Directors: various
First aired: 2017
Contains spoilers
I enjoyed the
First Season. It may have been more like a prequel to the comic books (and took story aspects in different directions) but it was irreverent, violently shocking and funny. It carried itself forward with a sassy swagger and left me looking forward to the second season.
The feel of the series changed a tad through setting as much as anything. With the town of the first season gone the focus changed. It did eventually settle in New Orleans but the city barely registered as a personality in and of itself (as so often it does) and the focus of the show was, very much, the characters – on earth Jesse Custer (Dominic Cooper,
Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter &
Dracula Untold), Tulip (Ruth Negga) and Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun), and in Hell Eugene/Arseface (Ian Colletti) – who makes a curious comrade in Hitler (Noah Taylor).
 |
| Graham McTavish as the Saint of Killers |
On Earth our heroes are being pursued by the Saint of Killers (Graham McTavish), who is now referred to with that moniker as opposed to the Cowboy; a relentless killing machine on whom Genesis does not seem to work (and which acts as a homing device for the supernatural assassin). God is no-where to be found, though his love for jazz is established, and a shadowy organisation – the Grail – fronted by Herr Starr (Pip Torrens) has taken quite an interest in Jesse and gang.
 |
| Joseph Gilgun as Cassidy |
So Cassidy, of course, is our focus as he is a vampire and it is he who finds them a place to live in New Orleans with Denis (Ronald Guttman) an elderly gentleman who only seems to speak French. As the story develops we discover that Cassidy is his father (Denis clearly aware of what his father is) and he is also dying. He believes that Cassidy has been a terrible father (this is likely true) but he can redeem himself if he does one thing for his son…
 |
| Ruth Negga as Tulip |
Beyond this storyline, presented in later episodes, the vampirism takes a tad of a back seat (or is taken for granted) though Cassidy must, still, avoid direct sunlight and will heal terrible injuries (he loses his fingers at one point) through blood. The organisation that appeared to be hunting him at the head of the first season don’t come into this but we also get a very small tantalising glimpse at vampiric society through a phone call he makes.
 |
| Dominic Cooper as Jesse |
The primary stars are, of course, as superb as they were in the first series but the addition of Herr Starr is a moment of genius with the character adding to the series significantly. The show is still violent and irreverent but it is also blackly funny – and Herr Starr adds a whole side of dark comedy to the proceedings.
8 out of 10.
The imdb page is
here.
On DVD @ Amazon US
On DVD @ Amazon UK
2 comments:
I found it interesting that Cassidy developed fangs for the first time in the season finale. I guess the fangs only come out when he wants to turn someone. I guess. Also, not really sure about his strength level. In the comics it was superhuman. In the show...kinda all over the place.
Hi FangFan - really I'm not comparing comic to TV series as much as I can because it is diverging, however point taken. Re the fangs, interesting spot, we'll have to keep an eye out
Post a Comment