My thoughts (Fan Creations)

by Coaxkez, Wednesday, March 27, 2024, 07:58 (31 days ago) @ breitzen
edited by Coaxkez, Wednesday, March 27, 2024, 08:35

Just finished the season last night.

It's a definite improvement over Season 1 and, overall, an enjoyable show that I'll still be watching when it returns for Season 3.

But it's not all that it ought to be.

I do not mind the changes to existing lore and am perfectly willing to accept the show as its own separate universe. Going into the season, I made the decision to keep an open mind and not form any expectations based on pre-existing material, so my problems with the show are more fundamental. Simply put, it just feels undercooked. I have to admit that it's a really good sci-fi show overall, but certain characters (e.g. Soren, Kwan, and especially Parangosky) feel sidelined this season. Intriguing subplots are rushed, failing to reach their full potential, and the show seems concerned primarily with getting to the next action set-piece ASAP at the expense of everything else -- a change which I suspect is the result of fan criticism of Season 1.

On a more positive note, while I criticized the show's lack of effective character writing last time around, the writers significantly improved things this time. Both dialogue and characterization were given a huge boost, and while I do feel that certain characters were underutilized, I no longer feel that any of them were poorly written. Halsey, Perez, Soren, and Ackerson were very interesting and well-written, but in particular, I felt that Makee 2.0 was a welcome addition. Apparently, Schreiber lobbied hard for the actress, and I'm glad he did because the character's arc in Season 1 was pretty unsatisfying (and frankly, incomplete). It would have been nice to have gotten some sort of explanation for her survival beyond the cop-out we were given (echoes of "somehow, Palpatine returned")... but hey, yeh can't have everything.

It's a solid B. Cody's comparison to the shows of The CW is an apt one, although I'd personally say it's more like a very high-budget Syfy miniseries. Not quite as cheesy or gaudy, but every bit as "made-for-cable".