The Blerg

Shadow & Bone 1×06: Where Are We Going?

After a very brief encounter with the Crows, Alina very easily falls back into her own plot – reunited with Mal and on a quest to hunt down the mythical stag. It’s a bit disappointing, honestly. I’ve always been a proponent of Malina, and it’s a good story, but I was just promised a different story. Meeting the Crows didn’t do anything to Alina or her trajectory and I really wish it had. That isn’t to say something isn’t coming in the future, but as the follow up episode it’s a bit of a let down.

We do get a showdown between the Crows and some select Grisha. Inej kills again, in self defense. Jesper gets the better of Ivan – unnecessary but fun to see. The Darkling has a one-on-one with Kaz. Their interaction is certainly a new tack of the show to take. Is Kaz as hopeless as the Darkling, or does he still have a bit of humanity left? His flashbang dispelled the Darkling’s Cut with a brilliant light. None of it is explored too deeply though. The only hint is Kaz and Inej’s converation about Inej’s religious devoutism, which introduces frissure into their partnership. It’s something that’s definitely going to have impact down the line. As long as the Crows are in Ravka, though, it seems as though their story isn’t being allowed to move forward.

There’s a legitimate fear of changing the characters so much in the prequel that they’re unrecognizable by the time they get to “Six of Crows.” Except, now they’re stuck. Is Kaz going to go after The Darkling? Doubtful. Stealing the Darkling’s carriage is irreverent fun, but what is it doing for themes of the show? The Crows are going to need something in their path that’s as big as Alina tracking down the stag and dispelling the Fold. Otherwise, what are they even here for?

On the other side of the world, Nina and Matthias are falling in love in a frozen wasteland. (Couples needing the other’s Grisha powers/body heat to survive is a running theme this ep.) Nina is crass, forward, and lewd. By the end of the episode, witch hunter/Nazi Matthias is saving her life. Nina is playing a much more dangerous game than she was in the books, though. Trained as the Darkling’s spy, Nina is used to winning people over to her side. It’s not her obsession with her opressors that motivates to her learn Fjerdan but her job. Without Nina’s point of view chapters from the book, she’s a much more dangerous and shifty character. Does she love Matthias or is she manipulating him? Now there’s just as much chance that Matthias can teach Nina about loyalty and trust as she can teach him about prejuidice and autonomy.

NOTES w/BOOK SPOILERS

• Zoya has the hots for the Darkling. That’s gonna go well.
• Underlit by her own powers, Mal says, “I finally see you.”
• Ivan’s sweet nameless boyfriend has a grudge against Mal
• “I’ll always find you.” vs “Druskelle do not get lost.”
• I haven’t mentioned it enough but the music is all around outstanding.
• THE DARKLING DOES COMEDY?!?

Shadow & Bone 1×05: Now the Fun Starts

First of all: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

A fork in the tunnel lies ahead of you. If you go down one, you know where you’re going – everything is simple and laid out for you. Go down the other, you’re in entirely new territory. Who knows what will happen or who you will meet. When it comes to adaptations, which path is more exciting?

“Show Me Who You Are” almost feels like a re-pilot. We’ve established these are the same characters from the books, with the same problems and familiar situations. Now what are we going to do with them? Alina climbing into the trunk of the get-away carriage was one of the most thrilling minutes of television I’ve seen in the past few years. I’m sure for new viewers it is simply a hilarious and deft bit of writing. For fans of the book it’s an important melding of sensibilities. Of course Alina would don pedestrian clothes and hide to run away. Jesper witnessing the amazing luck is exactly what would happen during a Crows heist. I can’t express how absolutely bonkers a plot point it is and how promising it is of future episodes. We don’t know where this story is going anymore, with the Crows at the reins, but it’s going to be a wild ride to get there.

The weird, wild high of watching a show take off on an adventure makes it difficult to write about extensively. Buzz is impossible to capture and a torment to analyze. What this episode did was assure the viewer that the writers knew who these characters were and then took the entire cart completely off the rails. A new Grishaverse is opening up and we get to watch it unfold. Giving a head nod to the readers is a risky move that pays off. Too over-the-top or obvious and it gets an eye roll. We get it, Robert Frost. But the symbolic shift of “this is not the story you were expecting” instead feels invigorating. Yes, we’re throwing everything for a loop, but we know we’re doing that.

I guess some other stuff happened in this ep. A lot, actually. I mean the Darkling is now fully the Darkling, right after Alina might have…agreed to sleep with him? Their relationship whiplash might be a little rushed but the Darkling’s obsession with Alina is compelling. When she first kisses him, he’s surprised but unresponsive – does he even understand the human emotion behind it? When he kisses her again, he’s hungry. It still feels wrong though, he’s hungry for her power? The Darkling is jealous, wants to possess Alina and her power. He mistakes it for love (or tries to pass it off as love), let’s hope Alina learns quickly. “You mean a lot, to everyone” he says. But what does “mean” mean?

Additionally, he carries the same eerie presence with everyone. Alina mistakes the closeness for feelings, but the Darkling got all up in Mal’s space too. (I was screaming ‘KISS’ because damn I’d like to read that fucked up fic.) He even leaned in a little too close to his mother. Maybe it’s not that the Darkling cares about Alina but that he doesn’t understand anybody else’s space as not belonging to him.

NOTES w/BOOK SPOILERS:

• Are book spoilers even going to be relevant anymore?
• Poor Marie! (Was it Marie?) Gone too soon. The Conductor being a mole was a great twist and I liked the early introduction of elements used in later novels.
• DAVID IS HOT! DAVID IS SO HOT! Good job, Genya. Good job.
• “She’s Suli.”
• The random noble gossip exposition at the party was a bit too foregrounded and heavy-handed.
• Jesper’s likes: goats, light foreplay
• Big ep for Inej. Seeing the Sun Summoner and first kill. Does Inej think killing in the name of the Sun Summoner is different from other causes? Amita Suman is slaying it (no pun intended) in this role, and every time I see Inej’s eyes well up over her perfectly eyelined lids I want to give her a goat plushie to hug.
• Mal is out and about around the castle this ep – same old, same old, almost dies, gets manipulated, almost dies again, is on Alina’s trail
• fan section getting longer, thinky section getting shorter

Shadow & Bone 1×04: True North

When I think of Mal and Alina I can’t help thinking about World War I. The spectre of constant death as soldiers left their farms and crossed frozen fields to be razed down by a gun or choked by a gas they’d never heard of before. Industrialization wasn’t humane, but it was efficient and profitable. War is always traumatizing, but WWI incinerated everything that came before it. More than death there was fear of unknown, fear of technology, fear of the energy, and, ultimately, fear of yourself. Fear of what decent, common people were capable of when pushed to their limit.

Alina doesn’t feel complete without Mal, since she’s sacrificed so much of herself to stay with him. Maybe she fears becoming something unrecognizable to him, mostly likely because she is. If she becomes truly Grisha then social law dictates that she’s apart from Mal, an otkazat’sya (the Grishaverse word for muggle), and their planned lives together are over. She will join the Second Army, defeat the Fold, and live her life in the royal palace. In order to command her power, she has to be self-sufficient, and can’t rely on anyone else. She has to know her power and use it, not just believe. War takes a lot of happiness away, but sometimes it leaves behind a stronger person.

Kirigan is going through the opposite process. He’s never before had to rely on anyone else to accomplish his goals. The moment in the war room, as Alina lets the power of her light linger over them, has a touch of romance, he’s certainly looking at her with desire. But in his eyes is the desire for a thing he wants to possess, not love for another person. Alina feels a magnetic towards him and understandably get caught up in his enigmatic charm, but it’s all smoke and mirrors. He allows her unprecendented access to himself, yet everything still feels constructed. He often talks her, always wanting to return to the purpose on hand. Alina is important to his plan, she can’t be having ideas of her own.

What to say about the Crows except that I’d watch five hours of Inej doing aerials. The mini-heist of the Little Palace plans was a fun way to break down how plans work for this group. As all the pieces of the heist fall into place, every step starts to feel like an unnecessary block to get to the heart of what we want to see – the Crows kidnap Alina. But with Jesper’s attachment to Milo and Inej’s overwhelming competency, I’m having fun just hanging out with these kids.

The true hero of this episode is Mal. Because the S&B trilogy is told entirely from Alina’s perspective, we understand Mal’s motives, but only through how Alina interprets him. Now, we get a letter written from Mal to Alina highlighting how desperate he is once he feels like he no longer has a place in Alina’s life. He’ll get the stag she wants because it’s all he can do at this point, but it’s going to take a toll on him. Maybe, like war, he won’t feel like it was worth it.

NOTES w/BOOK SPOILERS

• The smashcut recap with the goat scream was entirely unexpected and amazingly funny
• Mal is less of a horndog in the TV show which plays a little bit too close to the monogamy myth for my liking. Alina’s sudden doubts about their relationship makes more sense though
• General Kirigan: What do you see?
  Alina: I see a skinny little nobody with no past and no future.
• Kirigan is employing Nina. Wonder what that’s about.
• Nina’s disobedience is goals.
• WHOOOOO WAS THAT HANDSOME FIRST ARMY GENERAL ON THAT POSTER? WHO COULD IT BE? THAT BLONDE GUY WAS HOT. I HEARD HE HAD, LIKE, THIRTY GODDAMN FLYING SHIPS.
• This might be it for today, I’m trying to pace myself.

Shadow & Bone 1×03: Alina’s A Little Unbalanced, And So Are We

Alina’s emotional journey is worth taking, but is it hindering the show?

Last episode, with the introduction of General Kirigan and ride to the Little Palace, Alina’s storyline was interesting, but not as thrilling as the Crows running around Ketterdam making a mess of things. Now it’s even less thrilling than the Crows acquiring a goat, gambling away all their money, and boarding a rickety old train in a suicidal attempt to cross the Fold. The Crows are F U N, but it has the unfortunate side effect of making Alina’s story feel painfully slow.

Because of how complex and rich the world of the series is, it’s beneficial to take some time to develop Alina’s feelings, her growth as a character, and the social ramifications of her time in the Little Palace. We’re introduced to Genya, a wonderful character (my personal favorite) who is endearingly direct and superficial with Alina. Her warmth adds a little bit of much needed humor. We also get introduced to the Grand Palace and the despicable royal family, an introduction of the fomenting West Ravkan revolution, the self defense instructor, the creepy Apparat, and, most importantly, Baghra. Another direct and assertive woman figure who tells Alina to only return for lessons when she knows who she is. It’s a lot to take in, and Alina herself is feeling overwhelmed, and spends most of her time pining for Mal, thinking about how special he is to her.

My last post might have made it sound like I’m sick of the lovers yearning for each other. I’m not. I actually really enjoy their relationship and the show does a good job of portraying how close they feel to each other. The importance of their sacrifice as kids – to lay hidden in a field instead risk getting separated from each other – comes back over and over as all they want is to open their eyes and see the other one laying there. It’s a visual trick that is used often across media but doesn’t always feel specific or weighty enough. Here it does.

But the consequence of Alina’s storyline delving into feelings of inadequacy and disorientation leaves the narrative in the same place. Compare to the Crows antics barreling along at full speed. Not only are the characters more active, but there are connections and elements that readers have never seen before. Inej sees the names on the wall of West Ravka before Alina does. The Conductor and crossing the Fold is an entirely new premise and adventure. The characters are in uncovered territory (literally), which gives a bit of a unfair boost to them. Then again, life in the Grishaverse is rarely fair. The contrast sets an uneven pace and tone that doesn’t quite connect as well as it should, given that these two sets of people are on course to collide. Alina has at least two weeks before the Crows cross the Fold, I hope she’s ready.

NOTES W/BOOK SPOILERS

• “Calm down, hug the goat.” Can’t wait for Grishaverse emotional support goat plushies
• The kefta are beautiful!
• So who’s this guy riling up the masses in West Ravka?
• I didn’t even have space to mention Nina and Matthias because although Nina is kind of tied into the regular plot, they’re really out on their own there. The changes to her backstory are interesting though. She seems like a much more harmful character.
• Alina vs. Zoya is on. Don’t hate me but I might be Team Zoya.
• Some foreshadowing of Jesper being an Fabrikator there with the guns. Seeing as how Inej and Kaz both already know in the books maybe this is when they find out. Takes a neat narrative beat out of the Ice Court heist though
• If you’re as invested in Milo the goat as I am, follow him on twitter

Shadow & Bone 1×02: Setting the Stakes

A lot less happens in the second episode, which is a pretty good thing. Alina, having displayed her power aboard the skiff crossing the Fold, is whisked away by General Kirigan, a darkness summoner. She ends up at the Little Palace. She misses Mal, feeling connected to him. Mal misses her, makes plans to go after her, and then decides rushing headlong danger isn’t the way keep your head on your shoulders.

That’s not a problem for the Crows, whose world keeps getting more complex. The new job (kidnapped Alina) requires crossing the Fold – difficult for a number of reasons. The first being that the Fold regularly kills people. Second, Inej is still indebted to the Menagerie, the brothel that Kaz bought her out from under. She can’t leave Ketterdam without paying off the debt and the only solution that Madam Tante Heleen offers is to hire Inej for assassination. But Inej doesn’t kill*. Who is she sent after? Someone called The Conductor who is apparently the only person who has figured out a way to cross the Fold safely. My guess is with some form of this newfangled electricity.

We also get hints of backstory between Kaz and Pekka Rollins (Kaz asks if they’ve ever made a deal before. Pekka says no.) and more explicitly from Inej. She’s looking for her brother who was also kidnapped. Maybe this new younger brother is in the Little Palace?

As I keep speculating on how the different stories are going to intersect, they maddeningly still run on parallel tracks. The Malina storyline takes on the tropes of a standard action fantasy movie. There’s a stunning and brutal fight sequence showing off all the kinds of Grisha powers. Alina doesn’t want this new life and yearns for Mal. Her chemistry with General Kirigan sustains us through what otherwise might be a bit of a slog.

General Kirigan’s presence brings a special and unique flavor to every scene he’s in. He’s quiet, demanding attention, sure and calm while seemingly entirely reasonable. Not only is he entirely used to his power and control over other people, he expects it. The way he looks at Alina after she says ‘no’ to him says everything. Kirigan doesn’t understand anybody who doesn’t seek power.

The Crows storyline spends its time establishing what the stakes for the heist are. We know what the target and reward are, now what’s it going to cost? For Kaz, it’s the deed to the Crow Club handed over to Tante Heleen. We don’t know anything about the Crow Club yet, but I guess that’s a big deal. For Inej, it’s potentially finding her family on the other side of the Fold. For Jesper its…well it’s something to do. Hopefully something involving one of his specialties. His specialties are what he calls his guns.

Throughout all this we get little glimmers and twists of running themes: Inej’s survival vs. her morality, the fear of Grisha magic, Grisha magic losing power to the age of technology, trauma and grief – having to bury those things to focus on protecting yourself.

NOTES w/BOOK SPOILERS

• Inej doesn’t kill (yet!) That’s going to be an interesting character arc.
• The look on Jesper’s face with Inej takes a shot. The look on Jesper’s face when Kaz takes a shot. None of these babies are okay.
• It’s just two sets of “closest friends” willing to sacrifice everything for each other. No romance to see here.
• I love Kaz’s pocketwatch. I want Kaz’s pocketwatch.
• I loved the visual mirroring of the Darkling’s cut with the line of blood on Alina’s face
• At one point, when Mal was thinking about breaking into the Little Palace, I considered if he would join up with the Six of Crows at some point during their heist. Now I’m DESPERATE for this.
• Do we think Inej’s parents are alive in this version? I haven’t read Crooked Kingdom yet, so does Inej’s baby bro show up there
• While the quote is a good one, I’m not sure how “We’re All Someone’s Monster” ties into the ep here. Do you? Leave a comment.

Shadow & Bone 1×01: Into the Grishaverse

Much like the way Alina discovers her powers while crossing the Fold, the first episode of Shadow & Bone is bursting with ideas, most of them promising. I’m not sure how anyone who wasn’t familiar with the books managed to follow along but for me it was an exciting experience being overwhelmed with ideas both new and familiar.

The first episode deftly set up the major elements, themes, and emotional beats of the characters, while never letting anything linger for too long. The strongest elements – the way that Alina and Mal feel about each other, Kaz’s way with brutal words – shine through while a lot of character details are paid lip service but not fully explored. Things like Inej’s religious philosophy and humanitarism have their moments but for a new watcher might more easily slip through the cracks.

Easily the most defining aspect of the pilot is the worldbuilding. The universe is PACKED. Different nationalities have shifting loyalties, disputes between Grisha and non-Grisha, the appearance of Shu, Fjerdan, Zemeni, Ketterdam, Novokirbirsk, Sun Summoner, Dark Heretic – these words get tossed around like candy and the show challenges you to keep up.

Shadow & Bone is about survival – the different ways communities and individuals build up walls and tricks to keep them safe from the dark unknown. Sometimes it’s luck (“you make your own luck” book Kaz says in my brain), but mostly it’s because you’re a step ahead. That seems to be the main message of the pilot, “Keep up, or perish.” If you hesitate in this world, the volcra, or an enemy bullet, or Pekka Rollins will get you. The reveal of the separate timelines underscores this. The Six of Crows crew will remind you, what you’re looking at is not always what’s happening – this show is smart and asks you to be smart too. It’s been a while since a show has done that.

Balancing both series of books instantly gives a broader view of the universe that these characters inhabit. On the east side of the Fold you have Alina and Mal as fated lovers, a plot full of nationalism, military authority, and classism. On the west side you have the capitalistic gang wars, diversity, gambling, and despair. The dour east gets balances out by the freewheelling west, while the brutalism that defines all their lives plays out in different ways. Pointing the storylines towards each other at the very end of the pilot simply makes it more exciting – these universes are going to clash and it’s going to cause problems. Let’s get into some trouble.

NOTES w/BOOK SPOILERS:

• Ana Kuya!!!! I love her even more as she seems less puritanical here and more concerned with the survival of her children.
• I had forgotten about Alexei and then quickly remembered why I had forgotten about Alexei. His new plot point was nice though.
• NO LOUD NOISES AT THE TABLE, JESPER
• Alina being half-Shu is a big deal, and I love the change, and all the attention it brings to racism (especially because of the iffy way the Shu are sometimes dealt with in the books). I’m sure I’ll have much more to say on it later.
• I loved seeing all the propaganda and writing in Ravkan. It’s both dope design and a nice visual reminder that the characters are speaking different languages even though we hear it in English (I appreciated the way the book did this as well).
• “The only way out is through.”
• The music and sound effects deserve a shout-out. Specifically Inej’s Wraith whoosh and Kaz’s cane hard stop. Everyone was having SO MUCH FUN.