A Place to Call Home: Season Two

January 15, 2021 10:46 AM - Season 2 (Full Season)

All those involved with last season's murder and subsequent cover-up try to put it behind them. Meanwhile, George and Sarah grow closer, but Regina's shocking discovery in Europe could give matriarch Elizabeth the leverage she needs to tear them apart forever. James's medical treatment for his homosexuality is a cause of concern for everyone, especially Olivia. Jack and Carolyn bond over Anna.
posted by DirtyOldTown (5 comments total)

No one does melodrama quite like the Australians.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:47 AM on January 15, 2021

This was the season that made me realize APTCH wasn't going to be the show I thought. In the first few episodes of S1 you might think you're getting the semi-realistic story of how Sarah becomes part of an insular rural community and opens up about her trauma. By S2 it's all melodrama about the Bligh family, who were already my least favorite characters. From here on out, people swing back and forth between evil and kindly for very little reason, disappear and reappear from one season to another, and Sarah becomes less and less of a real person.
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 2:32 PM on January 16, 2021 [1 favorite]

I'm am almost at the end of the show myself - but do agree with whatever reviewer described it as a mixture of Dynasty, Downtown Abbey and Mad Men. There are some really interesting and optimistic character arcs which speak of things like like enlightenment through bitter experience. Also the idea of how anti-fascist sentiment, born out of the direct pain of WW2 experiences, might have permeated through a traditional small town. There is great music from Michael Yezerski and some top drawer acting. But the show seems to have been weighed down by the notion (maybe from producer Bevan Lee who had a grounding in Home and Away) that it need be nothing more than a soap. I lost count of how many times we got the same crappy establishing shot of a bus on a roundabout by Sydney Harbour bridge, for example.
posted by rongorongo at 3:01 AM on January 17, 2021 [2 favorites]

I agree that it lost something in season two. It started out somewhere between Call the Midwife and the upstairs part of Downton. As of this season, they more or less drop the nursing the regular folks in Inverness aspect of the show.

That said, the storyline of Sarah and Rene post war is potent, potent stuff. I have only seen this far but I can see them mining that for years.

And there is some real top notch acting here, especially the actor playing Elizabeth Bligh.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 3:03 PM on January 17, 2021 [1 favorite]

EXT. DAY — SYDNEY HARBOUR BRIDGE
posted by sixswitch at 3:11 PM on February 13, 2021 [2 favorites]