The highly anticipated second season of Shadow and Bone is right around the corner (March 16!) and we’re finally getting some new footage. After the sneak preview images a few months ago and the excellent New York Comic Con panel, my hype for this fantasy series is at an all time high. Shadow and Bone, based on the trilogy by Leigh Bardugo (with a dash of the sequel duology Six of Crows), is easy to watch and understand, elevating its YA roots into a series that’s delightfully fun and full of characters that you love and love to hate.
The show follows Alina Starkov, a grisha (mage) on the run from the evil General Kirigan — an ageless wizard who hopes to take over the country of Ravka with the help of an army of shadow-monsters. Alina and her beau, Mal (one of the best things this series did was turn Mal into a likable character; he is genuinely one of the best parts of the show) have to team up with the bastard prince of Ravka in order to find a magic amplifier that will allow her to close the Fold — the dark source of Kirigan’s power.
We’ve also got the Crows, a group of heisty young adults with debts over their heads and targets on their back. As they attempt to go after a mystery drug that amplifies magic, but also leaves the magician weakened and possibly dead, they’ve got to get a whole new team together.
I am the target audience for this show and I’m eating it up. The effects are good, the characters look like they’ve grown, and the more we see of Ketterdam and the Crows the happier I’ll be. The action is looking better than ever, Ben Barnes (Kirigan) is still very hot, and we get to see Prince Nikolai in person, my favourite disaster boy.
All episodes of Shadow and Bone season two will be available March 17 on Netflix.