The End of the F***ing World - Season 2
When a second season was announced for the surprise-hit show End of the F***ing World, there was a slight worry that the quality would drop and it would feel forced. However, after finishing the show, this sophomore entry suffers from second season syndrome. It is not great but by no means is it terrible.
The first series of End of the F***ing World followed James (Alex Lawther) and Alyssa’s (Jessica Barden) whirlwind romance that could easily be compared to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet or even Bonnie and Clyde. As the story develops, more and more complications face the pair. They both want different things: Alyssa wants to get to her father’s home while James is planning to murder Alyssa. Cheery stuff.
What made the first series so great and memorable was its dark and nihilistic humour mixed with a relatable coming-of-age atmosphere. It had a range of funny and unique characters and also boasted some awe-inspiring cinematography. Everything was balanced. Ending on a very ambiguous cliffhanger, the second series had a lot to live up to with not only a solid, enigmatic finale of its predecessor but to concretely deliver with an engaging, ongoing storyline.
James and Alyssa are still great characters to watch. Their chemistry together is not as strong as it was in the first season, but it is nice to see these two on-screen together again in their deranged partnership taking a different angle. Being shot in the final episode of series one, James has a plethora of issues he has to deal with. Meanwhile, Alyssa still has not recovered from the traumas she faced in the first series and has decided to get engaged to her new boyfriend.
The series working through the on-screen issues and developments of said characters while re-visiting the central relationship between James and Alyssa would have been enough to fill the story out. However, writer Charlie Covell decides to introduce the character of Bonnie who takes a significant chunk of the season to develop without going into too much detail the way Bonnie, played by Naomi Ackie, is introduced into the story. It is convicted in a very natural and intelligent way of tying events of the first series as well as providing further consequences for James and Alyssa’s actions.
The issue with the inclusion of Bonnie’s character is that she is unfortunately nowhere near as exciting of a character compared to the existing cast. If Bonnie was to be taken out of the story, the series still could have had a perfectly functional narrative. Instead, Bonnie serves purely to pad things out with uninteresting depth. Despite this, it thankfully does not ruin the flow of the show. The first three episodes have superb pacing and do a fantastic job of introducing Bonnie and catching us up with James and Alyssa from where the last season left off.
The second series also continues the trend of twenty-odd minute episodes that offer a fresh and energetic manner spin of the nuclear fifty-minute running time usually delivered. It is a unique format that allows for easy watching and offers plenty of re-watchability with how accessible each episode is regarding time management. One part due to the electric pacing and one part the brilliant writing on offer from the writing team. It is tight, funny but knows when to slow down and let the emotional scenes sit with sequences afforded in order to breathe and the impact to hit accordingly.
Unfortunately, what disappoints is the scale of the show. Nothing in terms of further world-building, or anything as equally drastic, but it undoubtedly feels like this series has a smaller budget. The first series felt like an intimate journey as the series followed the characters on the road whereas in this second series, the story feels very contained in two locations that travel no further than the local area. It is slightly disappointing considering the endless possibilities of what direction was available to take. Small but integral aspects, such as the appearance Wumni Mosaku and Gemma Whelan’s characters — who had a great will-they-won’t-they dynamic and were some of the more memorable side characters of the first series — are nowhere to be found. A consequence that is undeniably felt through the course of the eight-part series.
Ultimately, the second series of The End of the F***ing World, thankfully, does not feel as forced as some viewers were attributing it to be, but the series does not quite reach the levels of quality fans of this cult-series may have been hoping, regardless. Writer Charlie Covell has all but confirmed this is the end of the series and after the underwhelming roller coaster of season two, it is arguably for the best.
The End of the F***ing World season 2 is available on ALL4 and NETLFIX.
