Shadow and Bone ( Netflix Series / Fantasy)
Creator -Shawn Levy
Teleplay- Vanya Asher
Cast- Jessie Mei Li, Archie Renaux, Freddy Carter, Amita Suman, Kit Young, Sujaya Dasgupta, Patrick Gibson
Series Synopsis
In a world cleaved in two by a massive barrier of perpetual darkness, a young soldier uncovers a power that might finally unite her country. But as she struggles to hone her power, dangerous forces plot against her. Thugs, thieves, assassins and saints are at war now, and it will take more than magic to survive.
Season 2 Synopsis
On the run, after the showdown with Kirigan, Alina and Mal find new allies — and face heartrending choices — in their quest for more mythical amplifiers.
Shadow and Bone season 2 didn’t impress me like season 1. I know my review will be from a book reader’s POV. I’ll try to balance it out with the point of view of the TV fans. I’d say, on the whole, season 2 felt incredibly rushed to the point where it ate up the points from the 6 books and tried to digest it. So, I’d say as a book reader, my disappointment is immeasurable and as an audience of the show, I would say it ranges from average to below average. Let’s do a dive into the positives and negatives
Positives:
Production Design – Gotta admire the Production Design that went into recreating the Grisha Verse on the small screen. The rich production values enhance the grand feel.
The cinematography – It aids the production design In making this an immersive visual experience. It helps in getting transported to this world visually.
Negatives:
Teleplay – The series tries to cram in 5 books in 1 season. It just whizzes past those events in a frenzy. It’s like someone had written the teleplay after reading the summary of all the books and decided to cram in all the events.
Characters – The crows were so boring this season. I mean, connecting Alina and these characters seemed like a good idea in season 1. But the Six of Crows and Alina become mundane and boring. Unbelievable that they made Darkling a cliched villain.
Action sequences – They were so lazily choreographed and laughable after a point that I I was like “What am I even watching?” The battle in the final episode highlights this problem.
Overall, Season 2 is a massive disappointment .