Shadow and Bone Delivers a Brilliant Adaptation… But There’s a Catch

Warning: This review contains spoilers for Shadow and Bone Season 1.

Shadow and Bone Season 1 does a fantastic job at bringing the beloved Grishaverse to life. The world is stunning and vast, and we see so much of it, allowing us to be completely immersed in it.

It’s a big task that Shadow and Bone takes on — creating one cohesive story that includes characters from two different series in the Grishaverse.

The events of Six of Crows take place two years after the final novel in the Shadow and Bone trilogy, which makes the show’s decision to include Kaz, Jesper, Inej, Nina, and Matthias thrilling and initially perplexing as you wonder how the hell the show is going to pull it off.

For the most part, the show incorporates Kaz, Jesper, Inej, Nina, and Matthias into Alina’s storyline very well. However, by including them, Shadow and Bone isolates new fans by throwing them in storylines that seemingly have nothing to do with the main storyline of the show — Alina’s journey.

This adaptation definitely favors the fans of the books, and it is too soon to tell if its choices will turn away new viewers or if they are small enough that it won’t matter in the grand scheme of things. 

No one enjoys feeling like they’ve missed something or that they’re not in the know, and there are moments on Shadow and Bone Season 1 that will leave new fans in the dark, wondering what they’ve missed or why certain characters are worth following around.

New fans who haven’t read the books won’t be overjoyed the first time we see Kaz or when Nina meets Matthias.

Instead, they might be wondering why these new characters matter and what they have to do with Alina, and you can’t blame them. Thankfully, the confusion is (mostly) short-lived, and new fans will get the chance to fall in love with these delightful characters for the first time.

First, let’s rave about the Crows, which, for clarity’s sake, refers to Kaz, Inej, and Jesper. Nina and Matthias haven’t joined forces with them yet, so they aren’t part of the Crows as they appear on Shadow and Bone Season 1.

Adding the Crows to Alina’s tale, overall, is a benefit to the show.

The Crows’ storyline dovetails nicely into Alina’s — after all, they are trying to kidnap her — and it is only in the first couple of episodes that the connection between the two storylines isn’t as strong, causing confusion as to what’s going on for new fans.

Then, there’s the issue that cutting away to Ketterdam to meet and follow around the Crows comes across as a strange move seeing as Alina’s life is getting exciting with the discovery of her powers. The show briefly loses momentum there, but thankfully, the Crows’ storyline picks up pretty quickly.

Watching how Kaz, Inej, and Jesper break into Alina’s world is fascinating and practically seamless. It makes sense that someone would want Alina’s powers for themselves and hire a group of criminals to kidnap her, and the Crows definitely would jump at the chance to nab a huge payload.

Then, there’s the added joy of seeing Alina, Mal, and the Darkling (General Kirigan) interacting with Kaz, Jesper, and Inej.

It’s something that I never really knew I needed to see, but every time they cross paths, a huge smile is on my face, and I couldn’t wait for the next time they’d interact. All of them being together on the skiff makes the Alina vs. the Darkling showdown even more intense and magnificent.

For new fans, the Crows allow for a bit more worldbuilding to happen, giving us glimpses of life across the Fold, and they bring a bit more levity and humor to the show. Sure, they’ve got a job to do that they’re invested in succeeding at, but they can also have a bit more fun than Alina can since she’s preparing to save her country and all.

Jesper: We are in the worst place in the world on a ship full of people who want us dead surrounded by monsters who want us in their guts. I should’ve brought Milo.

Inej: Who’s Milo?

Jesper: The goat!

Even before they become more obviously connected to Alina, the Crows have a little bit more of an engaging storyline.

Their banter and found family dynamic makes them easy to bond with, and it’s impossible not to enjoy the antics they get themselves into. You’ll become smitten with this trio rather quickly, and that feeling makes crossing the fold or simply leaving Alina’s storyline for a bit worth it.

Alina is isolated for the majority of the season. She’s in the Little Palace with people she doesn’t know, can’t trust, and she’s also being manipulated by Kirigan. Genya is the closest thing Alina has to a friend, but it’s not the same as watching Kaz, Jesper, and Inej interacting with each other.

There’s not a lot of fun banter to fall into unless it’s early or late in the season and Mal’s around. Their voiceovers are the show’s attempt at getting us invested in Alina and Mal’s friendship, but it’s not the same as if they were together in person. Once they are reunited, there’s not really a chance for levity.

The Crows help fill that void. They give us a misfit family to feel at home with and allow us the comfort of their banter, even while they’re doing insanely dangerous things.

This isn’t to say that Alina isn’t lovable or that you won’t find yourself cheering her on as she gets a handle on her powers and stands up against the people who have been lying and manipulating her, but the Crows offer a more instant connection.

Nina and Matthias’ storyline is a different story. It’s hard to argue that, during Season 1, we need to follow them around. Nina and Matthias are in the show for the book fans and to set up the (assumed) events of Season 2. 

Don’t get me wrong, Nina and Matthias offer a bit of levity with their flirting and bickering, especially as the rest of the storylines start to take a darker tone. However, they are mainly off in their own world, separate from everything else.

A lot of the time, cutting away to Nina and Matthias’ adventure means that the momentum of the overall narrative suffers. At least Shadow and Bone is smart enough not to cut away to them during every episode, but towards the end of the season, we do start to spend more and more time with them, and it’s difficult to justify it.

Alina: We grew up reading about a Saint who would one day perform a miracle of light and solve our country’s problems, and we knew that was a lie. We knew that no stranger ever solved our problems for us. No great miracle was coming. That’s why we had each other. The world is hard and cruel, but we had each other and that was enough.

Overall, Shadow and Bone is pretty darn close to a perfect adaption. New fans will have to endure a bit of confusion, especially in the first couple of episodes, but that’s the biggest obstacle the show faces.

The show takes some big risks by combining two separate series into one. What Shadow and Bone essentially delivers is a prequel to Six of Crows that just so happens to occur during the events of Shadow and Bone. It’s brilliant.

This means that the door is still open to potentially adapt the premise of the Six of Crows duology in a later season, and let me tell you, I’m all for it. No mourners.

Stray Thoughts

• If you couldn’t tell, I prefer the Six of Crows duology to the Shadow and Bone trilogy by a longshot.
• Leigh Bardugo’s cameo is so fantastic.
• Showing the fear and pain in the stag’s eyes is so cruel and unnecessary, my soul hurt watching those scenes.
• Milo is the true MVP of the series.
• David attacking Jesper with a book when Jesper steals the carriage is hilarious.
• I would’ve loved to spend more time with Alina and Mal in the present day.
• Jesper’s work in progress of shooting people in their pretty faces is a fantastic running gag.
• The Darkling/Fold creation flashback comes at the worst time and ruins the momentum the show had built.

What did you think of Shadow and Bone? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Shadow and Bone is now streaming on Netflix.

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