Shadow and Bone

Netflix | Release Date: April 23, 2021

7.3	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 95 Ratings

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ElthorApr 27, 2021

A generally riveting and thrilling show with a few negatives that keep it from being anywhere near perfect.

I'll skip the positive points, since there are many rating inflating reviews that already cover them. First and foremost you shouldA generally riveting and thrilling show with a few negatives that keep it from being anywhere near perfect.

I'll skip the positive points, since there are many rating inflating reviews that already cover them.

First and foremost you should be prepared for unlimited cliches and predictability. The show's style may be fairly original, but the content is not.

The world building, especially in the first episode, is so dense it takes real determination to keep from giving up early. Anyone not already familiar with the novels will likely be baffled for long periods of time, perhaps missing out on important plot points while trying to figure out what anyone is talking about.

Being Netflix, there is of course completely ridiculous and shoe-horned in wokeness. For example, there is a gay one night stand sex scene that is completely stand alone, serves no purpose and has zero effect on the plot. And yet, there isn't a single straight sex scene in the whole season even though there are multiple love triangles.

The absolute worst offense by the show is how heavily coincidences are relied on to move the plot forward. Even an amateur writer could have created the same sequence of events without completely random occurrences causing things to fall into place as they do.

One could argue that it's some sort of intentional fate element, but it will leave most viewer snorting in disgust at the silliness of the writing.

Above average thanks to good effects, a unique style and great action, but only barely above average.… Expand

3 of 4 users found this helpful31

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Paper_KayMay 8, 2021

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I cannot get over how dumb these shows are. Like they’re made for eleven-year-olds with a learning disability. (Despite overwhelming evidence against it, there ARE good YA books out there …) The characters are sooooo cliché it’s painful to watch. The arch of the underwear-models-early-twenties super-capable multiracial extra-woke villains who aren’t really (I know! I was so shocked! It’s like I’m watching Firefly for children!) is so predictable, it can be skipped entirely and you’ll still know exactly what happened. (They’re not really greedy villains?! Friendship is better than money?!?) There’s a grown woman obsessed with waffles. No, I didn’t write that wrong. Not opals. Or sables. Or Russo-Baltique. Waffles. Grown woman, not a small boy. Which, by the way, are shown Belgian in the show, zero to do with fake tsar Russia, a land where neither uniforms nor weapons involve in hundreds of years and they need a whole wagon of child cartographers to chart a fully populated, fully known region, for some reason. There’s a woman with no issue spying on her son’s sex life and, yes, you might have guessed it, the protagonists are orphans. Who manage to find their inner power due to goodness of their hearts and dire straits. It is sooooo… freaking boring. I just cannot get over how ret*rded the Fold is. Like … three hundred years later? They haven’t built a mountain pass or negotiated a route with the northern-convenient-plot-barrier folk? They HAVE to try and SAIL through the WIDEST part on OPEN sailboats, with zero bars or cages or armor, standing, looking around stupid, shocked, with NO weaponry, ballistic countermeasure (a little net? No? Not even a small with two stones on it?) or even slightly bigger crossbows? Seriously? They’re just … sliding buffets in winter costume, screaming in the fog for 300 years? I’ll give points for Ben Barnes’s effort, but the rest … Come ON show. You’re forcing me to read a YA book to see whose fault this is and I have so many more important things to do …… Expand

3 of 4 users found this helpful31

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MeritCobaMay 7, 2021

Initially, I was hooked. Shadow and bone has a promising setting: late 19th century technology with magic on top. You get a lot of lore thrown at you and hardly any explanation, but, hey; I am okay with that. They explain things later, right?Initially, I was hooked. Shadow and bone has a promising setting: late 19th century technology with magic on top. You get a lot of lore thrown at you and hardly any explanation, but, hey; I am okay with that. They explain things later, right? Well, perhaps or.. perhaps not. Unfortunately, they slit their wrists by using happenstance, contradictions and cliches to tell the story. And they add insult to injury by introducing new characters, while they haven’t established old ones. Less is more? Just throw that under the bus.

The writers are the culprits. They organized the story around cool moments. And then they had to connect them. And there is where it goes wrong.

A key moment is when Alina’s powers are revealed. She is on a ship that is trying to cross this mysterious fold, a rift filled with monsters. The ship is open, and the crew exposed. Then flying monster’s attack and this crisis invokes her powers. The problem here is that the people know obviously that this attack can happen, but did not take any precaution against it, like roofing over the ship or putting most of the crew under decks. Or use a better transport. And a few episodes later a better transport exists: the conductor uses a metal train as transport the Crows across the fold. A train he apparently has built by himself, including laying tracks through that dangerous fold. And here we see the writers at work. They first needed a cool moment to reveal Alina’s powers, then another to carry the Crows across. And thus they create an inconsistent world: open, vulnerable transport versus protected one. If the latter is possible, it makes no sense to use the first. Unless you need it for the story.

The story is rife with these inconsistencies. Is the fold impassible? Well, no, because apparently entire armies cross it to fight each other. And people seem to go back and forth all the time. Or do they? Too dangerous, just perilous, or merely a challenge? Decide, please? Enemies teleport in whenever and wherever. Alina’s party gets ambushed soon after her powers are revealed. They give a flimsy excuse: someone must have noticed her powers. Really? Because they saw her powers from afar? But even that is inconsistent. The people at the edge of the fold didn’t see her powers, but the enemy did? And then quickly concluded what she is, who she is, where she is and where she is going? I mean, even the General was skeptical, but they knew for sure? It makes no sense.

Alina’s persona is also inconsistent. We get introduced to her as a bright, determined and inventive person. Then a few episodes later her character flips. She becomes a whiny, annoying and docile person. And not to mention she killed her fellow cartographers, but this hardly seems to bother her. Instead, she wines on and on about how hard her life is and about Mal, her friend from the orphanage. And Mal, the male protagonist, suffers too. He somehow became an expert tracker and an expert boxer between the orphanage and the army? How? When? Please explain? But no.

This sort of writing is insufferable. You just make it up as you go along. They brush aside rules that are established at one moment the next moment. The conductor tells the Crows not to move because it will throw the train from its course. One does and nothing happens. Baghra, her trainer, throws Alina out and tells her to come back when she believes in herself. Do we see that happen? No. Does she train Alina anyway? Yes! Is this worth your time? Well, perhaps. If you don’t care about consistency and relatable characters? I guess you give it a ten. Hilarious. My pick is four.… Expand

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

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malvadaMay 8, 2021

AT times very low budget-looking, the script is beyond weak, like really bad, checking the cliché box for no reason at all. The cast isn't bad but most of them are not great either and it shows. This had potential, but it was wasted. Again IAT times very low budget-looking, the script is beyond weak, like really bad, checking the cliché box for no reason at all. The cast isn't bad but most of them are not great either and it shows. This had potential, but it was wasted. Again I thought this had a decent budget but at times it's very local channel-looking. Netflix needs to do better, they are ruining great stories by being cheap. It doesn't matter how good everything is if it looks cheap. Amazon, Apple and hulu shows might be bad but you can tell money was spent, good equipment was used.… Expand

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

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shag00Jan 23, 2022

It's a bit of a hard slog watching this. Yet another show designed for young teens with lots of glitter and short on substance. This idea of an 18th century world filled with 21st century social norms takes some getting used to and detractsIt's a bit of a hard slog watching this. Yet another show designed for young teens with lots of glitter and short on substance. This idea of an 18th century world filled with 21st century social norms takes some getting used to and detracts somewhat from the overall feel of the show. My initial take was that the story was disjointed but on reflection I think it's poor directing and writing.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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geewahOct 22, 2021

In what is a crowded genre, this show does nothing to push it above most.
The bones are there for a good show, but some poor casting and ordinary writing really hold it back

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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LaCapaneusJun 6, 2021

While there were plenty of entertaining aspects it was dumbed down to appeal to teenagers.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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