Portrayed by: Calahan Skogman Book | Show: Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows, Crooked Kingdom, and Netflix’s Shadow and Bone
Matthias Helvar is the kind of character you hope that real-world shitty people could be more like. He’s conditioned to believe one thing and fully fights with it, but through communication and love, he realizes that he’s in the wrong and chooses to grow. As a Fjerdan, the last thing he should’ve done was fall in love with a Grisha woman, but that didn’t stop him from giving all he was to protect Nina Zenik. His story should’ve never ended the way it does, but too often, people believe that the ultimate character redemption equates to death. None of the Crows should’ve died. Period.
Matthias Helvar is a complex, well-written character haunted by guilt and unwavering loyalty. The show’s unfortunate cancellation doesn’t let us see what the Six of Crows duology does, but it gives us more of his origin—it shows us the beginning stages of his relationship with Nina, which in turn acts as the catalyst to helping him grow.
