Although I enjoyed the first season, there was an element of it which seemed trying too hard to be cold and distant, and to a point there never seemed to be any doubt in the production that there would be a second season, and a lot of this seemed to be running through the first season in terms of its pace of delivery. Whether this was the case or not, the second season certainly returns with much more of a feeling of a show that is building to a conclusion. With Paul trying to stay away from trouble in Scotland, while Stella continues to hunt for the killer, things have a sudden start and it is not long till Paul is drawn back to Belfast to try to tidy up loose ends, which sees the net closing in on him.
The sense of things building is what makes this second season work better than the first for me. Where in the first we mainly had Paul acting as hunter, creating tense and horrifying murders, here we have a lot more of the investigation starting to close in on him, thus playing more to Gibson as the hunter. Although there are some aspects that don't totally work, and aspects where logic would suggest it would not play out that way, generally the narrative is engaging, tense and nicely paced. Although they do not really meet till late in the season, there is a tangible interplay between the two main characters, with each of them having flaws making them more interesting as characters. The still, cold delivery remains, but worked better for me here since it was paired with a narrative that was not so equally still as the style.
In terms of the story, I won't say anything about the ending apart from that it was pretty poor. I'm sure the aim for a third season was a big part of it ending as it did, however it was unsatisfying, a bit random, and generally didn't fit with the rest of the episode, far less the rest of the season. I do not mind the lack of closure, just the manner in which it is done – in particular the final 60 seconds feel like they had alternative versions that could have been dropped in and that this one was the "ratings are good, let's do a third" option – although perhaps this is too cynical. Performances are mostly very good. Anderson is a bit too "cold predatory" in her character, although here has some more personal background which allows her to do more than just that. Dornan is much better and he is quite chilling no matter what he is doing. Support is generally good, although not everyone gets a chance to develop a character so much as deliver on specific lines – there is nobody who is not good though.
When the second season returned, I waited till the end to see the general reception it got before I decided to return. I guess for a possible third season I would do the same again – not because I didn't enjoy the second season (I did) but just because of the disappointing nature of the ending. Despite this though the second season had a good narrative which worked well with the clinical approach, and was driven by several good performances and characters, moving around each other as the tense events played out.
The sense of things building is what makes this second season work better than the first for me. Where in the first we mainly had Paul acting as hunter, creating tense and horrifying murders, here we have a lot more of the investigation starting to close in on him, thus playing more to Gibson as the hunter. Although there are some aspects that don't totally work, and aspects where logic would suggest it would not play out that way, generally the narrative is engaging, tense and nicely paced. Although they do not really meet till late in the season, there is a tangible interplay between the two main characters, with each of them having flaws making them more interesting as characters. The still, cold delivery remains, but worked better for me here since it was paired with a narrative that was not so equally still as the style.
In terms of the story, I won't say anything about the ending apart from that it was pretty poor. I'm sure the aim for a third season was a big part of it ending as it did, however it was unsatisfying, a bit random, and generally didn't fit with the rest of the episode, far less the rest of the season. I do not mind the lack of closure, just the manner in which it is done – in particular the final 60 seconds feel like they had alternative versions that could have been dropped in and that this one was the "ratings are good, let's do a third" option – although perhaps this is too cynical. Performances are mostly very good. Anderson is a bit too "cold predatory" in her character, although here has some more personal background which allows her to do more than just that. Dornan is much better and he is quite chilling no matter what he is doing. Support is generally good, although not everyone gets a chance to develop a character so much as deliver on specific lines – there is nobody who is not good though.
When the second season returned, I waited till the end to see the general reception it got before I decided to return. I guess for a possible third season I would do the same again – not because I didn't enjoy the second season (I did) but just because of the disappointing nature of the ending. Despite this though the second season had a good narrative which worked well with the clinical approach, and was driven by several good performances and characters, moving around each other as the tense events played out.