Shadow and Bone “Otkazat’sya” Review
Shadow and Bone is finally out and we couldn’t wait to start our roundtable reviews. If you still haven’t started watched the highly anticipated show of the year, check out the books, read our article here and start now! This is Shadow and Bone “Otkazat’sya” Review.
Q: At the beginning of the episode we see Alina and Mal writing letters to each other, which they will never receive. At the end of the episode there’s a drastic change though – Aline decided to get the scar, linking her to Mal, removed by Genya. Why do you think she acted so “quickly”?
D – well, it may seem quick to the viewers but “in-the-show-time” it’s been quite a while. From her perspective, she’s been sending letters she thinks are guaranteed to arrive, and hasn’t received a response. She feels isolated and ignored by the person she cares about more than anyone else, so she retaliates by removing her one physical tie to Mal. Mal is sending letters but isn’t sure whether they’re getting through because of the mission he’s on, so he isn’t quite so rash to act.
M – It totally is an understandable choice, because she feels abandoned. It definitely isn’t rushed – the show made it look like it happened only after a few days but we know it was about months. She wanted to start a new life where she felt understood and not alone anymore.
J – I agree with Dan. It may seem quick in the show but in “reality” it’s been a while. Even though I personally was saddened by her choice of removing the scar, however I can understand it, since she feels like the person she cares most about is ignoring her and just wants to move on before getting hurt even more. That being said, i personally wish i could have just hugged Alina through the screen and tell her that he’s writing to her as well! My soul was aching during those scenes, not gonna lie!
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R- Like Dan and Jen already mentioned, she’s definitely disappointed and kinda hurt that the one person she trusted the most acts like that after everything they’ve been through together as a team. I didn’t like watching this scene at all, gotta admit that. Broke my Malina heart for sure, but I do understand and respect her decision and why she’s doing it. We know the truth from everything we’ve seen, but Alina doesn’t after all. She doesn’t wanna be reminded of her best friend breaking her heart like that every day while looking at the scar.
Q: The reveal of General Kirigan’s true name was a scene that surprised a lot of readers. Do you agree with the choice of revealing it so soon?
D – I don’t. I think revealing it so early doesn’t bring much to the show, but detracts from some potentially very poignant scenes later on. Several other characters are aware of his name, in the show, as well. Which also is a huge detractor from future events. It’s the one thing I was particularly unhappy with in the show.
M – It probably was the only scene I would completely delete from the whole show. It’s disappointing to see something that was so valuable in the books, thrown around as basic knowledge. It was designed for a specific moment for a reason and they shouldn’t have changed it.
J – I don’t agree with it either. I really liked how they did the name reveal in the book and especially compared to that it felt very rushed and anti-climactic in the show. There aren’t a lot of things that bothered me in the show, but that definitely was one of them.
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R- I don’t agree at all. What the hell? It’s like they’ve known each other for such a short time and he’s like: “Hey, you wanna know my real name which should have been a secret for quite some time? Alright, here you go.” It just doesn’t seem right to me. I was expecting it to be handled a lot differently to be honest, but it is how it is, right? It’s definitely not the end of the world but I still didn’t like it at all. Nope.
Q: On a crows note, we finally see them in action by trying to get into the Little Palace during the Winter Fete. Did you like the plan and its actual development?
D – yes. Loved it. Love the Crows, so happy to see them all in action. Scheming face, how I love to see it. It was great to see the plan forming, with everyone playing their part. A certain Mr Brekker accounting for possibilities only hinted at to the audience, too. Brilliant stuff.
M – Yes, absolutely. They schemed it perfectly as I would have expected and I loved how it was executed.
J – I think it was amazing as well. I personally am a huge fan of heist stuff in general, so seeing the crows in action definitely did not disappoint.
R- I’m always here for a bit of crows action. It’s fun to watch every single time. They never seem to disappoint and their plans are always genius. Okay, let’s say they’re geniuses most of the time. It’s never wise to exaggerate, right?
Q: This particular episode contains a lot of flashbacks on Alina’s past, which helped her in managing her power and, supposedly, in helping her make a decision about her life. Do you think they could have shown the same intention by adding more scenes taking place in the current time frame?
D – I did feel like the episode was a little flashback heavy. I think the scenes were important, but perhaps they could have been spread over the previous episode as well, to make it feel less crammed in. I do think as a narrative device in this instance, they served their purpose well though. A bit more spacing would have made it more ideal, for me.
M – I don’t mind a couple of flashbacks, but in this episode they were kinda confusing. If anything, I would have preferred a whole episode dedicated to the past instead of so many alternated to the current time frame.
J – I have to disagree, but then again as mentioned in previous roundtables, I am a huge fan of the flashbacks and think they add a lot to the story and give us more insight on what happened before. I think the flashbacks were necessary to understand where Alina is coming from and how she and Mal are connected.
R- Gimme all the flashback scenes you have. That’s kind of my motto. I love all of them to be honest and like Dan already said, they did serve their purpose. In my opinion there can’t be too many flashback scenes, but that’s just me. I do understand that it can be too much for some people, especially if it’s all happening in one episode.
Overall Rating:
D – 8. The point it loses for General Kirrigan’s name reveal is regained by the awesomeness of the Crows.
M – 8 because even though the name thing, I loved the dynamic between Alina and the Darkling, as well as the Winter Fete.
J – 8 as well.
R- Let’s go with a solid 8 for multiple reasons.
