Jesper Fahey's Abilities In Shadow And Bone Season 2 Explained
Contains spoilers for "Shadow and Bone" Season 2
Jesper Fahey (Kit Young) is the best sharpshooter in Ketterdam. Despite his troublesome gambling addiction, it's why Kaz Brekker (Freddy Carter) hired him on for the Dregs. Well, that and one other thing: Jesper is also a Fabrikator. In the world of "Shadow and Bone," Netflix's adaptation of Leigh Bardugo's young adult fantasy novels, a Fabrikator is a catch-all term for Grisha in the order Materialki. Let's break all that down into digestible information.
First and foremost, Grisha are very important in the world of "Shadow and Bone." After all, Bardugo's work is typically referred to as the Grishaverse. A Grisha is a term for anyone who practices Small Science, which is another in-canon term for the manipulation of matter at its most basic form. In more simple terms, Grisha are wizards capable of controlling the elements around them. But Grisha cannot control a variety of elements as their connection to the world is more specific, which is why they are divided into three orders: Corporalki, Etherealki, and Materialki.
Corporalki's magic is tethered to the body. These Grisha are trained to morph, heal, or harm from the inside. Etherealki's magic is tethered to the traditional elements. These Grisha are trained to harness flames, wind, and water. Materialki's magic is tethered to the earth and its bounty. These Grisha are trained to refine resources, concoct potions, and fabricate weaponry. These are the abilities of a Fabrikator and the abilities that Jesper hides.
Jesper, the metalbending assassin
In Season 2 of "Shadow and Bone," Jesper's abilities as a Fabrikator are given a chance to shine. He's offered a coin, which he then must transmute into a key for the shackles upon his wrists. He mends a cut piano wire simply by willing the disjointed halves together. He bends the barrels of his twin pistols back into alignment after an opposing Fabrikator warps them. He sears the metal hinges of a door so that it cannot be opened by his enemies. And he even gives lethal flight to the buttons of his waistcoat.
But his power extends even further than that. As both Kaz and Wyland (Jack Wolfe) observe, Jesper never misses a shot. Ever. Every sharpshooter misses from time to time but not him. Jesper's control over metal permits him to guide bullets to their targets, even if the shot should be impossible.
In pop culture terms, Jesper's powerset exists in the crosshairs between "Avatar: The Last Airbender" and "Wanted." And Season 2 of "Shadow and Bone" offers even more connection to "Avatar" for the quick-witted Fabrikator, should he ever study his craft. The aforementioned opposing Fabrikator? She uses her abilites to control the iron in human blood to puppeteer her enemies. She, Ohval Saran, aka Sankta Neyar (Tuyen Do), chides Jesper for his lackluster training as a Durast, which is another in-canon term for Fabrikator.
It's a lot of terminology to remember but it all boils down to this: Jesper is a magical, metalbending assassin with a killer smile and an even better fashion sense.