#alas we'll probably lose the rest of the melrose fam relationships :(

[sydneysageivashkov]

Is it true there could be an earlier Sydney entrance in the show? Do you have any way you'd want Sydrian done in the show, if they go there? I want them to do Sydrian in the show so badly but I want them to do them justice

According to DJChilligan on reddit, who hasn't been wrong yet, Sydney will be introduced around the end of season one. We've also heard from another leaker (and some of the stuff from the VA writers' room twitter account also points to this) has said that the first two books are being combined into one season, so that would put her being introduced in the Frostbite timeline.

I was actually thinking of posting my thoughts on show!Sydrian, so I'm kind of glad you asked! I'm not 100% sure on how I want them to go forward with it but I'm sure it'll happen. Introducing Sydney early and developing Sydrian will bring in a lot of otherwise-reluctant Bloodlines fans and the writers know Sydrian and Sydney are a very popular ship and character so it's just a benefit to the show. I'm sure early on in development there would have been conversations of the risk vs potential benefits of bringing in Sydney now at the expense of a potential Bloodlines show five years from now (one that was not guaranteed, but introducing Sydney early could be).

The main thing I want them to keep with show!Sydrian is the spirit of the relationship, even if they can't hit every single plot point in a perfectly faithful way. So I want the audience to get to know them separately for a little while, then have them become friends, then move on to the romance. The friends to lovers aspect is especially important because Sydney is demisexual - Richelle probably wrote it accidentally, but she wrote it and the words are there now.

If they met in, I don't know, late season two (so late Shadowkiss era) as an Alchemist who's helping to investigate spirit, putting them in close contact where they can develop their friendship, that could work. Then Abe intervenes and gets her shipped off to Russia to keep an eye on Rose, she gets recalled for whatever reason, she and Adrian keep in touch and get closer... He could help her with Abe's blackmail and her increasing doubts about the Alchemists, maybe use his royal connections to find Marcus? I don't know if we'll get her magic arc (😭) but if that were to get adapted he could keep his canon role of being her gleeful accomplice. Either way, I'd like to see him helping her and supporting her. I would also love it if they maintained Adrian's mental health struggles; Adrian's spirit abilities weren't super relevant in Last Sacrifice from what I remember anyway, so they could probably work it into the broader VA plot without too much issue.

I still want to keep Sydney's canon involvement in Russia. Handling that alongside a relationship with Adrian is probably going to be difficult. Having her get sent off to Russia one season then recalled the next will probably feel pretty on the nose. Whatever, I'm not the paid writer here. Maybe having her spend time in a town where so many dhampirs live alongside humans could be written as helping to break down her barriers which contributes to the relationship starting later. Maybe Adrian finds out she's with Rose and he pops in for spirit dream check ups with Sydney since she's more likely to give him updates than Rose is.

I also think since Sydney's getting introduced so early gives the writers a great opportunity to dig into her relationship with Abe! She could make the deal with Abe in season one or two and have that hang over her head throughout the series. (Knowing why she made the deal could also go a long way to alleviate any issues with the audience disliking her for "evil creatures of the night" stuff.)

Do we still get a re-education arc? Would there be time? I don't know, tbh. If the show goes for five seasons, and Sydney has to be in Russia in season three, there's not a lot of time for it.

there probably won't be time for Neil and Olive so goodbye teen mum!Sydney, we won't miss you