A Review of Shadow and Bone

****This Article Has Spoilers for Season One of Shadow and Bone on Netflix! Proceed At Your Own Risk.****

On April 23, Netflix released the first season of Shadow and Bone, an adaptation of the first book of Leigh’s bestselling trilogy. After just days, it has reached #1 in tons of countries and gained positive reviews. As someone who read Leigh’s books, here’s what I have to say on the show.

Plot

Alina Starkov is a mapmaker in the First Army, a group of soldiers who are trained to fight in Ravka’s Civil War. When a time comes to cross into West Ravka, they go through the Shadow fold, an impenetrable wall of darkness filled with volcra, flying monsters that kill ruthlessly. When going through the Fold, Alina’s group is attacked by the volcra, leading her to reveal a power that could end her country’s war for good. Soon, she is whisked into the world of Grisha, people with the ability to manipulate matter.

Needed Information

The Grishaverse is a vast, complex world, and there are some terms you need to know beforehand. Here are some of the things you will see in this article:

Volcra: The monsters that live in the Shadow Fold

Grisha: Humans with the ability to manipulate matter.

Order of the Grisha: Grisha have different abilities, sorted into three categories: Corporalki, Etheralki, and Materialki.

• Corporalki are the Order of the Living and the Dead. There are two types of Grisha in this order: Heartrenders, who have the ability to control one’s heartbeat, and Healers, who can heal one’s injuries. They wear red keftas, or uniforms. Heartrenders wear red with black embroidery, and Healers wear red with silver embroidery.

• Etheralki are the Order of the Summoners. There are three types of Etheralki. Inferni, who can manipulate fire, Squallers, who can manipulate wind, and Tidemakers, who can manipulate water. They wear blue keftas, with red embroidery for the inferni, gray for the squallers, and light blue embroidery for the tidemakers.

• Materialki are the Orders of the Fabrikators. They can manipulate other substances, like metal. There are two types of Fabrikators. Durasts, who wear purple keftas with gray embroidery, can manipulate more solid substances and specialize in weapon-making. Alkemi, who wear purple keftas with red embroidery, work in the more experimental side of manipulation, like blasting powders and poisons.

Rating: 4.8/5

This series blew away my expectations. It’s not as by-the-book as I expected, but the plot is still wonderfully crafted. The story of Alina’s journey to accepting who she is was an amazing arc of development, turning the shy, quiet mapmaker into a strong, confident girl that is ready to stand up for what she wants.

The idea of integrating the Six of Crows into this series was, in my opinion, genius. Six of Crows is the first in a duology by Leigh Bardugo, which comes after the Shadow and Bone trilogy. However, the plotline for the Crows here is a prequel to the actual books, which I respect. I honestly loved the plot of the Six of Crows duology more than the Shadow and Bone trilogy, so intertwining these two made the series that much more enjoyable.

In addition, the decision to make Alina half Shu (half asian in the Grishaverse) was a decision I was weary of, but ultimately, I think the show highlighted the topic of racism in a great way without making it stereotypical.

However, there are a couple grievances. For one, I think they made Kaz Brekker a little too soft. In the books, he could care less about other people and doesn’t blink an eye on cold murder. He’s more of an anti-hero than a good-doer. While he does have a closeness to Inej, the show made him a little too eager to impress and a little less bloodthirsty and vengeful, which wasn’t a great turn.

Another issue I had was when General Kirigan, AKA the Darkling in the books, AKA our main antagonist, revealed his true name. We know only by the third book in the Shadow and Bone trilogy, Ruin and Rising, that his true name is Aleksander. However, revealing his name so early in the series made some of the mystery disappear.

Overall, the show was amazing, and although it was different from the book, it was still an amazing experience. I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone that has Netflix, because it’s a show you won’t forget.

Stream Shadow and Bone only on Netflix.