The first season of Your Honor was an absolute madcap scramble of seemingly impossible situations that led to even more soap opera-ish drama. Yet, it all worked and was so compelling because the core of the show was Judge Michael Desiato (Bryan Cranston) reacting to and manipulating the proceedings in protecting his son Adam. In this sophomore season, however, Your Honor is almost completely re-imagined thematically-and loses most of its soul in the process.
Instead of focusing on the Desiato arc, S2 expands the focus and largely centers on the "cold war" between the Baxter family and the Desire drug clan. On one side, Jimmy Baxter (Michael Stuhlbarg) and wife Gina (Hope Davis) feud over the aggressiveness of their business empire, with son Carlo (Jimi Stanton) poised to take a larger role in the family business. Meanwhile, Big Mo (Andrene Ward-Hammond) and Little Mo (Keith Machekanyanga) struggle with how to continue their drug ring while integrating Big Mo's new flame Janelle (Ciara Renee) into the proceedings. Caught in the middle of all this-as usual-are figures like young Eugene Jones (Benjamin Flores Jr.), Mayor Charlie Figaro (Isiah Whitlock Jr.), Detective Nancy Costello (Amy Landecker), investigator Olivia Delmont (Rosie Perez), and attorney Lee Delamere (Carmen Ejogo).
Noticeably absent from that brief summary? Michael Desiato himself-the biggest misstep of this series returning to Showtime. Whereas once the show was essentially built on Cranston's quirky charisma, he is sidelined to largely bystander status in S2. Sadly, this essentially turns Your Honor into-somewhat ironically-a Breaking Bad-esque crime syndicate drama, but one lacking the necessary character arcs to pull it off.
Granted, this is still a prestige drama-and at times that certainly shows. The production value from S1 bleeds over here and the cast is as excellent as it is deep. Those two virtues alone make S2 watchable when in an overall sense it is largely just spinning plates in the air to see which whirl the longest or are the most compelling.
Also, the clear standout of S2 is Lilli Kay's Fia Baxter. Not only is she an incredible actress I hope to see more of in the future, but her character arc here-including the newest addition to the Baxter/Desiato awkward melding-should have been what this entire season was structured around. Every episode in which she was given time to shine, I was drawn back into the proceedings.
Overall, though, S2 of Your Honor is a 5-star, right-down-the-middle effort that I'll bump up to 6 for the strong peripherals. The restructure away from individual characters and towards rival gang families does not do the show any favors, and the inability to use Cranston in anything near a compelling way is inexcusable. If-like me-you loved S1 but were wary of how it could possibly continue, you'd be excused for not exercising your curiosity and just fondly remembering that first slate.