See Season 2 Ep 1 Review: A Second Season That Stands Out For Its Ambition And Quality

See Cast: Jason Momoa, Dave Bautista, Alfre Woodard

See Creator: Steven Knight

Streaming Platform: AppleTV+

Ratings: 3/5 (three stars) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

During the first season of See on Apple TV +, the notion of blindness became a crushing force to overcome. One so ruthless that the characters had to find a way to face a peculiar enemy with almost no tools. In the world where Baba Voss (Jason Momoa) was born, sight is a myth. So much as to have the quality of a legend. But even more intriguing is that no one remembers a past when the world was different.

In the dystopian world of See, the ability to see is a form of power. As if that were not enough, it is also a transit towards the way of understanding collective fear. Much more, when a prodigy occurs that will define a before and after in the history of this society that subsists in darkness. As the confrontation between tribes and the quest for dominance grows more violent, the series reached an unexpected depth in its first season.

Some of that perception about the inevitable, the tragedy and the threat of the different is part of the plot of the second season of See. But this time, Knight dares to do something more ambitious. The clash between the worlds that are born in the middle of an unpredictable idea is a dispute of supremacy. In the first season, See speculated about the possibility of the sight myth being real and confronting the world of Baba Voss with something new. In the second, it is already obvious and the story incorporates something else: an adversary. Baba Voss must not only fight for the protection of the Alkenny tribe, but also with the re-founding of the leadership it holds.

‘See’, The Post Apocalyptic And The Search For Freedom

In the world of the See series nothing is simple and in its second season, it becomes even more complex. If until now Baba Voss had been the driving force of survival, now he must face Edo Voss (Dave Bautista), his brother. The separation between the two has created a fracture between their perception of the world and supremacy. The dispute is inevitable but Knight does not focus the interest of the story on how it will happen, but on its consequences. A haunting perspective Knight uses to expand See’s horizon in all directions.

For the occasion, Bautista’s ability to create a character much more introspective than one might suppose is surprising. She is not only her brother’s nemesis, but also a necessary counterweight to Baba’s powerful figure. The actor, who undoubtedly uses his experience in productions where his physical strength is everything, brings emotion and wit to his character.

Edo is more than just an adversary. It is also the embodiment of something elaborate, strange and painful about what Baba aspires to and what the series wishes to show. Because if the looming battle of wills – and it happens, after all – is the rebuilding of the world as it has been until then, Edo is a threat. Whether for destruction or hope, the character of Bautista is an element that will define what will happen in the story going forward.

Especially now that Knight has made the decision to expand the areas that See has touched so far to its full extent. From the focused conflict due to the existence of creatures with the ability to see, the second season of See moves his center of interest on an enigmatic journey. The plot this time asks deep questions about building something on anxiety. What’s beyond the Alkenny tribe? What are the ruthless witch hunters really hiding? Will Baba find his daughter, despite all the situation she has to face and the responsibility behind her?

The Silence And The Subtle Scent Of Danger

As in the previous season, the series carefully explores the fact of a sensory world. But the possibility that there are exceptions to collective blindness is real, changes the proposal. And it does so in a radical way, although not abrupt. The plot is clever enough to introduce the transit of power, not forgetting Baba’s desperate search. But also, he finds a relationship between the great shattered places and the mysterious cities with the search for Baba. The second season of See has not only grown in ambition, but also rebuilt the incomplete plot of its previous chapters. 

It also repairs the cracks in the plot of the first season in which Jerlamarel’s children (Joshua Henry) were the driving force behind the action. For his new chapters, See makes sure to reflect head-on on the fact that the world is about to change. And that the perception of power related to heresy is somewhat harder to understand. Baba and Edo will represent two spaces of the same idea. At the same time, a conflict in the making that will undoubtedly impact the already announced third season.

Baba Voss is no longer the undisputed leader. Or at least it must show why it should be. At the same time, he must face the search he undertook from its consequences. Knight takes much more risks and turns the second season of See into a spectacular dystopia in which the future is a threat. But the past is also a dark legacy. For its second season there are no half measures. It is about kill or be killed. And between both extremes, battle for power in a world that begins to awaken from darkness.