Oh my God, that was (a) terrible on any measure and (b) an enormous disappointment after the first very good of a little flawed series. Did Jane Campion really work on this?
The script and direction were laughable - ludicrous conceits, multiple coincidences, inconsistent storylines, appalling lines. And that despite having really difficult, under explored and important topics to work with, in the form of prostitution and illegal surrogacy.
The acting was just as bad. I'm glad I enjoyed Elizabeth Moss so much in Handmaid's Tale and Nicole Kidman so much in Big Little Lies, because their performances in this mess made both look like the hammiest of thespians. The other actors did nothing to save it, with some of the Miranda scenes being laugh out loud excruciating.
And as a relatively small complaint, there was the damage done to the first series, especially the vandalism done to Johnno's character. Partly that came from using a different actor who was nothing like the original but largely the ridiculous reworking of his character. And what the hell was Robin doing, becoming a loyal member of the Mitcham Clan? Seriously?
I really enjoyed the first series, and I would happily acknowledge that there were a few bits in the second series that were genuinely original (some of the brothel scenes, for example), but I'm just going to have to cordon off the appalling second series to prevent it contaminating my thoughts of that earlier work.
