*****SPOILERS*****
Positives
The
Shu Han saint was amazing.
As
a Durast, she could control metal. This was how she could control blood (much
to Jes’ amazement). That was a great detail.
She
had a butterfly headpiece which, considering she had the same butterflies in
her garden, was an excellent touch. Her fighting skills were beautiful to
watch.
Jes
asks her, ‘Is that a body?’ She replies, ‘My first husband. Terrible person.
Adequate table.’ That’s my favourite line of the series!
There
were many great visuals.
The
animation, for starters. Whenever there was a transition between the drawn map
into live action was really nicely animated.Also, the title screen for each
episode was distinct. Even though each had its own identity, it was clear via
the style that they were related. That was good.
The
male half Shu Han’s fight scene with the four grisha was epic. The
choreographer was clearly skilled.
Kirigan
has a trio of amplified grisha. Their attacks were very creative (especially
compared with the basic blasts that other grisha stick with). That was great to
watch.
When
Alina collapses the Fold, a bee wonders in. life comes where there’s been none
was a beautiful detail.
Just
like the last series, this one was funny.
The
prince was hilarious. ‘Given all the royal inbreeding, being a bastard is a
point in my favour.’ He gives Alina a ring and says, ‘When you wear it, when
you punch me you will take out my eye. And I’d like you to. To wear it, not
punch me.’
Nina
wants the Fjerdan out of jail and someone asks, ‘that Fjerdan slab of fur?’ I
think ‘slab of fur’ is my new favourite description for a hairy person.
Nina
notes that Kaz has feelings for Anej and, seeing everyone’s looks, says, ‘Oh,
was I not meant to say that out loud?’
Jes
asks if the hat Inej is wearing is his. She replies he hates that hat. So Jes
puts it on with a smile then almost instantly replies, ‘You’re right, I hate
that hat.’
I
love that Nina just kept on eating in Shu Han. Every shot she was eating
something new which had me giggling.
Bagra
said her mum called Bagra one of her father’s abominations. Alina tells Bagra
she’s wrong to which Bagra replies, ‘She was right. Haven’t you been paying
attention?’
When
the bomb boy uses his bomb to dissipate one of Kirigan’s shadow beasts, Jes
yells, ‘My man! Wait, we haven’t put a label on us yet.’ Giggle.
Negatives
A
lot goes wrong and unravels in regards to Mal being the Firebird.
When
Bagra tells Mal that he is the firebird, she says he needs to sacrifice himself
on Alina’s blade so that he can become her amplifier. So Mal knew he needed to
die and was determined to do so. But Mal knew Alina could’ve tamed the Stag
because he was there and watched her almost succeed. So Mal should at least
have had some hope that he didn’t have to die. He’s always been a positive
character so he should have clung onto that positive hope.
Mal
could track the Stag and the Seawhip because he was a descendent of the
Firebird. Great. But Bagra says this is why Mal could hear Alina (which is why
he moved orphanages until he got to Alina’s). But Alina was neither created by
Bagra’s father (like the three amplifiers were) nor a descendent of Bagra’s
father. How then does the explanation apply to her?
Alina
tells Nicolai that Mal is the Firebird. She then makes a big deal out of how if
she’d stopped going after the amplifiers she’d never know (so she wouldn’t have
to make the choice). But her not knowing that Mal is the Firebird would only
have led to the same results as her choosing not to kill Mal. So it makes no
difference.
Twice
there were instances of behaviour being out of character.
Kirigan
moves the Fold to cover the fort Alina and co are in. Volcra start attacking
the soldiers and Alina does nothing, even though she knows her light sends the
beasts packing. Of course, she saves Mal when he’s taken, but no matter how
much she loves him, he shouldn’t be the exception. Her inaction doesn’t match
her personality.
Kirigan’s
amplified grisha were mourning the death of their fire friend. During this, Kaz
and co stopped using their bombs on the grisha. Why? They were distracted and,
considering they were super dangerous, why wouldn’t smart Kaz make the most of
the advantage he’d just been given? That goes against his character.
There
were two instances of bad visuals.
Kirigan
does the dark cut and it looks like trees and ground collapse into the earth.
His follows said he just destroyed the camp. So I had to rewind it and the
animation didn’t look like a camp. I could vaguely make it out because it was
paused and I knew a camp is what I should be seeing. The trees that were
standing outside the sunken area looked exactly like the ‘tents’ in the ‘camp’.
So the brief glimpse we got, combined with the poor animation, was troublesome.
Nicolai’s
crown had me chortling. It was pathetic and tiny. In some regards, it made
sense for the costume department to not spend lots on the crown: it wasn’t on
screen for long and it wasn’t for the main character, so why bother? But when
something is part of the closing scenes of an entire series, it leaves a
lasting impression: something like this should be funded well.
There
was a lack of consistency in a few areas.
A
lot is made out of Peckham controlling the police. Yet once Kaz has bested him,
they come rushing in to arrest him. This doesn’t make sense. Maybe Kaz had them
waiting in the sidelines, but that would have required him to persuade the
police that he would succeed against Peckham. Even if this were the case, at
least one police officer would have reported back to Peckham’s men about the
operation.
Nina
says that people can be brought back alive if their heart’s been stopped for a
little while. The Durast David says he can fuse Mal’s bone with Alina. So if
Mal’s killed, Alina gets amplified by Mal; then Nina can bring him back alive.
After she briefly stops his heart. But in the first series, it says only the
person that kills something can be amplified by it, so as Nina’s the one that
would stop Mal’s heart, only Nina could be amplified by Mal.
Nina
was taken by a shadow beast yet it didn’t kill her. Considering the shadow
beasts killed everyone they encountered (bar those being peaceful with Kirigan
and the cause), why was Nina unharmed? This made no sense.
When
Mal’s back alive, he knows he’s no longer a tracker. Considering his tracking
abilities was because he could sense Bagra’s father’s creations or descendents
and there weren’t any left, he should have realised he wasn’t a tracker any
more long ago. As Mal was drawn to Alina because of the tracking, he worried
that their love was destiny, not choice. This really bothers him so he leaves
and, if he comes back, he knows it’s his choice.
Questionable
When
Peckham got on his knees to beg for his son’s life, his men looked disgusted.
Sure,
we’ve seen Peckham and his people be brutal. But do none of them have kids of
their own? Statistically, some would have children so they should have been
sympathetic to Peckham’s distress.
Although
statistics aren’t a guarantee. Plus Peckham could only hired unattached men who
lack ties with anyone outside his organisation.
Someone
says ‘He’s your king’ to which the prince replies, ‘Not until the coronation.’
My
knee-jerk reaction was that no, that’s not how that works (mainly because loads
of people think that’s how it works in the UK). In the UK, the crown prince(ss)
becomes the monarch immediately after the previous monarch’s death. The
coronation is just a ritual formality where the nobles can swear loyalty in
person.
However,
loads of titles in the world aren’t official until they’re bestowed upon the
individual, so there’s no reason why this couldn’t be the case for a monarch.
Whether the author bases this on a misunderstanding of what a coronation is in
Europe or if it’s based on worldbuilding, I don’t know.
Impactful
There
were a few small things that could be easily missed but are strong if caught.
Bagra’s
last words, as she’s dying in her son’s arms, are, ‘Stupid boy.’ In her dying
breath, she decided to tell off her adult son! Then Kirigan was actually upset
because his mother was dead (completely unexpected). So his mother’s last words
expressing her disappointment in him over her love for him must have really
hurt.
Kaz
gives his staff to Nicolai who has a wounded leg. Nicolai is surprised because
he thought Kaz needed it, but Kaz replied, ‘I’ve got more experience with
pain.’ He didn’t mean it to be but that’s an upsetting thing to hear.
At
one point, Mal says the only thing he has to offer Alina is the fire bird. So
Mal feels useless and Alina fights for their friendship. Yes, she wants their
romance too, but it definitely feels like she’s fighting to keep her friend.
Then it turns out Mal is the fire bird himself so his sentence was deep with
meaning (even if he wasn’t aware of it at the time).
At
Nicolai and Alina’s coronation, a Fjerdan heartrender starts killing everyone
after taking a substance.
Alina
uses the cut to kill the heartrender but it’s a shadow cut, not a light cut. So
that’s worrying. Was part of Kirigan still in Alina? Considering Nicolai had
one of Kirigan’s shadow beast inside him, maybe Kirigan isn’t as dead as
everyone thought he was?
Fjerdans
hunt down grisha religiously so them not only keeping a grisha alive but then
giving it superpowers is bizarre. However, someone using something they hate
for their own gain is realistic.
All-in-all,
Series Two was a success. It followed on nicely from the first series, building
upon it and expanding into the wider world of the Grishaverse. Bomb boy joining
Kaz and co was a great addition to the team. I’m excited to see what comes
next.
