From Page to Screen: Shadow and Bone- TV Series

*MY THOUGHTS*

When I saw this was being made into a tv series, I was so excited! I was late to reading this series and when I finally did, it was way after the fandom had died down. But it didn’t bother me at all. I enjoyed reading about The Darkling and Alina Starkov, but I have to say, I enjoyed watching it even more.

I know that’s almost unheard of to say, but it’s the truth. I THINK it was because the show felt more like it’s own thing, rather than something that was supposed to be following along with a book. For example, the show features both the Shadow and Bone series and the Six of Crow series. And if I remember correctly, the Six of Crows was after (???) the events from the Shadow and Bone series. And since I don’t really look at trailers or read early reviews of these kinds of things, I wasn’t expecting that at all. It wasn’t a bad surprise at all, I just wasn’t expecting it.

The acting was the best part in my opinion. I LOVED who they cast as Alina and Kaz, but I was less sold on Mal and Matthias. (Which sucks because if you know me, Matthias was my favorite.) But even with the looks aside, they all brought their character to life and had me glued to the tv. Definitely was the reason I was able to binge watch this in less than 24 hours. (Also helped that I’m currently on maternity leave and doing night feedings with a newborn lol) But the BEST person character wise and acting wise was definitely Inej. I was SO skeptical about who would play her and would they play right right, but I shouldn’t have been worried. Anita Suman made a damn good Inej!

However, I wasn’t a fan of the pacing. Are they expecting there to be only one more season or something? I felt like it was a bit rushed. There was already talk of the amplifiers, how to use them, as well as the betrayals. It seemed like everything happened so fast and if you blinked at any time, you might have missed it. I really hope the next season (because I’m willing it into existence now!) slows down a bit, or at least give us more episodes to spill out some of the more crucial scenes.

SPeaking of crucial scenes, I LOVED that they kept the most beloved quotes from each book in it! I’m sure Bardugo made sure they knew those two lines needed to be in the show. Because without them, is it really Shadow and Bone or Six of Crows? No, it’s not. And the other crucial scene I saw that I really enjoyed was the cameo! It was a really cute one, and I think it was an easy one for everyone to find her and say, “Hey, that’s Leigh Bardugo!”

In the end, I think this was a good show based off the books. I can’t wait to see where they take it from here. I’m super interested in seeing how they will get or make more content if there’s more seasons added on! I think there will be with all the action and cool things that stemmed from this one. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see!

Overall, I give this