This discussion covers episodes 1-5 and it will discuss spoilers so skip this one if you haven’t watched it yet!
Good morning, afternoon, evening, or night, where ever you are! I’ve been watching the Shadow and Bone series non-stop for the past few days and had to jot down some of my thoughts that I had at the halfway point of the show. At the time of this being posted, I have indeed finished the show and spoiler alert, I really loved it. So I thought that I’d still go ahead and post this one for you all to enjoy while I continue to rewatch the show and reread the books and simultaneously write what’s going to be an enormous essay collection of all my thoughts on the show. Also, this will have spoilers so don’t read if you haven’t watched these episodes!
By far, this is the best book to tv show adaptation that I’ve seen in a long time. Some background on my background knowledge on the Grisha universe, especially the Shadow and Bone trilogy, is that I’ve only read book one. That to, it’s been a while since I read it so I remember major plot points but not the details. For example, I didn’t know that Alina was not half Shu in the books but is in the show. I’m more of a Six of Crows fan and am more aware of the SOC characters and their stories more than the SB ones.
The first thing I’d like to bring to attention is a warning that this show does have racial slurs so please be aware of that going in if it makes you uncomfortable or triggering. I also would advise you to do your own research on it. I’ve linked articles I’ve found from the production’s side about the decision to make Alina half Shu but please do your own research if this makes you uncomfortable.
The personality traits of the SOC characters is immaculate in the cast. Jesper especially is portrayed exactly as I imaged him to be, if not, better. I love seeing the scenes where Inej is just in the background, contemplating why she’s stuck with these two boys, which I mean, can’t be more accurate than that lol. I know that some people are upset that the actor who plays Kaz is a bit softer than they imagined but I think that it’s actually good. I feel like there’s a lot of potential in future episodes, if not next season to really zone in on Kaz and capture his trauma and how he’s a bit broken like the other crows. We get to see him taking charge and running their missions in the past few episodes but I think that in the future, we’ll probably get to see a darker side of him. It’s important to remember that we’re balancing two different book plots in the show and the main forerunner is SB so SOC isn’t going to be getting all the spotlight. Meaning, the plot that’s been written for them is new and we can’t really expect the same intensity or the precise translation of certain characters from SOC immediately.
Given that discussion, I feel like the first few episodes I saw constantly mentioned the Shu and how the Shu were the enemy. Myself, having read the books a while ago and forgotten certain things, don’t recall why. I remember the involvement of the Shu in SOC but things are clearly foggy in my brain. That being said, I feel like the first few episodes don’t do well enough of a job of depicting the why behind the antagonism with the Shu besides the basic reasoning.
Reading the books, I remember not really shipping Alina with either of the love interests. I think that I was a bit more interested in the Darkling simply because he had a more interesting personality. Mal on the other hand, I pretty much didn’t like lol. I remember some of the things he said to Alina that came off very possessive and patriarchal. The show on the other hand, has me feeling the exact opposite. In the book, we only get to see from Alina but in the show, we get to see from both Alina and Mal, which inevitably makes me soft in the heart for Mal.
The whole Darkling and Alina scene in the show though… was abrupt. It was moments like this in the SB plot that reminds me that this is based off a series that was at it’s glory around the beginning of popular YA fantasy publications. A rushed romance that springs from nowhere is a tell-tale sign. I mean in a span of ten minutes, Genya is telling Alina to be weary of powerful men, then Alina is literally rubbing her hand thinking about Mal, and the next moment, she’s kissed the Darkling. If that doesn’t scream late 2000’s YA, I don’t know what does.
The Darkling’s character comes of pretty off standish until suddenly, he opens up to her a bit more, so the chemistry between him and Alina feels a bit lack luster/abrupt and honestly, personally, I think that translates well. Though, in the book, I think that there was a tad bit more chemistry between the two in the beginning. From what I remember in the book, I remember the Darkling being very mysterious and other-ish so I personally think that Ben Barnes translated that well.
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Have you watched the show? What are your initial thoughts? I’ll be having posts up soon in the future about my final thoughts on the show and other discussions as well, so look forward to them!
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