Homecoming - Season 2
AMAZON PRIME VIDEOIf there’s one thing that drives Homecoming, it’s unrelenting and uncut paranoia. At the heart of its many unfolding mysteries is a center of gravity fueled by the notion that there is always someone behind the curtain, pulling the strings. In both the camerawork and the general atmosphere, we peer into this story from behind that curtain, observing these characters as their world collapses in on them. In its second season, Eli Horowitz and Micah Bloomberg deepen the show’s mysteries by shifting focus to new characters and expanding the world – successfully find new ways to intensify that underlying paranoia.
The second season starts with a new face and a new memory-loss mystery to solve. The story starts with Jackie (Janelle Monáe) who wakes up on a boat in the middle of a lake with no memory of how she got there or who she is. From there, the show pieces together a complex web of revelations that pick up tangentially from where the first season left off. Returning from the first season is Walter Cruz (Stephan James) – a soldier who underwent experimental memory loss treatment from the Homecoming program – and Audrey Temple (Hong Chau, in an expanded role from last season), an employee of the Geist company who moves her way to the top of the chain of command and finds herself at the center of this mysterious plot. Joining Janelle Monáe in the new cast is Leonard Geist (Chris Cooper), the company’s founder, and Francine Bunda (Joan Cusack), a military woman with a new agenda for the company.
What the show has always done best is start small and grow from there, allowing its revelations to unfold naturally. It utilizes jumps back and forth in time to both inform and disorient the viewer. The narrative is driven by the actions of the characters and feels seamless in its careful study of them. Everything fits together perfectly by the end of the experience, because the series presents its events and clues the audience in on its intentions when it matters most. This is some of the most streamlined and effective storytelling on television, and it works because it lets its audience participate in and drive the undercurrent of paranoia through observance.
Janelle Monáe is a revelation here, serving as a compelling fulcrum for the show because of her believability and her underlying anxiety. She is a dynamic performer and adds a sense of urgency to the narrative. Hong Chau proves that her character’s expanded role is justified by adding layers of fear and sensitivity underneath her cold and conniving exterior. Stephan James continues his excellent work from last season by giving the show a hero to root for, and driving home the hopelessness of the situation he finds himself trapped in. Chris Cooper and Joan Cusack are veterans of film and television – and that is no exception here. They breathe life into the world and overall tense atmosphere of the story and represent two sides of the corporate spectrum, which adds fuel to the story’s central mystery.
This series excels because of its strong writing, which carefully and convincingly explores memory, trauma and the loss of self. Through its cast of compelling characters, the development of its characters, their distinct motivations and the fluid and purposeful dialogue that drives each scene forward, this show unmasks the problematic nature of repression and how humans deal with trauma, crafting a truly unforgettable story. Homecoming’s sophomore season is a tightly focused and helplessly tense experience that sends its viewers down a spiral of mysteries and stays gripping until its satisfying conclusion.
HOMECOMING - SEASON 2 is streaming exclusively on AMAZON PRIME VIDEO from May 22nd
