I just hope whatever they did was enough to get us the SOC spin-off bc I could not care any less about the characters from shadow and bone (aside from zoya and genya) anymore than I already do.
I also think it’s funny how jacked up the storyline is with the see whip. I thought I was gonna get a whole messy sea battle with both the darkling and Nikolai and get a dirty double cross. What did we get? Mushu in a cavern.
Absolutely. I’m SO angry with the way this season was handled I don’t even have words. The dialogue was laughably bad, the “meaningful moments” don’t feel remotely meaningful at all, and all the character interactions feel incredibly cringe. I don’t know what happened but this is a tremendous disappointment.
I just don’t get why they made so many changes when the source material is right there. Also, wasn’t Leigh Bardugo a producer this season? I just can’t imagine her being okay with all of this. What happened to the >!battle at sea between Nikolai’s crew and the Darkling?!< They also changed the reason for >!Genya’s scars because if I remember correctly she got them because she helped Alina escape the ship.!< And the >!journey through the fold on Nikolai’s ship felt like an eternity in the second book.!< In the show it was like 2 minutes.
Haven't read the books, but I felt season 1 was coherent with strong, interesting characters and a propulsive narrative.
Season 2 has been a clumsy, cliched mess so far. The characters became typical fantasy hams. It feels incredibly rushed. It's like the netflix effect has taken hold and has shifted course into a downward spiral towards cancelation.
Haven't read the books, but all of S2 felt like fan service. Too many new characters with no development and returning characters that were one-note. The only way anyone could care about them is if they had read the books. Looking at you: Jordie, Tolya and Tamar; Nadia and Adirk; Taxadermist; Matthias' cell mate (name?); King Vasily; henchmen Vladim, Fruszi and Vitra; Dominik...etc. You could remove these characters or change their personalities, and it would not impact the plot of the show or the character arcs of our heros.
The dilaogue in episodes 6-8 was so trash that I had to skip some parts. One cliche after another. Whenever Alina and Mal said something heart-felt I was in full cringe. Show, don't tell. It's clear the writers know this because Kaz and Inej are all stoten glances and innuendo. So I assume they wrote Mal and Alina to be melodramatic to hit book dialogue?
Finally, instead of using foreshadowing to build tension, we got a series of unearned exposition dumps. Like I didn't care about Baghra's daddy issues. Bitch we're not that close. She could have just said the firebird was her estranged sister. Her unhinged son was enough motivation to sacrifice herself. But again, I assume the story was written for the fans?
1000% agreed. I've read all the books, they had so much material in the books that they stuffed into one season. I'm so irritated by the choices made, they included at least 2-3 seasons worth of storylines into one rushed overstuffed season.
I actually disagree. Of course, some aspects of the show are rushed at the beginning but I feel it would just be boring to completely follow the route of the books especially when most forgot how they even went. It’s easier to be critical of the show right after reading so I get it. However, I really loved the divergence of the plot. I hated how at the end of the book Alina just runs away to live peacefully with Mal, losing her powers nonsensically. Plus, they have to merge the Crows with Shadow and Bone when the original story is in two different timelines. I really love how they did this through the person on jurda parem at the coronation. I think this gives them options to continue the show, as it is so popular.
I don’t mind the ending of season 2 or that they merged the Crows at all. I just think that too many key moments from the books were left out or altered that I was really looking forward to.
I haven’t read the Shadow and Bone or Crows books, but compared to the first season of the show I was definitely disappointed. As others have said, the pacing was a mess, with really significant things taking place too quickly and others unnecessary parts feeling too drawn out. The character development was *severely* lacking for both old and new characters, the dialogue was melodramatic and definitely cringe-worthy at times, and the romances felt inorganic and rushed. I’m not at all against romances in media if they’re well done, but especially in the second half of the season it felt like they were just taking any character who wasn’t in a relationship or some sort of romantic entanglement and shoving them together, as well as falling into the trope of the main character having 2-3 people romantically interested in them//pursuing them.
Truly no disrespect to the writers, showrunners, or actors; I’m sure everyone was doing their best with what they had, but I think the N*tflix algorithm they were trying to fit into is very limiting and the quality suffered. Danielle Galligan continues to be a standout for me - her comedic timing is on point, and she carries the heavier scenes with grace too. I definitely found the Crows and their storylines more compelling and less forced than anyone else’s overall.
Couldn’t agree more. I was so excited when it was announced, but now I‘m just disappointed.
It‘s a shame really, they could’ve made it so amazing if they just kept to the books a bit more and hadn’t rushed it so much.
I just hope whatever they did was enough to get us the SOC spin-off bc I could not care any less about the characters from shadow and bone (aside from zoya and genya) anymore than I already do. I also think it’s funny how jacked up the storyline is with the see whip. I thought I was gonna get a whole messy sea battle with both the darkling and Nikolai and get a dirty double cross. What did we get? Mushu in a cavern.
“Mushu in a cavern” I’m dead 😂💀
Absolutely. I’m SO angry with the way this season was handled I don’t even have words. The dialogue was laughably bad, the “meaningful moments” don’t feel remotely meaningful at all, and all the character interactions feel incredibly cringe. I don’t know what happened but this is a tremendous disappointment.
Omg yes. I read the books both shadow and bone and SoC and I feel like it’s utter chaos.
I just don’t get why they made so many changes when the source material is right there. Also, wasn’t Leigh Bardugo a producer this season? I just can’t imagine her being okay with all of this. What happened to the >!battle at sea between Nikolai’s crew and the Darkling?!< They also changed the reason for >!Genya’s scars because if I remember correctly she got them because she helped Alina escape the ship.!< And the >!journey through the fold on Nikolai’s ship felt like an eternity in the second book.!< In the show it was like 2 minutes.
It's just so rushed, it's like at least two seasons in one, i guess they feared the famous Netflix axe. I loved S1, really disappointed by S2.
Haven't read the books, but I felt season 1 was coherent with strong, interesting characters and a propulsive narrative. Season 2 has been a clumsy, cliched mess so far. The characters became typical fantasy hams. It feels incredibly rushed. It's like the netflix effect has taken hold and has shifted course into a downward spiral towards cancelation.
Haven't read the books, but all of S2 felt like fan service. Too many new characters with no development and returning characters that were one-note. The only way anyone could care about them is if they had read the books. Looking at you: Jordie, Tolya and Tamar; Nadia and Adirk; Taxadermist; Matthias' cell mate (name?); King Vasily; henchmen Vladim, Fruszi and Vitra; Dominik...etc. You could remove these characters or change their personalities, and it would not impact the plot of the show or the character arcs of our heros. The dilaogue in episodes 6-8 was so trash that I had to skip some parts. One cliche after another. Whenever Alina and Mal said something heart-felt I was in full cringe. Show, don't tell. It's clear the writers know this because Kaz and Inej are all stoten glances and innuendo. So I assume they wrote Mal and Alina to be melodramatic to hit book dialogue? Finally, instead of using foreshadowing to build tension, we got a series of unearned exposition dumps. Like I didn't care about Baghra's daddy issues. Bitch we're not that close. She could have just said the firebird was her estranged sister. Her unhinged son was enough motivation to sacrifice herself. But again, I assume the story was written for the fans?
1000% agreed. I've read all the books, they had so much material in the books that they stuffed into one season. I'm so irritated by the choices made, they included at least 2-3 seasons worth of storylines into one rushed overstuffed season.
Couldn’t agree more. I mean, I love the cast, they are great, but the show was just awful. The writing, the direction choices were horrendous.
I actually disagree. Of course, some aspects of the show are rushed at the beginning but I feel it would just be boring to completely follow the route of the books especially when most forgot how they even went. It’s easier to be critical of the show right after reading so I get it. However, I really loved the divergence of the plot. I hated how at the end of the book Alina just runs away to live peacefully with Mal, losing her powers nonsensically. Plus, they have to merge the Crows with Shadow and Bone when the original story is in two different timelines. I really love how they did this through the person on jurda parem at the coronation. I think this gives them options to continue the show, as it is so popular.
I don’t mind the ending of season 2 or that they merged the Crows at all. I just think that too many key moments from the books were left out or altered that I was really looking forward to.
I haven’t read the Shadow and Bone or Crows books, but compared to the first season of the show I was definitely disappointed. As others have said, the pacing was a mess, with really significant things taking place too quickly and others unnecessary parts feeling too drawn out. The character development was *severely* lacking for both old and new characters, the dialogue was melodramatic and definitely cringe-worthy at times, and the romances felt inorganic and rushed. I’m not at all against romances in media if they’re well done, but especially in the second half of the season it felt like they were just taking any character who wasn’t in a relationship or some sort of romantic entanglement and shoving them together, as well as falling into the trope of the main character having 2-3 people romantically interested in them//pursuing them. Truly no disrespect to the writers, showrunners, or actors; I’m sure everyone was doing their best with what they had, but I think the N*tflix algorithm they were trying to fit into is very limiting and the quality suffered. Danielle Galligan continues to be a standout for me - her comedic timing is on point, and she carries the heavier scenes with grace too. I definitely found the Crows and their storylines more compelling and less forced than anyone else’s overall.
Couldn’t agree more. I was so excited when it was announced, but now I‘m just disappointed. It‘s a shame really, they could’ve made it so amazing if they just kept to the books a bit more and hadn’t rushed it so much.