Hulu’s creepy teen drama is back. Light as a Feather is just about to return for its second season, and it’s bringing the same creepy vibes and eerie tension as its predecessor. But does it hit the same intriguing and unpredictable marks as season one?
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the series, Light as a Feather follows a group of friends who meet a strange new girl and play a creepy game, during which they each hear a prediction of their death. Those predictions become true and one by one they fall victim to the game and/or the curse that comes with it. You can see my review of season one here.
I’ll admit, I was pleasantly surprised with the first season of this show. I expected a typical teen drama with overacted and unrealistic relationships and a mind-numbingly simplistic story. Instead, I got a unique and unpredictable story with mostly believable human relationships and reactions.
Season two shows flashes of those same great qualities, but doesn’t quite reach the same level, at least early on. All of those relationships that we watched build over the whole first season are quickly and needlessly undone in the first 20 minutes of this new season. It feels as if someone pulled the plug on our computer before we remembered to save our work.
That same realistic uneasy energy is also missing, at least in the beginning. I understand this is a tough thing to duplicate in a second season. Afterall, we know what we’re getting ourselves into this time around. Still, it just feels as though something is missing.
That is, until we are reunited with Violet, the villain of sorts from the first season. While the charm of some of the other characters has faded in season two, the creepy aura of Violet is very much still in full effect. You never really know what her true intentions are or whose side she’s on. Haley Ramm does a fantastic job of being that captivating antagonist a show like this so badly needs. I find myself only wanting to watch the scenes she’s in.
The storytelling of this second season is very choppy. It’s done this way on purpose, with the main character dealing with blackouts and the viewer only getting bits and pieces of information at a time, but it makes it a bit difficult to follow. I’m sure it will all pull together in the end (I’m about a quarter of the way through the season now) but early on it tends to be a bit confusing.
Overall, this second season doesn’t seem as though it will have that same unpredictability and creepy charm as the first. Still, there is certainly a measure of intrigue around it. The curse is back for McKenna and her loved ones to deal with, and Violet is right there every step of the way. If you really enjoyed the first season, I would say it’s worth a watch.
Light as a Feather season two will premiere on Friday, July 26 on Hulu.