The first season of Hard Times... was outrageous, but towards the end it seemed that the series had trouble balancing the rudeness with that common curse of American teen sitcoms: morality lessons. However, season 2 gets off to a promising start...
At first, when it is revealed that Lily is still alive, season 1 finale is robbed of the significance of its morality lesson: that people should, like RJ did, do the right thing right away, because the next day, it may be too late. Yet, here Lily is, making RJ's abandoning of Jenny in favor of granting Lily a moment of happiness before her death pretty much pointless. Especially when RJ did not think Lily would be dying. He did, after all, walk away after the act.
But, this episode soon proves that there is yet life in the Lily - RJ dynamic left, by making them enemies. And, boldly, when compared to most other shows, the episode gets RJ actually *together* with his dream girl, Jenny. This means the show-runners are confident enough that they can *develop* the RJ - Jenny relationship whereas lesser shows would end with RJ and Jenny getting happily together after almost endless trials and false starts.
Plus, RJ's parents get plot development, which is a welcome surprise. They were, after all, a one-joke couple and the joke was getting way too old. Sadly, all these developments mean that there is no room left to do anything with Max or Miles, but then again, this is just the first episode. It's an invigorating 8/10 that makes you want to see what's up next.
At first, when it is revealed that Lily is still alive, season 1 finale is robbed of the significance of its morality lesson: that people should, like RJ did, do the right thing right away, because the next day, it may be too late. Yet, here Lily is, making RJ's abandoning of Jenny in favor of granting Lily a moment of happiness before her death pretty much pointless. Especially when RJ did not think Lily would be dying. He did, after all, walk away after the act.
But, this episode soon proves that there is yet life in the Lily - RJ dynamic left, by making them enemies. And, boldly, when compared to most other shows, the episode gets RJ actually *together* with his dream girl, Jenny. This means the show-runners are confident enough that they can *develop* the RJ - Jenny relationship whereas lesser shows would end with RJ and Jenny getting happily together after almost endless trials and false starts.
Plus, RJ's parents get plot development, which is a welcome surprise. They were, after all, a one-joke couple and the joke was getting way too old. Sadly, all these developments mean that there is no room left to do anything with Max or Miles, but then again, this is just the first episode. It's an invigorating 8/10 that makes you want to see what's up next.
