Shadow and Bone. What’s the first thing you think about when you that series comes to mind?
For me, it’s a bunch of things. I think that it is one of the best fantasy shows that you could be watching right now. I also think that there are certain things that the show could seriously improve on. I love the Shadow and Bone cast, and the fantasy aspects are something I adore as a fan of movie franchises like Harry Potter and the legendary Lord of the Rings, but Season 2 had some major things I have to talk about.
From the characters to the stories to everything else in-between, here are four things that Season 2 actually did improve upon, and three that it very much didn’t – but could in the future.
Improved: The Stakes
One thing that I am very glad Season 2 of Shadow and Bone improved upon was the stakes. Throughout the first season, I constantly felt that I was instead just attending magic school instead of there being some major high-level threat – that only really began to unfold halfway through the first season.
Check out the cast try and pronounce the strange words of the Grishaverse.
Alright, that might be a little cruel to say, but I’ll just be straight-up – the stakes during Season 1 did not feel as good. We were made aware of how dangerous the Fold could be, as well as the information behind the Darkling’s past, but things don’t really start to pick up until the last few episodes.
It felt for a good amount, we were just watching Alina learn how to be a Grisha – which, I get it, it’s very important to show that, but for as long as they did, we really could have just moved past it in one episode instead of a few.
However, the second season really ups the stakes by throwing us right into the events that happened during the Season 1 ending. Matthias is in prison and is fighting people to survive, Nina is with the Crows and working as their Heartrender for a big job, Alina and Mal are off to find amplifiers for her powers to take down the Fold, and the Darkling seeks revenge – it’s all so much better, and made me want to keep watching.
Didn’t Improve: The Amount Of Characters
There are just too many characters.
I know what people will say, “Oh, you watch other fantasy shows like Game of Thrones or The Witcher, how are you complaining about characters in this?” To that I say that at least in those shows, many of the characters that we have to remember in the final season had been introduced over time.
The first season itself had so many characters, and if you haven’t had the chance to read the books, trying to put a face to a name is hard to do, especially when they only say their names once and we’re expected to remember who they are. That is the same way for Season 2, where we were introduced to several new characters, but I was forgetting most of their names halfway through. Just use the characters you've already got.
Improved: The Addition Of More Backstory
I refer to my previous paragraph for this – Shadow and Bone really learned to focus a lot more on the characters we already had. While the addition of new characters was overwhelming, I must say that the addition of further backstory for previously established characters made it that much better. I especially loved learning more about Kaz’s past, as he always seemed like that lone-wolf type, but I knew there had to be more.
Another person that I enjoyed learning more about was Mal, who was really given a lot more story this time around and doesn’t just feel like a side-part of Alina’s story. It was really refreshing to see a fully fleshed out love interest instead of someone who felt like they were just there.
Didn’t Improve: The Number Of Love Stories
But let’s talk about those love stories, yeah?
There were too many this time around. The few that were in the first season were enough for me to follow, but now, it feels like I have to keep a flowchart of who’s with who because it’s hard for me to remember.
I know that romances are usually always a part of fantasy movies and TV shows – really, it’s hard to escape them most of the time – there’s a point where there are just too many. In reality, most of us don’t really care about romances unless they’re a compelling part of the story – like Alina and Mal. But other ones? I really could not care less about it.
While Jesper finally finding someone he truly cares for is always great to see, I forgot about the other several romance plotlines in the meantime.
Improved: The Amount Of Action And Magic Elements
I have to say, the action and magic in Season 2 felt so much better than the first.
I can understand why, because the first season sort of felt like we were simply introduced into the world of Alina Starkov, where in Season 2, she knows who she is and is willing to use a lot more of her magic as a weapon. The same goes for many of the effects.
The usage of Inferni and their powers were something truly scary and some of them reminded me almost of Azula in Avatar: The Last Airbender. A lot of magic with the elements did that, especially Heartrenders, which reminded me of one of the darkest scenes I’ve ever seen in my years of watching children’s television. Yeah, the fantasy aspect of Season 2 really kicked it up a notch, and I enjoyed the heck out of it.
Didn’t Improve: Using General Kirigan
I’m not a big fan of how they ended Kirigan’s story.
Look, I’m fine with him dying. Would that have been my first idea? Absolutely not. From the beginning of the series, I really thought he was going to be the big baddie that would be sticking around until the end and be Alina’s ultimate enemy, but instead, he’s taken out in one episode. Kirigan’s Grisha army felt scarier than Kirigan himself, because even though he’s considered a main character, it felt like he was reduced to a side character.
I feel like this is also a problem that came with the addition of new characters, because everything became so flooded after a while it was hard to fit everyone’s story in. It’s a shame to see his time end in such an unsatisfying way – at least to me. I suppose I can learn to deal with it, though.
Improved: The Ending
That ending was crazy.
Truly, most of my questions that I had for Season 3 came from those last ten minutes that we saw in Season 2. I remember that during the Shadow and Bone Season 1 ending, I was excited for the second season but wasn’t biting my nails, hoping that it would come quicker. With Season 2, it’s the complete opposite.
Not only does that ending set up the third season, but also a spinoff with Six of Crows. Besides that, it’s already one of the scariest moments of the franchise so far, and teases of dark turns to come. It seriously captured my attention – and now, I’m eagerly awaiting Season 3, if that happens.
Season 2 of Shadow and Bone did improve upon its predecessor, but I still think there could be changes next season that might make it even better. We’ll just have to wait and see.
