'Shadow and Bone' Season 2 Review: A Magnificent Beginning That Wastes Its Potential
The return to the Grishaverse isn't all that we hoped for.
In Shadow and Bone Season 2: Alina Starkov is on the run. A beacon of hope to some and a suspected traitor to others, she’s determined to bring down the Shadow Fold and save Ravka from ruin. But General Kirigan has returned to finish what he started. Backed by a terrifying new army of seemingly indestructible shadow monsters and fearsome new Grisha recruits, Kirigan is more dangerous than ever.
In Season 2, the series delivers once again, amping up both aspects of Season 1 that made it successful and growing the series into more than just a Game of Thrones and Harry Potter successor — but something entirely new itself.
The first season of the show completed all the work. It introduced the Ravka universe, which was split in half by a mysterious, dark cloud filled with deadly animals. It introduced the Grisha, those endowed with magical talents such as metallurgy, healing, and the control of elements. Formerly a lowly cartographer, Alina Starkov (Jessie Mei Li) is discovered to be the legendary Sun Summoner, and Kirigan, also known as The Darkling, is at odds with her abilities due to this (Ben Barnes, perfecting his brooding game).
Alina is on the run with Mal (Archic Renaux), her best friend and constant companion, and Season 2 continues up where Season 1 left off. As they try to escape the enemies they've made, they set out on a far larger adventure in search of "amplifiers" to increase Alina's sun powers. An intriguing connection to Alina's history as a cartographer is made when cuts to a map are used to illustrate this kingdom-hopping.
These map framing shots, however, serve as more than just a recurring theme from Alina's past; they also serve as a clever solution to the show's largest problem. This series' action is now dispersed among a number of completely independent narratives. Alina and Mal are searching for amplifiers in one plot with Nikolai Lantsov (the lovely Patrick Gibson), the book's much-anticipated rogueish pirate prince. In another, The Darkling makes an effort to rebuild his strength following a terrible setback that left him with some awesome supervillain facial scars. The Crows gang plans theft after heist in yet another plot.
Though these plotlines eventually do intersect, there’s no unifying theme for each episode across the series, so the result is a soap-opera-style hodgepodge of stories. It’s the same issue Game of Thrones ran into pretty much instantly, and it’s nothing the show could have avoided — it’s simply part and parcel with telling an epic tale.
Nonetheless, while Shadow and Bone may have unintentionally adopted a soap opera format, it does it very purposefully with romance cliches. This series isn't afraid to lean on the Teenage romance a little harder than Season 1 when Mal and Alina hire a boat and discover there is just one bed.
A entire harbor's worth of ships are there, including ones that are engaged for practical reasons, friends-turned-lovers, destined lovers, dark-cloud-and-sunny-days lovers, and lovers that have been together for a long time. The weird mental connection between Alina and the Darkling, which screams Rey and Kylo, is not even mentioned.
It’s fortuitous that this season covers the search for amplifiers, because every element of Shadow and Bone Season 2 turns up the volume. Magic is now more important, action is more heartracing, stakes are higher, and losses are more (but not always) permanent. It’s also clear there’s still room to turn things up to 11 — the series ends with a terrifying cliffhanger that changes everything.
Shadow and Bone may be growing up, but it’s not in a go-to-college-do-your-taxes way. Instead, it’s showing self-awareness in its own adolescence, admitting that it can handle serious matters but also embracing its own love for romantic tension and smooching.
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Silver Screen Magic with Mae West
American actress and singer Mae West became a popular film actress during the Great Depression. She started entertaining in vaudeville, then performed on Broadway, and finally went to Hollywood. She signed up with Paramount Pictures and made her debut in the 1932 film “Night After Night.” She also starred in musicals, comedies, and crime dramas. The American Film Institute named her one of the best classic Hollywood actresses.
By Rasma Raisters3 days ago in Geeks
Twitter Outage
For millions of users around the world, Twitter—now known as X—is more than just a social media platform. It’s a real-time news source, a communication tool, and a digital town square. So when a Twitter outage occurs, confusion spreads quickly. Users rush to search questions like “is Twitter down?”, “is X down right now?”, or “why is X not working?” hoping for clarity. In recent years, X outages have become highly visible events, often trending across other platforms within minutes. Whether the issue lasts a few minutes or several hours, a Twitter down situation highlights how deeply embedded the platform is in daily online life. When Twitter Goes Down: What Users Experience During a typical Twitter down incident, users may encounter several problems at once. Timelines stop refreshing, posts fail to load, and notifications disappear. Some users can open the app but see blank feeds, while others are completely locked out. These moments spark a flood of searches like “is Twitter down right now?” and “Twitter not working.” As branding has shifted, the same frustration now appears under newer searches such as “is X down?”, “X down?”, or “X is down.” The name may have changed, but user expectations remain the same: instant access and real-time updates. The Role of X Down Detectors and Status Tools When users suspect an outage, many turn to tools like X down detector or Twitter down detector websites. These platforms collect real-time reports from users and visualize spikes in complaints. A sudden surge often confirms that the issue isn’t isolated. People also search for Twitter status updates, hoping for official confirmation. While X occasionally posts updates during major outages, users often rely on external sources first—especially when the platform itself isn’t accessible. Is X.com Down or Something Else? One of the most common questions during an outage is “is x.com down?” While it may appear that the entire platform is unavailable, the underlying cause can vary. Sometimes the issue affects only certain regions, mobile apps, or specific features like posting or direct messages. In other cases, users notice that third-party integrations fail. This leads to additional searches such as “X not working” or “is X down?” as people try to determine whether the problem lies with their device, internet connection, or the platform itself. Cloudflare and Large-Scale Outages Occasionally, outages are linked to infrastructure providers rather than X directly. Cloudflare, a major content delivery and security service used by many large websites, has been associated with widespread disruptions across the internet. During a Cloudflare outage, multiple platforms can experience downtime simultaneously. When this happens, searches for “Cloudflare outage” often rise alongside “Twitter is down.” These events show how interconnected modern platforms are and how a single failure point can affect millions of users at once. Grok Down: A New Kind of Concern With the introduction of AI-powered features, outages now extend beyond basic posting and browsing. Some users have reported instances of Grok down during broader X outages. When Grok, the platform’s AI assistant, stops responding, it adds another layer of frustration—especially for users who rely on it for research, summaries, or creative tasks. As X continues to expand its feature set, future outages may impact different services independently, making it harder to quickly understand what exactly is broken. Why Twitter Outages Feel So Disruptive Unlike many platforms, X thrives on immediacy. It’s often the first place people go during breaking news, global events, or emergencies. When Twitter is down, users lose access to real-time conversations and firsthand updates. This is why even short outages trigger widespread concern. Questions like “is Twitter down?” or “is X down right now?” aren’t just about inconvenience—they reflect a sudden loss of connection to the global conversation. How Users Cope When X Is Down When an X outage occurs, users often migrate temporarily to other platforms to confirm the issue or share updates. Ironically, people frequently use those platforms to say that Twitter is unavailable. In the meantime, down-detector sites, tech forums, and news outlets become the primary sources of information. For creators, journalists, and businesses, downtime can disrupt workflows and audience engagement. Scheduling posts, responding to trending topics, or managing customer communication becomes impossible until service is restored. What Outages Reveal About Digital Dependence Every major Twitter outage serves as a reminder of how dependent modern communication has become on a few centralized platforms. Whether the search term is “Twitter down?” or “X down?”, the concern is universal. While most outages are resolved relatively quickly, their impact lingers. They raise questions about platform stability, transparency, and the importance of having alternative channels for communication. Final Thoughts A Twitter outage—or X outage—is rarely just a technical hiccup. It’s a moment that exposes how essential the platform has become for news, discussion, and connection. From searches like “is Twitter down right now?” to monitoring X down detector reports, users instinctively seek reassurance and answers.
By Saboor Brohi about 10 hours ago in Geeks
Comments (1)
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