Shadow and Bone was one of my top reviewed shows for 2021. A new favourite of mine actually. It’s sophomore season however did not bring what I was expecting it to bring. This season saw Alina (Jessie Mei Li) and Mal (Archie Renaux) on the run from basically the entire world as she attempts to hide her identity as the Sun Summoner. Kirigan (Ben Barnes) is of course alive and well, also in hiding and attempting to stop Alina from undoing his work, mainly The Fold.
Elsewhere, we have the crows fighting to escape the long arm of Pekka Rollins, the premier mafia boss of the Barrows. Nina (Danielle Galligan) has a fated run in with the crew in her quest to save Matthias (Calahan Skogman) from the situation she placed him in, in an attempt to save his life.
I just want to take this opportunity to say that I’m glad to see healthy representations of love for teenage girls that go against the standard Bad Boy trope. Kirigan, while handsome, powerful and exciting never actually loved Alina. He loved her power and utility. Whether the viewers want to accept that or not is entirely up to them. As I said, it’s thrilling but there’s no longevity in it.
Mal on the other hand, has always been my favourite character. The gallant white knight if you will. He lost friends and almost died several times trying to rescue Alina. Though she doesn’t exactly need rescuing…still, it’s the thought and care that counts. I’m just glad that more viewers seem to be seeing sense this time around.
On another notes, I’m trying to remember if Li’s acting was this bad last time around. Though a part of me wonders if the effects coordinator is partly to blame. Daisy Head was great as Genya this season. She did a fantastic job of capturing the essence of Genya’s pain in all she’d been through. The crows also stood out as was expected. I probably prefer their storyline over the main one in fact. It was becoming apparent that sooner or later the B plot would become more entertaining than the main plot which poses considerable difficulties regarding the shows continuity.
The finale, however, skillfully solves this issue. By splitting up the characters to give a mix of main storyline characters, the crows and the new characters on two separate journeys. The major events felt largely rushed but I’m not surprised. Misjudging the necessary pace is always an issue with book adaptations as the major plot points need to occur within a certain timeframe and of course, not everything needs to be shown or expanded upon.
With this season, though, the pieces of the storyline seemed smashed together so quickly that I’m worried about the direction for a possible third season. Giving the audience too much to digest at once can really kill a series. I’m not saying draw out the drama over several seasons, but big events require a certain level of buildup if you really want the audience to buy in.
We didn’t get a chance to properly become acquainted with the new characters such as Nikolai (Patrick Gibson) and his crew. Their introductions were rushed, and I struggled to develop any sort of connection to them despite their natural charisma. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed with this season. The whole thing just came off as overly condensed yet disjointed at the same time.
If viewing numbers are to be believed, they didn’t get the turnout they were hoping for either as they never managed to break through to the number 1 spot of the week on Netflix, quickly being overshadowed by The Night Agent (which I’ll be reviewing next). This doesn’t exactly bode well for the Grishaverse because while all seasons need to perform well, season 2 is always pivotal to the longevity of a show.
I do think there’s just enough fan support to carry a 3rd season, but unfortunately, based on this showing, I’m not convinced they’ll get one. It’s a real waste too for something that had the potential to become one of the greats in its genre. Believe me, for a show that was in my 2021 favorites, no one regrets this rating more than I.
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