I was a little surprised to see this show return for a second season and I was also a little surprised to see that the media yet again gave it hype – praising it by yet again by comparing it to The Wire and claiming it had stepped up its game from the previous season. I took this very much with a pinch of salt but did enjoy the first season enough to watch it anyway. As with the first season, the media vastly oversold it and perhaps did damage to what is a decent enough drama but certainly doesn't offer anything of the depth or complexity of The Wire (or even shows below that standard).
We pick up in the aftermath of the previous season and find Dushane making moves in the drug game while others conspire against him and the murder of the previous season starts to loom over him and his gang. It starts out with a very serious gritty tone and it did make me think that it would be patient, complex and realistic but very quickly this all goes out the window. Characters are introduced, moved into position, used and then dropped in a way that feels rushed and artificial; the most obvious example is the sexy lawyer Rhianna (no, really) who goes from hardnosed lawyer, to gangster moll to disgusted rejection in about 6 scenes. This is typical of the pace of the show and I'm not sure why it was given only 4 episodes to deliver because it makes this sort of pace understandable.
The content of the show is disappointing from a reality point of view but the story is still reasonably OK. It has pace (which adds even if it also detracts) and it generally has a good tough energy and grit to it that does engage. It reaches too far in my opinion and I think it loses some of its shock value by not taking the big steps (the manner of the conclusion is the best example) but it does still work. The lack of substance does add o the feel of posturing though, so I can understand if it doesn't work for many. The cast are a mixed bag – they do the grit well but the material is quite superficial for them to work with. Walters and Robinson I liked even if they are pretty basic characters while the supporting cast mostly do decent jobs. All of them deserve more substance than they get though.
This second season of this show was a surprise but the delivery wasn't because it does more of the same. The media may have claimed more grit and depth but in reality it is just a solid drama with slick delivery but not much under the hood when it all comes down to it. If it does return for a third season I hope it is given more time and more motivation to do more of impact, but I'm not sure I'd bother to give it another try.
