Season 2: Blood, Gore, We Want Some More!

[Philbert]

On 12/25/2017 at 4:19 PM, snowwhyte said:

I do tend to think the writers are making this up as they go along. Its been nearly two seasons and I don't know what the ultimate goal is. What do the more organized vampires want? What is Vanessa's purpose? Is it the story of humankind fighting back against vampires to restore civilization? Is it more of a character based tale of a woman accepting her gifts and embracing her role as saviour of humanity? I know we're not meant to have all the answers but I definitely feel we should have more of a sense of what the show is after two seasons.

 

If this show suffers from anything, it's really poor pacing. I have a feeling that we are going to get a lot more information...in the final episode-like we did in S1. I thought this episode was serviceable. It introduced new characters, killed at least one more off (I am still not sure what to think about Phil's possible death) and left hints that Vanessa might be gone for good. I'm not sure I buy that. I know a lot of people hate Vanessa and want to see her gone. I'm not sure the writers are willing to do that but we'll see. I just wish these episodes would flow together a bit more organically. I'm not sure what's achieved by splitting them into multiple groups and then just showing one group per episode.  I still enjoy the show, don't get me wrong. I just think it should be moving at a faster pace than it has been.

[CaptainTightpants]

My first reaction to the season 2 finale is: Ha Ha Dimitri got punked! My second reaction was to watch through my fingers because that scene was absolutely gruesome. They took that one right out of Game of Thrones and it didn't lose any impact! A totally deserved death though, and given how fucking creepy Dimitri was I'm deeply glad that we won't have to see him next season.

Real weird choice for the writers to focus so much on flashbacks for the vampires and the search for the Elder though. They just dumped a load of exposition on us and more tortuously convoluted vampire mythology. But the vampires are definitely the weakest link in the show so far, so an odd choice to showcase for the finale I thought. 

Vanessa doesn't show up until the very last 2 seconds and has no lines. I'm not sure what this means for Kelly Overton going forward. It can't be a good sign when you are supposed to be the show's lead and you are absent from half of the season's episodes can it?

On the other hand it does look like they are going full-on batshit crazy for next season. So that is something. But the reason I started watching was more for humanity surviving in a post-vampocalypse world. If we are going to go on an epic Tolkien type journey I'm not sure that will hold my interest. 

If Mama Van Helsing is actually dead then that is a real waste of an interesting character! And the actress was really delivering her role. This show could certainly use more seasoned performers, so I hope that she sticks around. The dynamic between her and Scarlett was believable without being Disney. 

The one scene that added some humour was when TinyVanessa knocks Harrison on his evil ass. I did enjoy that one quite a bit!

I never thought that I could feel sorry for Scab, but I kind of did. He had it rough as a human. Even though I still find the character really irritating. 

[snowwhyte]

I did not enjoy that at all. They took everything I dislike most about this show and shoved it all into the season finale. I do not find the vampires interesting and didn't need back story for them. Maybe I could see why a bit of back story would be useful for Dimitri but then they killed him so even that seemed a waste of time. 

The only bit I found intriguing was the elder drinking from Vanessa and her eye colour changing. If they had dragged out the question of Vanessa's survival any more I would have been annoyed. 

They ended a very mixed season on a very low note.

[loki567]

At this point, I think it's confirmed that Missy Peregrym has been cast as the new lead of the show. It's just strange because usually they kill off the old main character. But it doesn't look like Vanessa's going anywhere so she's sticking around awkwardly like a fart at a funeral. I still maintain that Kelly Overton is not that bad but she's gotten almost zero character development in the past two years. She can't act when she's given no writing.  

I don't know. I'll check out the show next season but I'm close to checking out. On the whole, I feel like season two was a pretty big disappointment. The show works alright when it's a TWD-substitute and falls at virtually everything else it does. I'm glad Dimitri's dead as that's one less boring character. I think they need to get most of the cast into a single storyline. Also more Axel. Can't go wrong with more Axel. 

[snowwhyte]

I don't mind Vanessa Overtones although I don't necessarily think she is charismatic enough to lead a show. My main Issue has always been the character of Vanessa and how she was written. 

Scarlett came in and seemed like a breath of fresh air. She was tough and cool and didn't have a lost child story dragging her down. They gave her some back story and a love interest to expand her character beyond cool ninja. So far she works for me but I do worry that the writers are going to make her too similar to Vanessa and ruin her.

When Scarlett shot that recently turned guy in the head and quipped about him not being her friend that seemed like a red flag. Yeah, that guy wasn't her friend but he was friends with the people who took them in and the were obviously upset.  If she felt she couldn't try to turn the guy she at least would have shown some compassion for people who had lost a friend. 

If Scarlett now has control over the elder I worry about how that power will effect her. I think either she or Vanessa will end up on the vampire side next season although it will probably be Vanessa.

[CaptainTightpants]

6 hours ago, loki567 said:

It's just strange because usually they kill off the old main character

 

3 hours ago, snowwhyte said:

I think either she or Vanessa will end up on the vampire side next season although it will probably be Vanessa.

I've always said that Vanessa was not the hero of this story. Even after everything that she has seen and done she seems to only care about the well-being of about 4 or 5 people. And she does tend to think very short term. 

So here is what I am thinking. Between the bullet to the head and being bitten by the Elder, Vanessa goes full Darth Vader and is the main antagonist for the next season. I actually quite like this scenario. It gives Kelly Overton something different to do, and I think would fall more in line with her acting ability. Sadly this will probably mean that Sam and Mohamad were kept around to be her posse of minions. Which would be tiresome because Sam has run his course for me, but still MILES better than Dimitri. 

Then we get Scarlett and Axel with Doc and Julius as the plucky good guys. I really enjoy this grouping, especially when everybody is consistently characterized. So no more Scarlett shooting blameless people in the head for the sake of a good one-liner. And I hope that Axel gets his pile of KitKats before more shit drops. 

This is assuming they everyone doesn't get lured to their own murders by Callie-the-evil-tween. The more I consider it the more I think Callie is probably psycho. I think they will probably go with the idea that she has seen so much that she has turned into a Reaver (Browncoat reference there). And that she is basically a mini-Sam with long hair and a sad story. 

Basically I just hope they stick to the main cast and not to a whole new evil empire that I don't really have an interest in. One thing I was very happy with in the finale is that it looks like the Elder went and massacred pretty much everyone who was living at the Mount Evil base. Except Harrison of course, who is probably on his way to kidnap Scarlett. 

[snowwhyte]

6 minutes ago, CaptainTightpants said:

 

So here is what I am thinking. Between the bullet to the head and being bitten by the Elder, Vanessa goes full Darth Vader and is the main antagonist for the next season. I actually quite like this scenario. It gives Kelly Overton something different to do, and I think would fall more in line with her acting ability. Sadly this will probably mean that Sam and Mohamad were kept around to be her posse of minions. Which would be tiresome because Sam has run his course for me, but still MILES better than Dimitri. 

Then we get Scarlett and Axel with Doc and Julius as the plucky good guys. I really enjoy this grouping, especially when everybody is consistently characterized. So no more Scarlett shooting blameless people in the head for the sake of a good one-liner. And I hope that Axel gets his pile of KitKats before more shit drops.

I'm on board with that idea but I usually have ideas for how I want this show to go and it rarely happens. I just read that Kelly Overton is pregnant and that is why she was sidelined this season. They could still make the show more of an ensemble though.  Your idea would allow her to remain a lead but still give more focus to the characters we prefer. 

[loki567]

If Kelly Overton was pregnant, that could definitely explain some things. It would make sense as in an action show like this that it would be virtually impossible to hide a pregnancy so they just keep Vanessa off-screen. And depending when the writers found out in the production schedule, it might have forced some hasty rewrites. Maybe certain storylines were dragged on longer than they were expected (Axel as a vamp, Sam's torture of the kids) and some storylines were cut short (Vanessa's vampire kid). 

I wouldn't be shocked if Missy Peregrym was a late addition in that case to give a Vanessa substitute for the later part of the season. 

[CaptainTightpants]

6 hours ago, snowwhyte said:

I usually have ideas for how I want this show to go and it rarely happens.

Me too! Things almost never, ever turn out how I think they should.

I hadn't heard about Kelly Overton being pregnant, so her reduced presence makes some sense now. But I'm still hoping for more focus on the main ensemble because the thought of another boatload of new characters makes me want to sigh. 

[Philbert]

16 hours ago, loki567 said:

At this point, I think it's confirmed that Missy Peregrym has been cast as the new lead of the show. It's just strange because usually they kill off the old main character. But it doesn't look like Vanessa's going anywhere so she's sticking around awkwardly like a fart at a funeral. I still maintain that Kelly Overton is not that bad but she's gotten almost zero character development in the past two years. She can't act when she's given no writing.  

I don't know. I'll check out the show next season but I'm close to checking out. On the whole, I feel like season two was a pretty big disappointment. The show works alright when it's a TWD-substitute and falls at virtually everything else it does. I'm glad Dimitri's dead as that's one less boring character. I think they need to get most of the cast into a single storyline. Also more Axel. Can't go wrong with more Axel. 

 

I have been championing this show all season but the finale really let me down. It just felt too forced and I don't think the decision just to focus on Scarlett, her mother and Dmitri's little gang was a great idea. This show was strongest with the focus on Vanessa's crew (not necessarily Vanessa) and Sam (yeah, I know I'm in the minority but I love the character). Of course some of my supposition from a few weeks ago turned out to be true-Dmitri is gone and I can't say I'm sad. The actor tried but I always felt he was channeling the Count from Sesame Street ("Von, Too, Tree. Tree Victims. Muah Buah Haa Haa Ha ha"-yeah, yeah with all due credit to "Buffy the Vampires Slayer" for coming up with that joke first). I'll see where they go next year but I can't help but feel the second half of Season Two-other than the addition of Scarlett-was a waste of time.

[snowwhyte]

I just posted an article in the media thread that explains how they changed the story and introduced Scarlet as a way of dealing with Kelly Overton's pregnancy. I wonder want they had planned to do differently but I do agree that bringing in Scarlett was one of the best things they did this season. Hopefully next season with be a bit more focused and have better pacing. I am still waiting for the show to live up to it's potential.

[CaptainTightpants]

39 minutes ago, snowwhyte said:

I just posted an article in the media thread

I just read the article and I have to say the show really hit the jackpot with Missy Peregrym. I don't know what they intended originally, but without Scarlett I'm not sure I would have stuck with the show all the way through the season. She improved the story as soon as she showed up. She and Axel are my favorite characters and they had great chemistry right off the bat. So hats off the the casting director, because she was a great addition to the cast. 

[snowwhyte]

If they gave Scarlett storylines they originally intended for Vanessa I am wondering if they had an Axel Vanessa hookup planned. I prefer Axel with Scarlett and hope the writers are good enough to avoid any sort of triangle going forward.

[CaptainTightpants]

On 1/11/2018 at 10:13 AM, snowwhyte said:

If they gave Scarlett storylines they originally intended for Vanessa I am wondering if they had an Axel Vanessa hookup planned. I prefer Axel with Scarlett and hope the writers are good enough to avoid any sort of triangle going forward.

I had the feeling that they were going the romance angle with Vanessa/Axel from season 1. And then there was the kissing in the grave from mid-season 2. But I am happy with the change in direction to Scarlett/Axel after that. 

So I profoundly hope that they avoid the love triangle plotline. As Janet on the Good Place says "love isn't a triangle, it is a 5 dimensional blob". I absolutely loathe when shows set up this kind of stupidity, especially since Vanessa and Scarlett are sisters and badasses. How about this for an original idea? Vanessa just kicks ass and saves the world without a boyfriend.

[Pindrop]

I watched Season 1, but I am really struggling with Season 2. It is so relentlessly bleak and serious. Writing a dark show is easy, introducing levity to manage the tension and balancing it against the serious drama is what requires talent, and this show has none. It is grating with me.  

[TvGeek]

I need to start taking notes when I watch shows because I will come here to comment and then forget lol. 

Agree with what others have said. It was an odd choice to show the back stories of the vamps in the tunnel. Felt very out of place. How come they got super bad memories but Scarlett's was all this is your life? I'm also getting frustrated with how many times they kill people instead of trying to turn them back.

Fyi for Axel fans Jonathan Scarfe has a small role in the equalizer 2 looking mighty mighty scrumptious!

Edited July 20, 2018 by TvGeek