Mostly Analytical, Quintessentially Overdramatic
As far as season penultimate episodes go, “The Unsea” is easily on my list of favorites. It isn’t flawless by any means, but it’s a magical showcase of vulnerability while focusing on the importance of freedom. It’s the episode that sets almost every dynamic up remarkably while still leaving a lot of room to dissect the grey areas that play into the complexities of these characters. There’s never inherently good
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Of all the confrontations that fans of Shadow and Bone had been waiting for, this was one of them, and though a shorter scene than a lot of others, what’s most surprising is how intricately it set apart two men in power. (However different said power might be.) (Before anyone jumps at my throat, I like The Darkling as a villain. And I don’t normally like villains. Ben Barnes is
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“Show Me Who You Are” is one explosive, nuanced title for the amount of stuff that erupts in this episode and just how much we start to see through these characters along with their relationships. And it showed viewers exactly who these people are without telling us too much. (Which is a first for this show that previously featured a lot more telling with some characters.) The Winter Fete is
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“Otkazat’sya”—otherwise known as orphans, the abandoned ones. An appropriately title for an episode that showcases the fact that contrary to what Baghra tells Alina, needing people is not a weakness. Shadow and Bone’s “Otkazat’sya” really looks into the idea of loneliness and how it translates into the communities that are built, along with the bonds that are fortified. It looks into why friendships matter and it looks into why these stories, interwoven with
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What is the heart of the world in this universe? What “making” are we talking about? The Fold? Heartrenders? The chemistry between everyone on this show? I don’t know, I never actually figured it out but regardless, I’m here for it. “The Making at the Heart of the World” kicks off with Alina dreaming of a stag (the stag) and when she’s awakened, she’s bombarded with the Little Palace staff,
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