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[personal profile] windjamm
 Okay I'm going to explore using cuts!! are you ready??

AHA

Okay, that seems successful. For the uninitiated, if you view this post from my main page and not click into it, the spoilers will be hidden behind a tumblr-like cut. (I'm not sure on the timeline but it's my reference point sry) If you cannot see the spoiler warning here, make sure you can see it before proceeding. 

So, overall I didn't like this season as much as the first, but the Crows content was enough for me to see it through to the end. And, by the end of the season, I decided that if there IS a spinoff show about the crows I'll watch it. Hell, even if there's a Shadow and Bone 3 with them I'll watch it. 

Now, for the nitty gritty spoiler stuff.

I simply COULD NOT care about the Alina/Mal/Darkling stuff all season. It felt like they had too little crows content and too much grisha book. I'm not sure how things go in the Grisha books because I couldn't get into them, even trying to do so after watching Season 1. Book Alina is just not my speed. And this Alina WAS my speed first season, but all of her emotions feel so obvious and all the emotional beats around her felt like writing outline sketches rather than realized moments. Her arriving on the ship and getting pulled into the group of grisha diaspora was lovely in concept, but it felt like everyone just went, "ah yes, we are also diaspora. You're one of us now." Which is fair!! It just didn't feel particularly impactful to me, someone who loves stories like these and is particularly weak to them.

Likewise, I was THRILLED to have Nina with the Crows, but it felt like she joined with a showstopper moment, but it fell kind of flat to me. Like I watched a cutscene with no music or ate a laboriously cooked and underseasoned meal. Wylan showing up was exciting, but it felt like a retcon as well in a way that didn't feel great.

However, there were moments that really shone for me. I think the Kaz/Inej stuff worked so well for me. Amita did a great job and that "I will have you without your armor, Kaz Brekker" line hit me with full force. The Jordie stuff didn't really work for me, but Pekka Rollins WAS a terrible enough character on screen for me to just LOVE the undoing of him scene. Beautiful work. It felt so good and Freddy's Kaz is SO fuckin good. I think he really sold all the parts that were important, his vengeance, his understanding, and the knowledge that one of these was a mask? Beautiful.

The moment when the Mal stuff hit the hardest was literally the end. The nickname thing I thought was really well seeded and it was a great realization because of that. His refusal to be with Alina felt... well. It's INTERESTING. If I had time it would probably have hit me good. 

Ultimately I just want more crows content and I think a spinoff series would be a great time for it to breathe. Weirdly I think giving more time to the grisha stuff but NOT ENOUGH really hurt this season. It truly should've been a spinoff after s1, I think. Sad to see Ben Barnes and Jessie Mei Li used in a way I found pretty bland. 

Ultimately this isn't REALLY a review, but I don't have another thing to tag these so shrug.

Anyway! more of these when I finish Things.

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