Shadow and Bone 1×04 “Otkazat’sya” Review

“Otkazat’sya”—otherwise known as orphans, the abandoned ones. An appropriately title for an episode that showcases the fact that contrary to what Baghra tells Alina, needing people is not a weakness.   Shadow and Bone’s “Otkazat’sya” really looks into the idea of loneliness and how it translates into the communities that are built, along with the bonds that are fortified. It looks into why friendships matter and it looks into why these stories, interwoven with each other work so well on the series because it’s seen through all the characters almost obviously. We talk a lot about how asking for help actually requires great courage,

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Shadow and Bone 1×03 “The Making at the Heart of the World” Review

What is the heart of the world in this universe? What “making” are we talking about? The Fold? Heartrenders? The chemistry between everyone on this show? I don’t know, I never actually figured it out but regardless, I’m here for it. “The Making at the Heart of the World” kicks off with Alina dreaming of a stag (the stag) and when she’s awakened, she’s bombarded with the Little Palace staff, but incoming Genya Safin (Daisy Head), who’s by far one of the easiest characters to love on this series from the moment she graces our screens. The staff continue to

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Shadow and Bone 1×02 “We’re All Someone’s Monster” Review

“We’re All Someone’s Monster” opens up with a flashback to Mal and Alina’s Grisha test indicating that they ran and hid because Alina didn’t want to be separated from him in case she was Grisha, and that’s just precious. We’ll keep saying this, but this friendship is a beautiful thing and so damn pure, it’s a solid way to start the episode and paralleling it with General Kirigan’s (Ben Barnes) introduction as he asks Alina who she is. When Alina can’t say anything more than the fact that she’s a cartographer, Kirigan asks Zoya to explain what happened, which leads

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