User reviews

The first season of this show took me by surprise; I had known absolutely nothing about it and was drawn in very quickly. Despite this I didn't jump into the second (and final) season until very recently. Perhaps it was a worry that it would not be as good now I knew the style, or that there would be no more after this. The second season opens by jumping back to the start of the Network and the development of the virus. In some ways it is a bold move because it throws us away from the cliffhanger of the previous season, while building more around characters who had been higher level rather than people. It also gives good space to the justification of the idea, as well as showing the level of ruthlessness even in those early stages.

The remainder of the season gets the old gang back together again, although with changed motives and allegiances. It continues the journey towards release of the virus, and does so with the same style, cruelty, violence, and impact. At times some of the scenes are trying a bit too hard to shock, and are only there to do so, but otherwise it wears its dark tone very well. The visual design is striking – with its heavy use of primary colors in large blocks providing a clash with the darkness of the plot and action. It builds its conspiracy well, and it sells its ideas forcefully so that you don't really question it too much. The writing is mostly very good, and there are some very memorable scenes which produce a sense of dread in the ordinary, or that lead to sudden callousness.

I would have liked a third season to bring it to a close, but then on the other hand it would have risked being a rerun of this thread but with a different Mr. Rabbit. Instead I like to think that the show is driven by the core idea of a 'solution', and that the idea doesn't get wiped out even if other things do. Two very strong seasons here – perhaps it is better to have it perfectly contained in just these 2 seasons.

I thoroughly enjoyed the series up until this train wreck of an ending episode. Just a mishmash trying to close story lines while creating new ones for cliff-hangers and it just leaves you thinking "WTF?". Characters doing things, well, out of character and a whole lot of "Yeah but..." going on through the whole thing.