Much to my chagrin, I’ve been doing more watching science fiction and fantasy shows than writing lately. But, thankfully, I’m back to writing now that these three shows have concluded:
I just finished reading all of Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaworld novels before watching season 2 of Shadow and Bone. If you haven’t read her three Shadow and Bone novels, as well as her two Six of Crows novels, I highly recommend them.
But how do they translate into a Netflix show?
For Season 1, writers, showrunners, producers, or whoever it is that makes these decisions had the brilliant idea to combine the first Shadow and Bones novel with some Six of Crows original prehistory. It worked well.
But I’m not so sure it worked well for season 2.
They combined the last two novels of the Shadow and Bone trilogy with parts from both of the Six of Crows duology. Like I said, I just finished all the novels, so I was aware of the order of the story arcs. Season 2 moved a lot of stuff around from the books. A lot.
And while season 2 wasn’t bad, if felt rushed. A lot of stuff was crammed into eight episodes. It didn’t ruin the show for me, but I was more aware of how much they skimmed over. I wonder if I would have enjoyed season 2 more if I had read the books after watching the show. What worked well for season 1 . . . well, not so well for season 2.
Still, whether you’ve read the books or not, you’ll still enjoy the show. Just have low expectations if you’re the type of viewer who wants faithful adaptations.
Carnival Row wrapped up the show with its second season. And like the first season, it contained gorgeous sound stages and interesting character arcs.
If you’re wondering, yes, they conclude the story with season two. And while season 1 had better pacing, I felt like the last two episodes in season 2 was a “hurry up and wrap up the story since there’s no season 3” situation.
But the story does conclude and some of the characters who didn’t receive as much screen time as they shoudl have in season 1, like Imogen Spurnrose and Tourmaline Larou, got a lot more involved in the story in season 2. All the storylines are brought together in the last few episodes.
This show looks incredibly expensive to make, so I get why it’s over with. But if you’re looking for a good story to follow through with, rewatch season 1 and then watch season 2.
Another show that wrapped up was His Dark Materials. Season three followed the events of the third book, The Amber Spyglass. The Covid epidemic delayed season 3, but it was well worth it. I have to say, I was really impressed with the performances of the show’s two young actors: Dafne Keen as Lyra Silvertongue and Amir Wilson as Will Parry.
One of my favorite, albeit heartbreaking, scenes is from the last book. If you’ve read the books, you probably know which one I’m talking about. I was actually nervous thinking how the show was going to handle and they recreated in even more bittersweet detail. The performances by Keen and Wilson brought tears to my eyes.
I’m definitely going to rewatch all three seasons again later this year. Highly recommended.
Andrew M. Friday 