in season 2 and I really hope that the writers don’t follow the book completely bc i want them to end up together 😌

I was honestly looking for a video about this character with this song. I love this so much

while reading the books i learned to love him. i understood his story and why he did what he did, also why he in the end didn’t get redemption. i think alina was the only one that could help him to be redeemed and i hoped till the end of the last book that she’s understand him and why he did those horrible things. this is a great video!!!

Why is no one talking about luda? Her death was the reason he became like this. He lost his beloved. Why do you expect him to do....sit down and wait for everything to be alright??

I don't say that his motives a completely right but I empathize on what he has been going through and understand why he's doing what he's doing. I mean he has literally seen his people die and suffer for centuries. He was even rejected just for living. Terrible backstory... I hope he'll have a character development for next seasons...

I'm trying to hold out on watching any videos before watching the show I haven't read the books either but know little about them but I love your videos

THIS IS A MASTERPIECE!!! I really hope this doesn’t end like the books, I cannot stress enough

You did an amazing job with this video ❤️ it really shows the depth of his character ...

This is fantastic. The more I think about his past, what he's experienced, the more I believe that he's the kind of man who has had to do the hard, uncomfortable things to make a better world for others (the Grisha). I do believe that near the end of this first season, that objective overshadowed his ability to see a new way, a different way. But my question is, if he had destroyed the Fold using Alina's power, what would that have changed really? The Grisha would still be feared because of their power. Political entities would still want to use them or kill them. I mean, he's not wrong?

I think that Netflix has really done the Darkling justice. I seem him just as redeemable as Damon Salvatore

this is so good, i love him so much

Gods, I love him. I can't help but feel this - Aleksander had a different plan for him and Alina, but then she ran away and broke his heart. She betrayed him. After he said "Fine, make me your villain" he continued with his new plan, which was to kill all these people. I think if Alina had acted a little differently his actions wouldn't have been the same.

This video destroyed me so much, I keep feeling sad, even cry, I keep coming back to it, it’s amazing

If you read the Lives of Saints, he technically is a Saint :) ;) LOVE YOUR VIDEO LOVE THE DARKLING FOREVER

The air was ashy, breathing was becoming inexorably difficult. My lungs were filling with dirt and the noises all around me sounded muffed from the explosions. My sight was becoming blurred and everything looked incredibly slow as if I were looking through a window at someone else’s life. I looked around me: the Crows were holding themselves together, Inej standing in front of Kaz, her eyes wide with surprise and fear. Kaz was on his back, I couldn’t tell if he was injured from here. Jesper was kneeling next to him trying to say something in his ear but he didn’t seem to be paying attention. All his focus seemed to be on the scene before him: Aleksander was in a cloud of night trying to fight off the king’s army on one side and rogue soldiers from Fjerda on the other. He was on his knees, a streak of pain colouring his face, blood rippling from his torso, ruining his uniform and painting the dirt on the ground. My hearing was starting to come back slowly, I turned to my right where few meters away was his majesty’s army. The General was shouting at me, it took a few seconds to register what he was saying - kill him! - his voice scary as he growled at me like a mad dog. I looked into his eyes and I saw it: just pure hate, for who I was, for my abilities. Hate for something I didn’t choose, hate because I was different from them, more powerful. I never given them any reason to be afraid of me, till a few months ago I didn’t even know what I was. But none of it seemed to matter, they still hated me just like they hated Aleksander and I hadn’t even striked back at them. In my mind came back the memories of Aleksander’s past, not the story they taught in their books about the Black Heretic but what had really happened. - I didn’t know what to do… I was just a boy back then trying to learn to control my power - his gaze was fixed on a distant point in the room but I knew he was actually lost in thought - Me and my mother spent months at a time running and hiding, until one day the guards captured us. I was threatened that they would kill my mother if I didn’t do what the king asked, he wanted me to fight for him. He wanted me to round up others like me and win a war for him and we did. You know how history says that I became greedy and insatiable with power? Do you know what had actually happened? The same night we won all my people were sleeping in the barracks and he sent soldiers for a coup: they killed everyone inside. I wasn’t there, I went to break my mother free of the dungeons but I heard it: high pitched screams like the crackling of fire. By the time we had come out the barracks were burning to ash. I spent the next twenty years running away and hiding my people - I looked at him, he seemed suddenly so young and so old at the same time. The weight of his words and the memories were showing on his face giving away a truer idea of his real age. But his eyes when he looked at me… he seemed what I would have imagined a frightened ten-year-old Aleksander to look like. A confused child whose life had been stolen from him, a child who was victim of circumstances he didn’t choose. I remembered when he brought me to the fountain saying how he had always made a wish that he could be anyone else, he hadn’t lied about that. Mal shook me out of my thoughts, I turned to him. He was covered in dirt and was pointing his finger towards were I knew Aleksander was struggling. I turned my gaze and saw him fighting to not fall on the ground. One hand was keeping his weight from collapsing, the other was erecting a wall of shadow trying to keep off spears and bullets. As if he felt my eyes on him he turned his head and looked at me and I saw it all over again: a scared boy, confused as to why he had been hunted down his entire life just for being different. I looked over the army again and I rose to my feet. Mal tried to grab my arm but I shook him off - Alina, what are you - I didn’t give him time to finish - I am going to help him - Mal’s gaze looked as confused as if I were speaking some ancient language he could not understand. - What do you think will happen once I help them kill him? What do you think they will do to me? - I pointed a finger at the army with rage. - I am the same thing as he is to them: a threat, an annoyance, a bug on their shoulder jeopardizing their power. The only reason I am still breathing right now is because they think they need me to kill Aleksander. As soon as he drops to the ground they will turn against me as quickly as they once considered me an ally. I will need to spend the rest of my existence running and hiding, fighting for my life. Fighting to not be killed or captured and sold off. And Mal, eternity is a very long time to be afraid - I didn’t wait for his reply, I didn’t even look back at him. I didn’t want to look or I might have changed my mind. I started running towards Aleksander. (Would anyone read it if I wrote an AU ending for Shadow and Bone?)

I love this song and I love him and I LOVE THIS EDIT, THANKS FOR MAKING THISSSSSSS

Sono d'accordissimo con te! Questo personaggio è davvero molto complesso e non ci si può limitare a dire "È cattivo". Non è così, ci sono tantissime sfumature da cogliere. Non penso di essere mai stata così affascinata da un villain in questo modo, prima d'ora. Ogni episodio per me era una sorpresa. Ha cercato di difendere la sua gente, è stato solo per secoli e con Alina ha trovato una sua equale. Non vedo l'ora di vedere la seconda stagione ma di sicuro comprerò i libri al più presto perché DEVO sapere di più. Video bellissimo comunque, come sempre ❤

Appreciate the books but still think would've been more interesting to have Alina n Alexander together. Save their homeland. Alina was raised human, Alexander was raised griesha. They teach eachother.

Thank you so much for uploading this amazing video! 🙏 The darkling is not evil at heart. He only wanted to protect the grishas. People just misunderstood his actions. 😔 I hope alina will see his true self and they will end up together. They’re just meant to be together 😍😍 the chemistry between these two...

A broken character who has been alone for too long. When Aleksander says he wished he was someone else, I think that was true for a while, right❓ The dialogues present are well chosen and illustrated. Thank you for such a good edit. The talent of Ben Barnes is well represented there too.

Amazing. I am in love with it ❤️ he deserved better 🖤

Screaming, crying, throwing up!!! I love him so much!!! I just want to protect him!!!!

This is absolutely amazing.

Omg 😱 I love this video so much ☺️🥰

Incredible edit!👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 Aleksander, my love!💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖❤❤❤❤❤

I mean I feel so bad for him. His mother was never the mother he needed let’s start off with saying that. She always taught I’m to be more then anyone else. Why would she teach him that. I am also sure he really liked Alina. I mean threw out the whole books it was never a question whether he liked her or if she liked him. It was only what was always what was the one way to end the war and devastation which way to kill him. Ben did a amazing job but I wish they showed more of his non human side, like in the tent I don’t think they should have been tears. That would have represented dhow much he is done trying to make everyone like him when he doesn’t see himself in anyone else but her,

Starless One 🧎‍♀️

Please let him be redeemed and give us a darklina endgame. Netflix u haven’t let me down so far

I have watched Shadow and Bone. Honestly, i do not think Aleksander is beyond redemption as Alina says a little long before she killed him. Aleksander truly did bad things and because of that he can not be easily forgiven of his actions. But let' s just see deaper than the bad actions. He had committed crimes, i do not disagree, but, for each crime, he had a good cause behind it. The Fold was trully a blight, but the volcra were never created by intention. The only thing Aleksander wanted was to create a place where Grisha can find refugee and peace. He wanted a change in the treatment of his kind. He, and all the Grishas, wanted to stop being hunted down like animals, killed as witches and wizzards and locked up in cages like thieves and murderers. The attack in Novokribirsk let's just say was inevitable, because Zlatan had already sent assasins to kill Alina and it was obvious he was going to attack East Ravka. Ok, i guess the point could have gotten across if The Darkling had only killed him and his followers and not slaughtered down a whole town. As for Alina, i have to admit that he hurted her for his gain. But, it is very obvious that he trully loved Alina, cause he constantly told her how well they belonged together until the very end of his life. And i think Alina too fall in love with Aleksander but she kept it on the other side of the coin, of hatred. (I suppose that the Darkling's death caused too much pain than the expected one in Alina's life.)

He is not a good person and his actions are unjustifiable but he's incredibly complex they really fleshed out his character in the show and improved a lot of the mistakes made with his character in the books. He is incredibly complex and this video perfectly shows that. Although he is not a character that should be romanticised.