Shadow and Bone
One of the breakout successes of early 2021 was Netflix’s Shadow and Bone, based on the Grishaverse novels by Leigh Bardugo. Shadow and Bone is a bit more accessible than some of the dense fantasy stories out there, which paid off when the show posted solid streaming numbers and got renewed for season 2. With its Old Russia-inspired worldbuilding, great effects, and compelling character crossovers, Shadow and Bone has firmly staked its flag in the fantasy field.
The story follows Alina Starkov (Jessie Mei Li), the prophesied Sun Summoner who is destined to destroy a miles-long trench of darkness and monsters called the Shadow Fold that splits her country in half. Grisha are magic users who do everything from Avatar: The Last Airbender style elemental magic to making magical gadgets. Alina’s particular power is that she can create light, which is a skill that was believed to be a myth. She’s soon swept up in court politics by the enigmatic General Kirigan (Ben Barnes), who we learn has a pretty devious agenda of his own.
But where Shadow and Bone really secured its place in the hearts of viewers was in how it weaved together Alina’s story with that of the Crows, a group of thieves from the distant nation of Ketterdam. The Crows are from a different set of Leigh Bardugo’s books, yet the show managed to thread the two narratives together in a way that kept both longtime fans and new ones guessing. There’s plenty of room for the series to grow, but it had one of the most solid debuts of the year. — Daniel
Add us as a preferred source on Google