Question 1

Is Shadow and Bone woke?

Accepted Answer

Shadow and Bone has a woke score of 79/100, which means it is heavily driven by woke themes. Shadow and Bone is a Netflix fantasy series based on Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse books. It follows orphan mapmaker Alina Starkov, who discovers she is the Sun Summoner with the rare power to control light and potentially destroy the Fold, a deadly wall of darkness that splits her country of Ravka and fuels endless war. Across two seasons the story widens to include a crew of criminals and spies known as the Crows as they pursue heists, alliances, and survival amid magic, betrayal, and political maneuvering before the series was canceled. The adaptation deliberately changed the lead character’s ethnicity from white in the books to half-Shu (Asian-coded) and added repeated scenes of racial slurs, microaggressions, and discrimination against her that do not exist in the source novels, while also featuring visible bisexual and gay supporting characters whose relationships are treated as normal parts of the world.

Question 2

Is there DEI in Shadow and Bone?

Accepted Answer

The biggest factors in our score are Representation / casting choices, Legacy character or canon changes, Identity-driven story themes. In a world cleaved in two by a massive barrier of perpetual darkness, a young soldier uncovers a power that might finally unite her country. But as she struggles to hone her power, dangerous forces plot against her. Thugs, thieves, assassins and saints are at war now, and it will take more than magic to survive.

Shadow and Bone

Factors & Ratings

Summary

Main Cast

Director & Crew