I’m just thinking about how Ben Barnes performance is so good because he actually took it seriously. I feel like it’s so easy for men who act in these teen romance adaptations to completely dismiss the story and it’s value. Like even though I love Robert Pattinson in Twilight, he hated the books. And even if that isn’t obvious in his performance, it’s still there. Ben Barnes clearly mined that text and fully understood everything about the Darkling and it shows every time he’s on screen. This man is the new standard and that’s why his performance is one of the best that’s ever existed in an adapted work.