Nowhere Boys: Two Moons Rising, Episodes 1 & 2 Review
Above the cut is spoiler free, below is spoiler filled
Overall, I must say I was impressed by the first two episodes of the new season. There were a few things that I thought didn’t work, but as a whole I think it shows a lot of promise. It has a similar vibe to the very first season, particularly with the mystery element of the show, and certainly not in a bad way. The new characters have small, familiar traits to their ‘counterparts’ from the previous seasons, but they’re different enough that already I’m not thinking of them as “Felix’s replacement” or “Jake’s replacement”. It’s also great to see more diversity in the main cast, for Australian ‘kids’ TV I’m quite proud! In fact, as a piece of Australian TV, the show has been outstanding right from the first season, and you can see that talent continuing.
I know I’m really looking forward to what the rest of the season has in store. If you’ve been on the fence about watching the new season, give it a shot, you’ll probably be pleasantly surprised like I was.
Overall, I give the first 2 episodes 8.5/10
Review continues below with spoilers!
The Good Stuff:
One thing I think is particularly working well in this new season is surprisingly the new characters. As I said before, there are parts of them that are familiar, but they are definitely their own characters. From the opening credits, we know what all their ‘elements’ are, and I think it’s great that instead of a ‘fire’ element as the lead of the show, we now have an ‘air’ element. And Luke is so incredibly different from Sam, but after watching him through two episodes, I can clearly see why he’s the air element (and I want to protect this nerd from the world). The more we keep getting to know these nowhere boys and girl, the more I think we’ll get to know why each character is that particular element, and also grow to care about them the same way we did the others. I know I’m already starting to love them!
I think it’s a credit to the creators of the show that this season seems to be working well so far. It’s not a complete reboot, but there are parts of it that feel like I’m watching a brand new series that is just similar to an old favourite. I think a big part of what is looking good about this season is the mystery of what has happened to Bremin. Someone (*cough* Ben *cough*) has been messing with magic, so is this an alternate universe or something else? I think the fantastic mystery was a large part of what made the very first season of Nowhere Boys so successful (along with loveable main character). By bringing us back to the ‘start’ so to speak, before all the magic and supernatural parts really revealed themselves, I think the new season is on the right track to follow in the footsteps of that season, and turn out to be something really great.
Pet Peeves:
As a student teacher myself, I absolutely cannot buy Ellen’s role this season. I LOVE that they’ve brought her back, but I wish they’d paid a little more attention to how being a student teacher actually works. But over all, it didn’t affect my enjoyment of the episode too much, I just rolled my eyes and ignored it!
I miss the boys! Felix, Jake, Sam, and Andy will always have a special place in my heart. Kinda desperately hoping they cameo at some point during the season besides Jesse’s musical poster!
