The first few minutes of episode 1 were posted online just a few days before season 2 landed on Netflix, and managed to cause quite a stir (well, with me anyway). All of the siblings were now in the sixties, but things once again aren’t quite right. War has broken out on the streets of Dallas and there are nukes incoming. They all seemed to have fully embraced and be in control of their powers… and we had another apocalypse on our hands.
When season 2 did arrive, it turns out that those first few minutes weren’t exactly the very first minutes and there was some important information to unpack. Turns out that the team managed to get separated slightly in the timeline, arriving in Dallas at different moments between 1960-1963, and that apocalypse is a potential future that may still happen, providing they can all overcome their issues and band together to put a stop to it. Sound familiar?
Once again, there’s a lot going on this season, with each character having established a new life in the period they arrived in. Diego, probably the weakest character from season 1, is currently in a mental institution, where he forms a relationship with the mysterious Lila. Luther is now fighting in an underground fight club, working for real-life nightclub owner Jack Ruby, Allison is married and involved in an activist group working to change black rights, while Klaus has managed to form a cult! When Five arrives, with a sense of urgency having seen what’s coming, he must try and round up the team to stop the impending end of the world.
As if that wasn’t enough, they also end up investigating a mystery involving their father, Sir Reginald Hargreeves, and the imminent assassination of JFK. You may also remember from season 1 that old man Five had a hand in that moment in history too, just to add further complications into the mix. And on top of that, there are even more assassins sent from the timeline-protecting organisation, The Commission, all hell-bent on taking out the Hargreeves clan.
Season 2 does follow a lot of similar key beats to season 1, but certainly does feel so much tighter this time round, with even more of what made season 1 so great – quickfire banter, dazzlingly frantic action sequences and that killer soundtrack. Despite my initial excitement at the abundance of superpowers on display in that pre-released teaser video, it turns out that it’s still the dysfunctional family dynamic that makes this show such an enjoyable hit. It’s more about the characters, and their bond as a family, than it is about the abilities they possess.
Once again, the finale did not disappoint either – with plenty of action, twists and turns, heartbreak and an amazing cliff-hanger thrown in too. Overall, a very impressive, focused and solid season.
8.3
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Web developer by day, with a movie and TV watchlist that continues to grow as much as my spare time reduces! My favourite movie is Inception and, despite what everyone says, I do not have a man-crush on Tom Cruise.
