Shadow and Bone ep. 7 UNEDITED REACTION (early access)

The line every Grishaverse fan was waiting to hear: "Fine. Make me your Villain." and Ben Barnes delivered it perfectly.

As I understand it from the books (and without giving away spoilers about the plot that will very likely be in future seasons), Merzost is a darker, deeper magic that exists beyond Grisha science. It has a corruptive influence on it's users, and is considered in the books to be actual MAGIC magic (not natural) instead of a science that seems like magic (Grisha powers.) It was studied heavily by the same Grisha who created the amplifiers, Morozova, but was not created by him or named after him. Over the course of his lifetime, Morozova used Merzost to create his powerful amplifier creatures, but at great personal cost to himself and the world around him, and eventually decided it was far too dangerous to be studied. These secrets and concerns about this magic were passed along to Bagrah, who is immortal like Kirigan and was alive at the same time as Morozova. She attempted to impress these dangers to Kirigan, but he was too tempted by the power to be used against his enemies. He studied Morozova's old journals to uncover the secrets the previous Grisha had decided should never be used. In defying these warnings and using it anyway, there were massive unintended consequences (the fold, the volcra) that he was unable to resolve as no light summoner had yet been born. I really love the reaction, as always :) Your attentiveness to the small details are very gratifying to someone who loves the intricate world building of high fantasy concept books, movies and shows. Your conclusions about characters are fascinating both in knowing what you don't (from the books) and in seeing how much you guess correctly. Bravo all round. I wanted to mention just because I know how sympathetic the Darkling can come across with Ben Barns' magnificent acting, he was fully aware that the king was assaulting Genya. There's a short story on Leigh Bardugo's website called "The Tailor" from Geyna's POV, describing the assaults from her childhood into her adulthood and the hardening of her character as she realized her only chance for taking power back in her life was to side the black general. Deff worth a peak if you get a minute between reactions. :) Can't wait for episode 8!

Dia Blue

So what exactly is Merzost?

I really don’t think he even loves Alina in my opinion. And if it’s what ur saying it is, that ain’t love.

As far as Genya goes, you have to understand that she still isn't aware of who Kirigan is and what he truly wants. Most of the Grisha still believe that he is only trying to destroy the fold. There's still no reason for them to resist him because they don't know the background information that Alina and the viewers have. Like I said before, it's kinda like Stockholm Syndrome. It'll become more apparent in the next episode which Grisha do and don't have all of the info. As for Kirigan, I think there is a certain extent at which he believes his own lies. From reading all of the books, I got the impression that he wants power but he has convinced even himself that he is doing it for all of Ravka and the Grisha. Even his love of Alina is more about his not wanting to be alone than genuine affection for her. What is definitely true is that Kirigan does not see himself as the bad guy in any way.

Sean Silence

you guys have such a great understanding of the foreshadowing/themes of this show it's so awesome to see you picking up little clues so quickly! another awesome reaction, loved your thoughts on kirigan's flashback and i'm glad you caught on that it was like a "surge" of merzost that created the fold, it wasn't actually his plan initially. he was just trying to make an army out of the king's army, but he couldn't control it – like his mother said, "the small science feeds us, merzost feeds on us." i think that's such a good line! i'm so excited to see your reaction to the finale and what kirigan's true plan is with the fold!

leila