Shadow and Bone

Excited for more Crow content; reading the Crow duology was my introduction to the Grishaverse.

Season 2 trailer. Completely forgot about this.

Edited by Discar on Feb 22nd 2023 at 6:46:47 AM

So, a good old-fashioned fetch-quest, some fun characters and magics, and a nicely-dire threat. I'm on board! ^_^

(Even if I am a little tired of "shadow" being visually represented as smoke. But I can live with that.)

I was starting to worry that Netflix had quietly cancelled this show, glad to see that's not the case. But I can't help but be pessimistic that this show won't meet whatever BS standards their algorithm sets, whether that's due to being underpromoted or whatever, and they'll cancel it a week after the season premiers.

I was starting to wonder if this would resurface. Been looking forward to it.

It does admittedly seem like one of the more expensive things on their plate so if it gets the axe it wouldn't necessarily be inexplicable.

I would hate to lose it, if only because the fantasy Russia setting makes it stand out among the current slate of fantasy shows. (And the Crows <3)

Edited by Synchronicity on Feb 25th 2023 at 2:47:30 PM

Ohh season 2, sweet.

I was worrying it would go the way of 1899 and die.

Ah, we have a date. Looking forward to this.

Since it seems to be about obtaining enough amplifiers to defeat the Darkling, I wonder if we're going to learn more about why Mal seems to amplify Alina's power. If she has to sacrifice what she most cares about like the trailer says, I'm betting that's Mal. Cue discovery he's her ultimate amplifier. That's my guess based on that trailer, at any rate.

And I've only just started watching 1899, so now I'm depressed.

Edited by Wyldchyld on Mar 2nd 2023 at 10:03:13 AM

I know right, it's a bloody travesty.

, For what it's worth, I recall that I found the first season to be well worth watching even without a sequel season. The lack of one is a pity, but there's some cool stuff just in season one, I feel.

Oh, I'm definitely going to finish watching the season. I did a quick google after reading the above post, and it looks like the creators planned for it to be three seasons long. I've managed to avoid how the season wraps up, so I haven't been spoiled, but it's s shame Netflix pulled the plug so quickly.

To segue back into the thread's topic, I'm glad they didn't pull the plug so quickly on Shadow and Bone. I still haven't decided whether to read the original story, given the amount of people who feel that the show is actually better than the books.

Regarding the former, that's fair! And I'm glad that you're not giving up on the season!

Regarding the latter, indeed, likewise! While this may not be my favourite recent fantasy show, I did rather enjoy the first season as I recall, so I am enthused to be getting a second season. ^_^

I would say the books are still pretty good (though it has been a few years since I read them so I don't remember everything). I think the series and the books both have their pros and cons.

The main differences I can think of between the books and the series so far (Spoilers for book and season 1):

• The series has the Crows in it. In the books they don't appear in the original trilogy, only in the sequel duology.
• Alina has a bit more personality in the series. She is much more meek and insecure in the books.
• Mal is nicer in the series (though people tend to exaggerate how bad he is in the books because they ship Alina with the Darkling)
• The series is more racially diverse. Alina is fully white Ravkan in the books but half Shu/Asian in the series. Her being an outsider is more related to her being very sickly in the books.
• The books go deeper into Alina's time in the Palace and the people there: Nadia and Marie get a bit more page time, we see a lot more about Genya's pretty terrible life as well as her developing friendship with Alina (which makes her betrayal both more understandable and more hard hitting). We also see more about the Grisha's internal politics and the rivalries and differences in status between the various orders. The books also have her sword teacher from Shu Han acting as more of a mentor figure while he is pretty much an extra in the series (this is kind of a wasted opportunity btw, since they changed Alina to also be Shu)
• Alina suppressing her powers was more subconscious and internal in the books, though this would of course be difficult to portray in a TV series where you don't have thoughts.
• The books are Alina's pov only.

Finished season 2.

Crows were still much more interesting than Alina and Mal, gotta say.

Honestly, that's the general sentiment of the book fans as well.

The Crows are actually well liked by non-YA fans and most readers on places like R/Fantasy go, "If only they were 5 years older, this would be great mainstream fantasy."

I just find them more interesting as a whole. As characters their personalities are more varied, their motivations and goals are concrete and understandable, and they're just more fun to watch. And they're not The Chosen One or whatever, they're a bunch of traumatised absolute disasters

Meanwhile Alina, if you asked me to describe her personality...I'd have trouble.

As one of my friends put it: "Half the show is generic YA fantasy in a Russian hat, and half the show is Peaky Blinders With Magic"

I’m halfway through s2. I never did get around to finishing the books after s1, but the Crows' involvement in this season is still fanfic, right?

It meshed a bit better in the first one when they were directly chasing her, but the first four episodes here were really straining to justify the dual narratives, especially with the tonal disparity.

Edited by Synchronicity on Mar 18th 2023 at 9:26:28 AM

The sad fact is that the show Alina has a lot more personality than book Alina.

Oh. Ouf. Why is that such a thing in YA, though? Other characters having personality and main characters being featureless pieces of cardboard in comparison.

I've heard that it's so readers can more easily sub themselves in for the main but I suspect it's also cos authors are afraid to give their mains some flaws that would make them more interesting.

I feel a problem with the Alina plot is that it's mostly standard romantic/political drama and lore-finding, which makes it seem dull compared to the Crows' plot being fun heists and disaster romantic drama. (Also, Baghra doesn't carry as much dramatic weight as she should, and the love triangle is pretty cut and paste.)

Disparate plotlines do seem to be a problem - shout out to the prison plotline for basically only existing as a hook for the next season.

On the positive side: the Crows have great chemistry once again, and I was pleasantly surprised at Wylan's addition, even though it is different from his introduction in the books. I like Tolya and Tamar as well, and the Shu Han plotline was decent. The Alina plotline had issues, but Tolya and Tamar graced it with their presence and Sturmhond was pretty funny. It was also interesting to see how the royalty was adjusting to their circumstances in the second half of the season.

I finished it this afternoon. It was...kind of a hot mess? The cast is great but the writing/pacing is kind of wild. I know it wouldn't happen because they're fan favorites, but the Crows maybe could have sat out the first half.

Eg. Kirigan spends the entire season monologuing "Not So Different" Remark / We Can Rule Together and it falls flat all the time because we have no idea why he is saying he's Alina's counterbalance / ~we need each other~ beyond YA Badboy Tropes. Then she does dark side stuff in the last episode and it's like "Oh, I guess."

Also, the notion of a Crows spinoff is kind of funny after [waves hand] all that. Nothing says petty lowlife criminals like three world-saving heists in six months

Also also, finally an answer to the age old question: can metalbenders bloodbend?

Edited by Synchronicity on Mar 18th 2023 at 7:23:19 AM

Yeah the plot was kind of a hot mess. Like I said I was honestly much more into watching the Crows do their shit in Ketterdam and them being disaster humans at relationships than I was with anything Alina was doing. The pirate was fun but even that just fizzled out once he turned out to be a prince. I really do enjoy the Crows and if the show was entirely about them I'd be happy as anything.

Also as a non-book reader the resolution to Kaz and Inej's relationship attempts this season was a bit sad but honestly probably more realistic. Ain't trauma fuuuuun.

The book readers are apparently up in arms by the rearrangings of the relationship timelines, but yes, Kaz and Inej's melodrama did it for me too.

Heh btw for anyone curious, me and a mate came up with dumb nicknames for characters back in Season 1 when we were still learning their names.

• Alina: Lazy Lamp/ Sun Jesus
• Mal: Mothman (for being inexplicably drawn to a source of bright light)
• Darkling: Totally-Not-A-Bad-Guy
• Kaz: Wet Cat (He's about as friendly as one)
• Inej: Saint Slinky
• Jesper: Chaotic Bi/Milo Daddy

It amused us, anyway.

The pacing was definitely a mess, but I found this season very entertaining regardless. I can't really compare it to the books though, because I've only read the first two and they're packed in a box somewhere.