Years and Years (TV Mini Series) Episode 2 (2019) User Reviews

A warning of the political right

[conorlawrenson · 7/10 · 23 May 2019]

Very well-made and slick production with good and generally good writing, although could be a little more light-hearted. I like the concept, Emma Thompson's role is growing and I'm sure the show will grow with it.

My only issue with the programme is it heeds the warnings of the right whilst showcasing the problems caused by society ignoring the warnings from the political left.

going on strong

[ganymedes1985 · 9/10 · 24 May 2019]

6 months passed after the dramatic ending of the previous episode, and a few secrets are spilled in the family, but all the while life did go on, and several sacred principles that seemed evident are slowly being shattered, while the various members of the Lyons family need to deal with sifting out which pieces they can still salvage.

It's all wrong.

[john-24091 · 10/10 · 29 May 2019]

The problem with this story is that nothing is improbable. The acting is superb, the situations are all believable and tap into my worst fears for our current political and societal situation.

No place to live

[mennivetvadjagmenar · 6/10 · 5 September 2019]

Who sells their house and packs up all their stuff without having planned where to move next?

Episode 2

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 22 May 2019]

We seem to have gone further forward into the future but none of the cast seem to have visibly aged. A bit of a misstep.

Mike Pence is now President of the USA. Other places such as China seems to have got leaders for life.

Edith Lyons has come home but she has been gravely affected by the blast on the Chinese man made island.

Meanwhile a bizarre accident to the sitting Labour MP by a delivery drone leads to Vivienne Rook's rise to political power.

The episode triggers another doomsday scenario, a run on the banks. This is something more chilling and more real after the 2008 banking disaster.

I did wish there was a bit more in the way of some more darkly comic humour. Some of the domestic stories involving the Lyons did not grab me. I did like the Blink reference.

Less impressive than the first... Mixed response.

[W011y4m5 · 6/10 · 23 May 2019]

Really hating the awful, distracting soundtrack to Years And Years - which is surprisingly from an incredibly talented composer, Murray Gold - that plays constantly throughout major sequences & overwhelms the audio until character's voices become obscured & we're left with an annoying racket interspersed between scenes. Now that the first (and worst) painfully noticeable issue is out of the way & acknowledged, as for the actual content of the show, Episode 2 is camp, cheesy & ridiculous - enjoyably cynical & brilliantly pessimistic with some incredible moments encapsulating the mess of a predicament the UK currently finds itself in - and they're SO Russell T. Davies - but our suspension of disbelief is somewhat challenged by how overly dramatic & apocalyptic things have become in such a very short period of time - with unlikely events occurring consecutively at the end of every installment until you question whether the protagonists are truly living in the every-day, painfully normal & monotonous environment the story finds itself set in or if they're simply cursed by sheer bad luck, taking you out of things & ruining the relatability & thus, it's beginning to feel less like a grounded, realistic, cautionary tale / dark journey in to our potential, bleak complex future & more like an in-depth adaptation of Russell's previous Doctor Who science fiction outing, "Turn Left". Due to that, it's severely lacking in any subtlety & feels almost as if people should be talking directly in to the camera because dialogue is clearly being addressed to the viewing audiences already. It's a shame as the show began with such promise - genuinely possessing the same level of potential found in a similar feature like Black Mirror - but when the point is being beaten over your head until you feel the throbbing tinge of concussion, it's less of a show & more of a personal / political statement -- which I'd have no quarrels with if Years & Years were clearer & honest about its intentions from the beginning in trailers.