Me: *reads excellent thread by @northgalis liveblogging book!Shadow & Bone*

Also me: Hmmm let's watch Netflix!Shadow & Bone for the only interesting character in it

Also also me: *has BA in Russian Studies, has so far been unimpressed with the visibly un-researched hodgepodge of Slavic words/concepts in the series*

Me: I'm definitely not going to be distracted by these REALLY BAD MISUSES OF WORDS/NAMES

2 minutes in and I'm distracted by the choice of the name Grisha to describe wizards um what

(Grisha is one of many nicknames for the given name Grigori)

I get a strong vibe that this story would be different if it had been better researched and wasn't, like, just British characters in vaguely-Soviet/Imperial cosplay

It's hard to describe but you get a different feel from Russian-made vs Anglophone-made media

Okay we've had like 10 characters introduced in the last 20 minutes and none of them is the Darkling, I am disappointed

And yet HOW is it it that every single one of these characters has more motivation than the supposed protagonist? I keep seeing flickers of it but she's barely acting on it - she has nothing but her attachment to Mal and yet we're supposed to identify with her I-

I've gone to work for the day so I will keep liveblogging later, BUT

I think it says something that on my 20-minute commute, the characters I was thinking about were the ones doing that high-risk heist

Not, yknow, the passive protag and her crew-cut puppy man from the promos