‘Shadow and Bone’ Review: Netflix Finally Has Its Own ‘Game of Thrones’

Netflix’s Shadow and Bone asks what’s more likely to break a teenaged girl? Bloodthirsty monsters in the dark or the idea that the one boy she’s always loved doesn’t even care about her? This melodramatic quandary is the bread and butter of YA Fantasy, a genre littered with chosen one figures who must battle great darkness and juggle first heartbreaks at the same time. Every once in a while, though, a YA series breaks through the noise and becomes a true phenomenon. Even rarer? That the live action adaptation of that story lives up to the source material.

Netflix’s Shadow and Bone is about as miraculous as its leading lady, Alina Starkhov (Jessie Mei Li), is herself. It’s a brilliant adaptation of Leigh Bardugo’s bestselling Grishaverse books that feels as dense as Game of Thrones and as thrilling as your favorite CW show. It also hits Netflix at a time when TV fans are clamoring for their next binge-worthy obsession. Shadow and Bone delivers pure escapism with timely social commentary and good old fashioned soapy storytelling. It is the next big fantasy sensation.

Shadow and Bone primarily takes place in the fictional nation of Ravka, a place inspired by Imperial Russia and torn asunder by a physical barrier known as the Shadow Fold or “Unsea.” It’s an ocean of darkness inhabited by murderous monsters called volcra. Worse, it is ever growing, encroaching on small towns and separating the East Ravkans from both the West part of Ravka and the rest of the world. Ravka has been both crippled by this supernatural phenomenon and perpetually threatened on all remaining sides. The nation’s only hope is that a mythic “Sun Summoner” might arrive who can destroy the darkness and heal Ravka’s lands forever.

Ravka does have one other trick up its sleeve: the Grisha, a group of people blessed with the ability to work “the small science,” aka magic. Grisha are organized into various groups based on their powers. Some can heal and some can control the heartbeats of others. Then there are Fabrikators, who can manipulate matter and invent wonders. Finally, the Summoners, who control fire, water, and air. The most rare and powerful of Grisha in Ravka at the start of Shadow and Bone is General Kirigan (Ben Barnes), the Shadow Summoner. And after a shocking event in the Fold in Shadow and Bone Episode 1, Kirigan becomes convinced that Alina, a nondescript nobody, is the Sun Summoner Ravka has been waiting for.

Alina immediately rejects this. Although she’s had a rough life, Alina enjoys her low status. Mostly because it connects her to her lifelong best friend and fellow orphan Mal (Archie Renaux). The two have been inseparable their whole lives and Alina’s new Grisha status threatens to separate the youths forever. Shadow and Bone follows Alina Starkhov as she attempts to understand her glittering new power and heady new responsibilities, all while still pining for the one boy who’s always been there…until now. (And don’t you dare doubt that Barnes’s darkly seductive General is happy to have the vulnerable Alina all to himself.)

That’s the thrust of Shadow and Bone‘s main plot, a straight adaptation of Bardugo’s first novel, but the show, produced by Shawn Levy’s 21 Laps (the team behind another Netflix hit, Stranger Things), is so much more. Creator and showrunner Eric Heisserer famously fell first for Bardugo’s other Grishaverse series: the Six of Crows duology. Those books, set after the events of Alina’s trilogy, follow a group of young outlaws in the island city of Ketterdam. These charismatic criminals pull off insane Ocean’s Eleven-like heists in Alina’s magical world. Netflix’s Shadow and Bone does a radical thing and introduces most of these characters in Season 1. Criminal mastermind Kaz Brekker (Freddy Carter), stealthy “wraith” Inej (Amita Suman), and fabulous sharpshooter Jesper (Kit Young) find themselves drawn into a daring original “prequel” mission that is directly linked to Alina’s story.

Ironically, if there’s one quibble I have with Shadow and Bone, it’s directly tied to how great it is. This show is extremely dense. Not since the early seasons of Game of Thrones have I seen such a show immerse viewers so deeply into a new world. For fans of the books, like myself, it’s a joy to pick up on every reference — from a “DeKappel” hanging on the wall of Kaz’s room to a character’s penchant for waffles — but for Grishaverse virgins, Shadow and Bone could prove to be overwhelming. Heisseler has done his best to streamline confusing plot points with a minimal amount of voice over and expository dialogue. The show’s real solution, though, tends to be visually reiterating the stuff that matters, whether it’s a specific plot reference or the constant refrain of how much Mal and Alina’s mean to each other. It will be interesting if newbies will welcome this strange new world, as utterly fantastic as it is.

Beyond its luxe costume design, detailed sets, and spectacular effects, Shadow and Bone‘s biggest strength is its ensemble cast. Besides Barnes and industry vet Zoe Wannamaker, the cast is a collection of talented fresh faces. Jessie Mei Li deftly projects Alina’s innocence and wry humor, making her a less self-deprecating character than in the books. Barnes’s obvious exuberance for the material helps Kirigan leap off the screen, while Renaux nobly elevates one of the books’ most frustrating characters into the ranks of stone cold heroes. Freddy Carter and Amita Suman sow the seeds for a compelling slow burn romance, while Kit Young devours every frame he’s in. Because Shadow and Bone‘s cast is full of relative unknowns, each actor sinks seamlessly into their role. Yet another way in which Shadow and Bone fully surrounds you with a bold new fantasy world.

Netflix’s scripted television slate has been rather understated since the holiday premieres of Bridgerton and Cobra Kai. Shadow and Bone is about to blow that all up. It’s a lush, romantic epic full of thrills, chills, and magical miracles. Shadow and Bone is exactly the total escape viewers are craving right now.

Shadow and Bone premieres on Netflix on Friday, April 23, 2021. 

Where to stream Shadow and Bone