Series Two was as funny and interesting as Series One. I did worry that this would be a disappointment but it rose to the challenge. Whilst Jack remained the main protagonist, the other characters were given prominence. It’s their story arcs that push the plot forward. I feel like this rounded the show into something more solid.
*****SPOILERS*****
Randall and
Gabrielle
It
seems like an unlikely pairing but it happened. Whether it worked or not is
another matter entirely. Randall sums it up perfectly: ‘”It’s hard to be
frenemies with benefits.”’ (Cracking us up like usual!)
Jack realises Gabrielle spent the
night with Randall because she’s wearing one of his shirts. This made me
double-take because it’s a crop top on Gabrielle so on the much-bigger Randall
it was, what, a headband? Is this a case of magic being ‘god of the gap’ or is
it a clever way to show the audience that magic can change clothing without it
having to be said outright?
Gabrielle found out that the Knights
were going to do something against the Order. In exchange for her not telling
Vera, Gabrielle has Randall take an ethics test for her. (The irony.) They
transform Randall to look like Gabrielle and Randall does a really bad
impression of Gabrielle. However, Gabrielle’s actor does a truly fantastic job acting
as Randall’s character (who’s poorly acting as Gabrielle’s character).
Hamish and Vera
The
end of series one gave gentle hints that Hamish and Vera were into each other.
These hints came fast and heavy in
series two. The clearest hint (before being revealed outright) was when,
after Hamish had gone back to
see Vera, the Knights stole the Order’s entire Reliquary and a piece of
Hamish’s clothing came along with it.
They developed fondness for one
another (or at least Hamish for Vera) rather than it being just about the sex.
So when Vera assumes Hamish thinks she’s selfish, he’s really affectionate, and
reassures her by saying she’s ‘weirdly ticklish’.
The funniest interaction between
these two was some hot and heavy kissing. Hamish says this isn’t what he meant.
Vera’s reply? ‘”You specifically said you had something big to show me.”’ That
line wins series two. Forget that: this line wins Netflix.
Salvador
Salvador
is the leader of Praxis, a magical society that thinks magic should be for
everyone. To achieve this, they want the spell that removes magic’s need for
sacrifices, a spell that the Order keeps.
Salvador lists all the magic groups
she hates, especially the Knights. Seeing as not even the Order knew the Knights
existed on their doorstep, how could Salvador know the Knights exist? It turns
out Salvador has the hide of Alpha, a werewolf once in the Knights. Without
this revelation, Salvador’s knowledge of the Knights would have ruined the
cohesiveness and consistency of this show.
Salvador persuades Alyssa to join
Praxis. Admittedly, this wouldn’t have happened if Alyssa hadn’t lost her magic
(which was because Vera didn’t destroy the Vade Mecum). Alyssa losing her power
was the ultimate betrayal.
Then again, Alyssa does seem to be
very persuadable. She adored Grand Magus Edward in series one and it took a lot
to shake that… infatuation. It’s weird: she has the skill and power to be a
leader yet her habit of hero worship shows a lack of independent thought, or at
least shows she doesn’t value her own thoughts as much as those of her leaders.
Other Notes
The
Sons of Prometheus, a rival magical society, said that the Order is known for
its sex magic and werewolf hunting. Yet in series one, Vera had students
research how to kill werewolves: if the Order is known for killing werewolves
then they’d have that knowledge already at hand, surely?
When
a demon’s been released, Vera tells the Order that ‘”the rumours aren’t true.
We’re all going to die.”’ This was hilarious and is the only time we see Vera
lose her composure.
Lilith
pushes a demon back into the demon realms and Randall is obsessed with getting
Lilith back. When they finally rescue Lilith, she’s became a demon. I should
have seen this transformation coming, considering Clay in series one turned out
to be a golem. Randall killed Kepler to bring Lilith back but Lilith wants to
return to the demon realms. So Kepler died for nothing (however satisfying her
death was).
Jack
has fallen into line with Vera Stone. He still does what he wants but he has an
odd amount of trust in her. It was almost like lip-service (even if he
occasionally believed it). Also Jack and Alyssa FINALLY have sex. And a lot of
it!
The
only disappointment was that Series Two ended. So, Series Three: hurry up!
