well, hello there.
i do, in fact, know that it’s been months (a year?) since i last posted anything. after being gone for a long while, i always feel like i ought to return with some kind of heartfelt “I’m Back (a la Sam Gamgee)” post but… this is not that post. i don’t really want to apologize for being absent, because i think Life Stuff is important (and most of you are aware of — and supportive of — the fact that i’m a college student, that i work, and so on), but i do want to say a sincere thank you for allowing me to have this space where i can write and share what’s on my mind (no matter how random or chaotic or perpetually-changing that may be) and then disappear for a few months as necessary and then pop back in to talk about a Netflix show that’s been on my mind or a piece of flash fiction or a rant about my latest fictional obsession (right now it’s Bucky Barnes and i’m a little unsettled about it). you guys have been wonderful in my 5+ years (crazy that i can say that) of creating this space.
[kate says she will not be sentimental. kate proceeds to be very sentimental.]
as you likely gathered from the title of this post, i’m popping in to talk about the recent Netflix release, Shadow and Bone. i have watched the show all the way through — i think i binged it all in one day, possibly two — once and then got part of the way through (3 episodes or so) a second and THIRD time because one of my great delights in this life is forcing everyone i love to share the stories i’m obsessed with. however, a few notes are in order before i plunge into this quick little review-rant.
[insert negative-review warning/apology… if this won’t bother you, feel free to skip ahead ;)]
i called Shadow and Bone an “obsession” and that is an appropriate term for my relationship with it… but my thoughts on the show (from a critical standpoint!) are actually quite negative. i want to say that right from the start because i know there are some very strong (positive) feelings towards this show, so if this post isn’t for you… it’s okay to acknowledge that now and gracefully bow out. you are MORE THAN WELCOME to disagree with me, as always! but if it is going to make you angry for me to say “Eddy Carter is not attractive” or “Inej was bland” — because i do plan on saying both of those things — then i’m simply suggesting you spare yourself the pain and me the awkwardness of explaining that it’s merely an opinion. truly, i love that so many people love this show. i love it as well… just in a very different way than most people.
okay, so that’s my main preface. here’s my smaller one. I HAVEN’T READ MOST OF THE BOOKS IN THIS SERIES. i know, i know. the worst. always read the books first, kids. i did read Six of Crows in sophomore year, but even my memory of that book is admittedly quite foggy. blame it on the college brain. clearly i’m in need of a re-read and i fully plan to read the rest of the books as well. that said, i haven’t read them at the time of writing this or watching the show, so be aware that my opinions of characters and such may not extend to the books well. (for example, i recall liking both Kaz and Inej a lot more in he book than i did in the show. stuff like that. not all Show Opinions are also Book Opinions.)
whew. now that we have all of that out of the way.
let’s get to it.
i like this show. the aesthetics are on point — the Ravkan and Fjerdan words, the different cultures, the rainy Londonesque Ketterdam, the costumes, the magical elements, all of that fun stuff. conceptually, i’m in love with this story. also, the main reason i watched the show (and i’m not at all joking when i say that): Ben The Immortal Goddess Barnes.
like, i was not planning to watch this show. one of the girls in my writing group chat was super hype about it and i’d seen a few ads for it popping up on my instagram feed, but honestly i didn’t recognize a single actor in it and i thought it would stream on hulu or on-demand or prime and i just didn’t plan to make the effort to hunt it down and watch it.
but then.
i found out that Ben Barnes was in it.
Ben Barnes, my crush since the days of Prince Caspian. Ben Barnes, who takes up rather a lot of space on my pinterest. Ben Barnes, who plays immortal characters (see: Dorian Grey) because the man does not age.
so yeah, when i found out it was coming to Netflix… i caved and binged that thing in one day. i’m a little bit ashamed but not much.
i think, though, that because the show helped get me through Finals Week (also known as, every college student’s nightmare) and because it took me back somewhat to those days when i was 13 and got so invested in a storyworld that it felt more real than my actual life… i have sort of a weird sentimental attachment to it. despite thinking that it isn’t technically or artistically very good.
essentially, i loved watching the show. but i don’t think it’s very well done. and here’s why. Alina, to me, was absolutely as flat as a pancake. Jessie Mei Li is absolutely gorgeous and i don’t want to stir up hate for her… but her acting was not compelling to me. honestly, less-than-compelling acting is the theme i find throughout the whole show. Kaz was boring. he gave me no reason to care about him, no reason to be curious about his backstory. i’ve asked my friend — who hasn’t read the book — if he picked up on the whole wearing-gloves/no-skin-contact thing with Kaz and he said he never would have noticed if i hadn’t pointed it out. that’s… crappy storytelling, to be honest. subtlety is cool and all but they took it a little far. so much was left for the audience to infer that it kind of felt like the creators wanted the audience to do their job for them?? i am simply… not a fan. sadly, Inej was equally flat to me. like her acting was completely one-dimensional. not to be harsh [i’m gonna be harsh], but are these professional actors? because they didn’t seem like it.
there were exceptions, of course. Barnes, in my opinion, was perfection [i swear i’m not just biased because he is the most beautiful man in the universe]. the actor playing Baghra was good. i liked Nina quite a lot and Matthias, although not a favorite character, was at least interesting to watch. Mal was extremely good, in my estimation (but i could have done without the One Million Flashbacks to the freaking field, dear goodness). Genya was also convincing in her role. unfortunately, none of these characters were carrying the story. that was Alina’s job, and Kaz’s, and Inej’s. and all of them, sadly, felt like random kids chosen because they had the right “look” but had never performed before in their lives. sad but true.
[i’m realizing i left out Jesper. i’m sort of “meh” on him. like Amita Suman, he had absolutely the right look for the job. his acting was okay — not standout, but certainly not as bad as Freddy Carter or Amita Suman.]
please believe me when i say i’m sorry to be so tough on people whose profession i do not share. i realize it’s hard. i realize that they are very probably quite thoroughly trained and qualified and talented… it just didn’t show up in this show. and OBVIOUSLY this is the opinion of one person and many, many other people wholeheartedly disagree with me and think that the acting was brilliant. i can’t pretend to think that’s true, but they are certainly out there.
and like i said. there were things to love. the worldbuilding was SOLID. ask my friends — i LITERALLY scream every single time Ben Barnes is on screen (and yes, i ship him and Alina, in case you were wondering). so many of the actors were gorgeous people who looked so perfect for their roles.
and honestly… i’ve missed fangirling about something. i’ve missed watching all the Behind the Scenes and interviews and looking at all the memes and pestering my friends with useless trivia. i’ve missed having a major crush on a completely fictional man (or men, let’s be honest, i’ve got a crush on Mal and Jesper too). so i’m grateful to this series for giving me that, and exactly when i needed it too.
to put it as concisely as possible: my inner story-lover is obsessed but my critical side is less-than-impressed. (i kind of hate myself for rhyming there, but it’s what my brain told me to write and i went with it.)
alright, friends. that’s all from me for now.
go listen to Scaled and Icy. it’s amazing.
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