inej ghafa Archives

Best of 2021: Characters

December 18, 2021 Marvelous Geeks year end reviews

The best of 2021 characters are the ones who’ve had the most growth. The characters who’ve stayed with us throughout the year.

Binding Wounds and Removing Armor: A Moment of Intimacy Between Kaz and Inej in Crooked Kingdom’s Chapter Twenty-Six

June 29, 2021 Gissane Sophia scene breakdown

Kaz Brekker and Inej Ghafa speak in a language that is so visibly intimate we see it in their effortless means of trusting one another with armor, their ability to bounce back after arguments in moments of transparency, and ultimately, the undeniable ways in which they both need each other. Serious question, does anyone read chapter twenty-six without having a full-fledged, chaotic breakdown themselves? If you do, teach me your

Shadow and Bone 1×08 “No Mourners” Review

May 8, 2021 Gissane Sophia netflix, tv coverage

“No Mourners” concludes Shadow and Bone’s first season almost as we’d expect it, a little rushed in its climax, but it gives us incredible moments of character development, so you’ll hear no complaints from me. Choice is a predominant, ongoing theme throughout the course of this season, and the finale reiterates its importance with reflection and moments full of loud whispers. It sets up the oncoming arcs for our favorite characters with

Shadow and Bone 1×07 “The Unsea” Review

May 7, 2021 Gissane Sophia netflix, tv coverage

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

Shadow and Bone 1×06 “The Heart is an Arrow” Review

May 5, 2021 Gissane Sophia netflix, tv coverage

“The Heart is an Arrow” and humanity is so often complex in the same way that it is striking. Shadow and Bone’s sixth episode gives us reunions and answers—it leaves us with questions and a lot of moments of exceptional character development. The show is great in the beginning, but really, the last four episodes are where it sets sail and does so gorgeously even in the wreckage. While the previous episode

Shadow and Bone 1×05 “Show Me Who You Are” Review

May 3, 2021 Gissane Sophia netflix, tv coverage

“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

This Week’s Most Noteworthy Performance: Amita Suman

May 2, 2021 Gissane Sophia this week's most noteworthy performance

April 23-May 1Season One | Shadow and Bone Amita Suman Shadow and Bone is full of incredible performers left and right who’ve each done a compelling job of bringing their characters to life with range and nuances that have made them even better than they were on paper. This is a series that demanded its characters show more and the performances do. When we say they all understood the assignment,

Shadow and Bone 1×04 “Otkazat’sya” Review

May 1, 2021 Gissane Sophia tv coverage

“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

Scene Breakdown: Knives, Trust, and Loyalty in Shadow and Bone’s “Otkazat’sya”

April 29, 2021 Gissane Sophia scene breakdown

When Inej gives Kaz her knives in Shadow and Bone‘s “Otkazat’sya,” it serves as a rather obvious showcase of trust. Trust is a convoluted spectacle at times, a labyrinth of endless security that relies heavily on excavation—searching, cherishing and cementing. It seldom requires words in this form, it’s either buried deep or boldly on display, and when there are words, they are a parallel to what’s been established before. Trust

Shadow and Bone 1×02 “We’re All Someone’s Monster” Review

April 28, 2021 Gissane Sophia netflix, tv coverage

“We’re All Someone’s Monster” opens up with a flashback to Mal and Alina’s Grisha test indicating that they ran and hid because Alina didn’t want to be separated from him in case she was Grisha, and that’s just precious. We’ll keep saying this, but this friendship is a beautiful thing and so damn pure, it’s a solid way to start the episode and paralleling it with General Kirigan’s (Ben Barnes)

Scene Breakdown: A Moment of Vulnerability in Shadow and Bone’s “The Unsea” Between Inej Ghafa and Kaz Brekker

April 27, 2021 Gissane Sophia scene breakdown

“Crows don’t just remember the faces of people who wronged them. They also remember those who were kind. They tell each other who to look after and who to watch out for.” Kaz Brekker and Inej Ghafa‘s moment of vulnerability in Shadow and Bone‘s “The Unsea” might just be the most intimate scene in the first season. Brick by brick. Word for word. Glance after glance. There is so much

Shadow and Bone 1×01 “A Searing Burst of Light” Review

April 26, 2021 Gissane Sophia tv coverage

Welcome to the Shadow Fold, Grishaverse. The time is now, the day is here, and we’ve got a lot to breakdown with Shadow and Bone’s first episode,”A Searing Burst of Light.” First things first about these reviews, I have not read the Shadow and Bone trilogy, my expertise in both book and TV verse lies with the Six of Crows duology. And for the sake of these reviews, I’ve done a bit of research