What did Inej do at the Menagerie in ‘Shadow and Bone?’

It’s by no means a flawless adaptation of Leigh Bardugo’s books, but Netflix’s Shadow and Bone does its best. 

The action-packed fantasy series attempts to adapt several different books across its first two seasons, incorporating elements from each of Alina Starkov’s adventures and interweaving them with characters and elements of Six of Crows. The story in the latter has yet to make its way to live-action, but fan-favorite characters like Kaz, Jesper, and Inej are brought to life in the Netflix series. 

Inej, Jesper, and Nina — in particular — are translated wonderfully from the page to the screen, as their actors (and the writers behind them) strive to inject as much authenticity into the roles as possible. Inej’s background has yet to get much of an examination, however, leaving some fans stumped as to the significance of that mark on her wrist. Inej has endured a lot by the time fans meet her in Shadow and Bone, and it all goes back to Tante Heleen and the Menagerie.

What is the mark on Inej’s wrist in Shadow and Bone?

Tattoos have a lot of significance in the Barrel, as readers came to learn over the course of Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom. Members of various gangs in Ketterdam’s undercity sport different tattoos, typically in similar locations, as a way to differentiate themselves and as a mark of community. The Dregs, or Crows, decorate themselves with a crow drinking from a nearly-empty chalice, while members of Pekka’s Dime Lions lean on the image of a feral cat curled up in a crown. 

Menagerie girls have their own marking, but they don’t wear it out of any sense of pride. Instead, it essentially marks them as Tante Heleen’s property, and ensures that each of the brothel’s employees is clearly identifiable. The symbol — a peacock feather — is tattooed on each of Heleen’s “exotic” offerings, and serves as a constant reminder of Inej’s past.

See, Inej didn’t choose to come to Ketterdam. She was captured by slavers when she was only 14 and transported to Kerch – where she was indentured to Heleen. The vicious Menagerie matron sold Inej’s body to patrons with a taste for Suli girls, and dug her deeper and deeper into debt with every meal, escape attempt, and subsequent beating. 

Inej labored as an unwilling sex worker for a year before an encounter with Kaz earned her freedom. After spotting the Dregs’ lieutenant in the Menagerie, Inej made a desperate attempt to free herself from Heleen’s clutches. Recognizing her talent, Kaz convinced Per Haskell, the Dregs’ boss, to buy out her contract, and bring her on as the gang’s Wraith instead.

In the books, Inej pays a stranger to hack the tattoo off of her wrist once she’s freed from Heleen’s clutches, in hopes of erasing her traumatic time in the Menagerie. It’s clear that she’ll never truly heal from the scars she received in Heleen’s employ, but transforming into the Dregs’ Wraith helps her to rediscover her power, and take control of her life.