The highly anticipated Netflix adaptation of Leigh Bardugo’s ‘Shadow & Bone’ was released this last Friday, the 23rd, and it did not disappoint. Ranking #1 in the U.S today, ‘Shadow & Bone’ has proved that it does not only belong in the realm of “book fandoms”, but in the world of pop culture as well.
Hesitation
The bar for fandom centered book to screen adaptations is notoriously low after series such as ‘The Mortal Instruments’, ‘Percy Jackson’, and ‘Divergent’— also known as the original ‘big three’ in the young-adult world, flopped and disappointed expectant fans everywhere.
It appears that writers tend to forget that the books they’re adapting did so well because of their original plot as they change key details and beloved characters.
Thankfully, Leigh Bardugo was involved during the entire process as she helped the writers adapt her beloved world into live-action.
Pictured above is Leigh Bardugo on the set of ‘Shadow & Bone’ where she makes a cameo appearance as a Grisha within the Little Palace.
One particular scene that really made me realize just how incredibly far this series has come takes place in Episode 3— Leigh Bardugo is the first of the ‘Grisha’ that welcomes protagonist Alina Starkov to their ranks. Seeing this author embrace the physical representation of her character brought genuine tears to my eyes; a moment so many bibliophiles anticipated for so long, and it is more than we ever expected.
Change for the Better
Of course some details will shift as the story unfolds on the screen, yet ‘Shadow & Bone’ makes every change valuable and integral.
Originally, Alina Starkov’s character never had a specified race in the books, she was only described as “an ugly little thing” too thin to be in the 36th regiment— casting made an incredible decision to change the physical appearance of Alina Starkov in this adaptation to add a deeper representation to the bias and prejudice within the world of ‘Shadow & Bone’.
In the adaptation, Alina was made to be “half Shu”, not looking anything like the white-dominant spaces she’s grown up in.
Leigh Bardugo explains that “they wanted to add a little more adversity to Alina’s upbringing. Not only is she an orphan, but she’s an orphan that looks like the enemy, so she was really ostracized.”
As this story takes place in a country at war with nearly all its borders, Alina’s appearance adds to her belief that she could never be anything other than a simple map-maker— and oh boy was everyone wrong.
In ‘Shadow & Bone’ Alina is proud to be ‘Shu’, never letting anyone talk down to her or doubt her simply because she looks different. As we’ve seen before, representation matters so much; during a time where there is an increase in AAPI hate awareness in the United States, I believe that Alina’s strength and heroism will go on to inspire young girls everywhere.
When Worlds Collide
The world of ‘Shadow & Bone’ had a definite challenge ahead of them as they aimed to combine separate book series, ‘Six of Crows’ and ‘Shadow & Bone’ into the same fictional world into one Netflix series.
But, oh my god… did they deliver.
I was initially hesitant to see how the worlds would combine to show the best of these dynamic characters without compromising the separate plots from each series, and quite honestly the work around they found was genius. Some key details had to be altered, such as the initial timeline of the characters in relation to each other, but the interactions were so beautiful I remembered how badly I wanted these separate groups of protagonists to meet.
Watching Kaz Brekker (Freddy Carter) go toe-to-toe with The Darkling (Benjamin Barnes) at the tail end of the series was watching two worlds collide; fantastical and terrifying. Seeing Inej Ghafa (Amita Suman) meet one of the saints she so faithfully believes in, Alina (Jesse Mei Li), was another moment that brought tears to my eyes.
Final Thoughts
To see these characters that are so beloved portrayed so accurately restored my faith in adaptations— it has also given me the strongest desire to reread the series for the third time!
‘Shadow & Bone’ sets the standard for how book to screen adaptations should be handled. It was truly unbelievable how accurate the transition from page to live-action was, down to the colors of the “keftas” the Grisha wore. This adaptation is what fans hoped for, it does not disappoint.
The Beat @APU 