'Black Summer' – Season 2


I still love zombie movies (the good and the bad, all equally) but up until the other day, I'd more or less burnt out on zombie TV. I fell out of love with 'The Walking Dead' at Season 7 (and it doesn't feel like I've missed out on much?) and ducked out of 'Fear The Walking Dead' when it felt like that was headed in the same direction. The less said about 'The World Beyond', the better... 'Z Nation' started off looking good but was a little too jokey for me. I was looking for that sweet spot in the middle but secretly thinking it would never happen... Until the other day when I started watching 'Black Summer'.

I won't go over it again, you can find my thoughts down the page or by clicking Here, but I loved the first Season of Black Summer' so watching Season 2 was pretty much a formality. I didn't expect to get round to it quite so quickly but I had time on my hands last night and for most of today so...

Four months have passed since the events at the stadium and the survivors have moved northwards , presumably because the urban areas are now overrun. Whatever the reason, the trek into the mountains leads to new dangers for everyone and only some of these are the zombies themselves...

Season 2 of 'Black Summer' clearly knows when it's onto a good thing, choosing to keep on going with all the stuff that made the first season so watchable. It's a move that really pays off. Within seconds of the first episode starting, I was picked up and thrown straight back into this chaotic world where anything can happen and where once again, your favourite characters are not safe at all. Without naming names (spoilers and all that, although I'm probably the last person to watch this season) but I wasn't too sad to see the first character bow out, they did far more as a zombie, in half an episode, than they did over the first Season. And that's something I want to mention, DAMN these zombies are powerful. They're not just fast, they will literally plough through anything (doors, fences...) to get to you. And if you don't shoot someone in the head before they go... Well, people can turn within seconds. It goes without saying then that there are vicious jump scares here, just waiting to get you.

As the show moves into the mountains, the zombies are still there but there's more of a focus on that well known staple of zombie media, regular humans who could easily survive if they worked together... but don't. Given that some zombies are starting to freeze now, this is a good move and, coupled with the show's approach of putting the whole story together one piece at a time, makes for some compelling storytelling. What I liked is that there's no such thing as good or bad people here, just people doing what they need to and sometimes making bad choices (or maybe the only choice that they could) off the back of this. I like that honesty, it makes the show even more watchable.

So yeah, more of the same of what made Season 1 so good but if it ain't broke and all that... ;o) Season 2 of 'Black Summer' made for superb TV and I flew through the episodes, almost without realising it was happening. The Season ends in such a way that the story ends naturally but I wouldn't mind seeing what happened next to at least a couple of the characters who made it to the end. I'm not sure how likely a Season 3 is (not very likely from what I've seen and heard) but fingers crossed anyway.

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