Fantasy Books Archives - Page 22 Of 23

April 27, 2021

“Shadow And Bone” Episode 5 Review!

**SPOILERS FOR SHADOW AND BONE AHEAD!**

My Shadow And Bone coverage has always made one thing clear: first and foremost, I am here for the Crows. I am here to watch them plan out genius schemes to the most minute detail, mess everything up, and still somehow pull off a miraculous save in the end thanks to quick thinking and a little bit of luck. That’s why Shadow And Bone isn’t my favorite of Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse novels, but Six Of Crows and Crooked Kingdom are (Crooked Kingdom actually slightly more so, because it’s got heists but also intrigue) – and that’s why episode five of Netflix’s Shadow And Bone is where the series crosses over from “good” to “great” in my opinion.

Because this is the heist episode. I was surprised it happened so early, I’ll be honest: when Shadow And Bone‘s trailers revealed that the Crows would be plotting to abduct Alina Starkov (Jessie Mei Li), I was convinced that a kidnapping attempt of that scale would have to wait until the finale. But weaving the heist story into one of the most iconic and dramatic chapters of Shadow And Bone, the one in which Alina herself is forced to flee from the Little Palace after discovering the truth about The Darkling (Ben Barnes), is so much more brilliant from a storytelling standpoint – and it means we don’t have to wait until season two for interactions between Shadow And Bone characters and Six Of Crows characters, which is a plus.

It also means the writers of Shadow And Bone had to craft an original heist worthy of criminal mastermind Kaz Brekker (Freddy Carter), and Grishaverse author Leigh Bardugo – no easy feat, I’m sure. There’s a balance that must be achieved in a perfect heist story between coherence and complexity, and it can be hard to find, but I’m firmly of the belief that a heist should never be too simple: especially not when Kaz Brekker is putting together the plan. Some of the best I’ve read, including Bardugo’s, are those that involve many intricate moving parts, which no amount of Fabrikator fine-tuning can prevent from inevitably getting stuck or jamming up the works – resulting in beautiful, uncontrollable, chaos.

That’s why it’s also important that a heist story have characters with distinct strengths, weaknesses, and personalities. That last bit is crucial, because even if a plan is seemingly foolproof, people always have the potential to be unpredictable: to make an error in their calculations because they overlooked something; to get distracted or overwhelmed in the heat of the moment; to feel cocky and think they can outwit the original plan; to make any number of decisions, each one coming with its own risks and consequences. To break the machine, you first have to give it a little push.

The heist in Shadow And Bone‘s fifth episode works precisely because it fails so spectacularly, because Kaz and his crew (and a host of other characters unaware of the Crows’ scheme) don’t, and in some cases can’t, stick to the plan. Multiple subplots converge, people start pushing from all sides, the machinery catches fire (figuratively, of course: though come to think of it, a Grisha Inferni does play a significant role in this episode), and it’s a joy to behold. Another important thing about heist stories: the chaos you cause when the plan goes wrong must be as carefully orchestrated and thrilling as the premise of the original plan.

But anyway, now that I’ve made myself look entirely pretentious with that little writing lecture, let’s break down the heist itself. The premise is at first glance simple: infiltrate the Ravkan winter fête in disguise, find Alina Starkov, and kidnap her. Alina unwittingly makes the Crows’ job easier when she sneaks out of the Little Palace to see the circus, attending an exaggerated theatrical performance of her own exploits in the Shadow-Fold (in which she is portrayed by a blonde white woman) and giving Jesper Fahey (Kit Young) a clear visual of her before she’s hurriedly escorted off by the Grisha Heartrender Fedyor (Julian Kostov).

The plan as relayed to the Crows’ guide, Arken (Howard Charles), is for Arken to sneak into Alina’s room using a lodestone to bypass the Fabrikator locking-device on the door, there to lie in wait for the Sun-Summoner after her own performance at the party. But when Alina does return to the room accompanied by the Tailor Genya Safin (Daisy Head), Arken doesn’t even hesitate before leaping on the Sun-Summoner and slitting her throat: one of the most horrifying and shocking moments in the season.

But like a Russian nesting-doll, it’s all part of a plan within a plan: and Kaz has been playing Arken since the very beginning of their partnership, having long suspected what soon becomes blindingly apparent – that Arken’s lucrative business of smuggling Grisha out of Ravka for a fee depends on the Shadow-Fold existing to keep them trapped and out of options in their homeland. He never wanted to capture Alina: he wanted her dead, and he foolishly believed he could manipulate the Crows into helping him kill her. But Kaz, ruthless mastermind that he is, sent Arken after Alina Starkov’s decoy, a part being played by the young Grisha Inferni Marie (Jasmine Blackborow) – who does die, sadly; but perhaps less horribly than in the books.

Kaz and Inej Ghafa (Amita Suman), meanwhile, are more than happy to abandon the treacherous Conductor to the whims of the Grisha, and I love their casual use of the phrase “lynx flush” to describe the trap they set for him – they’re precious cinnamon rolls, yes, but they are also vicious and extraordinarily dangerous, and I love them for it. As they weave their way in and out of various disguises, keeping close to the real Alina, we also get to see more of Kaz’s cynicism (he’s convinced Alina’s lightshow is a trick using mirrors) and Inej’s faith (her reverent use of the term “Sankta Alina” foreshadowing the name she will later give to one of her fourteen knives).

I’m also a big fan of the immediate cut to Jesper whispering “Saints!” (a common Grishaverse exclamatory phrase) no less reverently, but for a very different reason – having just successfully seduced one of the Little Palace’s handsome stable-hands. I was worried Jesper’s canonical bisexuality wouldn’t be addressed in this season, but Shadow And Bone actually improves and increases diversity across the board, with several other supporting characters being either stated or implied as LGBTQ+ – most notably Fedyor and the Grisha Heartrender Ivan (Simon Sears), confirmed by Mei Li to be a couple in an interview where the actress also said Alina herself could be queer. Fingers crossed!

But as Mei Li noted in the interview, Alina’s strongest relationship is probably always going to be with Mal Oretsev (Archie Renaux), who also returns in this episode – throwing Kaz’s plans into disarray despite the two never even crossing paths. Mal is simply answering The Darkling’s call for information about Morozova’s Stag, word of which quickly reaches the ears of Baghra (Zoë Wanamaker) on the other side of the palace grounds. Racing against Joseph Trapanese’s pounding score, Baghra unleashes her loyalists to find and kill Mal before he can speak to The Darkling. They reckon without Mal’s own ingenuity, as the tracker refuses to tell The Darkling where to find the Stag until he’s allowed to see Alina.

And then there’s Alina herself, the most unpredictable cog in the entire machine. She and The Darkling share their first kiss in this episode, and then another, and then one more improvised by Ben Barnes. The Darkling even gifts her a bouquet of blue irises, which he learns from Mal are Alina’s favorite flowers. It’s clear that things are about to get a lot more intimate when Ivan suddenly intrudes on the couple’s rendezvous in the map-room to warn The Darkling of Arken’s assassination attempt, throwing cold water on all the heat and passion. But all of it – the romance, the found family, the sense of belonging – is all part of The Darkling’s plan to keep Alina happily subservient.

Book readers know all too well the pain of first learning the truth about The Darkling – but when Baghra gives Alina the full rundown on his origins and agenda, I hope newcomers to Shadow And Bone will be as shocked as we were once upon a time. The Darkling created the Shadow-Fold centuries ago, and has lived countless lifetimes since, changing his name, faking his death, always returning to help the Grisha increase their power and social status until all of Ravka is reliant on them – but now, with technological progress changing the game, he needs to absorb Alina’s power to expand the Fold, not destroy it.

Shadow And Bone doesn’t force any unnecessary conflict into this revelation – yeah, Alina’s not too happy about discovering her new boyfriend is an ageless genocidal tyrant, but the facts are all laid out in front of her and there’s not much room for her to deny or deflect the accusations. She can’t stay in the Little Palace, so Baghra helps her escape through a system of tunnels built into the Palace walls that eventually lead her to the very same courtyard where, what do you know, Jesper Fahey is waiting with the Crows’ escape-ride.

Kit Young’s nervous laughter and expressions of relief and disbelief as he watches Alina literally climb into a luggage-trunk on the back of the carriage effortlessly sells the whole scene. As the trio drive off into the night, their heist completed and their mission this close to success, it feels good to be a Crows fan, I’ll tell you that. Could your comfort character have pulled all that off? No, I didn’t think so.

Episode Rating: 10/10

April 26, 2021April 29, 2021

“Shadow And Bone” Episode 4 Review!

**SPOILERS FOR SHADOW AND BONE AHEAD!**

Although Shadow And Bone never pauses to translate the intimidating subtitle of its fourth episode, Otkazat’sya isn’t merely a full mouthful of syllables – it’s also the Ravkan term for any human not gifted with the Grisha ability to manipulate matter. And thus, it’s only fair that this episode shines the spotlight on the best and worst of regular human behavior: our endurance, our ingenuity, our capacity for heroic deeds and unforgivable cruelty (ahem, Matthias). Even though Alina Starkov (Jessie Mei Li) is still the main character, her arc in this episode is masterfully counterbalanced by that of her best friend, Mal Oretsev (Archie Renaux), himself an otkazat’sya.

Yes, this is the episode where the earnestness and humility of Renaux’s performance, combined with some excellent screenwriting, actually forced me to like Mal…the same character I swore up and down I’d hate simply because of how awful he was in the books.

It’s not even that Mal shares equal screentime with Alina, because he doesn’t – but as The Darkling (Ben Barnes) bends his will and effort toward seducing Alina and wrapping her ever more tightly around his finger, who Mal is and what he represents takes clearer shape in both her mind and ours’. The episode does a good job of leading Alina to the reasonable conclusion that Mal has abandoned her, without losing her any audience sympathy in the process even though we can see for ourselves that Mal has been fighting to get back to her in any way he can, and that he would never have intended to hold back her power because he never feared her strength – an impactful deviation from the books.

Mal, in fact, spends the entire episode tracking down the legendary beast known as Morozova’s Stag – a living Amplifier, which can dramatically enhance and focus the power of any Grisha who kills it and possesses its impressive rack of antlers. Shadow And Bone could perhaps have done a better job of portraying Alina’s lifelong spiritual connection to the Stag (it pops up in her dreams and childhood drawings a few times), not to mention Mal’s awareness of that fact, but he only ends up on the Stag’s trail after The Darkling issues an order to find the creature and bring it to the Little Palace – where Alina needs all the help she can get to tap into her Sun-Summoner abilities.

The episode works genuinely hard to show the difficulty of Alina’s training – and, importantly, the ease with which she embraces her power any time she’s near The Darkling, himself a living Amplifier (a fact that was revealed to Alina on the previous episode, only increasing her confusion over what’s a result of her emerging feelings for The Darkling, and what’s entirely his doing). Her entire training with Baghra (Zoë Wanamaker) could easily have been summed up into a single montage, but is wisely spread out over the course of the episode, allowing it to play a more integral part in Alina’s character development as Baghra coaxes her power out of her wholly removed from the influence of either The Darkling or Mal, strengthening her confidence.

But as Baghra’s training intensifies, so too does the irresistible force of The Darkling – who strategically opens up to Alina about his own (mostly falsified) lived experience of oppression; even revealing his true name, Aleksander. The “Darklina” scenes in this episode are brilliantly written, though they wouldn’t work half as well as they do if it weren’t for Mei Li and Barnes’ chemistry, and the undercurrent of romantic – and to an even larger degree, purely sexual – tension that ripples beneath the surface of all their interactions.

By the end of the episode, when Alina sneaks from her room to speak with Aleksander in the map room, and the two come dangerously close to sharing a first passionate kiss, you’ll find yourself rooting for Alina to make her move even as you simultaneously acknowledge that Mal is probably a better option in the long run (something I’d never say of book Mal, who is every bit as possessive and emotionally manipulative as The Darkling). Ben Barnes had fascinating things to say about how much of The Darkling’s attraction to Alina was real, but handling the subject in future seasons of Shadow And Bone is sure to be a tricky tightrope act.

And speaking of tightropes (I promise this will make sense)…let’s turn our attention over to the Crows, who represent what I described earlier in this post as the best of human ingenuity. Without Nina Zenik (Danielle Galligan) around to help them infiltrate the Little Palace, Kaz Brekker (Freddy Carter) is forced to quickly devise a backup plan that involves breaking into the Ravkan Archives: a little warmup for the team’s future heists, the biggest and most daring of which are being reserved for later seasons. Kaz’s teammates Jesper Fahey (Kit Young) and Inej Ghafa (Amita Suman) both get to play a critical role in the heist, particularly Inej – who displays the quiet tenacity and flexibility (both literally and figuratively) that makes her so valuable to the team.

Fans of Six Of Crows know that the popular fan-pairing known as “Kanej” is destined for future seasons of Shadow And Bone, but there are unmistakable hints of the bond between Kaz and Inej in the way they share a deep understanding of the other’s exact movements and motions, acquired from a long partnership on the streets of Ketterdam. In Shadow And Bone, much is made out of their differences – particularly Inej’s reliance on her religious faith to help her cope with trauma and Kaz’s lack of faith because of his trauma – but that only helps to make their shared experiences a more powerful link between the two.

Inej isn’t defined by her pain, however, which is very important: and we see more aspects of her character emerge in this episode. When Kaz decides to infiltrate a traveling circus troupe to get into the Little Palace, Inej is called upon to play the part of a high-flying acrobatic dancer – a clever callback, which casual viewers might miss, to her backstory as a tightrope-walker (told you that reference would make sense) in the books. Jesper adds his sharpshooting precision to the mix, and two of the Crows have themselves an act worthy of Ravka’s upcoming winter fête. Kaz, the drama queen that he is, decides to make his own way to the Palace – brilliantly establishing his distaste for any theatrics but his own.

Beginning to edge towards the outskirts of the story and the limits of my interest, Nina Zenik reappears – only briefly, in the grand scheme of things, but the sequence in which she confronts her captor Matthias Helvar (Calahan Skogman) seems excruciatingly long. The worst of human behavior is on display here, as Matthias trots out the vicious (and these days, all too familiar) rhetoric of a bigoted ideology that’s been brainwashed into him. Shadow And Bone seems like it wants to depict Matthias as conflicted and sympathetic, but his and Nina’s subplot never has enough screentime to achieve that.

But if Shadow And Bone pulled off the impossible and made me like Mal Oretsev, I want to give the showrunners (and Skogman too, though I still don’t think his acting is on the same level as many of his costars) the chance to do the same with Matthias Helvar, as difficult as it may be. All the more reason to officially greenlight season two right about now, Netflix…

Episode Rating: 9/10

April 25, 2021

“Shadow And Bone” Episode 3 Review!

**SPOILERS FOR SHADOW AND BONE AHEAD!**

Despite leaving Ketterdam and the home-turf of our Crows behind, Shadow And Bone‘s third episode is the first to feel like it splits focus almost evenly between the series’ two main storylines, and even slightly favors the Crows: whom we catch up with in West Ravka as they race to kidnap Alina Starkov (Jessie Mei Li) before someone else does and reaps the benefit – while Alina herself basically just wanders around the Little Palace, getting acquainted with various Grisha and having other characters exposit information to her that will be important later in the season.

Alina’s sequences are also nearly identical to the corresponding chunk of Shadow And Bone, the book on which the series is based – which should give you some idea of why that particular book is my least-favorite of Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse novels. They’re far more entertaining in the series thanks to Mei Li’s performance and the lavish production design on display in the Little Palace, but still could have benefited from a little trimming here and there.

Immediately, we start out with Alina narrating a letter to her best friend Mal Oretsev (Archie Renaux), whom she hasn’t had a chance to properly talk to since before entering the Shadow-Fold in episode one. Thankfully, the narration doesn’t completely halt the action in its tracks, but instead bleeds over a montage of Alina being prepared for her audience with the royal family of Ravka by the queen’s small army of servants – helmed by the fan-favorite Tailor, Genya Safin (Daisy Head). Shadow And Bone made the right choice by not explaining every Grisha’s powers upfront – allowing each one to make a big impression when they finally arrive, as Genya so undeniably does with her unique skillset.

Tailors have the ability to subtly alter or “modify” the human body, and Shadow And Bone‘s writing team seem well-aware of how easily that ability could cross over into the realm of problematic beauty standards and social commentary, based on how sparingly and precisely Genya’s powers are actually used – at first only to clean up Alina’s scars and bruises. Her physical appearance is never changed, an arrangement Alina insists upon after one of Genya’s maids makes a racist comment about Alina’s eyes that I feel would be irresponsible of me not to mention, given that some viewers of Asian descent have legitimate problems with this line and other instances of racism against Alina in the series.

As previously noted, the production design is absolutely stunning in all of the Little Palace sequences – many of which were filmed in real-life palaces and museums scattered around Budapest. The distinctive “Tzarpunk” flavor of Bardugo’s novels is on full display during the audience with Ravka’s royal family, whom Alina and The Darkling (Ben Barnes) are called upon to bedazzle with a light-show that’s ultimately more of the pompous pageantry they’re forced to partake in at the king’s behest.

I can’t not mention the fact that, during this sequence, in which Alina is finally welcomed into the ranks of the Grisha and instructed to make herself at home, the camera lingers on her embrace with an unnamed Grisha who is none other than Shadow And Bone‘s author Leigh Bardugo, fittingly appearing in the bright purple kefta of a Grisha Fabrikator – a creator and inventor. As a writer myself, I know it’s every author’s dream to someday experience even a fraction of the joy and wonderment Bardugo must have been feeling in that moment, witnessing her stories and characters come to life so vividly.

Alina’s story then starts to meander a bit. We’re whisked away to Grisha training, which is actually the one thing I’d have liked to see more of – but an embarrassingly quick fight sequence between Alina and Zoya Nazyalensky (Sujaya Dasgupta), her rival for The Darkling’s affection, ends with everyone realizing it would make more sense for Alina to practice using her powers rather than her fists. So she’s transported to another part of the palace grounds, to go meet a mysterious old woman named Baghra (Zoë Wanamaker), who almost immediately dismisses her with a warning to work past her self-doubt and insecurities. Then she goes to dinner, and the Grisha lecture her about not training enough.

Apart from just not being all that interesting, Alina’s story in this episode also interrupts the far more compelling Six Of Crows subplot at extremely awkward moments – leading to some dizzying tonal shifts as we jump from epic Volcra battles in the Shadow-Fold to more slow, uncomfortable, palatial plotting. Landing in West Ravka on the wrong side of the Fold and following the guidance of the suspicious Conductor (Howard Charles), Kaz Brekker (Freddy Carter) and his gang nearly come face-to-face with a character whom they’ll only finally meet in the finale, and who – if the books are to be trusted – will play a major part in all their future storylines: the Irish-accented Grisha Heartrender Nina Zenik (Danielle Galligan), who is supposed to meet them at the edge of the Fold and help them infiltrate the Little Palace.

But although fate intervenes to send Kaz and Nina’s storylines spiraling in opposite directions before they get a chance to meet, we as the audience get to follow both of them simultaneously – as Nina meets and forms a connection with her captor, Fjerdan Matthias Helvar (Calahan Skogman), who will one day become the sixth member of the Crows. Nina’s subplot, unfortunately, is never really given the time and attention it needs to feel essential rather than distracting (and, no offense to Skogman, but I’ve never liked Matthias and Skogman’s performance does nothing to change that) but it’s Nina’s introductory scene – in which she uses her Heartrender abilities to persuade her landlord to let her evade rent for what is clearly not the first time – that gives me hope her role in season two will reflect more of her charismatic personality from the books.

Shadow And Bone, luckily, has fan-favorites to go around: and this is the episode where I think we all fell even deeper in love with Jesper Fahey (Kit Young) – for me, this is the episode where I discovered what I was missing all those times I felt annoyed or even bored by some of his chapters in the Six Of Crows duology. But did Six Of Crows ever feature Jesper effortlessly slaughtering an entire pack of Volcra in the Shadow-Fold while clinging for dear life to an emotional support goat named Milo (unnamed goat)? No, I didn’t think so.

Out of all the fan-favorites introduced or prominently featured in this episode, from Genya to Jesper to Leigh Bardugo herself, it’s Milo who gets the last bleat, because the fandom has already embraced him as an honorary seventh member of the Crows – and honestly, given what we see of our actual sixth member in this episode, I’d be willing to leave open a slot for Milo on the team.

Episode Rating: 8/10

February 26, 2021

“Shadow And Bone” 1st Trailer Needs More Crows

**SPOILERS FOR SHADOW AND BONE AHEAD!**

I like the Six Of Crows duology more than the original Grisha trilogy. I know, I know, real original, right? But as someone who infinitely prefers reading an action-packed heist adventure with a diverse crew of antiheroes to wading through endless chapters of Alina and Mal bickering over literally everything, I’m going to stick with my boring Grishaverse opinion. And thus, it’s no surprise that the first trailer for Netflix’s adaptation of Shadow And Bone didn’t really pique my interest fully, because…there’s a lot of Alina, and a lot of Mal, and while I believe actors Jessie Mei Li and Archie Renaux are probably going to put in the work to try and make their characters engaging and relatable…I’m still not convinced that’s possible yet.

To give credit where credit is due, the Grisha trilogy (the first of multiple series’ by Leigh Bardugo set in the Grishaverse, where magic runs rampant in a gritty late 19th-Century-inspired fantasy world) does incorporate one of my all-time favorite tropes: palace intrigue and political scheming. And the first season of Shadow And Bone, which will adapt the first book in the bestselling trilogy alongside some wholly original stories featuring the Six Of Crows cast, seems to feature just as much palace intrigue as the books – if not more. For those unfamiliar with the premise of the book, Alina Starkov (played by Jessie Mei Li in the Netflix adaptation) starts out a humble orphaned mapmaker before discovering her magical ability to conjure sunlight: a gift that comes in handy when your kingdom is split in half by a demon-infested ocean of inky, uncharted darkness, hindering trade and leaving those trapped behind “The Shadow Fold” struggling. Alina gets recruited into the Grisha, a small army of sorcerers who operate at the upper echelons of high society, all while maneuvering political and religious crises, and a love-triangle involving her best friend Mal and her Grisha partner: the infamous Darkling.

The love-triangle is fairly unpopular in the fandom, with both of Alina’s potential love-interests being widely hated-on for various reasons (the Darkling is a backstabbing tyrant, Mal is…Mal), and it doesn’t feature too heavily in the first trailer for Shadow And Bone, which wisely focuses attention on the series’ spectacular CGI budget and action sequences, some of which seem to be infused with a dose of horror. The catalyst for Shadow And Bone‘s events, Alina’s attempted crossing of the Shadow Fold and the reveal of her powers, is getting a perfect page-to-screen adaptation, by the looks of it – the dreadful silence inside the Fold, the rush of wings as volcra demons amass in the darkness, the suspense, and then the reveal of one monster about to bite a man’s head off from behind: good stuff. Don’t be fooled by the books’ YA rating: the Grisha trilogy and particularly the Six Of Crows duology get really dark (and not just because the Darkling can literally conjure up shadows).

Unfortunately, the trailer just barely squeezes in individual shots of the three main Six Of Crows characters who will be introduced in season one, implying that they and their subplots will not be a primary focus until season two at least. That saddens me greatly, because I already think I’m going to love them: Freddy Carter has won me over with his portrayal of crime lord Kaz Brekker, just from the intensity of his glare and the confidence with which he swings his cane; Kit Young looks radiant and fun as chaotic bisexual sharpshooter Jesper Fahey; and Amita Suman as assassin Inej Ghafa appears to be taking the lethal energy she displayed in her first-look image, and applying it brilliantly to her physical acting. Of the three Crows, she stands out the most – ironically, since her whole storyline revolves around being undetectable. I want her to have epic fight sequences, Netflix! Don’t force me to sit through hours of “Malina” content when I could be watching Inej brutally knife people!

With the series’ in-universe timeline still a confusing mystery and plot details for the Crows’ subplot a secret, I still don’t understand how the two vastly different storylines will intertwine organically – though the showrunners insist there’s a connection. But with the characters of Nina and Mathias still completely absent from the conversation (except for an embarrassingly bad first-look image that conveyed nothing whatsoever of their characters’ rich and unique backstories or personalities), and Wylan Van Eck not appearing in season one, don’t expect any tease of the actual Six Of Crows plot until the season finale, at least.

I feel like Shadow And Bone fans will collectively raise their eyebrows at me if I don’t talk about the Darkling at all, especially given that he’s the series’ main selling-point, but honestly – what is there to say? He’s got fantastic hair, the kind of luscious mane that practically requires a soft breeze to be rippling through it at all times. But Ben Barnes, despite looking and sounding the part, isn’t really radiating the kind of palpable seductive charisma I had anticipated from arguably the only truly iconic character in the Grisha trilogy. I’m willing to believe this is the fault of Netflix’s marketing, though, as it seems reluctant to reveal the Darkling as the series’ main villain.

So while the rest of you are busy digging your trenches in the endless Darklina vs Malina shipping war, I’ll be over here minding my own business (I always preferred Alina’s dynamic with Nikolai anyway, and he won’t be in season one), and happily stanning my Six (well, three, for right now) of Crows.

Trailer Rating: 6.5/10