By Hien Bui and Britney Tran
A world teeming with magic. A sociopolitical backdrop full of intrigue and high stakes. Netflix’s latest release, “Shadow and Bone,” is an imaginative fantasy adventure.
“Shadow and Bone” is an adaptation of the first book from Leigh Bardugo’s bestselling Grishaverse trilogy and an on-screen “prequel” to the Six of Crows duology, the next series in Bardugo’s literary universe.
Summary
The story follows the main character of the Grishaverse trilogy, Alina Starkov, as she discovers her powers as a Grisha, the term for magical beings in this universe.
Specifically, she’s a Sun Summoner, the first of her kind and her country’s only hope. She’s saddled with destroying a centuries-old dark chasm that is currently wreaking political havoc on different sides of the country. The country is also at war with almost all of its surrounding neighbors. No pressure or anything.
Within the Grishaverse, the Grisha have been persecuted for their magic. Alina faced alienation throughout her life because half of her heritage marked her as the enemy to her country.
Her desire for her country’s recognition starts as standard heroine motivation and gradually becomes a question of where her allegiances should lie as her objectives grow increasingly complicated—should she be loyal to the countrymen who unknowingly see her as the enemy or to the Grisha who have taken her in but seem to be operating under their best interests?
At the same time, there are subplots with Alina’s childhood best friend, the soul-eating magic involved in the Fold’s creation, a gang of street urchins’ heist and two soldiers who happen to become enemies-to-lovers-at-sea.
Thoughts
The talented cast of mostly new faces perfectly captured the show’s dramatic and comedic beats. The plot moves with purpose and its stakes made clear from the get go. Perhaps most significantly, the visually stunning world comes to life through impressive effects and cinematography, as well as the special attention paid to cultural and regional distinction between the various countries in the fictional universe.
The world is easily the most fascinating part in this show and any other story in the fantasy genre. The show manages to make the Grishaverse, its countries and their political conflicts feel real without using excessive exposition as a crutch. However, it was in this expansiveness that the plot seemed to have lost itself in its very own Shadow Fold and left unable to see a clear way out of the darkness.
The series had the seemingly impossible task of fitting a full length novel and a prequel story that both came equipped with detailed histories, terminology and motivations in eight 45-minute episodes.
Without having read the books, it’s hard for viewers to piece together or care about what all of these different players across the board are doing in the plot. The pacing was put to breakneck speed, and while that made for an exciting watch, scenes would cut to different plotlines before audiences could really get a chance to keep track of what was happening or bond with the characters on screen.
The shipwrecked soldiers storyline comes to mind as it especially felt rushed and out of place amongst the Alina-focused plots most of the other characters were dealing with. While they were a fun part of the show and the actors had amazing chemistry, it felt like watching a different story altogether rather than a break from the main action.
“Shadow and Bone” also seems to falter under the weight of its own universe as the main three plotlines start, wildly flit about, converge deus-ex-machina-style and wrap up in a tidy narrative bow about to literally set sail for a possible second season. If the show gets renewed, it would benefit greatly from more episodes or a longer runtime.
Despite the pacing issues, “Shadow and Bone” does set itself apart from the typical “chosen one” narrative. The combination of stories itself was a massive creative liberty taken that created a new story for fans of both series and new viewers.
One major difference from the source material and the fantasy genre as a whole is in regards to the series’ main character, Alina Starkov, who was recast as “half-Shu” (the stand-in for Asians in the Grishaverse) and played by Jessie Mei Li, a biracial actress.
This was a bit of a departure for the fantasy genre, which has historically struggled to include people of color, especially in worlds overrun by dragons, elves and other mythical creatures. Netflix’s decision to change this element of the main character’s background adds more nuance to the world’s politics—an anti-Shu propaganda poster is shown on some of the sets—and realistic grounds for Alina’s struggle with a lifelong feeling of otherness.
Whilst racism was a major struggle for Alina, it was never a driving factor in her plotline, which led some viewers to be outraged by the “gratuitous” racism scenes. This wasn’t helped by the feeling that the writers didn’t miss any opportunities to throw one of the universe’s racial slurs into the script. However, excluding lines, such as “rice eater” which felt absurdly out of place, Alina’s confrontations with racism do provide depth to her character and the themes of the story at large.
Despite its awkwardly spliced narratives and unwarranted scenes, “Shadow and Bone” is an enjoyable watch that’s well supported by actors who give heartfelt performances. It’s a delightful fantasy romp and although you may be wondering what you just watched at the end, it’s easy to get sucked into.
While unfortunately the second season may not be due for another 18 months, that leaves plenty of time to watch and rewatch the first one!
“Shadow and Bone” is streamable on Netflix.
