![]() ![]() The Crows, as usual, are the best part of “Shadow and Bone.” However, their half of the season also struggles with pace. ![]() And the burgeoning relationship between sharpshooter Jesper Fahey (Kit Young) and demolitions expert Wylan Hendriks (Jack Wolfe) is exactly what a romantic subplot like theirs should be - sometimes endearing, more often earnest, and a delight all around. Alina’s biracial identity - she’s half-Ravkan (coded as Russian) and half-Shu (coded as East Asian) - is explored with much more grace than in the previous season, particularly given the introduction of more Shu characters. Kaz, whose harrowing backstory is revealed in a series of brilliantly executed flashbacks - including a jaw-droppingly gorgeous shot in the fifth episode - is a highlight of the season. That’s not to say all the characters’ personal stories lack attention. With so many characters to follow, it’s no wonder that the season doesn’t have time to linger on the emotional journey of each one. For instance, this season introduces two separate sets of siblings with Grisha powers, and the Darkling’s right-hand woman Fruzsi doesn’t appear to do much that he couldn’t do himself. Some of the new characters also seem a bit extraneous. While the show’s expansive worldbuilding is impressive, and the locations are visually beautiful, it can be difficult to keep track of everyone at once, even for viewers familiar with the source material. At any point during the season, the 14-member main cast is spread out across three or four locations and storylines. It almost feels like the viewer is expected to mentally fill in these emotional gaps to understand the character development that wasn’t shown onscreen.Īnother reason why this season’s character work feels underdeveloped is the sheer size of its cast. Because of this, moments that should be emotionally resonant often feel unearned. ![]() Because of the large amount of material to get through in only eight episodes, the season progresses at a breakneck pace that sacrifices the development of meaningful character relationships in favor of barreling towards the story’s conclusion. While the first season of “Shadow and Bone” only adapted the first of the three “Grisha” books, Season Two attempted to finish out the trilogy’s arc completely, adapting both the second and third novels. A parallel storyline concerns the Crows, a gang led by Kaz Brekker (Freddy Carter), who find themselves entangled in Alina’s story and the politics of Ravka. “Shadow and Bone” follows orphan and cartographer Alina Starkov (Jessie Mei Li), who discovers she’s a Sun Summoner - a person with the rare ability to control light and destroy the Shadow Fold, created by the Darkling (Ben Barnes) to divide her country, Ravka. ![]() While the highly-anticipated second season carries some of the previous installment’s strengths, it crams in too many plotlines and the addition of surprising changes from Bardugo’s books work against the show’s coherence and thematic throughline. The first season of the show, which is based on Leigh Bardugo’s bestselling Grishaverse novels, was praised for its impressive acting performances, compelling writing, high-quality production, and adaptation from the source material (which included the first book of the “Grisha” trilogy as well as characters and settings from the “Six of Crows” duology). On March 16, the second season of the fantasy show “Shadow and Bone” dropped on Netflix. ![]()
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