This post was originally published on Audible.com.
If you've listened to the Shadow and Bone series by Leigh Bardugo, you should be extremely familiar with Alina Starkov, since she is the main character and narrates the trilogy. Less is known about her childhood BFF and potential love interest, Malyen “Mal” Oretsev, a member of the First Army and a gifted tracker. With the release of the Netflix adaptation of the first novel, Shadow and Bone, viewers learned more about Mal than they did in the novels, since they were from Alina's point of view, and he also changed a bit from the books.
So who is Mal Oretsev, and how does he fit in the Grishaverse? Keep reading to learn the answers to all your burning questions! (Warning: spoilers ahead!)
What is the Grisha trilogy?
The Grisha trilogy is a series of three young adult fantasy novels written by Leigh Bardugo. The three entries in the trilogy are Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm, and Ruin and Rising. The main character is Alina Starkov, a young orphan who grows up to be a cartographer, and is later discovered to be a powerful Grisha.
What is a Grisha?
A Grisha is a human who practices the Small Science. They have the ability to manipulate the elements, like wind or fire. Historically thought to be witches, and still hunted as such in some parts of the world, they comprise the Second Army, which is led by the Darkling, the most powerful Grisha in the land.
Who is Mal Oretsev?
Malyen “Mal" Oretsev is Alina Starkov's childhood BFF and potential love interest, as well as a soldier of the First Army (at least, for a while) and a gifted tracker. When we first meet Mal in Shadow and Bone, we learn Mal and Alina were both orphans of the Border Wars, and they met and became inseparable at the Orphanage of Keramzin. They both end up in the First Army and are assigned a mission to cross the Fold, the dangerous barren land separating their country surrounded by dark shadows full of monsters called volcra. Alina's Grisha powers are first revealed when she rescues Mal from a volcra attack by emitting a blazing beam of light from within herself.
Mal and Alina are separated after this, when she is sent to live with the Grisha at the Little Palace. Mal is sent on an assignment tracking Morozova's Stag for the Darkling. The antlers of the stag are an amplifier that enhances the power of the Grisha who wears them. Mal's two best friends in the army, Mikhael and Dubrov, are killed while on this mission. It is also during this time that Mal realizes he has romantic feelings for Alina. Mal writes to Alina at the Little Palace, telling her his true feelings. But his letters are intercepted at the request of the Darkling, so Alina never sees them.
When Mal makes his way to the palace to tell the Darkling he has found the stag, he is reunited with Alina. He is upset, thinking she ignored his letters, but discovers she never received them. When Alina learns of the Darkling's true evil intentions, she and Mal flee the palace in search of the stag. While in the woods, they share their first kiss. The Darkling finds them, kills the stag, enslaves Alina, and makes sure Mal is thrown in jail. The Darkling plans to execute him, despite telling Alina he wouldn't harm him. But after she manages to breaks free of the Darkling's bond, Alina saves Mal, finding the strength after seeing the Darkling throw him over the side of a ship into the Fold. The first novel ends with Mal and Alina going into hiding.
When Siege and Storm opens, Mal and Alina have been in hiding for two weeks. Mal is enjoying their time off the grid, but Alina is sick, due to the fact that she can't use their powers. They end up being captured by the Darkling, who brings them aboard a ship and forces Mal to track a sea whip so he can get its amplifier. They manage to escape, along with a privateer, Sturmhond, and the Shu Heartrender twins, Tolya and Tamar.
Sturmhond brings them into the Fold to fight the volcra, but when Alina is startled by visions of the Darkling, several crew members are injured and killed. Mal and Alina return to the Little Palace in the hopes that Alina will take over the Second Army. Mal is worried about Alina's growing need for power and her interest in Sturmhond, and it opens a chasm between them. They break up and Alina begins spending more time with Sturmhond, who is revealed to be Nikolai Lantsov, Prince of Ravka. Mal spends time drinking and fighting after the breakup, and even kisses Zoya Nazyalensky. When the big confrontation with the Darkling comes at the end, Mal manages to save Alina before they are crushed by the collapsing chapel roof.
Do Mal and Alina end up together?
By the time Ruin and Rising was released, fans of Mal and Alina's romance were desperate to know if they'd end up together. As Alina recovers from her fight with the Darkling, Mal begins training the army for the final big fight. Mal and Alina go on a journey to find the Firebird, thought to be another amplifier, but it is discovered that Mal himself is an amplifier. Surprise! It turns out Mal is descended from Baghra's sister, making him a great-nephew of the Darkling. Upon this discovery, Mal makes Alina promise she will kill him for his power if she needs it.
Which is exactly what happens at the end of the book—in the final showdown with the Darkling, Alina stabs Mal, and he dies. She then uses that same knife to destroy the Darkling once and for all. Does Mal really die? Yes, but don't worry—healers manage to bring Mal back to life. With the Fold destroyed, Alina loses her powers and fakes her death. She and Mal eventually marry and rebuild the Grisha orphanage.
Mal makes one last appearance in the Grishaverse: he and Alina return in Rule of Wolves, the second novel in the King of Scars duology. When the Darkling returns in the human form of Yuri, he demands a meeting with Alina and Mal, who comply. During their meeting, he punctures the hands of both, because he needs a drop of blood of the one who killed him—Alina—and also of a relative: Mal. The Darkling then escapes. Alina and Mal return home to the orphanage, while Nikolai and Zoya hunt the Darkling. They later attend the coronation of Zoya, who is now an even more powerful Grisha. And by the end of the book, Mal and Alina are living happily ever after.
What are Mal Orestev's romantic relationships?
In the Netflix adaptation of Shadow and Bone, Mal and Alina seem to have feelings for each other from a young age; in the novel, however, it was a one-sided romance for a while. Alina was aware she loved Mal long before he reciprocated. In fact, Mal is quite the lady's man at the beginning of the book series. After he realizes he loves Alina, they share a kiss while hunting the stag. They do break up in Siege and Storm, and Mal even ends up fooling around with Alina's then-rival, Zoya Nazyalensky. But in Ruin and Rising, Mal cannot deny his love for Alina, making the ultimate sacrifice at the end by giving his life so that Alina can use his amplifier powers to stop the Darkling. Thankfully, he is healed, and he and Alina live happily ever after, running a Grisha orphanage.
Is Mal a Grisha?
While Mal is not a Grisha, he does have magical powers, which are revealed in Ruin and Rising. Mal is a human amplifier, which means a Grisha can use his powers to enhance their own. He learns that he descended from the Darkling's aunt, who was killed by her sister, Baghra, the Darkling's mother, and then brought back to life by their father, Ilya Morozova, which turned her into a human amplifier.
Which audiobooks feature Mal Orestev?
You will find Mal in the original Grisha trilogy, comprised of Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm, and Ruin and Rising, as well as the second book in the King of Scars duology, Rule of Wolves. Mal isn't a part of the Six of Crows duology (although characters from those books are used in the Shadow and Bone series on Netflix).
How is Mal Orestev different on the Shadow and Bone show than in the book series?
Mal is described as handsome in the trilogy, with brown hair and blue eyes. As was mentioned earlier, on the show he is smitten with Alina from a young age, but in the novels, he is a bit of a player first. Mal and Alina don't share their first kiss during the first season of the series. We also see more of Mal's side of the story in the show, which is missing from the audiobooks, since Alina is the first-person narrator. Mal is also much more jealous of Alina's relationship with the Darkling in the books than he is on the show.
The Best Mal Oretsev Quotes
“'Mal,' I whispered into the night. 'What?' 'Thanks for finding me.' I wasn’t sure if I was dreaming, but somewhere in the dark, I thought I heard him whisper, 'Always.'” ― Shadow and Bone
“Gently, he took my face in his hands. 'I would have been different too, without you. Weaker, reckless.' He smiled slightly. 'Afraid of the dark.' He brushed the tears from my cheeks. I wasn’t sure when they’d started. 'But no matter who or what I was, I would have been yours.'” ― Ruin and Rising
“And I guess it's a reminder that wanting and deserving aren't the same thing.” ― Ruin and Rising
“'We all die,' he said as he jogged off to retrieve his kill. 'Not everyone dies for a reason.'” ― Ruin and Rising
"We all have relatives we don't like.” ― Rule of Wolves
