The second season of this show manages to keep the strengths from the first, even if there are elements about it that don't totally work as consistently as would be liked. The plot in this season just about gets the balance right in the way that it continues to expand the universe with enough new detail, but doesn't let it run away with itself; developments tend to be foundational rather than big jumps forward in where the story is. So for example we do get to see Yellow Diamond late in the season, but much more time is spent on the mechanics of dealing with Peridot. Underneath though a lot more gets known about the various characters in terms of their past, who they are etc.
The structure of the season does feel uneven though. Some of the episodes feel out of step with the others, and the season conclusion might be disappointing to those (like me) who expected a big finish like they had in the first season - here it just 'stops' with a nice but not particularly dramatic episode. Reading afterwards it does seem that episodes were shuffled around between seasons to make the scheduling fit - not sure if this means that there was a much bigger plan, but certainly something is slightly off in specific places. That said, the strengths outweigh the odd niggle; the growth of the characters and the development of their backstories makes it engaging throughout, and the way it does this through cleverly written moments, dialogue, and song, is impressively creative.
Overall a strong season even if it has specifics that don't totally fit.
The structure of the season does feel uneven though. Some of the episodes feel out of step with the others, and the season conclusion might be disappointing to those (like me) who expected a big finish like they had in the first season - here it just 'stops' with a nice but not particularly dramatic episode. Reading afterwards it does seem that episodes were shuffled around between seasons to make the scheduling fit - not sure if this means that there was a much bigger plan, but certainly something is slightly off in specific places. That said, the strengths outweigh the odd niggle; the growth of the characters and the development of their backstories makes it engaging throughout, and the way it does this through cleverly written moments, dialogue, and song, is impressively creative.
Overall a strong season even if it has specifics that don't totally fit.
