After almost two years of waiting, season 2 of ‘Shadow and Bone’ has finally arrived on Netflix. The youth fantasy series returns with others eight episodes full of magic and adventures at the level of the previous season And it leaves us wanting to see season 3 already.
From here there may be spoilers from the previous season of ‘Shadow and Bone’
siege and storm
Season 2 of ‘Shadow and Bone’ picks up where we left off in the previous one: Alina and Mal run away looking for the Sea Scourge, the next amplifier, while the ravens have gotten into trouble because of Pekka Rollins, the Barrel King. For his part, the Dark One managed to survive the Shadow and he is accompanied by some evil beingsthe nichevo’yawho will not rest until they find the Suncaller.
The series is created by Eric Heisserer (screenwriter of ‘Arrival’) and adapts the ‘Grishaverse’ novels written by Leigh Bardugoespecially the ‘Shadow and Bone’ trilogy and the ‘Six of Crows’ bilogy.
If the previous season took place mainly in Ravka, then this season 2 teaches us more scenarios from the world of the Grisha: Novyi Zem, Ketterdam, Shu Han, the Authentic Sea… In fact, in some chapters they introduce small animations so that we can orient ourselves on the map and not get lost in the jumps between locations.
Precisely, the great success of season 1 is the attractive mythology of Bardugo’s novels and this continuation continues to expand it, giving enough brushstrokes so that the action can be followed without problems, although some details of many concepts may escape if the novels have not been read.
Also, this season further develops the plot of the crows in Ketterdam. Although it follows the feeling of being a separate plot line from Alina’s (not surprisingly, they belong to different sagas), it is more solid than in season 1 and better explores its characters, the most interesting of the season.
On the other hand, Alina’s plot is somewhat irregular: Although the search for the amplifiers has interesting moments and its dynamics with the rest of the group that makes up his army as well, the appearances of the Dark One end up seeming repetitive and he loses part of the strength he had in the previous season.
Regarding the characters, it is worth notingThe success of the new incorporations: specifically, Wylan and Nikolaiwho takes the cake and brings a lot of freshness thanks to the contrast between her jovial and jovial character and how serious Alina and Mal always seem to be.
Speaking of Alina and Mal, just like in the novels, they are one of the main drags in the story. So much for his absolute lack of chemistry as well as Mal’s zero charisma, which makes it hard to believe every romantic scene between the two. In turn, the progress of the story does not help to feel a little more empathy for him and certain discoveries that should have a great impact, in the end they leave the viewer quite cold.
precisely, there is specific moments that sin of wanting to cover too much and they needed some more development. However, it manages to always maintain interest and entertain even with such a long duration.
At the production level, it is noticeable that it is a more modest series than ‘Game of Thrones’ or similar, but the final finish is still more than correct and does not give the impression of having a papier-mâché setting. The least lucid are their fights, which are quite fair.
As an adaptation, it is true that something more risky is missing and it does not hold too many surprises for those who know the novels. Perhaps the most striking is the end of the seasonthat leaves you very curious to see how the story continuesif Netflix officially announces the renewal.
Season 2 of ‘Shadow and Bone’ manages to maintain the level of its predecessor: It shows us other settings of the world of the Grisha, outlines some of their characters better and leaves us wanting more. Very enjoyable, if you liked the previous one.
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