For a genre that
is bound only by what can be dreamt up in limitless imagination, there are a
surprising amount of commonalities and suspiciously similar themes that often
crop up in fantasy literature. Why is it that so many fantasy stories, for
instance, seem to be set in eras akin to the real world’s Medieval period? How
many of them involve elves, orcs, or a comparable species living in tandem with
humans? Many creators are undoubtedly inspired to jump on the bandwagons
fashioned by virtuosos and trend setters such as the Brothers Grimm, Tolkien,
and Lewis, but in today’s heavily saturated market the stories that tend to
stand out the most are ones that take risks and move away from the usual Middle
Earth and Narnia-esque worlds of established canon. Shadow and
Bone, a new Netflix series based on the works of Leigh Bardugo, sets itself
apart from the pack admirably with its impressive world-building, style, and
intriguing characters, but also stumbles a bit thanks to a few decidedly cliché
story beats and a certain side plot that seems oddly detached from the rest of
the action.
The
thing that struck me the most while watching Shadow and Bone was
the unique setting. Breaking free of the usual sword-and-shield era, the
characters in this world have access to commodities such as guns, trains, and
all the tall hats they could ever desire. This alone gives the world character,
and the show has an admirable show-don’t-tell policy when it comes to
explaining how the inner workings of the society functions. That policy also
means that conversations can occasionally be hard to follow, however, as the
script seems to feel comfortable throwing, left and right, silly words that are
typical of this type of story with the assumption that those who didn’t read
the books (like me) will catch on eventually. And catch on I did, for the most
part, even though I felt hesitant to learn yet another set of made-up phrases
at first (come on, guys… don’t we have enough words as it is?) The costumes are
impressive, the cast effervescent and refreshingly diverse, and the story is
plenty interesting if not terribly original.
What
do I mean by that? Well, the story starts when an average orphan girl finds out
that she is special and destined to save the world. There is a clan of wizard
people who are born with innate abilities and are prosecuted for unclear
reasons (I guess they are more akin to the X-Men/mutants of the Marvel universe
now that I think about it), and there is a love triangle between the girl, the
childhood friend, and the dark newcomer. These are just some of some very familiar
beats that flew in the face of an otherwise unique world and story, and the
show suffers slightly from them. As a result of combining multiple books, there
is also a story thread that makes the pacing suffer a bit, as it is only
tangentially related to the main plot. You’ll know it when you see it.
And
see it you should, because Shadow and Bone is, overall,
an exceptional piece of television that will please even the most diehard
fantasy fan. Look it up if you get the chance.
Shadow and
Bone season 1 is now available on Netflix.
This review was first published in The Keizertimes on June
11th, 2021. Visit at http://keizertimes.com/
Hindsight: I really gotta cut back on the long introductions
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