In both versions of the story, Alina battles Aleksander and defeats him — but that is where the similarities end. The sword arc is new because Netflix needed to justify shoehorning the characters from “Six of Crows” into a finale where they did not belong, so Alina got a magic MacGuffin stolen and delivered by the Dregs of the Barrel. In “Ruin and Rising,” when Alina sacrifices Mal to create her third and final amplifier, the Sun Summoner’s power is increased but only for a moment before it is wholly dispelled from her body. Alina’s abilities are spread across the land, destroying the Shadow Fold and finding a thousand new homes in a thousand new people. When Alina slays the Darkling, she’s just a regular human with a knife.
Secondly, Mal’s resurrection is thanks to Tolya Yul-Bataar (Lewis Tan) and Tamar Kir-Bataar (Anna Leong Brophy), who are able to use their heartrending abilities for more than killing. With her true love alive once more, Alina and Mal convince Nikolai to fake her death so that they can live a quiet life, running an orphanage together. Nikolai still becomes king but he does so alone, without a queen by his side. What’s more, the alias of Sturmhond is never passed on to another person. It stays in Nikolai’s back pocket for future use, just in case.
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