[Filling the Space is a flexible column where our writers could vent, deconstruct, and work their way around the emotions brought on by TV, films, books, music, and key moments in pop culture. This isn’t meant to be analytical, but instead, a way for us to explore our feelings.]
I miss Shadow and Bone every day, so when we got an email asking us to analyze how Taylor Swift’s “The Great War” is a Kanej (Kaz Brekker and Inej Ghafa) song, the answer was an emphatic yes. Only, every time I tried, I got emotional, so I needed to figure out the kind of approach I wanted to take.
It’s important to acknowledge that “The Great War” is lyrically one of the most beautiful songs in Swift’s discography. It’s one of the songs that makes me cry the hardest when I’m in a specific mood, and it’s entirely because it’s so deeply hopeful—honest, poetic, and almost tailor-made for the relationships where there’s a tremendous amount of struggle. Kanej, in many ways, is one of those relationships.
It turned into something bigger— and it’s because of this line, the unexpected, indescribable partnership they found in one another because of a few short words: “I can help you.” That’s how their story starts in Six of Crows. It starts as a decision and a promise. Where it leads is quite literally a battle for their lives. Interestingly, with Kanej, like with all the Crows, it’s an internal battle as well as a physical one. In our How Taylor Swift’s “You’re On Your Own, Kid” Fits the Six of Crows, that’s exactly what I explore in how their connection impacts each of them in a beautifully honest way.
But with Kanej (like Wesper and Helnik), finding love wasn’t part of the equation. Neither of them expected to find the one who’d become the most important person in their lives after they pushed through the challenges ahead of them. Their kindred spirit, soulmate, second half—everything. Neither of them expected to find someone who’d help them heal from the trauma they were carrying around. Neither expected to get to the finish line and have a hand to hold. (Which happens in Crooked Kingdom, and it still makes me weep that we never got to see it come to pass on screen.)
“The Great War” isn’t just a song about winning a battle—it’s about the endurance. It’s about healing. It’s about realizing how deeply the people beside us matter. It’s about going through the pain and trauma that you never thought you’d see the other side of. And yet, Kanej are that kind of couple, through and through with each other. This really is the ultimate ship song. Not just for them, but for other romances as well, and it’s quite literally what makes it so lovely. Because it can be about friendship, too. And well, I’m still clearly emotional about it.
What’s a song you associate with Kanej? Let us know in the comments below.
First Featured Image Credit: ©Netflix