Ever since the seismic success of HBO’s Game of Thrones, networks have been scrambling to fill the void it left behind. Netlfix’s answer is Shadow and Bone, an adaptation of Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse books, her best-selling YA fantasy series inspired in part by tsarist Russia and Dutch Republic-era Amsterdam. Bardugo wrote a richly imagined world in her Grishaverse books, truly coming into her own as a writer with the publication of her Six of Crows duology. But while she was able to intricately weave character arcs along with complicated geopolitical dynamics in her books, Heisserer’s interpretation of the Grishaverse while entertaining, fell slightly flat.
Shadow and Bone‘s central storyline follows Alina Starkov, an unremarkable teenage orphan and mapmaker working on the frontlines of her war-torn country called Ravka. During a mission, it is discovered that Alina is actually Grisha, belonging to a group of humans with remarkable supernatural power. Alina’s power is the ability to summon the sun, revealing her to be the once fabled Sun Summoner and elevating her to Sainthood status. This power makes her the only person that can destroy The Fold, a large, dark, monster filled tear in Ravka, splitting the country in two. At the discovery of Alina’s power, she is then whisked away to train with The Grisha, Ravka’s magical military elite.
The secondary plot following members of The Crow Club, a gang from Ketterdam that pull off heists for money, however, is where Shadow and Bone truly shines. The Crows of Ketterdam dazzled, and their storyline often outpaced and was more intense than the central storyline following Alina. With The Crows, Shadow and Bone delivers on entertainment with intense, action packed scenes, richly imagined mythical cities, and good comedic timing. The fun dynamic of Inej, Jesper, Kaz (and of course Milo, the goat), is what pulled otherwise lagging episodes along.
The acting performances were often either over or under dramatic. Alina, who is perhaps on paper one of the more interesting characters with a complicated past and an ethnic identity that is rare in Ravka, came off as flat and one dimensional. Jessie Mei Li gave vulnerability to the role of Alina, but only really showed her acting chops in the final two episodes. While Amita Suman gave a strong and emotional portrayal of Inej, it seemed as if the direction she was receiving seemed a bit overdramatic and slightly too intense. Ben Barnes being one of the more seasoned actors on the cast, gave the strongest performance, giving complexity to an otherwise uncompelling and often times, dull villian. But the star of the show is Kit Young as Jesper Fahey. Jesper is by far the most dynamic, charismatic, and scene-stealing of all the characters in Shadow and Bone and Young blew his performance out the water with a standout portrayal of a witty and well written character.
However, the surprise of the show is the Nina Zenik and Matthias Helvar plot. While it did feel a bit rushed given the fact that their story took up far less screen time than Alina’s and the Crows’ respective plots, it was no less adventurous or emotional. Danielle Galligan as Nina and Calahan Skogman as Matthias had palpable chemistry and their story appeared in bursts of dangerous and romantic exploits. Both the witch and the witch-hunter’s story of moving past prejudices to find common ground and friendship gave heart to the story of Shadow and Bone.
The first season acted as a prequel of sorts for the Grishaverse, while much of the main plot of the Six of Crows and King of Scars duologies remain to be seen. There are obvious seeds planted for a second season, giving showrunner Eric Heisserer time to expand upon the story of the rest of the Grishaverse. Shadow and Bone was an enjoyable and promising start to what Netflix hopes will be its next popular fantasy series. While the worldbuilding in the show may give viewers who have not read the books a bit of a steep learning curve, the show, despite its problems, is fun and richly imaginative and has a lot to offer viewers.
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