The reviews for Netflix's Shadow and Bone are here, giving fans their first reactions to the highly-anticipated series. In what feels like Netflix's most hyped-up debut since The Witcher, Shadow and Bone is the first adaptation of Leigh Bardugo's beloved Grishaverse. The YA author first created the fantasy world for her 2012 novel Shadow and Bone and went on to develop it further in additional novels and short stories. Netflix's take on it will combine both the Shadow and Bone trilogy and the Six of Crows duology, which takes place years after the former series.
Shadow and Bone centers on Alina Starkov (Jessie Mei Li), an orphan in the Russia-inspired world of Ravka. For years, Ravka has been haunted by a dangerous entity known as the Shadow Fold, and Alina joins the army created to fight it. While inside the Shadow Fold, she discovers something about herself: She is a Sun Summoner, a rare magic user who has the ability to create light. This puts Alina in many people's crosshairs, including General Kirigan (Ben Barnes), aka the Darkling.
Ahead of Friday's premiere of Shadow and Bone season 1, critics have published their reviews online. A sampling of their takes are ahead, along with links to the full reviews. Read on to see what people have to say about Netflix's latest fantasy epic.
Molly Freeman, Screen Rant
Perhaps the strongest aspect of Shadow and Bone is the fantasy world Bardugo, Heisserer and the rest of the team have created for these characters and their stories to play in. Part of this comes from the groundwork laid by Bardugo in her novels - the mythology of the Grisha and the Fold as well as the politics of Ravka, Fjerda and Kerch is all well-established in the books. But the way in which the world is brought to life, from the texture of Alina's Sun Summoner powers to the gritty setting of Ketterdam, it helps the audience become completely entrenched in the Shadow and Bone world - and it's an enchanting world.
Liz Shannon Miller, Collider
Really, the casting in general is solid, especially Jessie Mei Li, who proves highly capable of handling the massive demands this show puts upon her — as not just the star but the show's emotional center, she's immediately engaging. Meanwhile, Ben Barnes (who you may know from such other wild sci-fi/fantasy adventures as Westworld and Stardust) serves as the biggest name in the cast but not a showy one; as the mysterious and powerful Kirigan, his role in the series is a complicated one, but intriguing for sure.
Brian Tallerico, The Playlist
After a reasonably strong start, “Shadow and Bone” gets weighed down by so many Netflix Original fantasy show clichés that it sinks into the Fold itself. Lines like “Getting lost can happen even when you know where you are” might fit well into a strictly Young Adult series. Still, the MA rating means this is clearly aimed more at adults, and they’re likely to roll their eyes at the dialogue enough to see what else is streaming on Netflix.
Jenna Anderson, ComicBook.com
A lot of that satisfaction comes from Shadow and Bone's approach to its ensemble of characters, which is easily one of the most magnetic aspects of the series as a whole. Even as many of its characters are essentially at the starting points of their epic journeys, Shadow and Bone goes to great lengths to immediately make them three-dimensional, whether in massive character moments or in incredibly subtle beats.
Caroline Framke, Variety
It’s an ambitious approach, not least because the show only has eight episodes in which to tell the story, making for some whiplash transitions as it hurries to get to the next big plot point. For the most part, though, “Shadow and Bone” doesn’t bite off more than it can chew, focusing its energy on fleshing out its characters and universe in a way that could sustain it beyond any single book.
Daniel Fienberg, THR
You can watch the first season for the twisty world-building, Wendy Partridge's lovely costumes, several enjoyable performances and the comfort of its reliable YA plotting. Just don't expect to immediately understand everything and definitely don't expect everything to come together by the end.
Ben Travis, Empire
With its magical, orphaned, chosen-one hero (hello, Harry Potter), its story of a young woman destined to cause revolution while caught between her childhood bestie and a dashing, untrustworthy incomer (hey there, Hunger Games) and its dangerous kingdom of backstabbers (Game Of Thrones, we meet again), Shadow And Bone has plenty of familiar echoes. But it’s very watchable, with a compelling world and characters that could help it become a fantasy favourite in its own right.
Nicole Clark, IGN
Netflix maintains its great track record of adapting fantasy action books to screen with Shadow and Bone, a fun, action-packed series based on Leigh Bardugo’s best-selling Grishaverse books. The first season manages to capture much of the darker magic of young-adult fantasy while being unafraid to make smart changes to certain characters’ origin stories and even the sequence of events—even if the storylines from the two series of books don’t always easily mesh.
Overall, the critical consensus for Shadow and Bone is pretty positive. There are some more negative takes addressing the dense worldbuilding, but most critics appear to appreciate the fantastical world Bardugo and showrunner Eric Heisserer have created. Fans of the books will definitely have an easier time navigating the Grishaverse, but Shadow and Bone appears to have a solid grasp on how to introduce newcomers to the world without being too overwhelming. It sounds like there is some initial disconnect between the Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows storylines, but that was probably to be expected.
Of the ensemble cast, the performers to get standout mentions are Li as Alina, Barnes as the Darkling, and Kit Young as Six of Crows holdover Jesper Fahey. The characters of Shadow and Bone are often mentioned as positives by the critics, and they will surely be the ones to pull in audiences. Though several reviews point out how Shadow and Bone feels reminiscent of other YA/fantasy series, it sounds like there are enough new elements to entice viewers. Netflix just might have the hit they're clearly hoping for with this one, though only time will tell if it scores a season 2.
Shadow and Bone premieres Friday, April 23 on Netflix.
Source: Various (see above)