Make no mistake about it: “Patriot” is the story of an abusive relationship. With its bleak haze and black vignettes,Season 2 makes the physical and psychological damage inflicted on John Taynor (Michael Dornan) easier to recognize. Seeing the show for what it is doesn’t make it easier to process; creator, writer, and director Steve Conrad’s yarn about loyalty is easygoing and unrelenting, charming in its eccentricities, and stark in its depiction of espionage. There are no fancy gadgets or sexy double agents in the second season of Amazon’s drama; just a father, a son, and their loyalty to an idea bigger than themselves.

Season 2 is shorter (both in episode count and length), darker, and lacking in much of the whimsy that kept Season 1 afloat, but it’s an intriguing narrative with unique payoffs. For an existential drama about America’s decaying moral compass, “Patriot” is pretty funny.