Mostly Analytical, Quintessentially Overdramatic
Cr. Attila Szvacsek/Netflix © 2021 “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... Continue Reading →
COURTESY OF NETFLIX © 2021 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... Continue Reading →
COURTESY OF NETFLIX © 2021COURTESY OF NETFLIX © 2021 “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... Continue Reading →
COURTESY OF NETFLIX © 2021 “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... Continue Reading →
April 23-May 1Season One | Shadow and Bone Amita Suman NETFLIX © 2021 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... Continue Reading →
Cr. ATTILA SZVACSEK/NETFLIX © 2021 “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 fourth episode really looks into the idea of loneliness and how it translates into the communities that are built, along... Continue Reading →
NETFLIX © 2021 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 is hard... Continue Reading →
NETFLIX © 2021 “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... Continue Reading →
NETFLIX © 2021 “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.” Brick by brick. Word for word. Glance after glance. There is so much vulnerability and beauty in this scene, I... Continue Reading →
SHADOW AND BONE (L to R) ARCHIE RENAUX as MALYEN ORETSEV and JESSIE MEI LI as ALINA STARKOV in SHADOW AND BONE Cr. DAVID APPLEBY/NETFLIX © 2021 Welcome to the Shadow Fold, Grishaverse. The time is now, the day is here, and we’ve got a lot to breakdown. First things first about these reviews, I... Continue Reading →