Watched season 1 back when it was first airing, but never got around to season 2. People seem to hate it but I can’t quite tell if that’s because it wasn’t up to the standard of season 1 or if it was just bad TV.
Should I skip it and go straight to season 3? Or is it worth watching on its own merits?
It may not be as bad as made out to be but neither season 2 & 3 can escape the shadow of the first season. The first captured something that I’m still not 100% sure I can put my finger on, it was like watching ghost/haunting docu specials on a cool night in October, eerie in a way that you felt like you were watching the discovery of something big and deeply terrifying.
I would say give the others a shot and make up your own mind, but I’m not a fan of either
Everything about season one still stands out to me as an anomaly. Just this incredible show that dropped out of nowhere and the magic couldn’t be recreated again.
Well said, fully agree.
I happened to come out mostly enjoying 2 & 3 (3 more), tho both fared much better on second watches.
S1 truly stands alone, to be fair against most filmed entertainment, not just subsequent seasons!
It wasn’t bad. It’s just cursed to be forever compared to its predecessor, which obviously it can never live up to. If it was released as a different and unrelated neo-noir series, I think it would get good ratings. If you can set aside any biases and comparing it to season 1, I think you’ll enjoy it. The main cast was pretty good. You can’t go wrong with Colin Farrell. Some people hated Vince Vaughn’s acting, but if you put it under the lens of someone who is a try-hard gangster trying to make himself look more intelligent and smart than he really is, I think it makes sense.
it’s an anthology series, which, even if people understood before getting into it, could understandably be difficult to really separate oneself while viewing. think about another creator you like. Nolan, Spielberg, whatever. which of their works do you like best? does memento deserve criticism just because you liked interstellar more? or dunkirk? critique for sure, but that’s just to continue to refine the origin of your personal enjoyment of each piece of work. they are by definition of anthology different works.
s1 is masterful. s2 is still as good as the best of shows made these days. same with s3. and looking forward to s4.
and really agree with the VV comment. was this guy for real or just a try hard? for me it’s just fine when an actor’s performance matches their character regardless of if it’s genuinely good or…their ability fits the character traits. still entertainment to me.
Now that there is enough distance from S1 I might give it a watch!
Didn’t think season 2 was bad at all, it isn’t great like the first and the third is a bit better than it, but it’s still better than most tv shows
I had very high expectations after season 1 that season 2 just didn’t live up to. The story was nowhere near as engaging to me, and there was a element of mysticism in the first season that made it highly intriguing. It’s like they tried to capture a bit of that in season 2, but it was ultimately a let down. It was good in it’s own right, and I probably would have even really liked it as a different tv series, but it just can’t compare to the first season. Season 3 is much better than season 2 in that regard, but still lives in the shadow of the original.
My suggestion is to just rewatch season 01, act like it was the only season, and live happily ever after.
But you’d miss on Season 3 that way, and that’s the best one out of all of them!
It would have been fine if they’d either removed Vince Vaughn or made him the main story.
He was acting like he just saw Jeremy irons in dungeons and dragons and thought he was being too subtle. He had 0 awareness that there were other actors in the show, he made every scene a Shakespeare’s soliloquy about how intense he was.
That was the problem, everyone was acting it 15/10 intense, and you can’t have every character be s1 rusty, woody actually did a great job as the straight man keeping it from devolving into a huge mess.
I found season 2 very memorable but season 1 was much better. Season 3 was quite good too.
I must be an outlier because I found the conclusion of season one to be a huge letdown. To be sure the build up was great, but that ending was so predictable and disappointing that I haven’t bothered with subsequent seasons.
Not as much of a let down as season eight of GoT, but it still tainted the whole season and show for me.
Same for Band Of Brothers and the Pacific. Shame.
I watched half of season two and just couldn’t keep going, I found it very boring. I ended up picking back up on the series when season three came back and I really enjoyed it.
Season 2 wasn’t bad. Even season 1 doesn’t measure up to the idea of season 1. I tried to rewatch it but couldn’t get far. The dialogue is kind of cringe. I enjoyed it once, but it didn’t go anywhere too interesting and in hindsight the self important dialogue isn’t earned.
It has individual good moments but I think it’s problem is that it tried to tackle too many plot lines all at once without all of them feeling totally connected.
If it was just about the vinci corruption or just about Vince Vaughns mob, or just about the dealings with the girls being taken to the parties, it would have been a much stronger show. Or just drop one of the storylines and find stronger connections between them. The ensemble cast is good, the forced romance was pretty bad.
The biggest problem in my opinion, and echoed by many others, is that every main character is trying to be Rust. Extremely smart, depressed and just way too philosophical about everything. There was no straight man to cut through the highbrow musings, so every character felt majorly up their own ass. Woody harrelsons character was an important grounding point.
Season 3 goes a different direction and is much stronger for it. It feels closer to season 1 but different enough so it doesn’t feel like it’s retreading old ground.
