Shadow and Bone (2021) Review: The Crows Steal the Show

Is Shadow and Bone worth watching?

Yes. Shadow and Bone is an entertaining, handsomely produced fantasy series whose smartest move is weaving a band of charismatic thieves into a familiar chosen-one story. The world of Ravka, with its monster-filled barrier of darkness and its ranks of magical soldiers, is vividly realised, and the Crows storyline gives the show wit and energy. The reservations are an uneven main plot, a rushed second season and an ending shaped by cancellation, which leaves several threads unresolved.

What is Shadow and Bone about?

The nation of Ravka has been split in two by the Shadow Fold, a vast wall of unnatural darkness filled with deadly winged creatures. Alina Starkov (Jessie Mei Li), an orphan working as a mapmaker in the army, joins a dangerous crossing of the Fold alongside her childhood friend Mal (Archie Renaux). During the crossing she discovers a power she never knew she had, one that might be able to destroy the Fold, and she is swept into the world of the Grisha, the kingdom’s elite magical soldiers, whose commander, General Kirigan (Ben Barnes), takes an intense interest in her.

Meanwhile, in the city of Ketterdam across the sea, a crew of criminals known as the Crows, led by the ruthless planner Kaz Brekker (Freddy Carter), with the knife-wielding Inej (Amita Suman) and the sharpshooting gambler Jesper (Kit Young), takes on a job with a huge payoff that will eventually put them on a collision course with Alina.

Shadow and Bone was created by Eric Heisserer from Leigh Bardugo’s novels. It is an American production in English, and this review covers the complete series: two seasons and 16 episodes, released on Netflix between 2021 and 2023.

Two book series braided into one

Bardugo’s Grishaverse includes the Shadow and Bone trilogy and the Six of Crows duology, which is set later and follows a different set of characters. Heisserer’s boldest decision was to combine them, inventing a story that brings the Crows into Alina’s world. It is a risky choice, and it largely pays off: the heist plotline adds humour, momentum and moral ambiguity to a main story that could otherwise feel conventional.

The Crows are the show’s standout element. Freddy Carter plays Kaz with cold intelligence and a hint of buried pain, Amita Suman gives Inej a quiet strength and grace, and Kit Young’s Jesper supplies much of the show’s charm and comic timing. Their banter and loyalty to each other make every scene they share lively.

A richly imagined world

The production design is among the more ambitious in streaming fantasy. Ravka draws on Tsarist Russian influences in its architecture, costumes and military ranks, while Ketterdam feels like a crowded, grimy trading port. The Fold itself, a shifting sea of black mist with monsters hidden inside, is a genuinely unsettling creation, and the Grisha powers, from summoning fire and wind to manipulating the human body, are rendered with effective visual effects.

Jessie Mei Li gives Alina an appealing mix of sarcasm and vulnerability, and the show’s central mystery about her power and the forces that want to use it is well set up in the first season.

Where the story stumbles

The main Ravka plot is less inventive than the heist storyline, and it leans on familiar young-adult devices, including a love triangle and a destiny that frequently overrides character choice. The second season tries to cover a great deal of the remaining trilogy in just eight episodes, and the pace becomes breathless, with major developments and new characters arriving too quickly to register. Because Netflix did not continue the series, the final episodes leave several storylines hanging.

Who should watch Shadow and Bone?

It suits fans of Leigh Bardugo’s books, lovers of young-adult drama and fantasy, and anyone who enjoys a mix of magic, romance and heists. At 16 episodes it is a manageable binge, as long as you accept that the ending is not fully conclusive. Expect fantasy violence, some gore and mature themes, which make it better suited to teenagers and up than to younger children.

For more fantasy on the same wavelength:

• Arcane for an animated fantasy with a similarly grimy industrial city and superb character work.
• The Sandman for another lavish adaptation of a much-loved fantasy source.
• The Rings of Power for large-scale fantasy world-building on a bigger budget.

The verdict

Shadow and Bone is a lively, good-looking fantasy series that gets its greatest energy from the thieves it borrowed from another book. The central story is more familiar and the second season rushes toward an unresolved finish, but the world and the Crows make it well worth visiting.

Rating: 4/5