We review Netflix’s new Shadow and Bone series episode by episode. Does it live up to the hype?
Leigh Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone trilogy immersed readers in a gripping world of magic and politics when it began back in 2012. Nearly a decade later, the author’s story is likely to gain a whole new faction of fans, this time through its Netflix adaptation.
Arriving on the platform on April 23, Shadow and Bone is poised to become the streamer’s next big fantasy hit, joining the ranks of popular series like The Witcher. With Eric Heisserer on board as showrunner, the series doesn’t just revisit the story laid out in Bardugo’s original trilogy. It also brings in characters and elements from her bestselling Six of Crows duology, which is set in the same universe.
At its core, Shadow and Bone is the story of a seemingly ordinary girl who discovers her incredible potential. It’s a standard enough setup for a young adult fantasy tale, but both Bardugo and Heisserer manage to infuse unique elements into Alina Starkov’s journey that will help it stand apart from the rest of the fantasy fare currently available.
From Shadow and Bone‘s Russian-inspired backdrop to its layered magic system, the series has a solid structure to build on. And then there are talented people like Westworld alum Ben Barnes, as well as a whole group of acting newcomers, to help shake things up a bit.
The streamer has done a lot to hype up the new show, dropping character posters and promo images as well as counting down to the premiere on social media. With so much fantasy currently available, the series will need to deliver a promising first season if it hopes to shine.
We’ll be reviewing Shadow and Bone here, tackling it episode by episode, to see if it’s up to the task. Let’s get started:
Episode 1: “A Searing Burst of Light”
The Shadow and Bone premiere wastes no time throwing viewers into the politics of Ravka and introducing the magic that makes this fictional world go round. “A Searing Burst of Light” introduces us to Alina Starkov (Jessie Mei Li), a seemingly ordinary cartographer in the Ravkan army arriving just outside the Fold, a huge, shadowy section of darkness that has, quite literally, split the nation of Ravka in two.
When Alina arrives at her new post, she’s reunited with her childhood friend Mal Oretsev (Archie Renaux), who grew up in an orphanage in Keramzin with her. It’s clear from the beginning the two have developed some level of dependency on each other, and that romantic feelings may be lurking beneath the surface. Naturally, then, they’re excited to be assigned to the same location again…at least until Mal gets chosen to accompany the infamous General Kirigan (Ben Barnes) and his Grisha soldiers across the Fold.
Shadow and Bone does an impressive job of introducing the Grisha and their magic, giving viewers just enough information to understand what’s happening early on, then elaborating on the specifics later. Bringing them into the picture from Alina and Mal’s perspective as outsiders also sets up the tensions between the Grisha and ordinary Ravkans fairly well.
Once Alina learns that Mal is heading into the danger of the Fold, she destroys her unit’s maps of the other side, hoping it will get her sent across with him. Her plan is a success, but it dooms her entire unit to the crossing, an unintended consequence that later comes back to haunt her (though possibly not enough).
And although it’s only the first episode of the series, the intimate moments between Alina and Mal — as well as the flashbacks to their time at the orphanage — successfully manage to invest viewers in their fates. It’s difficult not to feel for Alina as she attempts to protect the only family she’s ever known, even if it means risking herself and her friends in the process.
The risk of crossing the Fold becomes that much more real when Alina’s skiff is attacked on the way through. As monsters called volcra descend on the group, the odds of survival look slimmer and slimmer. Still, the two do everything they can to protect one another, at least until something unexpected happens: As they’re both about to die, light pours out of Alina, though it’s unclear how or why.
Running parallel to Alina and Mal’s predicament is a second storyline taking place in the brutal city of Ketterdam, one of the many locations west of the Fold. Shadow and Bone introduces the Dregs, a gang led by the so-called “Bastard of the Barrel” and owner of the Crow Club, Kaz Brekker (Freddy Carter).
Kaz and his crew get wind of a job worth a million kruge and attempt to secure it before any of the other gangs in the city do. The catch? To successfully complete the job, they have to cross the Fold, something that, as Kaz puts it, will require “a miracle or two.”
That doesn’t stop him and his closest friends — Inej Ghafa (Amita Suman) and Jesper Fahey (Kit Young) — from searching for a way through, even if it means crossing Pekka Rollins, a mob boss notorious for his cruelty. The three set out to find a Heartrender to bring to Dreesen, the man offering the prize. And as they sit through an interrogation with a boy who recently crossed the Fold, it becomes clear whatever they’re wrapped up in has everything to do with Alina’s crossing. In fact, the million kruge is revealed to be a bounty on her head.
Although the stakes for the Dregs aren’t quite as high as they are for Alina and Mal, there’s no denying that their chemistry makes this B plot nearly as enjoyable. Toying with the timeline in this episode is a clever way to interweave the two storylines and build suspense in a way that will have viewers pressing play on episode 2 as soon as “A Searing Burst of Light” comes to a close.
Netflix’s newest fantasy series opens with a solid premiere that leaves you wanting more. With an interesting cast of characters, some stunning CGI, a sprawling magical setting and plenty of action straight out of the gate, it’s a promising way to kick things off.