The OA: Season 2 (Full Season)
March 24, 2019 4:55 AM - Season 2 (Full Season) - Subscribe

Discuss the full season's episodes of season 2 of The OA here.
posted by fleacircus (42 comments total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Got to episode 5 in season one before I apparently lost interest, it is disturbing that netflix keeps a record of that this long. Think there will be a season 3? Perhaps waiting and doing a serious binge would be the right approach...
posted by sammyo at 8:30 AM on March 24, 2019


Not sure what to say. This leaves me with a lot less thoughts and feels than the last series somehow. Even treating it as something very different to the last one it had left me a little cold. I do want a little cube bot though *eyes arduino*
posted by Iteki at 8:33 AM on March 24, 2019 [1 favorite]


Got to episode 5 in season one before I apparently lost interest

Personally - that's where I thought it started to get good. So, YMMV. Am debating at-the-moment whether or not I need to do a S01 re-watch, before S02 - it's been a couple years.
posted by jkaczor at 11:47 AM on March 24, 2019 [1 favorite]


They explain more or less what you need to know in a featurette before the season starts. I also agree that the show gets a lot more interesting as it goes on.

I'm about halfway through Season 2 right now, and I think I like it BIG SPOILERS


the private eye stuff is way more interesting to me than the OA stuff, so going back to timline 1 in Michigan feels like a step backwards. I'd almost prefer that there was no continuity and Britt Marling just kept Quantum Leap style jumping into fey, dreamy waif characters with completely unrelated storylines but the same cast. Having HAP back as a villain... eh, he was pretty good the first time around, but I'm sort of sick of him. Having an omniscient sleazeball who's always plot conveniently one step ahead of the protagonists is one of my least favorite SciFi / Fantasy TV show tropes (he really gives me Ramsay Bolton vibes).

BIG SPOILERS ABOVE
posted by codacorolla at 4:03 PM on March 24, 2019 [1 favorite]


Wow... episode 4. That threw me for more of a loop than anything so far in the series.
posted by codacorolla at 9:57 PM on March 24, 2019


Am debating at-the-moment whether or not I need to do a S01 re-watch, before S02

I'm debating this myself, but the season one recap does seem to capture everything important and, since my wife is not interested in Season 2, I think this will be a show I squeeze in to the odd night where she's not home or we're otherwise not watching TV together.
posted by asnider at 8:59 AM on March 25, 2019 [1 favorite]


What the fuuuuuuuuck are they doing. I just got to the ending and like...what the actual hell, seriously.
posted by corb at 11:01 AM on March 25, 2019


Corb, I take comfort in the idea that if there's a S3, we may see BBA awkwardly fumbling through an Office reunion show, totally unaware that she's a famous actress in our current reality.

I liked this season but sincerely doubt there will be an OA Part 3. If there is, it will owe a narrative debt to magical realism as well as artists like Jodorowsky: Zoom Back Camera!

(If you haven't seen any of Jodorowsky's films, I highly recommend starting with Holy Mountain. NB: It's not for the faint of heart.)
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 12:07 PM on March 25, 2019 [6 favorites]


I think they are going to go with “we, ourselves, the audience, are now IN Season 3, and we will have to watch the actors for the rest of our lives to see how it turns out.”
posted by corb at 4:04 PM on March 25, 2019 [5 favorites]


The finale reminded me of DHMIS.
posted by grumpybear69 at 7:41 AM on March 27, 2019


Another thing I’m wondering about - who was the bird that the detective saw? And why did he dream himself falling through the window? Did the bird kill OA or is it accurate what they thought, that you kill the body when you jump?
posted by corb at 7:49 AM on March 27, 2019


I am guessing his dream was part of a collective dream premonition a la the house.
posted by grumpybear69 at 9:54 AM on March 27, 2019


Here's something that I really, really don't understand: what was up with the room full of skin, and licking the back?
posted by codacorolla at 12:24 PM on March 27, 2019




Codacarolla, I think that was Homer’s dream sequence - meant to show his subconscious desire for Nina or maybe his other-dimensional self’s desire for Prairie?
posted by fancyoats at 9:22 AM on March 29, 2019


Also his desire to be on the album cover of Led Zeppelin IV
posted by the phlegmatic king at 10:51 AM on March 29, 2019 [3 favorites]


Ah, I didn't realize it was meant to be read as a dream sequence. I was wondering if it was supposed to be a previous life, but that makes more sense.
posted by codacorolla at 3:35 PM on March 29, 2019


I was a lot more emotionally invested in the BBA and the boys episodes than the main plot, but I liked it all a lot. Poor Jessie. He couldn't stand to lose another parent figure. I feel bad for Scott too.

What an ending too! I'm excited to see where they go from here
posted by vibratory manner of working at 9:49 PM on March 30, 2019 [1 favorite]


Bit baffled by that ending. Why use the actors' real names but then give them a false relationship? (Brit and Jason are not married in real life.) WTF?
posted by dobbs at 9:31 AM on April 2, 2019 [5 favorites]


For plot reasons, I imagine they wanted "Brit" and "Jason" to have a closer relationship in this dimension than they do in the real world, but it also helps establish early on that the dimension they've jumped into isn't *quite* the same as ours.

I found an interview with Jason Isaacs where he mentioned that he's using almost, but not quite, his real accent, which I thought was a nice detail.
posted by vibratory manner of working at 10:32 AM on April 2, 2019 [3 favorites]


Fun fact: grumpybearbride and I started chanting "Lick! The! Back!" over and over until the back was licked.
posted by grumpybear69 at 2:04 PM on April 2, 2019 [4 favorites]


Just finished the season tonight. I think my favorite moment was the telepathic octopus reveal - that is just the kind of bonkers element that I appreciate about this series.

But, I don't know. There were a lot of moments/scenes that I appreciated, but the ending didn't emotionally satisfy me the way S1 did. Introducing Brit as a character threw me out of the show a bit - reminded me of how I lost interest in the Dark Tower series after Stephen King became a character within his own book. I do believe that if/when there's a 3rd season, they'll find a way to make the OA-is-Brit & Hap-is-Jason dimension as loopy as every other dimension so far, but, it's still worrying.

And I wasn't sure what to make of the whole Michelle & Buck resolution. As I was watching the series, I did worry about whether it was hard on Ian Alexander to play female-presenting for the Michelle scenes, but it seems like from this Deadline Hollywood article that he was ok with it: “The character is so mysterious and kind of elusive throughout the whole season — you don’t really know much about Michelle,” explains Alexander. “They don’t have any straightforward answer of what Michelle identifies as, but my personal interpretation is that Buck is trans across all dimensions — but maybe in some of them he hasn’t realized it yet, or hasn’t socially transitioned yet. That was just my personal interpretation that Michelle doesn’t realize and just hasn’t socially transitioned yet.” The story arc for Buck and Michelle hit close to home for the actor at two particular times in his life. Alexander points out that “every trans person has a past self and it kind of feels like that past self dies when you transition”. “In a way, to put on that wig and to put on that costume, it felt like I was reliving my pre-transition days and it just felt natural to me,” he admitted. “I wasn’t uncomfortable, I wasn’t dysphoric, it just felt, I was like, ‘Oh, okay this is who I was four of five years ago’. I felt like Michelle was a past self — kind of like a memory of Buck.”
posted by oh yeah! at 7:11 PM on April 2, 2019 [7 favorites]


There's something almost Naive-David Lynch about the series that I find deeply satisfying. Sure, there's a 'real' reason the house is so wacky, but Karim goes back to it, and has the full experience. And the Giant octopus? Come ON! that was exceptional! Beyond anything I was ready for. It's this - the way the story breaks up its own fictional/ narrative world periodically that I find so persuasive. (I wasn't quite sure who the bodies in the 'Syzygy' were, there should have been three heavenly bodies, 'Old Knight' OA and... Karim? He does make it to the window. It would be great if he came back, he was a totally convincing character. Otherwise... who?)

When it becomes apparent that 'Brit' is now 'Brit' an actress (who Nina saw while communing with 'Old Knight') and they are on a stage set - I did get a moment of a sinking feeling - but I believe they can break what I expect to see happen there, that it'll be no mere redux of The French Lieutenants Woman or any of the ante-and-precedents, but something truly subversive of that genre.

Steve running, yet again after the ambulance was a curious call back to the end of season one as it was so damn poignant the first time and this time, he reaches the ambulance, climbs in, even and is reunited with OA...(it's kinda ham-handed way of showing his 'development' or else a clearer drawing of the lines... I hope the next season veers away from that.)

Lastly, this changed my 'idea' of San Francisco. The way the city is shot is very un-glamorous and I found that compelling. The periodic views of the bay, the quality of the light, were very evocative in a way I last thought about SanFrancisco after reading McTeague.

(on preview, the New Republic article is pretty right on)
posted by From Bklyn at 1:46 AM on April 5, 2019 [6 favorites]


Lastly, this changed my 'idea' of San Francisco. The way the city is shot is very un-glamorous and I found that compelling.

See, for me it was the first time I saw SF filmed as I experienced it when I lived there. All of the shots felt familiar and real. It was also very Russian Hill / Nob Hill centric which resonated with me since I lived in North Beach. Also the fact that they ate breakfast at Red's Java House made my heart melt. #Reds4EVA

Did anyone else feel like Syzygy was on Polk St?
posted by grumpybear69 at 8:55 AM on April 5, 2019 [1 favorite]


And for those who were curious: here is the house with the rose window. Minus, of course, the rose window.
posted by grumpybear69 at 2:08 PM on April 5, 2019 [1 favorite]


Old Night was a great payoff to a buildup, without a trace of cringe which is kind of rare for this show.

I was so entertained by the SF world stuff that I got very bored with the kid world stuff. I think they had a boring plot, but the writing is just not good enough to make me care about those characters. It reminds me of Shyamalan sometimes in terms of characters who are just so mawkish and sincere, I find it hard to care for them. Some of it is just the result of a clash of having one plotline that is full of color and magic, and another that is mundane and slow dragging out a test of faith, sort of killing time before the collision between the two sides.

I did like the ending. I liked Karim seeing his own houseboat as a set, haha yes. A director is kind of a guy who makes people do movements and transports to another reality, I guess. I don't know what about the bird ruined what Karim was seeing through the window. Is it related to the bird-eating movement, maybe he should have known not to let the bird go, idk.
posted by fleacircus at 4:05 PM on April 5, 2019 [2 favorites]


I loved the first season but I felt like all the characters had an emotional arc in that season. The show was about something, even if I wouldn't be able to fully articulate it. Human connection? Faith?

This season was more of a trippy adventure. I enjoyed it, but it left me emotionally wanting. I love the show. It's totally original, different from anything else on tv. I just wish we'd gone on more of an emotional journey.
posted by xammerboy at 4:29 PM on April 5, 2019 [5 favorites]




Is it officially "Old Night"? I had figured it was Old Knight.
posted by vibratory manner of working at 11:39 AM on April 8, 2019


It's "Old Night" in the imdv credits, and I'm pretty sure that's how it was written in the subtitle/closed captioning.
posted by oh yeah! at 6:48 PM on April 8, 2019 [3 favorites]


OTOH didn't they say the OA has a knight or protector in every universe? So maybe it's also an old knight.
posted by fleacircus at 9:28 PM on April 8, 2019 [1 favorite]


In the moment I remember thinking, “Oh yeah, that was an awesome podcast,” we listened to it driving somewhere and it was fucking riveting - Radiolab: From tree to shining tree. About the fungal networks that join forests together.
Not to take anything away from the writers - it’s a fucking amazing story.
posted by From Bklyn at 11:12 PM on April 8, 2019


All the parts of the detective story in San Francisco were some of the best cyberpunk that I've seen on screen, which is weird to be coming from The OA.
posted by codacorolla at 1:04 AM on April 9, 2019 [6 favorites]


Man I love this fucked up show. That octopus reveal (on stage!!) was its own thing, but yet reminded me of the woman singing in Mulholland Drive. It’s a hot mess of a plot but at least it’s different. Like people say above, it’s a fever dream half remembered. I can’t recount the plot to anyone without sounding like I’ve had some edibles.

I feel like this show is figuring itself out as we go along. OA and Hap are Angel/Devil counterparts who get closer and closer with each jump (now they’re married!), I’m thinking they need to make peace with each other shadow-self style in order to stop jumping and die in peace. OA has a brother-protector in each jump, alternatively FBI therapist (there has GOT to be more about this dude than we see, I feel like he knows secrets, plus the actor’s got Presence)-Karim. Homer is kind of a saviour-lover but he’s got to get out of the way of OA-Hap solving their puzzle.

To a finale where they’re all on set with little models, and the window is a portal between dimensions, execution could have been better but oh man.

Lastly they leave threads hanging all over the place - Cuban woman still at the asylum, Karim’s falling dreams, people trapped in mirrors, OA is a medium to the fish/bird world, that woman who jumps by herself...

I think the archetypal roles of each person will solidify with each go around till they figure out who they really are and solve the riddle of themselves if you know what I mean.

So yeah I'm all in for season 3
posted by St. Peepsburg at 3:53 PM on May 1, 2019 [2 favorites]


yeah this show was just a great trippy journey that I couldn't stop enjoying. I want more!
posted by numaner at 9:29 PM on May 1, 2019




If another film is made any time soon about Malcolm X, Kingsley Ben-Adir (Karim from this show) would be fantastic for the role.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:09 PM on May 6, 2019


Well, darn - The OA Canceled by Netflix, No Season 3
posted by oh yeah! at 8:52 PM on August 5, 2019


I'm real mad about it. You'd think netflix would at least have an interest in letting shows like this have a conclusion. They only get two seasons - fine, but let them plan appropriately
posted by vibratory manner of working at 3:35 PM on August 6, 2019 [1 favorite]


Considering they apparently had a 5-season plan, we can't even hope for a wrap-up movie special like Sense8 got. And I don't think this is the kind of show where I could get any kind of closure from the creators just describing what they had hoped to do in later seasons, no plot synopsis could convey it in all its bonkers glory. Very disappointing.
posted by oh yeah! at 4:12 PM on August 6, 2019 [1 favorite]






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