#shadowandbone a new fantasy series is now streaming on Netflix
Shadow and Bone is a new 8-episode fantasy series based on a successful book trilogy by Leigh Bardugo. It's stuffed with characters, locations, plot twists and — it must be said — very, very familiar fantasy elements including, but not limited to: characters who possess the ability to control various elements (wind, water, fire, sure, but also: machines, and even bodies); a Big Dark Thing (in this case, a monster-haunted wall of shadow known as The Fold) that is Prophesied to be Be Defeated by A Chosen One (a Sun-Summoner, who controls light); the fact that the aforementioned Chosen One is not noble-born, but a Reluctant Commoner Who Must Be Trained by Stern Teachers Until She Accepts And Masters Her Gift, etc., etc., etc.
There are surface differences that set Shadow and Bone apart: Instead of serving up still yet another vaguely medieval alt-Britain, the series takes Tsarist Russia as its jumping-off point, which lends every aspect of its setting — names, costumes, architecture, vehicles and weaponry — a certain singular appeal
Shadow and Bone has been painstakingly constructed to suit its medium, which is binge-viewing. Scenes start and stop precisely when they need to, the moment they have accomplished their narrative task. We weave from one character to the next at the exact moment we find ourselves growing curious what they've been up to since we last saw them. And most importantly, episodes end on cliff-hangers that impel you to start the next episode. (This tendency extends to the series finale, which ends by finally bringing many of its disparate main characters together, sort of, and setting them off a new adventure that will await a Season 2 pickup.)
Starring: Jessie Mei Li ,Ben Barnes ,Freddy Carter
Comments