Portrayed by: Jack Wolfe
Book | Show: Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows, Crooked Kingdom, and Netflix’s Shadow and Bone
Wylan Van Eck is the character to protect. He’s soft, gentle, and so unbelievably warm that if the world had more of him, we’d certainly live in a better place. Leigh Bardugo’s universe of complex characters features someone to whom every type of audience member can relate. In crafting these characters, it’s plain as day that she establishes their heart, first and foremost, before moving on to the attributes that make them unique, and Wylan is one of the best examples.
On the surface, he’s a victim of negligence and abuse, but internally, Wylan’s mind is unmatched. He might not know how to read, but he understands chemistry better than most, utilizing his talents to help protect the world from people like his monstrous father. Upon first glance, it’s hard to question whether he could bear the heartaches brought on the streets of Ketterdam, but his loyalty is precisely why he makes it through. We tragically don’t get enough time with him and Jack Wolfe’s perfect character embodiment on the show, but we see plenty to understand why he fits in seamlessly with the Crows.
Wylan Van Eck’s Heart Is Where His Courage Lives
It is often said that it takes more courage to have a soft and gentle heart in a cruel world, and that’s a fact that bears repeating. Human beings are deeply complicated individuals, and how they deal with their heartaches often showcases the magnitude of their strength. If we look at the definition of true weakness, Jan Van Eck’s name is highlighted underneath it. He’s the one who’s weak. Even Kaz Brekker, who could be cruel and unkind, still allows his heart to beat for those he cares for.
Yet, Wylan is the one who grounds the Crows—if Inej Ghafa is their lodestone, Wylan is, in many ways, their reminder that the sun can come up again. He is proof that the apple can indeed fall from the tree sometimes. He’s proof that it requires far more courage to remain loving and kind even when you have every excuse in the book to become a villain instead.
“Until this moment, Wylan hadn’t quite understood how much they meant to him. His father would have sneered at these thugs and thieves, a disgraced soldier, a gambler who couldn’t keep out of the red. But they were his first friends, his only friends, and Wylan knew that even if he’d had his pick of a thousand companions, these would have been the people he chose.”
In a heartbreaking but understandable point of view, Wylan Van Eck believes he’s not the most intelligent. He says as much, driven by the abuse from his father and the fact that he cannot read. Wylan believes that he isn’t capable of doing much because he’s conditioned to think that he’s not like his peers. It’s Jesper Fahey, friend and eventual boyfriend, who reminds him that he’s the polar opposite of a moron. (Only his face is stupid, but that’s exactly why Jesper loves him.) What Wylan takes a beat to realize is that without him, the Crows wouldn’t make it. He might not be the muscle, but he is the key to their survival. He’s the manufacturer of their armor even when he’s the one character who doesn’t exactly wear armor. Or, perhaps, we can deconstruct how his transparency is how he chooses to protect himself—his belief in friendships and his belief in people.
Related Content: Relationship Deep Dive: Jesper Fahey and Wylan Van Eck
Wylan Van Eck is open with those he cares for because he knows what it’s like to lose. He knows what it feels like not to have people believing you, and to combat his own longing, he chooses to believe in other people with everything in him. He chooses to voice both his concerns and his faith aloud, giving his friends the agency to decide what they want for themselves. And the best part of the Crows—mostly Jesper—is that they recognize this. “That’s why we call him Wylan Van Sunshine,” Jesper says in Crooked Kingdom Chapter 3. They each recognize his worth because the love and warmth that pours out of him is something they each desperately want. They might not all say it aloud, but it’s written in the spaces between the unspoken words. It’s acknowledged in their actions. They protect and care for him because they know that he’s the one who isn’t yet completely jaded by his past. He’s stronger because of his heart and the way he chooses to live his life.
Releasing Shame and Embracing Love
Wylan’s character journey becomes even more nuanced and exceptionally relatable when he realizes that he shouldn’t define himself by what he deems shameful. Who cares if he can’t read? More than half the people in every room he walks into don’t know a thing about chemistry or rare creatures the way he does.
He’s even lovelier and sweeter when he fully embraces how much he adores Jesper and takes risks to initiate their (second) first kiss. He’s brave and brilliant when he forgives and takes leaps toward the very things he knows are risky. His character not only brings to life what it means to be soft but also what true bravery looks like. Sometimes, it’s jumping on a man twice your size to protect the boy you have a crush on. Other times, it’s saving your friends one by one, even when you’re frazzled by your own inabilities.
Like all the Crows longing for a place to belong, Wylan Van Eck finds his when he understands the importance of his kindness. The merchling makes them better by being the one person they could each count on for reassurance when they need it during their darkest missions. If nothing else, they know he’d never sugarcoat or hide the truth. He’d be tender and warm in his approach, trying with all his might to be everything they need and more. And Wylan knows this because they’ve shown him time and again that he belongs. “No mourners, no funerals” might not be the best slogan to represent survival and care, but it’s their promise. It’s their truth. It’s their legacy. And as he slowly breaks the tethers from his father, he proves that he’s braver than he ever thought possible.
There’s much we don’t yet know, and with Shadow and Bone canceled and a third Six of Crows book still in the works, there’s a lot we could still potentially learn about Wylan. How grief could shape him and what years of growth will do only time will tell. What we can be certain of, however, is that he will ensure that his heart always remains in the right place. Most importantly, he isn’t one-dimensional—Wylan isn’t just perpetually kind, but he gets angry, too. He shuts down when he does so, but signs of growth showcase how he could be more outspoken later in life.
It’s easy to forget how young they are in the books. It’s easy to forget that there’s still a good chunk of life they’ll get to live. And Wylan deserves the best kind of life. He deserves the chance to walk into a proper home with food on the table and someone who loves him. He deserves a soft bed and music playing in the background. He deserves to have someone constantly smiling down on him and voicing how proud they are at this accomplishments because in his adorably shy approach, it’s what he does best. And he deserves it back tenfold.
First Featured Image Credit: Dávid Lukács/Netflix © 2023