'Bloodline' Season 2 Review/Overview (SPOILERS)

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By Darian Scalamoni

Netflix has done a tremendous job with a lot of their original shows since they began with House of Cards starring Kevin Spacey, but they have another underappreciated drama on their hands with Bloodline. Season 1 of the award-nominated drama followed the Rayburn family as they run a hotel in the Keys when their twisted, mysterious eldest brother Danny (Ben Mendelsohn) returns to the island for reasons unknown. The rest of the Rayburns include fantastic legendary actors like Sam Shepard and Sissy Spacek. Along with Danny’s siblings played by Kyle Chandler, Linda Cardellini and Norbert Leo Butz, the cast puts on an acting clinic and it is no different for season 2. I would like to remind readers that there are SPOILERS to follow as I recap and review season 2 of Bloodline so be prepared and this is your warning.

            Season 2 starts after the events of season 1 where the Rayburn family is dealing with the death of their brother Danny. The resort seems more cloudy than usual as the knotty family epic ended but also, opened all new questions and concerns due to a murder. The biggest problem with season two though might be the fact that the best actor in the series (Mendelsohn) isn’t seen anywhere near as much as he was in the first season. The show doesn’t act much like other series as Bloodline is mostly a linear saga in which reveals continue to drive the story forward rather than a large arc followed by other mini story lines. The show is a large build up to an ultimate climax, the problem here with season 2 is, the climax isn’t as good as the first season. In my own personal opinion, season 1 of Bloodline is brilliant. Between the acting, writing, setting, characters and environment, it was in fact one of my favorite seasons of any show I have seen. Season 2 seems to lack the important things that make season 1 so great.

            With the death of the show’s black sheep in the previous season, it’s obvious that the streaming network and producers thought they had to bring in some star power to boost the show back up. This season offers some new interesting characters that relate to Danny in many ways. Whether it’s the mother of his child Evageline (played by Andrea Riseborough), the mysterious and wealthy Roy Gilbert (Beau Bridges) and especially Ozzy Delvecchio (played brilliantly by John Leguizamo), it seems that the show tries to replace a memorable television character with minor villainous types that don’t do anywhere near the same job. But as the first season did, it all starts with the problems and secrets revolving around the Rayburn family in general.

            Most of season 2 deals with life after the murder of Danny Rayburn committed by his brother John Rayburn (Kyle Chandler) along with a little help from siblings Meg (Linda Cardellini) and Kevin (Norbert Leo Butz). The pressure begins to mount within the season which leads the two younger siblings, Meg and Kevin, to start having their own downward spirals. Meg begins to drink heavily which puts her new job in New York in jeopardy but it’s especially when coked-out, marina-owning brother Kevin gets arrested for possession and other crimes where the family really starts to realize that they might not be as the tagline had previously stated. Good people who did a bad thing can now be considered a falsification as they continue to mess around, cut corners and do activities out of jurisdiction of the law.

            As the show goes along, it becomes evident that the magnifying glass starts to read “Rayburn” as various people start to become suspicious in the investigation for Danny. With the rest of the siblings plunging into a dark pit, John’s partner, Marco Diaz (Enrique Murciano) and Danny’s best friend Eric O’Bannon (Jamie McShane) begin to question what really happened as none of their loose ends are connecting. The self-destructive family drama though has problems, especially this season. It begins mostly with some of the decision making by the siblings. Frankly, it’s implausible more often than not. This season also seems to drag in an even shorter outing which is never good.

            Luckily, though the show drags and sometimes the characters are so ridiculous it makes you want to punch your television, the show still manages to have a lot of highs from the previous season, it just doesn’t improve upon the first season. Kyle Chandler continues to be a big reason why I enjoy the show so much and surprisingly, Norbert Leo Butz’s portrayal of Kevin along with his decision making towards the second half of the season leads to his character making leaps and bounds this season. The writing is still strong but in a shorter season, you would hope for a more engaging story line.

7.3/10