After a near two-year hiatus, Netflix’s “Shadow and Bone” is back for its second season — and the hit show has already claimed the number one spot on the platform’s most popular shows. 

The show is based on two of Leigh Bardugo’s popular fantasy series, “Shadow and Bone” and “Six of Crows.” The large cast includes Ben Barnes, Jessie Mei Lei, Archie Renaux, Freddy Carter, Amita Suman, Kit Young and many others. 

Bardugo’s first series, “Shadow and Bone” takes place in the mythical country of Ravka that is torn in half by a field of darkness that holds dangerous creatures. The story begins when an ordinary girl discovers she has the power to summon the sun, which is extremely rare and can destroy the darkness that’s loomed over Ravka for centuries.

After that series finished, Bardugo released the “Six of Crows” duology that centers around six misfits called the Crows. In a country called Ketterdam, they come together to perform a heist, many years after the events of “Shadow and Bone.” The show combined both of these stories together.

This season picked off right where the last ended with our sun-summoner Alina escaping the villain, who they call the Darkling, with her best friend Mal. The show wasted no time in jumping into the action. It’s a different pace from the slow burn first season.

But this season took a messy turn when the show’s creators tried to mash together the storylines from Bardugo’s book series’. It was a disservice to both the complex narrative and also the characters, that ultimately left the 10-episode season feeling rushed and unfinished. In a feeble attempt to combine both, the creators lost the impact of the plot each written series initially had. 

It was the chemistry between the characters that salvaged the show. Viewers can feel the connection between the actors, especially with the Crows. The six misfits were the stand-out of this season. Their scenes were refreshing amidst the other storylines. 

Two stand-out performances this season were Freddy Carter as Kaz Brekker and Daisy Head as Genya Safin. This season brought forth very traumatic and serious events of their past to the forefront of the character’s storylines. The actors did a fantastic job at really portraying the PTSD both of them were experiencing, in an authentic way.

Some other pros from this season were the fight scenes, especially in the final episode, and the humor. Amongst all the seriousness of both storylines, the bits of humor they included didn’t feel cheesy and worked to give the audience a break amidst an action-packed season. 

For die-hard fans of the books, the various ways the series diverts from the originals may be off-putting. But as a standalone series, “Shadow and Bone” is satisfying the fantasy quota on TV. Its world-building and strong characters are what make it stand out, especially this season.