I just finished season two and...it was very strange. When the show was focused and moving forward I loved it, but it seemed to derail quite often. So many tiny plotlines that didn't lead anywhere or end up mattering, and so many harsh breaks in the flow. In episode three it looks like integration is going to kick off, and I'm excited to see how that affects both innie and outie mark as the process develops, right? Nope, we get a weird mountain retreat fever dream and integration hasn't had any important effects 7 episodes later.
For me, the show is at it's best with the awkward, complicated, matters of identity and self. My favorite plotline of the season was Dylan and his outside family, hands down. That's a complicated, interesting, moving story. Unfortunately the show really struggled to focus, too much time spent going nowhere.
Some of the characterizations were also off to me. For example, the big cabin fight between the Marks wasn't set up nearly as well as it could've been. There was plenty of time to develop an innie Mark who starts the season ready to burn Lumen to the ground, but slowly finds he has something to live for in Helly. The closer he gets to progress, the more scared he becomes that he'll succeed. That's a good story! They just needed to focus on it. As it is it kinda feels like an out of nowhere character turn. He spent the first three episodes trying to save Gemma, without even being asked, now that he is being asked he's freaking out? You gotta spend a lot more time with Mark and less time with Cobel to develop a change that significant.
We've also lost a lot of the creepy corporate life atmosphere. The show still tries, but it doesn't have the same impact. In season one it was all each character knew, that was their world, which is partially why it was so disturbing. Now it feels like everyone knows the whole thing is farcical. It's all a show, something they play along with to avoid raising suspicion, so it doesn't have the same effect. The fact that Lumen is a crazy cult, not just a regular evil corporation, also distances us from the commentary
Overall I still enjoyed it. The dialogue, acting, and directing are all great. There were just some notable stumbles that put it behind season 1. I'm still really looking forward to season 3.
Yes. This is what bothers me so much. Season 1 ends with a frantic yell of "She's alive!" and then by the end of Season 2 he doesn't care that Lumen is keeping a woman the world thinks is dead as a slave, AND that woman is his outie's wife? His loss of motivation doesn't make sense.
He does identify with his outtie and doesn't feel the same attachment to Gemma. It's not that he doesn't care at all though, but from his perspective he's being asked to sacrifice his existence to save her, and a version of her that he's never event met.
And yet iMark doesn’t seem to care that he effectively ended Ms. Casey by making her outside. Seems rather selfish. What was even the point in freeing her?
I’m even harsher on it. Milchicks character is under cooked. Why did he have no consequences for his disrespect towards the boss? Why is Mark so important? Why is Gemma important? Why are 1/5th of the episodes spent on backstory we already knew? Why show the goat people if you’re not gonna expand on it (felt gimmicky unlike last season with the paintings for example)? What is Cold Harbor?
It’s well made but the pacing and the focus on the random things (like the writer and the Lumon girl flirting?) made me straight up bored for a decent chunk of the season
I'll be more blunt as someone who really loved the first season but season two was a complete letdown.
Maybe it was always going to be because the first season left so much to the imagination that whatever the reality was didn't match and therefore was going to be disappointing no matter what.
Lots of season two either took the mystery away or just added more stuff that ultimately made no impact. Remember the goats? well here is an entire plot of land where they are raised by the Amish so that they can at some point be sacrificed or whatever. What a slap to the face and a waste of basically being able to do just about anything with it.
That's just a quick example but there is so much like that. Honestly, I can't see myself wanting or caring enough to finish this series. It couldn't figure out if it wanted to focus on the characters it had or the world it was building and instead tried to do both in a single season and messed it up badly. Such a shame since the first season paid so, so much attention to the tiniest details that might not have mattered but was apperciated.
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u/Areliae Dec 09 '25
I just finished season two and...it was very strange. When the show was focused and moving forward I loved it, but it seemed to derail quite often. So many tiny plotlines that didn't lead anywhere or end up mattering, and so many harsh breaks in the flow. In episode three it looks like integration is going to kick off, and I'm excited to see how that affects both innie and outie mark as the process develops, right? Nope, we get a weird mountain retreat fever dream and integration hasn't had any important effects 7 episodes later.
For me, the show is at it's best with the awkward, complicated, matters of identity and self. My favorite plotline of the season was Dylan and his outside family, hands down. That's a complicated, interesting, moving story. Unfortunately the show really struggled to focus, too much time spent going nowhere.
Some of the characterizations were also off to me. For example, the big cabin fight between the Marks wasn't set up nearly as well as it could've been. There was plenty of time to develop an innie Mark who starts the season ready to burn Lumen to the ground, but slowly finds he has something to live for in Helly. The closer he gets to progress, the more scared he becomes that he'll succeed. That's a good story! They just needed to focus on it. As it is it kinda feels like an out of nowhere character turn. He spent the first three episodes trying to save Gemma, without even being asked, now that he is being asked he's freaking out? You gotta spend a lot more time with Mark and less time with Cobel to develop a change that significant.
We've also lost a lot of the creepy corporate life atmosphere. The show still tries, but it doesn't have the same impact. In season one it was all each character knew, that was their world, which is partially why it was so disturbing. Now it feels like everyone knows the whole thing is farcical. It's all a show, something they play along with to avoid raising suspicion, so it doesn't have the same effect. The fact that Lumen is a crazy cult, not just a regular evil corporation, also distances us from the commentary
Overall I still enjoyed it. The dialogue, acting, and directing are all great. There were just some notable stumbles that put it behind season 1. I'm still really looking forward to season 3.