trying so hard to balance being rightfully pissed off at how much hbo slashed the budget for s2 and my disappointment with some of the very rushed plotlines and character arcs by remembering the two month period of time where we didn’t even know if we would get a season two or if we would be left with ed crying in the window as our last ever shot of him and we would never get to see the crew reunite and ed and stede reconcile at all. just swinging back and forth and back and forth bc like
i’m so incredibly grateful for what we have
but at the same time i’m mad as hell bc this show deserves better
but i don’t want to let my anger abt how hbo is treating this show get in the way of me enjoying what we’re getting
but also i deserve to be angry about the studio treating this show like shit and i don’t want “enjoying what we’re getting” to be seen as letting hbo off the hook
this show is always going to be important to me but i think the way the budget cuts are incredibly palpable throughout the entirety of season 2 will always stand out in my memory, too. i get that in the time between season 1 and season 2 i had put this show on a hyperfixation pedestal and there was probably no way for me to be entirely 100% satisfied without a single complaint about the new episodes but so much of this season feels sloppy and rushed. season 1 was practically a masterclass in efficient storytelling but you can tell in s2 no amount of efficient writing can make up for the fact that they just didn’t have the time to do everything they needed to do, and so sacrifices were made with some of the arcs. i’m enjoying the season but i can’t help but mourn what s2 could’ve been with just two more episodes.
