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Shadow and Bone (Netflix Series Review)

No Spoilers!!!

"Be careful of powerful men" - Genya Safin

Welcome to the Grishaverse!

Shadow and Bone is Netflix's big gamble for young adult fiction mega-success, the kind we haven't seen since Jennifer Lawrence volunteered as tribute almost a decade ago, adapting Leigh Bardugo's popular Grishaverse novels (her debut trilogy Shadow and Bone and serving as a prequel for the Six of Crows duology), anchored by an incredibly diverse cast (mostly newcomers) and a huge production budget, showrunner Eric Heisserer, alongside Bardugo who serves as an executive producer, aim for Hunger Games and Harry Potter level phenomenon with their own fantasy epic.

To Heisserer's credit, he manages a great adaptation of Bardugo's novels, even if he falls prey to the same story tropes that made Bardugo's debut novels seem so derivative, Heisserer brings the Grishaverse to life in a (mostly) successful run of 8 episodes, and even if his grand tour of Ravka isn't the most organized or well planned, most viewers will still fall in love with this world.

Heisserer's boldest creative choice, and biggest deviation from the novels, is the introduction of Kaz Brekker and his Crows, Jesper and Inej, in this opening chapter to the story, characters that did not appear in Bardugo's original Shadow and Bone trilogy. Creatively and business-wise, his decision is an obvious one, Bardugo's Shadow and Bone novels, while a solid debut, are the typical young adult fodder that is bombarded to consumers every year, a largely derivative yet charming "chosen one" story that teens and tweens eat up every year and then mostly forget about when the next one comes around (less Percy Jacson and more Divergent if you will), truth be told Bardugo's Grishaverse only became a phenomenon after the release of her superb Six of Crows duology, featuring Bardugo's very own Suicide Squad, a ragtag group of crimials performing incredible, mind-bending heists in the tough streets of a fictional Amsterdam (and beyond!), all anchored by what is (to this day) Bardugo's best creation: Kaz Brekker, a Batman-meets-The Riddler machiavelic genius with a flair for theatrics, Six of Crows and it's follow-up Crooked Kingdom are surely the main reason Netflix even greenlit this series to begin with. And just like in the books, Brekker and his Crows provide a much needed bolt of manic energy to an otherwise very by-the-numbers storyline. Not to discredit Bardugo's talent as a writer, but her skills had simply not been honed at the time of her 2012 debut, a shortcoming that Bardugo would fix later on, in her follow up novels, through ambition and sheer force of will.

And yet, Heisserer stays extremely faithful to the books, whether it's to Bardugo's best ideas or her least creative ones, he adapts it all, while attempting to add his own flair into the mix (with varying results), take our main protagonist for example, Alina Starkov, to those unfamiliar with the novels, Alina is the Katniss Everdeen of this story, a mostly ordinary young woman who, by a struck of destiny, finds herself thrust into the spotlight in the hero/savior-of-her-people role (a most unflattering one might I add), and thus becomes an unwilling symbol to a cause she hardly understands, saddled with all the responsabilities and power that comes with the job, and with the inevitable political players and adversaries that may take advantage of her power for their own gain ("Be careful of powerful men" one of Alina's confidants warns her in episode 5). And did I mention she happens to find herself in the middle of a love triangle? Indeed Bardugo's original novel isn't the most creative, and yet Heisserer doesn't have much to offer as a way to reinvent the character, the best he can come up with is changing Alina's ethnicity (originally caucasian) to that of the fictional Shu Han people (read: China), and yet, nothing is really done with the change, it just sits there, (similarly to Alina everytime a background character hurls xenophobic abuse at her), it's not explored and hardly touched upon, which begs the question why introduce the change in the first place? While I commend the showrunners for casting a female lead of asian descent on a blockbuster property such as this, I would remind them that true diversity is more than simply ethnic tokenism. Perhaps there will be a bigger payoff for the creative change in future seasons (if we get them, season 2 has not been greenlit), doubtfull but I'll remain optimistic.

Tokenism aside, the diversity of the cast truly is commendable, and as expected with a young adult property, it's a very young and very attractive cast, on the one hand it's understandable, they need to appeal to their core demographic, on the other hand they commit themselves to one of the most glaring faults in Bardugo's Grishaverse series, Ravka doesn't seem to have soldiers, politicians or grisha over the age of 25, it seems like a huge oversight on part of a country (and Leigh Bardugo) to have the entire power of the government and the military reside upon a group of teenagers, but be that as it may, most of the cast, while young, is very talented, even if their characters aren't fully developed, they do their best with what they are given, some of the standouts are Jessie Mei Li as Alina, Mei Li is saddled with a character and plot that's as derivative as they come, and yet she finds nuances in her perfomance that are lovely to watch, she brings a sense of joy and determination to Alina that lesser actors couldn't even imagine much less portray, all that helps her stand out from most, if not all, the crowd of chosen one characters that have come before her, and even tho Mei Li doesn't reach Jennifer Lawrence levels with her performance, she certainly surpasses the Kristen Stewarts and Shailene Woodleys that have come before.

Ben Barnes is a surprise as General Kirigan, at first glance you might think him miscast (too young, too pretty to be believed as a stone cold, battle hardened general) and yet he still manages to make the character his own, a possessive, demanding, controlling, master manipulator who always seems to have the upper hand, Barnes is blessed with a tight script and he never misses a beat giving a subtle and nuanced performance. And then there is Kit Young as Jesper Fahey, sharpshooter, playboy, criminal with a heart of gold, Young is a revelation, he is as good in his role as Robert Downey Jr. is as Tony Stark, and that's all you need to know, Young was simply born to play Jesper, anchored by a strong script, he steals every scene he is in and far overshadows his fellow Crows. And as for the other Crows, Freddy Carter acts his heart out as Kaz Brekker, committing to a very physical performance, from scowl to limp, he embodies Brekker visually, but after the first 2 episodes you get the feeling the writers simply don't know what to do with his character, losing the spotlight to other actors blessed with better material, never did I think Kaz Brekker would be overshadowed by one of his fellow Crows, yet here we are. Carter's talent still shines through and his perpetual, omnipresent scowl as Brekker is a beauty to behold, even if his limping is somewhat inconsistent, which makes me hopeful he will improve when given more to do, still it's a shame to have the master strategist/evil genius Bruce Wayne replaced by a lowly con artist and not a very successful one at that. As for Amita Suman, while perfectly cast as Inej Ghafa, her character is severely underwritten, from her past work in The Menagerie, to her faith, to her interactions with Brekker, it's all done in the broadest of strokes, Suman isn't given much to do and therefore doesn't have the opportunity to excel as The Wraith.

You can feel the writers straining for time between developing this world and the large cast of characters they have to work with, inevitably some characters fall of the wayside, through none of the actors' fault. Daisy Head as Genya Safin is all untapped potential, even more underwritten here than she is in the books, which make later revelations about her character (the color of her kefta and shifting allegiances) barely register, hopefully they correct that going forward. Sujaya Dasgupta is another victim of a weak script and little screen time, Dasgupta is simply miscast as the powerful, acerbic, steely-eyed Zoya Nazyalensky, long gone is the regal, no nonsense, silver-tongued Grisha general, in Dasgupta's hands Zoya is just a watered down Grisha version of a Mean Girl, faltering every scene with the exception of one moment, as she makes her way through party goers at the Little Palace and she corrects Inej's ethnicity to a bystander, (her one good line reading in the entire show) "She's Suli", she declares, with all the strenght and defiance that's sorely missing from the rest of her performance, moving forward let's hope a stronger script can lift her performace off the ground, because right now all the wind is gone from this Squaller's wings. And as for Malyen Oretsev played by Archie Renaux, he is the Gale Hawthorne of this story, the undignified love interest, and Renaux is as boring in his role as Liam Hemsworth was in his.

Lastly, Danielle Galligan as Nina Zenik and Calahan Skogman as Matthias Helvar, are equally terrible in their performances, from their accents to their interactions, none of it rings true, and it's particularly jarring when juxtaposed with the talent portrayed by the rest of the cast, we spent way too much time with Nina and Matthias, for absolutely no payoff to their story (yet! Fans will recognize them as 2 future members of Brekker's murder of Crows), but their little side adventure is so disconnected with the events of the main plot that I can't help but feel their story was better reserved for another time, hopefully with some better actors playing the roles. A lovely moment of playfulness between Nina and Matthias while they tread along in a barren, snowy hill, is the only glimpse of hope for Galligan's and Skogman's performances, maybe there is talent to be tapped but it certainly wasn't in display this time around.

The Grishaverse is simply too large and complex, so understandably Heisserer and his writers room have a lot on their plate, but while the character work is largely uneven, his world building is quite solid, based on the impressive foundation Bardugo set out for them, the showrunners are able to bring the world of Ravka to life, the costume design is stunning, from soldiers to Grishas, to royals and diplomats, the costume department does a fabulous job with every piece and every character, one of the high points in the series.

The VFX team also does a lot of the heavy lifting for Heisserer's world building efforts, realizing the different power sets of all the Grisha in a fantastical manner while still maintaining a realistic quality to them, ("you'll believe a man can fly"), but even with a huge production budget, Heisserer strains with this world-spanning adventure, so even though the set and production design is mostly impressive, some sets simply fall out of range for the show's budget, case in point, both Ravka's Royal Palace and the Little Palace are not fully realized, viewers are given a single outside shot of the Royal Palace (and from very far away at that) and the throne room is only visited once, and as for the Little Palace, it's stripped from many of the books most sprawling details, the training grounds, the Grisha school, the fabrikators workshop, the dining room, the palace's towers, all falling victim to obvious budget restrains. Not to mention both palaces are devoid of the classic Russian influences that permeate Ravka's world.

But Heisserer's skills for world building show the most limitations on the lore of the Grishaverse, the three Orders of the Grisha are never properly explained, with Fabrikators getting next to none screen time, Heisserer is never capable to establish a clear view of the world these characters inhabit, most viewers will be very confused about Ravka's shifting borders, the civil war tensions between East and West, and the adversary foreign nations (an inclusion of a map in the opening credits of every episode would have gone a long way), the sociopolitical elements that Bardugo has infused in her books are decidedly complex and the show doesn't do them justice, unfortunately. Perhaps most glaring is the very clear disagreements on what a Ravkan's diction and accent should be, since every actor has their own interpretation of it, an oversight that I hope is fixed in future seasons.

As the few completely negative points of the show, alongside Galligan and Skogman, the sound mixing is terrible (you will need subtitles to watch this show) and the cutaway flahbacks are quite sloppy.

To conclude, Shadow and Bone is a lovingly crafted, beautifully realized, world building adventure, it has a couple of missteps along the way (like all adventures do), but the final product is strong enough to overcome some of its creative faux pas, with a solid script and anchored by a (mostly) talented cast, Shadow and Bone doesn't reach Catching Fire levels of greatness but it far outpaces the rest of the young adult fantasy competition.

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A Flag Stained with Blood

Some thoughts on The Falcon and The Winter Soldier

Spoilers ahead!

Captain America's shield stained with blood is an image that will last in pop culture forever. The stars and stripes bloodied, John Walker murdering a man with the american flag, America's policy of fomenting peace in foreign countries through war and military actions, America not seen from it's perspective but from the viewpoint of the rest of the world, peace through conflict, strenght through cruelty, leadership through subjugation. A gilded palace on top of a hill, just don't ask any questions about where they got all their gold. One image, instantly iconic.

On Sarah Wilson and Karli Morgenthau

A very clever script draws an interesting parallel between these two women, and it's really fascinating to me that these two women, women of color, born and raised in different countries, in different continents, with very different upbringings, with all of this to place them in two very different paths in life, and yet they both seem to reach the exact same conclusion about their countries and their governments, they both feel left behind, they both feel that their communities have been left behind, they both come to the realisation that their countries don't really care about them, their respective struggles or communities, and therefore both women renounce the concept of flags and patriotism.

On John Walker

The quintessential white straight all-american man, the writers really hold no punches back on Walker's character, the privileged white man, with no conscience of his own (he has a best friend and a wife for that), mainly because society and his country have never required him to have a conscience, not as a civilian and not as a soldier either. He's never considered anyone's perspective but his own (again, society has never asked for him to ponder anyone else's plight but his own), self-righteous to a fault (borderline on narcissism), a flaw of personality that Steve Rogers also shared (sorry Steve fans #TeamIronMan), and even through all of his mistakes, through the damage and pain, some self-inflicted but mostly to others, he never seems to consider the idea he isn't the heroe of the story, because a white straight man from the USA has to be the hero of the story right! Somehow, anyhow, he always finds a way to convince himself of his leading man hero-role, supporting cast be damned. If things don't go his way, then it's the story and his backup players who are in the wrong, never him.

On Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes

One of the most interesting elements of this show is how modern it feels, even as it uses classic story tropes like the political thriller and the buddy-buddy action comedy, two styles of storytelling that were long overdue for modernisation. And we would be amiss not to recoginze the modern shine brought to this story by the relationship between it's two leading men, on and off the screen. Some 20 years ago writers, directors and producers couldn't have resisted the need of forcing a half-baked love interest to one or both male leads (cause God forbid two men become friends without overexerting the notion to the audience that they are straight), not to mention the crass "No Homo" style jokes that would have inevitably found their way into the script. I am compelled to call it "revolutionary", this show about the friendship of it's two lead male characters, a relationship in which they both find some solace, comfort and joy, evolving from teamates to partners to friends, all accomplished while being devoid of the toxic masculinity that defined this kind of relationship in both tv and film for decades.

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Rule of Wolves (Review)

No Spoilers

Rule of Wolves is the conclusion of Leigh Bardugo's third set of Grishaverse novels (one trilogy and two duologies) and it would seem, with the revelations and developtments in this book, it is also the culmination of Phase 1 of Bardugo's literary universe (a la MCU). Rule of Wolves is packed with excellent world building, sociopolitical commentary and quite a few dazzling plot twists (reminiscent of Suzan Collins' best work), the book is not without its flaws but there's enough shock and awe to guarantee the continued devotion of Bardugo's dedicated fanbase.

With this follow up chapter to King of Scars, Bardugo once again makes no attempt to hide her assumption that you have already read all of her previous Grishaverse novels, so new readers might find themselves completely lost in Ravka's constant turmoil of agressive foreing nations and perpetual clash of social classes and races. Of particular note, and one of the high points of her entire Grishaverse, is the three warring nations of this world: Ravka, Fjerda and Shu Han, which draw real life inspiration from Russia, Germany and China, respectively, and whether she's alluding to the kremlin government, the third reich or the uighurs genocide, Bardugo doesn't pull any punches, giving this carefully crafted universe a biting edge that most YA fantasy books can only wish to have.

Ambitious seems like an appropriate word to describe Bardugo's Grishaverse, but even though her talents as a writer have grown since her debut novel, you can still feel the strain of her ambition against her actual skills as a writer. There's just way too many storylines and characters in this novel, with her desire to expand this universe, Bardugo ultimately sacrifices pacing and plot for the sake of world building, a delicate balance that she is yet to master. With brand new characters to introduce and old fan favorites coming back, Bardugo's three lead characters get less time on the spotlight, a disappointment considering that Nikolai, Zoya and Nina have waited so long to have leading roles. Nina ends up being the star for most of the book, and Nikolai and Zoya get the short end of the stick, being stuck on the same character plot point for the entirety of the book and only getting progression for their respective storyline in the final pages of the novel (but considering the revelations and resolutions that occur, I think most fans will still be pleased), yet it seems an odd choice to spend so much time building up new secondary characters when 2/3 of your protagonists are circling around the same plot thread for 300 pages of your book.

Dare I say there is too much going on in the story, some great ideas (albeit, some not so great ones as well), but Bardugo's pace doesn't allow for anything to really sink in,

it feels like going through a sprawling exhibition at a museum, but the tour guide is taking you too fast through the place, there's some beautiful pieces you wish you could have spent more time contemplating but your guide is moving at a lightning pace with only the destination in mind. The most jarring example of this is a very important characters' death (don't worry, no spoilers), or at least it's supposed to be really important, but we have spent so little time with this character in previous books and we spent even less time with them in this one than the loss barely registers, the circumstances of it are sad but it's not the turning point in the story I'm sure Bardugo hoped it would be.

Ultimately, Nikolai and Zoya are severly underwritten (strange considering its a 400 page novel) and end up being completely overshadowed for most of the book by less interesting characters who are simply blessed with far more compelling storylines. There are some surprise cameos in the book that bring back fan favorite characters (again, no spoilers), yet the cameos are so short and 2/3 of Bardugo's protagonists are so underwritten that I would have preferred the time and space would have been give to them.

There is also the problem with the timeline of events, the situations of the POV characters are presented as simultaneous, yet the storylines seem to be days or even weeks apart at times, not to mention ocurring in different countries, causing confusion on the pace and sequence of the plot each time the POV character changes, again, it is all presented as happening at the exact same time but Bardugos writing skills strain over the task of juggling so many plotlines.

Ravka's confrontation with its neighboring nations ends with a bang, and enough explosions, carnage and surprises to make any hollywood blockbuster jealous. Even more impressive is that when all the dust settles, Bardugo is able to expertly reposition her surviving players and introduces new plot threads to entice and excite fans for new stories to come (even if the final scene of the book reads a bit clunky with Bardugo's attempt at set up).

Rule of Wolves marks the end of Phase 1 of Bardugo's Grishaverse, providing enough shocks and thrills to overcome pacing and story issues, and cementing Bardugo's place at the top of the YA fantasy genre.

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King of Scars

For the continuation of her excellent Grishaverse series, and the follow up to the superb Six of Crows duology, Leigh Bardugo decides to place the spotlight on 3 of her most popular characters, fan favorites that have been on the sidelines for too long. Unfortunately, Bardugo isn't able to craft much of a plot for them, the story is serviceable but unimaginative. For most of the book, the story spins around in circles unclear of where it's going or what it's trying to accomplish. It feels less like a novel and more like a side adventure in an RPG game, sure, you get character developtment but it seems to distract from the main plot instead of being in service of it. At one point, she transports 2/3 of her main characters to an alternate plane that is dissconected from time and space, that's how little the plot of the book actually needs them.

Bardugo also makes no attempt to hide her presumption that you have already read all the past books in her Grishaverse series, luckily for me, I have read them, but if anyone hasn't, this book is certainly not a jumping on point.

The book ends up on a strong enough note that it will make you want to pick up the sequel, I just wish that the journey there would have been a little more exciting.

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Atonement

Atonement is the taut, concise, almost economical kind of novel that the british have become known for. Divided in two halves that vary in themes and in quality.

The first half is the type of family drama that has become a staple in british literature, mixing personal and romantic relationships, social class and male/female dynamics, the kind of work that Jane Austen could be proud of. All the while setting up a compelling mistery wich builds to a catastrophic resolution, the kind of work Agatha Christie could be proud of.

And then, there's the second half of the book which seems like an excercise in creative writing that is almost completely disconected from the first half, with a historical setting in WWII that seems forced and completely unnecessary. And while the 2 tales that comprise the second half of the book are compelling, if not riveting, they fail to carry through on the promises made by McEwan on the far superior first part of his novel.

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I Hurt Myself Today

Not the first time I do it, wish I could say it will be the last. I punch myself, bang my head against the wall on the broken hope that I can make myself feel something other than fear and sadness. I feel worthless and I hate myself for it, and then I attack myself for it. In some ways I am still that 14 year old boy, lying alone in his bedroom floor at 2 am, fighting and trying to convince himself not to go into the kitchen and drive a knife to his veins.

I should probably tell you more about myself but all you really need to know is that I'm a sad person, I'm a lonely person, I'm a fearful person, mainly I've never been too good at caring for myself, hating myself has always come easier for me, be that as it may, I want to be better, I want to do better, but some days I feel like I'm in a race, but when the race begins I am miles behind the starting line, blindfolded and with my hands tied to my back, and it doesn't matter how hard I try, and with God as my witness I have tried, I just can't seem to catch up. Have you ever felt like that? Like all the odds are stacked against you from the start, since before you were born, for reasons that you can't control? I feel like that sometimes and it makes me wanna blow my head off.

So what is this blog? This is me trying. Trying to catch up with everybody else in the race, trying to run away from my most destructive tendencies, trying to reach a better version of myself.

As far as who I am? My friends call me MJ. I hope you will too.