My Take on OFMD Season Two, Which Nobody Asked For:
Hi all, I’m stepping out of my meme posting comfort zone to actually say something. Please be kind.
On my first watch of S2, in real time as the episodes dropped weekly, I had so many criticisms, some on pacing and the flashbacks, some on characters’ arcs not going how I hoped they would, and of course there was that finale – like many of us I spent all day Thursday alternately crying and vaguely numb.
But I sat down Saturday night and did a full season binge rewatch…and I gotta say I liked it a LOT better. I recant most of my former criticisms. I think they actually did a great job (though of course there are still some things I would have personally done differently if it were my show). I highly recommend a full binge watch, skipping the intros and previews, whenever you feel ready for it.
I posted the above in Discord, with a few people agreeing that they also liked it much better on second viewing, a few people saying it didn’t get better for them on second viewing, and a few people basically saying if you have to binge watch a show for it to be good, that’s not a good thing.
To clarify, I don’t necessarily think that you have to binge watch S2 to fully appreciate it (though I loved the binge watch!). It’s just that we are such an intense fandom, and we had a year and a half where we all got SO involved, and had fan fic, and hopes for S2, and clown noses, and cons, and intense connections to the actors and characters. Then when S2 started coming out in weekly chunks we spent each week worrying and speculating and finding the episodes perhaps weren't what we personally wanted for the characters...I just think all of that colored our viewing. I know now that it did mine. So once the season was over, with more time to digest it free of the worry and unrealistic expectations, I realized via a rewatch that the season was much better than I initially gave it credit for. Personally, I've NEVER gone into a second season of ANY show this way. Like I loved Good Omens and WWDITS, but I didn't feel the stakes were so personal or big going into the second seasons that it colored my viewing. I felt a normal way about the shows and the characters, so I was able to just sit back and enjoy what was presented in the second seasons on first viewing, if that makes sense. And people who loved OFMD S1 but felt a normal way about it were probably able to enjoy S2 on first viewing on the same level I enjoyed S2 of GO and WWDITS.
I've seen a few posts that I think help explain some of the reactions to S2, basically reminding us that David Jenkins didn't write the show to heal all our traumas - he just wanted to do a funny little queer pirate romcom with a diverse cast and creative team. I think because the show had so much representation on both sides of the camera, and so many of us saw ourselves in the queer/trans/older/disabled/finding yourself late in life/etc. characters in a positive way we haven't seen before in media, that we had these unrealistic expectations of what S2 would be. Therefore, it felt so hard and so *personal* that things didn't go well for us when the characters most like ourselves, or that we loved the most, didn't get what we thought they deserved. I think that's big part of the visceral reactions to the show. And I'm not invalidating those feelings at all, they're perfectly understandable! And I understand why some people may never forgive the show and want to leave the fandom, and I wish them only the best as they do what's right for themselves to heal.
But for most of us, I think just some time and distance from all the intensity (and this may take more time for some than others), and the reminder that DJ isn't ACTUALLY our lord and savior sent to heal us all through our television screens, will give us a different perspective on season two.
And I think we'll all have an easier time going into season three after we gain that perspective.
(P.S. Don't forget we're all banding together to @renewasacrew!)
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