Shadow and Bone “The Heart Is an Arrow” Review
Shadow and Bone is finally out and we couldn’t wait to start our roundtable reviews. If you still haven’t started watching the highly anticipated show of the year, check out the books, read our article here and start now! This is Shadow and Bone “The Heart Is an Arrow” Review. Joining me (Rike) on this one are Jen and Dan. Let’s do it!
Shadow and Bone : “The Heart Is an Arrow” Synopsis
Furious over the Sun Summoner, Kirigan (Ben Barnes) hunts for information. Alina (Jessie Mei Li) receives a helping hand when she needs it most. Nina (Danielle Galligan) warms to a Grisha hunter.
In this episode, the adventures of Alina and the Crows begin. But before officially taking off, Alina manages to reunite with Mal (Archie Renaux) and she realises what actually happened at the Little Palace. What do you think of this reunion and the truths discovered?
D: I thought it was a nice little reunion. It was important for the characters, reaffirming their bond and ensuring that the remainder of the season (and future seasons) had an emotional heart to tie it all together.
R: I couldn’t wait to see them reunite. Long overdue. They might have their ups and downs but in the end they’ve got each other’s back no matter what. Orphans of Keramzin. Their bond will never change. Not even with the truth coming out. In fact, this strengthened their bond in some kind of way. Glad that they finally had the chance to talk about what happened and didn’t happen after all. They will always be my personal endgame, no matter what.
J: As you probably have figured by now, I can’t lie but say how my heart has a soft spot for the connection between Alina and Mal, so I was more than happy to see them finally reunite. Like Rike has mentioned, I do think that their time apart and everything that has happened only tightened their bond and made them even stronger together. Surely it’s not always been easy, but they are there for each other and that’s all that matters in the end.
Back at the Little Palace, Alina being gone, the Darkling is having a sort of hard time. One thing that we finally understand though is the reason behind Zoya’s (Sujaya Dasgupta) behaviour towards Alina – jealousy. What do you think of the portrayal of Zoya’s feelings? Could they have been shown another way?
D: The portrayal of Zoya’s feelings was more blatant in the show than in the books, where it was much more subtle (probably because of the 1st person vs 3rd person approach). It is what it is, it’s a more standard approach to things, and a bit predictable.
R: I think they did a pretty good job in showing and revealing Zoya’s feelings. Great result after what we’ve known from the books. Don’t know how they could have shown it in a different way. I’m happy with it in general.
J: I think they’ve managed to show Zoya’s feelings quite well. Like Dan has mentioned, they definitely come off stronger than in the books, however since it is always hard to display feelings and inner thoughts on television, I think they did a good job. That being said, I do wish that they would have given Zoya a few more relatable and personal scenes, to not only make her seem (especially to non-book readers) like the stereotypical “unlikeable jealous asshole”.
POTENTIAL FUTURE SPOILER WARNING! We have a lot of book references in this episode – especially regarding Nina and Matthias (Calahan Skogman), with quotes taken directly off the books. Furthermore, we get a hint about Jesper (Kit Young) being a Grisha, during the fight with Ivan (Simon Sears). Were you surprised or glad to see so many references to the original books or were you expecting something new?
D: Always delighted to have book references. Direct quotes are fantastic, and the little hints at the future of certain character is great. A lovely treat for book fans.
R: I do love the fact that they included references and direct quotes like Dan already mentioned. This makes it some kind of extra special for the people who did read the books. Seeing your favorite line actually becoming a real thing, that’s huge. Especially if your favorite character does it. A whole new level of WOW! Also the fact that we already got to see some future prospects. Kinda anticipating the result but I still do like it.
J: I absolutely loved all the book references and was hoping that it would be like that. I definitely was expecting some lines to be adapted in the series as well, so I honestly would have been disappointed if it wouldn’t have been the case. Definitely a couple WOW! moments indeed!
Talking about books, at the end of the episode we get a scene with the big two of S&B and SOC that doesn’t exist – The Darkling vs Kaz Brekker (Freddy Carter). There have been a lot of contrasting opinions about this scene on the Internet, but what do you think? Did it fairly present who they are or would you have preferred to keep it non-existing?
D: I’m actually really pleased that the scene was there. I thought it was a really fun scene and established both characters well. The Darkling is overly-reliant on his Grisha powers, Kaz is smart and quick-thinking. It was a small confrontation, but a fun one.
R: When I first read the rumor that the both of them will share a scene together I was pretty much excited about it already. Like really excited. It might just have been a short scene and I still don’t quite understand how Kaz disappeared in the blink of an eye, but wow. Guess that’s just another Kaz Brekker masterpiece. Could watch this one over and over again. No lies detected.
J: I absolutely loved that scene. Ever since the rumor, that the two of them will share a scene, I couldn’t wait for that moment to air. Even Though it was only a short interaction, it definitely was worth the wait and fitted both of the characters well.
Your score:
D: 8.5 – some predictable aspects prevented the 9 in an otherwise great episode.
R: Gonna give this one a solid 9. Perfect reunion. Perfect scenes. What else do you need to know?
J: 100/10! My favorite episode! Do I need to say more?
We would like to hear your opinion on the latest Shadow and Bone episode “The Heart Is an Arrow”. Let us know in the comments or via social media, and don’t forget to join us when we are back with another round table review for the next episodes.
PS: You can read our latest review here and our exclusive interview with Angus Castle-Doughty and Andy Burse here.
