While overall I'd place the second season on par with the first, there's a few things it does much better, primarily the character of Kevin, who, in season 1, was mainly framed (imo) as Dan's roommate who does some art stuff, feels a lot a lot more fleshed out as an individual in the second season, getting his own stand-alone episode (that I would love another return to in any possible future seasons). They really delve into his artistic ambitions, how others view his art, and mine a ton of great comedy from his time at the art school (and he gets the opportunity to deliver waaaaay more great one-liners ("One of those big-forehead countries") and is given more of a comedic voice than how he came off in season 1 which was sad arty dude). Kevin and Dan spent a lot more time apart this season and their characters (but especially Kevin) benefited from it (I'm reminded of how Sally's story was divorced from being Barry's girlfriend early on in season 3 of Barry and she became WAY more interesting as a character trying to juggle her career and navigating Hollywood than just "the girlfriend"). The writers also saw how good the young actress who plays Zayna is and wisely beefed up her role whereas she felt more like a frequent recurring character in the first season. She's still young but I could see her working steadily in small/guest roles after Flatbush, then shooting an indie movie in 20 years and hitting it big when the movie explodes. A lot of young actors come off as overly-coached and overly-studied as actors and there's something really natural in how she plays Zayna though you could say that about most of the cast (I also gained more appreciation for Kareem and Drew this season). My only critique, which I didn't notice until the last episode, was how infrequently Dan's therapist appears. She is an absolute force and absolutely kills each and every single one of her line readings even when her appearances are basically exclusively via video call.
This show has really flown under the radar and I'm not optimistic for a third season but man oh man have I cherished the 2 seasons of a show whose humor is so up my alley.
Review by BobDole12BlockedParentSpoilers2022-08-20T20:40:09Z
While overall I'd place the second season on par with the first, there's a few things it does much better, primarily the character of Kevin, who, in season 1, was mainly framed (imo) as Dan's roommate who does some art stuff, feels a lot a lot more fleshed out as an individual in the second season, getting his own stand-alone episode (that I would love another return to in any possible future seasons). They really delve into his artistic ambitions, how others view his art, and mine a ton of great comedy from his time at the art school (and he gets the opportunity to deliver waaaaay more great one-liners ("One of those big-forehead countries") and is given more of a comedic voice than how he came off in season 1 which was sad arty dude). Kevin and Dan spent a lot more time apart this season and their characters (but especially Kevin) benefited from it (I'm reminded of how Sally's story was divorced from being Barry's girlfriend early on in season 3 of Barry and she became WAY more interesting as a character trying to juggle her career and navigating Hollywood than just "the girlfriend").
The writers also saw how good the young actress who plays Zayna is and wisely beefed up her role whereas she felt more like a frequent recurring character in the first season. She's still young but I could see her working steadily in small/guest roles after Flatbush, then shooting an indie movie in 20 years and hitting it big when the movie explodes. A lot of young actors come off as overly-coached and overly-studied as actors and there's something really natural in how she plays Zayna though you could say that about most of the cast (I also gained more appreciation for Kareem and Drew this season).
My only critique, which I didn't notice until the last episode, was how infrequently Dan's therapist appears. She is an absolute force and absolutely kills each and every single one of her line readings even when her appearances are basically exclusively via video call.
This show has really flown under the radar and I'm not optimistic for a third season but man oh man have I cherished the 2 seasons of a show whose humor is so up my alley.