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Caught up on Season 2 this past week. Still love this show. If anything, I think I might have liked this season even better than season 2. Extended, spoiler-y thoughts continue…
Although Dorian’s story has felt disconnected (poor Angelique… I did want to believe that Dorian might genuinely feel for her but that’s not really who he is) I’m glad to see everything is coming together.
I would tend to agree about the theory that maybe Dorian and Lilly will be the villains next year. Although, to be honest I find it confusing that Lilly makes the same offer to both Calaban/John and Dorian, where they will rule together. Unless, of course, she’s just playing one of them or both of them. It wouldn’t surprise me if she didn’t have much interest in having someone by her side.
Can I just say… what they’ve done with Brona is probably the best turnaround of a character ever. I mean, I enjoyed her well enough (though the accent was rough) the first season. And now it’s easier to see the long game at work, here. Season 1 basically feels like an origin story for Lilly. One that makes me, at least, root for her. Even if she does end up a “villain” next season. That wouldn’t be as powerful if we hadn’t seen the groundwork laid in season 1. And I was really surprised by how much she was aware, apparently, of her past.
Vanessa is, of course, still the best character on the show. But I do think it’s amazing how much all the characters have grown so that when Ethan and Vanessa aren’t in an episode, it’s every bit as fascinating. I was happy that Sir Malcolm was able to break free of Poole’s spell on his own. If any character has gotten a bit of a short shrift this season, it’s probably his. But he’s still had some great scenes, and I think in a series like this it’s natural for some characters to fall towards the back of the stage at times.
Some of my favorite scenes have been the deepening of friendships between them. As dark as things get, when Vanessa and Ethan can laugh with each other, or Vanessa and Victor small, human moments with each other… I love that. I loved that Lyle was brought into the fold even more substantially. I kind of fear for him going into the finale, though. Speaking of fearing for someone… they can’t kill Sembene! His friendship with Ethan has been great, but I wanted more of that.
I actually love Calaban/John Clare as a character. He’s very much like a child, despite his intellect. He’s prone to a child’s rages and entitlements. There are times when it’s hard to remember why he hates Victor so much, because we didn’t see much of it. And I think we as the audience tend to really like Victor. But his rage is not unwarranted. The fact that Lilly so wonderfully put him in his place, though, was amazing. I kind of wonder if he’s not going anywhere soon. They might wrap up his confinement this season, but it was such a long build-up (and not a mysterious one, to the audience… I mean, they were pretty clear what was going on from the start) to have it resolve by the end of the season. That being said, they did resolve the Pinkerton guy’s story pretty quickly, didn’t they?
Finally, a note about Madame Kahli/Poole…. what a great villain for the season! I love her over the top castle of evil! The design of witches were pretty cool, too. Add in the creepy puppet/dolls…. well, it’s been a lot of fun and they’ve been formidable foes.
