It’s finally here!

I absolutely love this show. I know it’s highly divergent from the books (which I’ve started reading) but Season 1 is the most enjoyable TV I’ve watched since The Expanse’s first and second seasons. (Also featuring Jared Harris…)

I enjoyed so many aspects of the first season but it does seem likely that they weren’t to everyone’s taste. The complicated plot, setting being tens of thousands of years in the future in a fully populated galaxy (which still feels quite large due to plot driven travel constraints), narrative structure (featuring time skips of 35 and 130+ years even), as well as the concept of psychohistory, the concept of cycles of history, the extended world building that wasn’t afraid to ponder on certain aspects (those first two episodes were incredible)… all things I highly appreciate but do understand are niche kinds of interests. To get them all in one show is mindblowing to me.

So yeah I have high hopes for season 2 but am attempting to temper my expectations.

I thought the first episode of season 2 was pretty good. I immediately noticed the pacing has changed. It feels completely different to the first season. Not sure if this trend will hold, but I wouldn’t be surprised, the show runner has articulated this in interviews as one thing he intended to change. Another thing he mentioned was adding elements of humour in an attempt to give the setting some levity. I understand the setting and plot are pretty heavy and deal with heady topics but the humour felt unwelcome and inappropriate to me.

The one exception to the humour feeling wrong was the new Brother Day (Cleon XVII was it?) - it makes sense for this character as he seems to have a cynical streak and in general is significantly more impulsive, decadent and less interested in actually ruling than the Cleons of the first season. The opening sex scene disgusted me lol, but it also fits - even though he’s got access to mind-wiped concubines, it’s the transgressive things that get him off.

The theme of empire in decline is omnipresent and I somewhat feel like they beat the viewer over the head to convey it. Ah well. It certainly was cool and fitting for this new edgelord Cleon to fight off genetically engineered assassins naked - doesn’t seem like the kind of thing that would’ve been happening in the setting of the first season.

More Hari characterisation was unexpected but definitely welcome. I thought what we were seeing was his consciousness in the Vault at first. Also, I’m liking the Gaal/Salvor dynamic much more than Salvor’s plot last season, but that’s not too hard. Maybe it’s just how the character is written but Salvor rants a lot, says a lot of words to convey not much meaning. I guess that aspect of what they call “representation” is one that resonates with me directly, looking back at the length of this post haha.

Hopeful for a renewal announcement soon!

I still enjoy the Empire and Hari parts, but I can’t really watch the Gaal and Salvor parts and I usually just skip past it.

Definitely early to judge, but as someone who saw potential in season 1 but thought it had some big problems nothing so far is changing my outlook on the show as a whole.

A couple things that struck me:

• The Gaal/Salvor plot continues to lack direction. I have no idea why they had to contrive the plot to bring them together or what they are going to be doing this season. And that is in spite of the fact that the writers clearly tried to explain it in the scene where they were looking at the predicted timeline diverging, which felt really generic to me. They haven’t done a great job of giving these giant stakes personal impacts for the characters.
• Really not a fan of the faceless enemies threatening empire, or the whole genetic degeneration. I think it would have been a lot more interesting if the main focus was the idea of the Cleons changing in spite of their identical genetics. I did like the color blindness plot last season, just not how it ended up being due to the wider genetic manipulation scheme. The Empire plot line was at its best when the focus was on politics and the human and philosophical nature of the genetic dynasty.
• The Queen plot already feels rushed. I don’t understand how Dusk and Demerzel would have even let it progress this far, it feels like something they would have quickly nipped in the bud. I feel like we skipped a step in seeing the Queen’s faction growing in power and Empire feeling threatened by it.

Again, I think it’s too early to judge. This series has such a strong foundation (ha) in the politics and philosophy of a collapsing empire and ideas like the genetic dynasty and scientific prophecy. I really hope the series is able to center its focus on those aspects this season rather than the generic sci-fi elements that started showing up last season.