This is one of the most disappointing seasons of TV I have ever watched. It's not the worst I've seen by a long stretch, but it went from one of the best I've seen in a while with season 1 to a complete mess of a season 2. The writers have completely lost the plot and don't seem to have a handle on who their characters are. Did they change the writer's room between seasons?
They can't seem to decide if they want to have some kind of quirky offbeat comedy drama or a serious psychological horror/survival thriller, and the shifts in tone are jarring. In addition, the characters don't act consistent with who they were in season 1, and the younger versions no longer resemble their adult selves. The worst offender is Nat who had a personality transplant this season. I kept waiting for some reveal that she was playing a long game all season, but no she just became a totally different person with no explanation.
The plot is all over the place. They introduce several meandering side plots that go nowhere and others that get wrapped up way too quickly with a couple lines of dialogue. I feel like they must have intended a 10th episode that was canned so they had to throw too much in this one, but with the downgrade of writing this season I don't think that's it. I think it's a consequence of wanting to drag this show out for years so they need to stuff the season with meaningless filler. This is not a show that needs 5+ seasons.
The ending of this finale should have made me feel all sorts of things, but I was largely un moved by most of it. It all just sort of randomly goes through the motions and I found myself just wanting to get it over with rather than the emotional impact the first season had
The only positive I can see is the acting that is consistently great. The younger cast is excellent all the way around. Just some phenomenal performances in spite of the writing they're dealing with. Christina Ricci, one of my first Hollywood crushes, continues to steal the show. Unfortunately, Lauren Ambrose who I love in almost everything she does was flat and didn't have enough to work with. I will give season 3 a shot because I love these characters, but I won't stick around for long if they don't raise the bar.