#i would probably choose the show version because his book counterpart is a sexist piece of shit and generally disgusts me

[aleksanderscult]

Which Mal Oretsev do you prefer, between the one in the series and the one in the books as a whole ? In itself, they are both flat and bland characters for me. However, I will say that since the book version has flaws, it looks a bit more interesting. I think that the Mal Oretsev of the books would have been a good convincing character if he had undergone a real evolution away from Alina, just as Alina would have been a great character with a real evolution away from Mal.

Honestly book!Mal set the bar so low that show!Mal gave a good impression whenever he showed up on screen. But his show counterpart was, nevertheless, so unbelievably boring. And for some reason he didn't seem to me like he showed or felt any emotions (no shade to Archie here of course, that was purely the director's and writers' fault).

I seriously don't know which one I would prefer.

His book counterpart is so unlikable, mean, an attention seeker (especially from Alina) a bigot and, generally, an asshole. And if you take all that out, he's still boring. So the way his character was written, he was destined to fall flat. I would find it more interesting if Bardugo had given more attention and depth to his PTSD and the psychological trauma he got from his first mission to the North. Not that this would excuse his behavior to Alina, but Leigh could explore how Mal went from a careless boy to a man that experienced his own kind of horrors and matured suddenly and violently. Maybe the author could send him away from Alina (just like you said) and show us his life in the First Army and the wars he would have to fight in.

It's actually funny how Alina and Mal could shine as characters better if they were apart. While with Alarkling the opposite happened. Whenever they were together they just clicked.

#tw: ptsd #i would probably choose the show version because his book counterpart is a sexist piece of shit and generally disgusts me #I love interesting characters and Mal was never one #Leigh kept focusing on the wrong things. Especially on the whole “Malina love story” instead of developing those characters #anti mal oretsev #anti malina #grishaverse #shadow and bone #alina starkov