[star rating=”4.5″] THE END OF THE F***ING WORLD SEASON 2: Written by Charlie Covell. With Alex Lawther and Jessica Barden. Netflix.
MEGAN FURNISS reviews
Spoiler Alert!
The first season of The End of The F***ing World was one of the first things I watched on Netflix. I remember being gobsmacked. Extraordinary characters, a totally original script, brilliant and bold styling, and a devastating, contemporary story of love and pain. The season also came to what I assumed had been a clear, tragic end, so I was suspicious of where a second season could go.
I needn’t have been. I swallowed this latest season in two days. And it is possible that it is even better than the first one. It picks up where the first season leaves off, but with the introduction of a new character; the young and crazy ex-girlfriend of the man James killed.
Alyssa and James, played perfectly by Jessica Barden and Alex Lawther, are the strange, dysfunctional, young and broken people who are bound to each other. She is unlikeable, weird, rude and brittle. He is emotional, weak, nerdy and inarticulate. Enter the crazed ex-girlfriend on a revenge mission, and other hiccups, U-turns and flat tires, and season 2 is riveting, beautiful, and as compulsive as season 1.
A combination of the visual and the least said
Strong, underplayed and incredibly still performances mark how these two protagonists portray their characters and then tell the story. They are carried by a brilliant, and on-board support cast, who adapt to the style so well.
Based on a comic book, the episodes are a combination of the visual and the least said. Each moment is perfectly framed, and beautifully styled. The characters use the fewest words, and, occasionally, we hear their speech bubbles in voice over; their innermost thoughts that are different from what comes out of their mouths.
But mostly, what makes The End of The F***ing World season 2 bold and shattering is its dissection of love, family, hurt and punishment.
It is teen Tarantino Natural Born Killers with heart, modern Shakespearian Romeo and Juliet, British Bonnie & Clyde. It is a coming-of age-story of our time, bleak, beautiful and powerful stuff. And I loved it.
What: The End of the F***cking World season 2
Where: Netflix
WS
