Season 2

The first season was more enjoyable. I think that had a lot to do with the aspect of novelty. The first season was the beginning of the show, the beginning of a new show. And another reason why I enjoyed the first season more was probably since I watched it when it was airing and then watched it a second time before I started watching this season.

Despite that, this season still had its highlights. The most noticeable one was the cinematography. It was so much better than it was in the first season. A lot of the shots also had this blue tint. Probably from the "moonlight." And I put that in quotes because I'm not sure whether it was actual moonlight or if the cinematographers used some technique to mimic the effect of actual moonlight. Still, that blue tint to most of the cinematography in this season looked great. In general, the cinematography as a whole looked better in quality, and the sixth episode had the best setting for great shots in the entire show; and the greatest cinematography in the entire show. There were also new locations in San Francisco shown, and new locations outside of San Francisco that were refreshing to see; the cinematography of them still being good, too.

One of the other highlights that I liked had to do with Wang Chao. He's one of the best characters in the entire show, and I thought he was massively underutilized in the first season; well, to be fair, I may have thought that because I liked him so much and because I wanted there to be more of him. But I do think it's because he was, indeed, underutilized, too. And he was more prominent in this season and was a more important part than in the first season, which I really liked. I think Hoon Lee's acting and performance of the character is one of the appealing aspects of Wang Chao.

And the choreography of the fight sequences remained just as good as in the first season, too. Now, this may be an unpopular opinion. But I think the fight sequences in the first season were better. Don't get me wrong, the fight sequences in this season weren't bad by any means. The choreography was still good. It's that I think the fight sequences themselves were better in the first season. Or at least the fight sequences in the first season were more memorable. The only one in this season that stood out was the one in the finale: you know which one I'm talking about. And while that one was arguably super great and all, choreography-wise, it was underwhelming for other reasons. And before you call me out for not mentioning the fight sequence in the fifth episode between two 'you-know-who' characters, that one didn't stand out as much to me. The sound effects didn't sound that good at the beginning of the fight, and the way it was choreographed and directed was plain goofy at times. The cuts to another scene and then back to the fight didn't help, either. But, and let me reiterate this: the fight sequences in this season weren't bad. Neither was the choreography. I prefer the ones in the first season, for the most part; that's all.

The addition of the four new characters was refreshing. We've already been introduced and grown accustomed to all the other characters because of the first season, so introducing some new ones was the right call. The only character that I liked right off the bat was Hong. I was immediately indifferent towards Nellie Davenport, which didn't really change by the end of the season. It was the same with Sophie Mercer but on a lesser scale. But unlike Nellie, she had more of an important role. Even so, I remained pretty much indifferent towards her as well. Rosalita Vega was the only other new character that I liked. In her case, I ended up liking her by the sixth episode. I was indifferent towards her, too, at first. Maria-Elena Laas' acting came across as weak, but after thinking about it, a huge part of that was probably that she didn't have much dialogue; or a significant enough role until the sixth episode.

Overall, there were disappointing and underwhelming moments that really dampened the enjoyment of this season for me. I think the two main ones were the writing and what happened at the end of the seventh episode. I like Buckley, and I'm glad he's getting more of a focus. But what happened at the end of that episode was very disappointing, and looking back on it, I think it left a pretty effective hole in the season, which will probably remain in the third season if HBO Max decides to renew this show. I think the writing, too, was slightly disappointing or uninteresting. The main thing in that regard is probably that I'm really not that interested in the setting of this show - its story, its main plot threads, and the subplots. I truly believe those aspects are the weakest parts of the show. The strengths are some of the characters, the fight sequences, their choreography - and the cinematography. Those aspects carry the show.

As I said at the beginning, I enjoyed the first season more than I enjoyed this season. But there were improvements in this season compared to the first one. The main one was the cinematography. The increase in quality was very noticeable. I wouldn't say that the new characters were an improvement, but they were an aspect that helped elevate this season and its enjoyment for me. It was the same thing with this being a new season. I think the novelty aspect was definitely not an improvement; because, with every new season of a show, it'll always be present, but I did appreciate it. Ultimately, this season provided entertainment, and that's what matters the most.