After the cliff hanger ending in season one following Alyssa and James’ epic adventure in running away from the law, I was intrigued and excited to see how the next season would follow.
The end of the f***ing world is based on the comic books series by Charles Forsman and as mentioned, follows the life of James, a boy who is convinced he is a psychopath and Alyssa, a girl misunderstood by her family, with a strong-willed attitude and a personality that can often come across as rude and stubborn.
In season one we see James and Alyssa getting themselves in a sticky situation when they run away from home and stay the night in a house that they break into. The house is owned by the pretty twisted Professor Clive Koch who, after finding explicit photographs of him assaulting and raping women leaves the pair worried for the rest of the evening. Upon his return and discovery of the two youngsters, Professor Koch proceeds to attack Alyssa resulting in James killing him.
Whilst this is an essential plotline in the first season, I did not expect it to form the basis of the second season. In the first episode, we are introduced to Bonnie, who, as it later emerges was one of Clive’s lovers but was unaware of his awful actions against other women. We then learn of her dark and twisted mind and her psychological issues developed from her childhood such as the fact that she is a pathological liar. The plot centres around her seeking revenge from the two individuals responsible for her lover’s death.
As a fan of the first season, I had high expectations for the second season. It was nice to see some changes and developments in the storyline such as the improvement in the relationship between James and his Father as well as the appearance of Josh Dylan (Mamma Mia 2 fans will know what I mean). However, overall, the second season was just a bit samey. James and Alyssa reunite, run away on an adventure together…again. We are again, left questioning the ‘love’ that they have for each other – is this platonic or more? And although the season delves deeper into the past of Professor Koch and his relationship with Bonnie, it just doesn’t seem like a lot actually ‘happened’, particularly when compared to the previous season.
All this being said, however, the new season was still as binge-worthy as the last. The twenty-minute episodes really are a trap – before you know it, you’ve been watching the same show for hours! The show has retained its dark humour and grit, and the way the characters thoughts and feelings are portrayed remains clever and enticing, as if we all know James, Alyssa and this time Bonnie, on a personal level. However, the show simply lacked something different and new and as much as I hope there will be a third season, I also hope there will be some new plot twists.
You can watch both seasons of the end of the f***ing world on Netflix and 4OD.
Rating: 3.5/5.