vandongenandrew

Big Alien fan here. I really Enjoyed the Fargo show so I was fairly comfortable with Noah Hawly taking this on. I didn't really know what to expect. The first film takes place after this show... so that immediately posed a lot of questions. But fairly quickly the show gives enough details that I think we can infer how this will tie in. But there's still 6 episodes to go so who knows!

What we have seen so far though is pretty good! The themes of the franchise are all here and there's some great world building that I've always been curious about with the alien franchise. The characters are interesting so far. There's plenty of them with some having pretty crazy backstories, if you know you know. There's also plenty of cool alien stuff already happening which is great. I was worried it would take forever for stuff to get going but the show jumped in pretty quick.

Despite that, I would say my only gripe so far is that there isn't really a sense of urgency, like the plot hasn't started yet if that makes sense. Like obviously things are happening and characters are in the heat of things but I don't really know where the story is going. Not in a cool unpredictable way more of like, I'm really engaged yet. I don't feel like I care yet or am being pulled in.

There's great music, sets, costumes, concepts and alien stuff but I don't really feel engaged if that makes sense. It's only had two episodes so I'm not worried or jumping the gun. I figure things will get a bit more engaging as time goes on.

The first two episodes showcased that this show is clearly two different shows being put together and for me it worked for the most part. However this episode the seams are very very clear.

There's a lot of clashing elements here that are thematically disconnected and it really took me out of it. Several characters and scenes in this episode are so out of place or just unnecessary to focus on. There's also a character who appears that made me smile for sure but his inclusion is so out of the blue and does not contribute to what is already going on.

I really really hope the melding of these two different creative visions are more smooth from this point forward.

I didn't get much of the hate for season 1 but I understand a lot of the criticism it received. Yes the characters were a bit much and somewhat inconsistent / and or overly dramatic I admit, and the villains were weak. But I felt there was a decent base to work with and I did appreciate the high stakes.

What season 2 did for me at least was correct a lot of those issues for me. I feel the characters in this season (not all of them) were given A LOT more depth which helped me relate to them and care for them more. Some characters do get the short end tho and the season has some acing issues. That being said I do think the season is a step up from season 1

In season one I felt that Maria was a little, well, useless? I just largely couldn't understand the emphasis on her outside being Tera and Emmanuel's daughter. She served her purpose for those two but never felt much like a character herself, her only trait really being anger. Here they devout a decent amount of time to her and give some depth to her anger that results in some of the best scenes in this season.

Annette had a great backstory in season but similar to Maria, just felt like her only trait was anger. Similar again to Maria, they flesh out her magic, beliefs and self doubts that result in a satisfying character arc. She also has a lot better chemistry / connection with the other characters to the point of it being an essential plot point that builds well and has genuine impact in the story.

Drolta was easily one of the weakest characters of season 1. She looked like a character from Cyberpunk and acted like a sassy teenager. I was really confused by the choices made for her character. This season I was surprised at how much backstory they gave her and how much it shifted the view of the character as a benefit. It was like watching a different character almost. She went from shallow to deep and for me it really worked and saved the character. I also appreciated the parallels made between her and Emmanuel, regarding faith and devotion. That's all I'll say about that.

Ritcher, Alucard, and Juste don't have as much to do but their chemistry is fun to watch. All three do have growth although not as exponential, but they didn't feel shallow to me personally.

I think the story overall was better paced this time around with more development taking place for more characters. There are still some slow moments but I was engaged most of the time.

I know this is a given but the action is great. Animation looked stunning and I appreciate all the details that went tink the fights especially given how hard those must be to animate.

It's looking like a season 3 is on the horizon. There are a few characters I think still need some genuine fleshing out and if you've seen the season you probably know who. I'm excited to see where the story goes.

Season 2, definitely steps in the right direction.