By Nadia Ranaputri
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| Image credit: TIME |
Series directors: Lee Toland Krieger, Dan Liu, Mairzee Almas, and Jeremy Webb.
Cast: Jessie Mei Li, Ben Barnes, Archie Renaux, Freddy Carter, Amita Suman, Kit Young, Danielle Galligan, Calahan Skogman, Sujaya Dasgupta, Zoë Wanamaker, Daisy Head, Julian Kostov.
Every now and again, there's YA adaptations spanning different genres. We had the Dystopian era that housed beloved series like The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, and Divergent. Admittedly, I got sucked into the hype and read all three of those trilogies, and I haven't even mentioned The Fifth Wave and Chaos Walking series. Between all of that, I stumbled upon the Shadow and Bone trilogy, which was the perfect antidote for the Dystopian fatigue that I started to have. While the trilogy garners various opinions from those who were lukewarm about it, those who find that the series didn't age as well as it did back then, and those who enjoy it as it is. For me personally, I enjoyed it for what it is, but then I read its spin-off series, the Six of Crows duology, and fell completely in love with it. Funnily enough, I actually analyzed Six of Crows for my undergraduate dissertation, so it holds quite a special place in my heart. When it was announced that Netflix was adapting the Shadow and Bone trilogy into a show, it was a mix of joy, curiosity, and a hint of worry. There was that small chance that the adaptation won't do the books justice, yet I was still anticipating it nonetheless.
Based on the fantasy trilogy by Leigh Bardugo, Shadow and Bone takes place in the fictional country of Ravka, where First Army cartographer Alina Starkov (Jessie Mei Li) is headed to the seething and dangerous Shadow Fold, a dark place filled with creatures of unimaginable horrors and tragedy, that has consequently torn Ravka in two and waged the country into war. It is during her journey across the Fold that she discovers her true nature as a Grisha, users of "small science" who are able to manipulate different kinds of elements, from the Heartrenders that control the flow of the heart, to the Squallers that bring the wind into their submission, or the Fabrikators that bend materials to their will. But Alina is no ordinary Grisha, she's what they call the Sun Summoner, a Grisha with the ability to summon light. Prior to this discovery, a Sun Summoner is the type of Grisha that is considered extremely rare, to the point where it's only seen as a myth. This reveal leads people from all kinds of sides to set their sights on Alina, with several intentions that range from good to plain evil, one of them being Kaz Brekker (Freddy Carter), along with his fellow companions Inej Ghafa (Amita Suman) and Jesper Fahey (Kit Young). Before she knows it, Alina is swept into the Little Palace by General Kirigan (Ben Barnes), in the hopes of being the one who can finally destroy the Fold once and for all.
Though Shadow and Bone boasts new and mostly unfamiliar faces (save for Ben Barnes), their performances truly knock it out of the park. Jessie Mei Li as our very own Alina Starkov. Her performance as Alina is outstanding, able to bring elements of fear, pain, and even an endearing quality to the character. On paper, Alina may not have been the most interesting character compared to the others, and had it not been for Mei Li's performance, would have probably been drowned out by the rest of the show's more intriguing characters. The good news is that Mei Li was able to hold her own and she becomes a character that most people can get behind. Furthermore, her chemistry with Archie Renaux as Malyen Oretsev adds those much needed human and heartfelt moments. Speaking of Malyen, he's much more improved here in the show than he is in the books. While Mal as a character in the books elicits different reactions from readers, it's safe to say that Mal in the show has changed for the better, and it's all thanks to Renaux's vulnerably admirable portrayal. Let's not forget Ben Barnes' mysteriously enticing performance as General Kirigan, a character whose motivations lie in ambiguity, and Barnes brings that out in terrific style.
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| Image credit: IMDB |
The standout for
me though, had to be Freddy Carter as Kaz Brekker, who is not only my
favorite Grishaverse character, but perhaps a very close contender as
one of my all-time favorite book characters. At first glance, Carter
looks eerily close, if not exactly like the Kaz that I imagined reading
the books, which is already an impressive feat, especially since I
didn't have a specific actor in mind, just a particular image of how he
looks like in my head. Upon seeing Carter as Kaz, it almost felt like
meeting a person you've come across before, but couldn't fully recall.
Does that make sense? Physical appearance aside, Carter no doubt nails
the role, he really embodies Kaz in a way that makes it impossible for
any other actor to tackle. Kaz is more than just the brooding gang leader, there's a lot of trauma hidden underneath that facade, one that he rarely ever shows to people, even towards the ones closest to him; and Carter captured that incredibly well. Amita Suman is a fierce and nuanced player as Inej Ghafa, and her dynamic with Carter is one of the best aspects of the show. Another standout with a
lot more charisma is Kit Young as sharpshooter Jesper Fahey. What more
can I say about him that hasn't already been said? Jesper could have fallen into the trap of an unnecessary
character whose only purpose is to be the comedic relief, but there's
something about Young's performance that walks the line between genuine
and utterly charming, you can't help but want more of him.
Having been anticipating this show since it was first announced, I'm happy to say that all the wait for Shadow and Bone is fairly worth it. It's an incredibly solid adaptation that managed to capture the essence of the books as well as the characters. The world that Leigh Bardugo has conjured up in her writing is carried over to the screen with great delight. You don't have to wonder much to know how Shadow and Bone proved to be a goldmine, not when you have a writer like Eric Heisserer on board. Prior to this, Heisserer was the mind behind one of my favorite sci-fi films, Arrival, yet another adaptation from Ted Chiang's Story of Your Life (though I'll point out that Heisserer's screenplay of Josh Malerman's novel Bird Box wasn't exactly a favorable adaptation). With this though, it seems like yet another hit for Heisserer, and with an eight episode slot, it ends up being a boisterous and entertaining ride. From the brooding dangers of the Shadow Fold, to the gritty slums of Ketterdam, the show has opened its doors to Ravka, a fantasy world inspired by Tsarist Russia, with cities of different characteristics and a lore of its own. The
world-building here is quite stellar, every development, character, and
plot is like discovering one box of treasure at a time; and each
episode leaves you eager to go to the next. It just draws you into its clutches and before you know it, it's near impossible to escape from.
I will say that the first three episodes can feel slightly overwhelming, especially for those that haven't read the books, since it establishes a lot of its enigmatic characters and lays out its vast lore straight on the table. Everything in those three episodes go fairly swift and
quick, it's possible that it will take some time to get used to. At one point, you're
in East Ravka with Alina and Mal, then you're faced with a hint of Ravkan politics in Novokribirsk, then on the next, you're hopping on
the nearest train to Ketterdam, along with an arc armed with a much
different tone and pace than what's happening in East Ravka. But the
more it goes on, the show seems to get a firmer grip on what it wants to
do with a world as rich as the Grishaverse, with all the intentions of
intertwining these stories to one cohesive narrative. It's quite similar to Game of Thrones
in terms of how it spends the first few episodes of its premiere season
establishing the expansive world of Westeros, from the likes of
Winterfell, King's Landing, as well as its abundance of characters. The
same goes for Shadow and Bone, as there are several point of views, but the main story no doubt revolves around Alina. Though some parts
would feel out of place, they eventually thread together in a
satisfying way. It helps that show has a plate full of likeable, lively, and nuanced characters to accompany audiences along the way, not to mention a camaraderie that you can easily root for, so you're never left with a dull moment.
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| Image credit: IMDB |
A very notable change to point out is the decision to intertwine the Six of Crows characters into the main Shadow and Bone storyline. When I first heard this, there was some skepticism, but mostly excitement. See, Six of Crows to me felt like a completely different universe, it had its own tone, its own atmosphere, its own feel that, as Freddy Carter once described it as, pretty cinematic. Whilst Shadow and Bone was your typical fantasy story with the concept of "the chosen one" in the case of Alina being the Sun Summoner as well as the occasional good and evil premise, Six of Crows relied more on grand heists and morally gray characters as the leads. So how on earth were they going to blend these two together? Fortunately, the outcome was more pleasant than I expected. I personally felt that for the most part, they were able to really work the Crows in without compromising the tone and feel that made the original duology and its characters so well-loved, although at some points, it does seem as if you're watching two completely different shows. Other than that, the entirely new take on Crows feels refreshing, it's like reading a brand new story with our beloved characters that we haven't heard before, not to mention that this is supposedly taken as a prequel to their main story in the novels. The Crows were the aspect that I was most looking forward to, and their arc here ended up being the most interesting out of the rest, especially since they're much wittier and more complex as characters.
But of course, the show isn't without its flaws. Since the show is filled to the brim with a variety of story elements, eight episodes simply doesn't feel enough to really flesh everything out. Given that they've taken plenty of liberties with the story, particularly with the addition of Crows, there's still a lot to unpack. For instance, Alina's training at the Little Palace isn't given as much attention, so the result of the arc feels underwhelming, even though it was one of the show's central arcs, and the pivotal moment that it eventually ends in doesn't feel as earned as if should have. It's similar to how Doctor Strange rushed Strange's training, when it could have given at least ten more minutes of training montage to showcase how our hero got to where he is. Reducing such roles as Alina's trainer Botkin, who had a much more lingering presence in the books, as well as Baghra, an incredibly vital figure in the story; felt like a cheap way to drive the plot faster. Once the show turns to high gear, those specific arcs don't exactly soar the way it hoped it would. Instead of having a seamless development, it does feel very abrupt. That is just one of the few arcs that were introduced, but weren't brought into full fruition. Then there is the addition of Matthias Helvar and Nina Zenik, which despite my absolute love for their dynamic both here and in the books, their arc didn't have much of an impact to the overall story, and I felt that it was best if they saved it for future seasons.
That aside, Shadow and Bone essentially the perfect escapism, it's fun, wondrous, and comes with plenty of heart and humanizing moments. Did it succeed? Absolutely. It's a treat to see how these characters come to life and treated with such care, and Bardugo's vision is realized in such impressive fashion. Coming into this, I knew that there will be some sort of bias, since I'm coming into this with a viewpoint of someone who has read the books and enjoyed it immensely, but as an adaptation of a much-loved series, it pretty much nailed it. It took a lot of the series' best elements, while also enhancing on some of the weaker elements present in the books. It does have the usual YA tropes and cliches at times, but it certainly doesn't drag the show as a whole. And though plenty of those who have read the books will certainly be pleased with the adaptation, I do feel like it won't alienate those who aren't familiar with the Grishaverse, so there are still plenty of story and material that both readers and those who haven't read the series can still appreciate. After years of soulless YA sci-fi/fantasy adaptations, including the more recent disaster that is Chaos Walking, it's refreshing to see an adaptation that finally thrives in bringing the story forth with a great amount of passion and heart into it. It was able to translate the complexities and wonders of the book series and turn it into something sublime and enchanting. I'm in awe of how they managed to bring a world like this to life. In all, Shadow and Bone is a delight. Once you enter this world, you might not ever want to leave.
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| Image credit: IMDB |
Overall verdict: Shadow and Bone is certainly another hit for Netflix, it was able to capture the rich world that Leigh Bardugo has created and brought that to the screen with a great amount of heart and passion behind it. It's a fun and entertaining fantasy adaptation that's very much perfect for a weekend binge watch. The cast is absolutely wonderful, from Jesse Mei Li's endearing performance as Alina Starkov, Archie Renaux's vulnerable but admirable portrayal as Malyen Oretsev, to Ben Barnes' alluring charm as General Kirigan. But the standouts had to be the Crows themselves: Freddy Carter, Kit Young, and Amita Suman, playing Kaz Brekker, Jesper Fahey, and Inej Ghafa, respectively. They stole the show and made it a whole lot more fresh, especially with a brand new take of their story that takes a great leap away from the one most people would know in the books. The decision to weave the Shadow and Bone story along with the addition of the main players from Six of Crows proved to be a delightful outcome that brought squeals of joy from me. Its quick pace makes for a riveting and boisterous watch. However, it also has its downsides, particularly when it comes to certain arcs that are introduced but don't get enough attention, so the payoff doesn't always stick the landing. There's so much to unpack, and even with eight episodes, there's a good chance that certain plots and characters won't get the opportunity to be fully developed. Other than that, it's a solid adaptation, and one that both readers and non-readers can enjoy all the same. Though the show takes plenty of liberties with its storytelling, it also takes great care of its source material and brought it to life in delightful fashion. There's definitely more to explore within the Grishaverse, and I'm excited to see where it goes to next.
Stars: 4.3/5
All episodes of Shadow and Bone are available to watch on Netflix
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