Shadow and Bone season 2 review: Amusing sequel fizzles on many cylinders

Shadow and Bone season 2 follows Alina and Mal going up against the Darkling, who after surviving the Fold has returned, more ferocious than ever, to take Alina back before taking over the world.

Story

Alina and Mal are on the run while the former has been levied a twenty million bounty on her head as the whole world wants her. Many think she’s a traitor, colluding with the Darkling to take over the world, and many think she’s a saint.

A group of privateers led by Sturmhond saves Alina and Mal. Sturmhond helps them track down Alina’s second amplifier. Meanwhile, the Darkling rebuilds his army with shadow monsters called Nichevo’ya and some Grisha.

Alina works to sever the link she has with Kirigan while Mal sees himself drifting away from her, while also looking for the third amplifier — the Firebird. Meanwhile, the Crows welcome two new members — Wylan and Nina.

Together, they all work to take down Pekka Rollins, who Kaz has always wanted to take revenge on. He takes his revenge, while Nina tries and fails to get Matthias out of Hellgate.

Alina gets engaged to Nikolai as a political move while the Darkling makes his moves. Baghra is killed at the hands of Kirigan’s Nichevo’ya but after telling Mal that he’s the Firebird.

Alina has to kill Mal to use the power and destroy the Shadow Fold and then kill the Darkling. She then uses Merzost to revive Mal, who decides to drift away from her and becomes a privateer.

Inej gets her freedom back and sets off on a journey with Mal and others to find her brother. The Crows get their home back while Matthias remains in Hellgate. Nikolai is infected by the shadow monsters while Alina also has merzost flowing through her.

Performances

It’s the actors that make the second season of Shadow and Bone, with the supporting cast doing just as good a job as the leads.

Jessie Mei Li delivers a good performance as the hero who seeks more power and loses focus on what’s most important to them.

Ben Barnes and Archie Renaux are apt in their portrayals of two related characters who stand on opposite ends. Barnes gets to show his chops in some scenes toward the end of the season.

Newcomers in Patrick Gibson as Nikolai/Sturmhond, Lewis Tan as Tolya, and Jack Wolfe as Wylan are some of the most notable new additions to the cast, especially the former two as they play their characters rather naturally and with a certain sense of ease.

Freddy Carter and Amita Suman as Kaz and Inej are absolutely brilliant as they knock every scene they’re together in out of the park. From the longing states to the loud silences, the two actors elevate their characters’ romantic dynamic far more appealing than the central one.

Positives

Shadow and Bone season 2 retains the sense of fun and fantasy that its predecessor had, even if it is notably fainter here.

The actors do a great job with their respective character portrayals and sell the varied range of emotions they go through/contend with.

Negatives

There are many storylines and subplots that just don’t work in Shadow and Bone season 2. Genya and David’s storyline is undercooked while Nina and Matthias’s storyline cooks so slowly that by the end of the season, it hasn’t even gotten warm yet.

Once an antagonist who inspired great terror, Kirigan feels really weak throughout this sophomore season, with only glimpses showing his true malice and monstrosity.

The Shu Han sequences are pretty hastily produced as a real sense of new topography and culture eludes the audience. Pekka’s defeat is instantly reversed, rendering Kaz’s whole revenge spiel seem unnecessarily strenuous and included.

Verdict

Shadow and Bone season 2 is an amusing ride with more downs than ups and as the show tries to have more on its plate than it can hold, many storylines suffer from insufficient treatment and subplots don’t go anywhere, sometimes in blatant service of a delay for a future season.

While the elements that made its predecessor fun are still present, there’s also a lot of unnecessary clutter that could be done away with had it not been for chasing a hundred things sloppily instead of a few with fierce competence.

Shadow and Bone season 2
Shadow and Bone season 2 review: Amusing sequel fizzles on many cylinders 1

Director: Bola Ogun, Laura Belsey, Karen Gaviola, Mairzee Almas

Date Created: 2023-03-16 12:30

Editor's Rating:
2.5

Also Read: Shadow and Bone season 2 ending explained: Is the Darkling/Kirigan dead?

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