Fictional series with young heroes have been an important pillar of the Netflix library for years. The latest such title is “Shadow and Bone” based on the popular Leigh Bardugo series. How did the production perform and why did a good first impression get lost?

Wonderful literature from the part Youth Over the past decade, I have provided a lot of material for film and television, and with the development of broadcast platforms, this trend will only increase. Of course, Netflix is ​​particularly interested in similar titles, of which there is nothing better than cinema mixed with elements Teenage drama. However, the results of the company’s production activities so far have been so.

Last year’s “Cursed” series was a huge hit from a production standpoint, but the cute character, the bad plot, and the lack of an idea to use Arthur’s legends definitely didn’t help its positive reception. In this respect, it was much better in the case of “Farragna Baker Street”, but the address mentioned also had its problems (you can read about it in our review). Therefore, regarding the premiere of “Shadow and Bone” one can have the same hope as doubts. In fact, both of these feelings were confirmed during the examination.

The new Netflix series is based on Leigh Bardugo’s “Shadow and Bone” and other elements of the “Grisha” universe (primarily “Six Crows”). Therefore, the plot of these plots combines many different surnames, which have their good and bad sides. The main topic of production revolves around the work of Alina Starkov as a cartographer in the Russian-inspired Ravka State Army. The girl has a mixed background, therefore, since childhood, other children tormented her in the orphanage. There, however, she developed a very strong friendship with Mali Oritsev, who now works in the same unit as a tracker.

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The Army Command assigns money to participate in the Shadow Fold Crossing Mission, the border created by the Black Heretic hundreds of years ago that separates Rafka’s two halves. There are terrifying monsters inside, so any such trip is extremely dangerous. Alina decided to destroy the maps of the area on the other side in order to participate in the crossing as well. But inside Fulda, a series of incidents occur that reveal the girl’s true strength. She is the only Grisha, known as the Summoner of the Sun. From now on, he will begin to participate in special training that will determine the fate of the world.

The best part of the “Shadow and Bone” series is the world created using scenes and costumes.

It’s clear that since “Witcher”, Netflix has definitely improved its attention to the production side. The first contact with Rafka is absolutely real and real, because everything here has a distinct Russian flavor. Meanwhile, because over time we also visit other places of this world (like the frosty city of Ketterdam or Fjerda), this diversity of patterns and appearance adds more color to the whole. The scenes with the Crow Club members are especially good in this regard, but so too is the caesarean splendor of the tiny mansion, where Grisze is training, makes a big impression.

There is no doubt that over the course of many books, Leigh Bardugo has created an exceptional world that is truly very familiar and different from ours to attract readers or viewers in this case. Unfortunately, Shadow and Bone can hardly be called a good adaptation. Because Netflix wanted to do a lot, and very quickly.

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A good first impression is lost the shade and the bones.

There are actually two reasons for this. The production creators have been showing their tremendous ambitions from the start, which is why they put forth, along with Alina’s main storyline, two almost equally important in size, but not necessarily affecting the whole story. The first concerns an order received by Crow Club members who have to go through Shadowfold themselves and capture a very important person. The second concerns a certain Grisha character that Druskelle named Nina has seized and her relationship with one of the hijackers during their trip to Fjerda.

While the Crow Club theme ties well with the story of Alina Starkov (even though the presence of Kaz, Inej, and Jesper has become void over time), the latter story really has no reason to be here. All this takes precious time, which the writers should spend on developing the main character.

Alina Starkov is a typical fantasy heroine for young readers.

She is outspoken, confident, smart and intelligent. But at the same time, it must be some kind of blank tablet with which new recipients in this world know themselves, so, after their strength is revealed, they enter a completely new life, which was previously unknown. And finally, of course, it must save the world, so it has unimaginable potential that almost no one can fight.

The problem is that Alina jumps from one point in her story to the next very quickly. We never get the time to get to know her and like her. First, she is a self-confident soldier, then a lost student in the Grisha universe, only to stand in a runaway shoe chased by the state and a saint who will save the world from the Shadow Fold.

The success of the Harry Potter series was that readers could spend enough time with him in the Dursleys or in Hogwarts to learn about his problems and challenges. But Netflix wasn’t about to show the same patience, which is why so many heroes were thrown into Season 1 as the original Game of Thrones. The difference is that each of them had an organic role in the entire plot, and here the plots from several different books are mixed without arrangement and composition.

This is why “Cień i Kości” remains a series with unrealized potential.

It is also worth noting that the situation is not improving with a very important fact – the essence of this story is painfully cliché. If you’ve read at least one teenage fantasy novel, you will expect every development the book will serve you over the course of the eight episodes. This mainly applies to the character of the opponent, who may also be called Złol McMoczny, so his subsequent betrayal is very clear.

Does this mean Shadow and Bone is not worth watching? Not really, because the Netflix series has many strengths. In addition to the production, these are also stage performances of a few supporting characters, which are remembered for a longer time. And because in the coming seasons (which are sure to be made) we will continue to pursue their fate, the Leigh Bardugo series adaptation still has an opportunity to improve.