While this fourth episode was slightly better than the third episode and most definitely better than the mediocre premiere, the show is still kind of slow and meanders too much in Season 2, in my opinion. The main positive about this episode "Old Wounds" is the show's biggest plus in Season 2 and that's the acting. The acting for this series is head and shoulders above much of the acting I've seen on a lot of modern TV shows in the last few years. The actors (well, most of them) are doing their best job to deliver the material to the best of their abilities and make the viewer believe in what the characters are saying, but the plot and storytelling is really failing them this season. So many questions, very few answers.
Getting the best out of the way first, the Nat-Lisa, Misty-Walter, and Young Nat-Young Lottie scenes were the standouts of the episode. The show is finally starting to enforce significant interactions between some of the YJ characters and non-YJ characters. The Nat-Lisa bonding scenes were my favorite and I could sense from the first couple of episodes, the writers were building a rapport between Nat and Lisa, which at this point is the only relationship that feels like it's developing this season. And the Young Nat/Lottie scenes were cool seeing their competitive bonding as teens versus their more guarded interplay as adults this season. Pairing Misty with Walter (Elijah Wood in a winning performance) is a slam dunk for her character because she doesn't even need a sidekick or partner to be entertaining, so it's just icing on the cake. My least favorite subplot in Season 1 was that kidnapping subplot between Misty and that forgettable reporter character (played in the most obnoxiously monotone way by that actress). Also, Nat and Misty are my top 2 adult YJ characters anyway, so again...icing on the cake. Another bonus this season has been the development of minor characters Akilah and especially Mari, who serves as a strong antagonist to the group in Season 2, a la Jackie in Season 1. Also, Lottie's fantasy mall sequence during her hypothermic shock were pretty cool.
Now to the rest! Lol Tai's subplot has gotten to be the most infuriating of the season. While Tawny Cypress is acting excellently, the subplot is moving much too slowly. Tai's subplot this episode was incredibly predictable because it was obvious in the last episode that her alter was telling her to go see Van. Tai spent the entire episode in a daze with some throwaway hitchhiking scene until we get that "surprise" ending with the introduction of Adult Van (played by Lauren Ambrose of Six Feet Under and Servant fame). Speaking of Van, unlike most fans, I'm not sold on the casting of Ambrose from just a physical standpoint because I frankly don't see the resemblance between Ambrose and Liv Hewson and it's going to take some major convincing of me that they are the same character. For example, people are saying the 2 Nats look different, but I totally buy that Young Nat morphs into Adult Nat because of Sophie Thatcher nailing Juliette Lewis' mannerisms, Nat's drug addict storyline which explains the drastic change in her physical appearance after 25 years, and also their voices are eerily similar. And despite being aware that Ambrose is a good actress, her show Servant went bad after a strong first season, so the last I watched of her and that series was that atrocious second season. The red hair and same scar makeup is simply not good enough to sell me that I'm watching the same person. I'll just have to see how Adult Van fares.
Shauna's family subplot has also been very slow with Shauna finding Adam's driver's license (something that should have been destroyed in the premiere) in Callie's drawer and finally coming clean to her about Adam's death. Everything about the license subplot has been poorly done, from Shauna and Jeff not making sure it was burned completely to Callie just carelessly "hiding" it in her bedroom dresser. It feels like a plot convenience to lead up to the big confession scene in this episode. That entire scene of Shauna's confession and Callie's immediate acceptance felt so blasé. Shauna just confessed that she murders a guy and Callie's first response is "I knew Dad was innocent!" First, it was like she was glad that her Mom was guilty over her Dad. And second why would her mind even go to her Dad other than the writers needed a convenient way for Shauna to expose Jeff's role in the blackmail-murder conspiracy? What's the deal with Ben's subplot? In both the previous episode and this one, it looks like he was completely out of it on his deathbed having visions of his boyfriend Paul, yet in between he has scenes of being fully awake and aware and moving around normally.
Next up are the weak and useless characters. Callie's character is a contradiction who changes her mind like the wind. She spent 1.5 seasons hating and judging her parents for being liars and hypocrites, then when she finds out they are murderers and blackmailers, she relents and decides they are good people after all. One minute, she's sanctimonious when she thinks it's only Shauna who's guilty and Jeff is innocent, then when she finds out they're both guilty, she'd rather be a hypocrite herself and be guilty along with them. But what really hurts Callie is the writing because it doesn't feel like interesting, nuanced writing for a potentially sinister, creepy character. It just feels like the writers wrote a cringe, one-dimensional teenager and the only thing they can do to make her remotely interesting is to turn her into a mini-Shauna, but it won't feel earned. Onto the next useless character this season, I have zero idea why Crystal is even on this show. In the premiere she was introduced randomly (and annoyingly) humming and singing. Then in the third episode, she gives that weird acting advice to Misty, which only served as a showcase for Misty's amazing monologue and added nothing to Crystal's character. Then in both the second episode (fake sword fighting) and this one (once again singing), she's just playing in the background with Misty. Crystal's sole existence appears to be Misty's sidekick. And was Crystal part of the JV team or something because she seems quite younger than the rest of the team? At least with Misty, we know she's younger because she's the team towel/water girl. And the Paul flashbacks are boring and don't add anything to the show. The show is really starting to pad episodes in the guise of making them seem more complex and deep than they really are.
Finally, the general storytelling feels contrived and aimless and makes little sense now. The whole reason that Young Lottie was able to cultivate followers in the past timeline is because she was off her meds and was having supernatural visions. Yet the Adult Lottie is back on her meds and has formed a cult, but based off of what? On her meds, she's normal and doesn't see things. So how and why did she form a cult without using her abilities? Lottie uses meds, yet she encourages her followers not to use meds that would actually help with their illnesses. How did Nat see that same Moose in a vision in the prior episode, but see it for real in this one? Lottie's the only one who's supposed to be having visions. How does Nat all of a sudden have them, too? What is with the final scene of Van and Tai just randomly finding Javi? Van somehow quickly and miraculously figured out that the pattern of Tai's nighttime sleepwalking adventures matches the mystery symbol and that there's only one spot left for her to sleepwalk to and THAT leads them to Javi. Really? This feels like made up nonsense by the writers to both turn Van into a believer as well as make Tai a candidate for Antler Queen. How exactly is someone with dissociative identity disorder going to get people to follow her? Speaking of Young Van, her character has really lost her mojo from Season 1. She's gone from a funny scene-stealer to a boringTai worshipper, similar to how Crystal worships Misty, except unlike Crystal, Van actually existed in Season 1 and had real character development.
Also, why the change in the awesome intro music to this terrible Alanis Morrisette rendition? The original theme was a big hook that really got me pumped for each episode, but this cover song sounds atrocious. And what show changes it's opening intro DURING the season? Usually, they premiere a new intro with each new season. At least the intro was something that I could still enjoy even if the episode wasn't very good. And now they've taken that away, too. It's jarring how well thought out, suspenseful, and intriguing this story was in Season 1 versus now in Season 2 where it feels like the writers are just making it up as they go along. They seem to have completely abandoned the pragmatic survival aspect of the show and fully embraced the supernatural elements with very mixed results. I fear that YJ is going to follow the Westworld model where everything in Season 1 made sense while everything afterwards just felt like pretentious filler. The mostly stellar acting from the talented cast is the main thing keeping Season 2 afloat.
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