Calling all Grishers! The second season of Netflix’s hit Fantasy show “Shadow and Bone” is finally out after almost a year of anticipation.

Where do I start with this season? It was chaotic, emotional and extremely entertaining.

We finally got to see the character backstories of the Crows, Baghra, Genya and David, and some iconic book moments from “Siege and Storm,” “Ruin and Rising” and even “Crooked Kingdom” made an appearance in the show.

While many fans are divided by the writers adapting the last two books from the “Shadow and Bone” trilogy — “Siege and Storm” and “Ruin and Rising” — into one season, I personally think it worked. The last two books in the trilogy were slow in my opinion, so putting them in one season upped the stakes in terms of action and plot.

I do think the pacing was a bit off. It might’ve helped if some scenes were flipped, but others could’ve been completely rewritten.

I think the Alina/Darkling/Shadow Fold plot was done fairly well, considering how most of the fandom agrees they’re the weakest of the trilogy. 

That Genya scene with the Darkling definitely should’ve been given at least one more episode to add to the tension and drama. I think they rushed Genya’s plot a little bit. In the book, Genya is virtually hidden until that moment. 

I also think Zoya deserved more screen time with the Alina plot, not so much with the Crows. She’s not introduced to the world of Six of Crows until much later in the series, and I think the writers could’ve waited to integrate her with our favorite band of thieves.

Speaking of, let’s talk about the Crows. Once again, they stole the season for me. I spent more time pining for Kanej scenes and Wylan’s character growth than I did for the Sun Summoner plot, even though the show is called “Shadow and Bone.” 

With rumors of a “Six of Crows” spin-off on the horizon, I was worried about how the Crows would be integrated into the season. While I wished they waited on some of the “Crooked Kingdom” scenes, I understand why they made the changes they did.

We finally got full-on book Crow action. The best part of the series hands down is the backstories of the Crows. (I’m biased, because the Crows are the best part of the show).

Book Kaz Brekker came straight off the pages and onto my screen, and I have never been happier. Getting his backstory so soon was something so awesome. Kaz’s actor, Freddy Carter, killed it in every scene, but especially the backstory scenes.

Jesper’s backstory was a huge shock for me. I didn’t expect the showrunners to go through with not only Kaz’s backstory, but also Jesper’s. Our fun loving gunslinger got his time to shine this season, and I’m thrilled. 

Overall, I enjoyed this season. While there were lots of changes to the show, it made sense considering the fact that there were several books the writers decided to cover. I have to give respect to the costumes and the actors, especially.

Rating: 3.5/5