Two years since Channel 4’s dark comedy-drama captured young audiences’ hearts, TEOTFW makes a dramatic return…
The show gained a lot of love and support when it hit Netflix worldwide – however, a lot was left unanswered and the first season left audiences wondering: was there going to be a season two?
Originally planned by director Charlie Covell to be a single season project, TEOTFW wound up in his eyes being a story that had more to tell, and starring pair Jessica Barden (Alyssa) and Alex Lawther (James) were more than up for this idea when approached by Covell.
“It was a good excuse to hang out!” Jessica explains comically to NME whilst sitting alongside her co-star Alex.
Some time has passed in the show since the uncertain cliff-hanger in season one which left us wondering what had happened to James on that bleak beach. Whether he managed to outrun the rather large arsenal of the British police, we just didn’t know.
Roughly two years on, we find Alyssa attempting to get on with her life despite her traumatic past, but James doesn’t appear to have anything to do with her.
Lucky for the duo, psychopathic killer Bonnie (Naomi Ackie), whose boyfriend lost his life when he found himself in James and Alyssa’s path of destruction in season one, is determined to get vengeance. This brings the couple full circle and right back into one another’s lives – so let the madness unfold for season two.
The show plays on similar themes and narratives that will undoubtedly will familiar from watching season one, it must be said though that the dark humoured dialogue between the leading pair is so brilliant to see once again, you feel like you’ve really missed them.
Barden and Lawther seem to have such great chemistry on set together, which may seem ironic with the amount of awkward silences that feature in scenes, but the pair just appear to make it work so well.
As well as this, their character development for season one to now (James especially) leads to new narratives that we just wouldn’t have got in season one, like the dynamic of the pair’s relationship and what has changed between them in the time they’ve been apart.
Overall, the fact is if you were a fan of the first season, you’re more than likely going to be a fan of the second. The digestible 25-minute episodes mean you can fly through this season in no time, and will undoubtedly have a good time whilst doing it.
The season, made up of eight new episodes like its predecessor, premieres Monday nights on Channel 4 – but if you’re in the mood for a binge, you can watch all episodes back-to-back now on All 4.
By Joel Del Gesso
Feature image credit: Channel 4