[ENG&RU] "Shadow and Bone" Netflix TV series. My review

English

Hello everyone! On April 23, Netflix released one of the most anticipated series of the spring called "Shadow and Bone", based on the books of the Grishavers by American writer Leigh Bardugo. You can read my reviews of the books at the links below:
"Shadow and Bone" Trilogy: @oleftinka/eng-and-ru-shadow-and
"Six of Crows" Duology: @oleftinka/eng-and-ru-six-of

About the creation of TV series

Work on the series began in January 2019, with almost all filming taking place in Budapest. 5 directors worked on the production. The series' creators include screenwriter Eric Heisserer ("Arrival") and executive producers Shawn Levy ("Stranger Things") and Leigh Bardugo. There are 8 episodes in the first season, but seasons 2 and 3 are also planned.

The structure of the Universe

As in the books, the events of the series take place in a fantasy world, where the plot centers on the country of Ravka (analogous to Tsarist Russia), one of the nations of the Grishavers. It borders the country of Fjerda (analogous to Scandinavia or Germany) to the north, Shu Han (analogous to Mongolia or China) to the south, and the True Sea to the west. In the True sea is another country of Kerch with the capital Ketterdam (reminiscent of Amsterdam), and on the western shore of the sea is the Novyi Zem (analogous to Africa).
Ravka is divided by a Shadow Fold (the Unsea) into the western and eastern parts. The Unsea - a black band of darkness created by Black Heretic, which is inhabited by monsters volcra, that were once ordinary people. The inhabitants of Ravka are forced to move through the Fold to transport supplies, but few people manage to stay alive.

There are 2 armies in Ravka. The first consists of ordinary soldiers, and the second of people with superpowers Grisha. They are not sorcerers or magicians, but masters of Small Science, who possess various abilities to control matter.
The Grisha are divided into three orders, and each order is divided into special groups:

1 Corporalki - the order of the living and the dead

• Heartrenders can use their power to damage a person's internal organs, slow down or speed up the pulse or pressure, or tear air out of the lungs.
• Healers can fuse bones, heal wounds with a single touch
• Tailors who can only change the appearance of people.

2 Etherealki - the order of summoners

• Squallers can control the wind by raising or lowering the air pressure to fill the ship's sails or move objects.
• Inferni can manipulate fire by collecting combustible particles of substances, but they need a spark to start a fire.
• Tidemakers are able to control the water.
  However, there are also Etherealki with extraordinary rare abilities: to summon light or control darkness.

3 Materialki - the order of Fabricators

• Durasts can manipulate glass, steel, wood, plants, stone, or anything solid at the molecular level.
• Alkemi specialize in chemicals such as explosive powders and poisons.

Ravka is the only place on the continent where grisha are officially recognized and have a high status (in Fjerda, for example, they prefer to burn them).
Grisha from the second army wear their uniform - kefta of different colors in accordance with the order. Etherealki wear blue, Materialki wear purple, and Corporalki wear red, but the color of their embroidery varies depending on the subgroup.

Plot and characters

The main character of the TV show and the trilogy "Shadow and Bone" is an orphan Alina Starkov, who grew up with her friend Mal in an orphanage. Over the years, they join the first army - Mal as a tracker, and Alina as a cartographer. At the beginning of the series, the circumstances are such that they have to cross the Fold. At the moment of transition, a situation occurs, after which everyone understands that Alina isn't a simple girl, but a Sun Summoner, one of the Grisha, whose ability is able to change the world. The leader of the Grisha - General Kirigan (Darkling) sends Alina to the Small Palace for training in Small Science.

Simultaneously with the events above, a parallel line with the characters from "Six Crows" begins to develop, taking place in Ketterdam. A team of bandits led by Kaz, his assistant Inej and gunslinger Jasper receive one major task for a million kruge. However, to do this, they need to do the impossible - cross the Shadow Fold and steal the Sun Summoner from the most guarded palace in Ravka. In my opinion, the screenwriters very competently interwoven them into the plot. And they didn't spoil, but on the contrary brought animation and dynamism to the story about the Sun Summoner. At first, watching Kaz, Inej, and Jasper was more interesting than watching Alina and Mal. This isn't surprising, even in the books, the characters from the duology are much more interesting, and the actors playing their roles in the series certainly managed to convey their characters and behavior.

A separate storyline is also the events that happened to the heartrender Nina and the Grisha hunter from the Fjerda - Mattias, mentioned in the "Six Crows". These characters and their story are one of my favorites in the books. I watched with delight the beautiful performance of the actors and how they were also successfully integrated into the plot in the TV show.

The atmosphere and visual component of the TV series

When writing the books, Leigh Bardugo was inspired by the image of Tsarist Russia, and this TV series is also filled with the entourage and aesthetics of that time. Russian names, clothing, palaces, and references to Russian holidays are here. In all this, the spirit of Russia is clearly felt, but it doesn't slip into the cliche about bears and balalaika.

Special effects deserve special delight. What only is the atmosphere of the Fold with volcra. It immediately feels like a lot of work has been done, no worse than in full-length films. I was also pleased with the musical accompaniment of the series. It helped to add gloom, epicness or drama at the right moments and immerse you more in this wonderful world. Another plus is the camerawork and directing work. Everything is at the highest level.

My impressions

Adapting books to a movie or TV series is always a very difficult task. And most often, readers' expectations aren't met. Nevertheless, this series met all my expectations. As a reader of books and a fan of the cycle, I was satisfied. I was interested to watch, as some plot twists were a mystery to me. But on the other hand, all the main scenes were shown, the essence and atmosphere of the books weren't distorted. And I was also pleased that the scenes that were only mentioned in the books were fully shown. The story was shown from all sides, and not only from the face of the main character.
But, in my opinion, the biggest disadvantage of the TV series is that it can be difficult for a viewer who hasn't read the books to adapt to the plot at first. Since the first series, little is explained about the structure of the world and the essence of Grisha.
To sum up, I can say that this is an amazing TV show. It can't be attributed to one genre. There is a little bit of everything here, which makes it more attractive against the background of classic fantasy. In any series, you can find pros and cons, but when watching them, I didn't want to look for them. I just wanted to enjoy this detailed fantasy world and wait for the second season. Personally, 8 episodes were not enough for me. So if you haven't read Leigh Bardugo's books, I think the series will still make a good impression on you.

My rating: 10/10.