whew.
In this case, exceptionally
late, but considering how long it will be until the show returns, I don’t feel
too bad.
The Eighties
Horror-Action-Nostalgia train continued on full bore. Adding in Sean Astin and Paul Riser to Winona Rider's "I was there" Eighties awesomeness definitely enhanced that ride, but all the other new characters also matched the "time period
kid movie" meets Stephen King vibe.
And a lot of crazy,
spooky stuff happened…
Um…
I guess it was too long
ago, as I’m having a bigger problem than usual forming coherent thoughts about
it.
I do know that the
character arcs were handled particularly well, and seeing many of the
individuals grow and change throughout the season was cool. (Especially Steve.)
I'm hoping to see Will
get one next season. Based on the interviews the actor is a pretty cool kid and
he’s spent most of two seasons missing or unconscious.
I was originally in with
the group that didn't like the “Eleven in the City” episode, for cutting into
the main narrative. However, after seeing the making of show, where the brothers explain it was
to homage other types of Eighties films that had urban settings they couldn't reference otherwise I appreciated
it more.
The ending was
definitely an improvement over the first season's. It still left a few things
open to continue but had much more closure.
Last thoughts:
Additional plugs for
Dungeons and Dragons are always welcome.
I’m convinced Dustin’s
Winter Ball outfit was a deliberate shout out to Buckaroo Banzai.
Woo!
Woo!
The adventures of this
dark and cynical corner of the Marvel Cinematic universe continued.
Luckily, the excellent writing, direction, cinematography and performances continued as well.
I guess that’s why the
show was still compelling and enjoyable, even though the few characters who were
likable in season one shifted into darker unpalatable places along this season's journey.
Krysten Ritter took us
further into her character’s world and mind, carrying the show admirably.
The first season focused
on Killgrave’s mind control forcing people into bad situations. This season was
more about a person’s own choices putting them into those undesired situations.
Two spoilery thoughts:
Avert your eyes, people
slower than me at watching stuff.
1) It's about time for Trish to be getting her powers. Maybe
we’ll get to see one of the real, original, comic book Defenders in a Netflix series.
2) David Tennant playing Killgrave as a remorseless sociopath with mind control powers- Completely
Terrifying.
David Tennant playing the
hallucination of Killgrave representing Jessica’s self doubt- Completely
Hysterical.
My daughter discovered
this French/ Korean (possibly Japanese/ Italian too) super hero in high school
series in Peru, for maximum internationalness.
It does exactly what
Stan Lee set out to do with Spider-man, making the point of reference character
for the audience the main super hero instead of just a sidekick.
It also handles the
“drama” of high school without getting annoying about it. One of the chief ways it does that is the
villains being “Akumatized” versions of the normal characters, exaggerating
their fears and flaws into amusingly over the top bad guys.
Season two opens the
crazy throttle even wider, which is impressive for a show that went with Mr. Pigeon less than a quarter of the way into the opening year. (Dear Lord, The Owl. Hoo Hoo Hoooooo-boy! What is it with this show and bird people?)
Granted, nothing is as
flat out nuts as the musical Christmas episode with its evil singing Santa, but the mythology is growing
with each story, and there’s still half the second season that hasn't been
released yet.
No comments:
Post a Comment