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Top of the Lake Season 2
Jan. 31st, 2018 10:09 pmTLDR: Gripping, thought-provoking, and well acted; but problematic and not as good as the first season.
The first season of Top of the Lake was brilliant. It made sense that Robin, our heroine, had personal connections to the crime she was investigating, because everyone in the town did. It was a small town with rot at its center. It was her hometown, and she left and returned to bring the righteous fire. Everyone in the town was involved in some way or another. The contrast between this rural horror and the sweeping, epic NZ landscape was amazing. The way Robin endured and continued to fight for justice felt empowering. And the ending, where she not only uncovers the crime ring but shoots the villain, was satisfying. Tui, the girl at the center of the story, also got to shoot a villain.
The second season is less coherent. Again there is a personal connection between Robin and the crime-- a sex worker is found dead on a beach--, but now it's less plausible. The characters live in Sydney were there are millions of people-- what are the odds that Robin's biological daughter would be hanging out at the brothel where the crime occurred? Her work partner, Hilmarson, also has a connection to this brothel, so the strangeness begins to pile up.
The show runners are interested in exploring surrogacy, sex work, adoption, and Robin's relationship with her daughter, along with portraying patriarchy and rape culture. These are fascinating topics, but it felt a bit muddled. Perhaps it was supposed to. The ending was less satisfying too, and again that may have been intentional. The bad guy is not always caught. Sometimes the triumphs are smaller: building relationships and helping people avoid bad choices. Limiting harm where you can.
The problems (here be major spoilers):
Gwenolyn Christie is in this season and I totally love her. But, she gets shot at the end and is seriously wounded; we're not told if she is going to live or not, and it's upsetting.
There's a disabled character, a wheelchair user, and he's a major villain. There is an implication that he is faking needing a wheelchair, too, though this isn't entirely clear. There is also a person with an apparent mental illness (he is haunted, or perhaps hallucinating, about the deceased sex worker, Cinnamon), and he turns violent. This is implying a connection between mental illness and violence that I intensely dislike.
The people of color in this season are all sex workers. In the first season, I liked that there were indigenous people represented in the story. In the 2nd season, the portrayal of women of color made me uncomfortable.
Things I liked:
A queer character who is a total sweetheart (the medical examiner)
More queer characters who are less likeable, but still sympathetic, which is a nice touch
I like the complex working relationship and eventual friendship between Robin and Hilmarson
Robin being a good detective and a badass person
This show basically has all the content notes -- rape culture, harassment, violence, guns, miscarriage, drinking, smoking, seriously why so much smoking, drunk sex, nudity
The first season of Top of the Lake was brilliant. It made sense that Robin, our heroine, had personal connections to the crime she was investigating, because everyone in the town did. It was a small town with rot at its center. It was her hometown, and she left and returned to bring the righteous fire. Everyone in the town was involved in some way or another. The contrast between this rural horror and the sweeping, epic NZ landscape was amazing. The way Robin endured and continued to fight for justice felt empowering. And the ending, where she not only uncovers the crime ring but shoots the villain, was satisfying. Tui, the girl at the center of the story, also got to shoot a villain.
The second season is less coherent. Again there is a personal connection between Robin and the crime-- a sex worker is found dead on a beach--, but now it's less plausible. The characters live in Sydney were there are millions of people-- what are the odds that Robin's biological daughter would be hanging out at the brothel where the crime occurred? Her work partner, Hilmarson, also has a connection to this brothel, so the strangeness begins to pile up.
The show runners are interested in exploring surrogacy, sex work, adoption, and Robin's relationship with her daughter, along with portraying patriarchy and rape culture. These are fascinating topics, but it felt a bit muddled. Perhaps it was supposed to. The ending was less satisfying too, and again that may have been intentional. The bad guy is not always caught. Sometimes the triumphs are smaller: building relationships and helping people avoid bad choices. Limiting harm where you can.
The problems (here be major spoilers):
Gwenolyn Christie is in this season and I totally love her. But, she gets shot at the end and is seriously wounded; we're not told if she is going to live or not, and it's upsetting.
There's a disabled character, a wheelchair user, and he's a major villain. There is an implication that he is faking needing a wheelchair, too, though this isn't entirely clear. There is also a person with an apparent mental illness (he is haunted, or perhaps hallucinating, about the deceased sex worker, Cinnamon), and he turns violent. This is implying a connection between mental illness and violence that I intensely dislike.
The people of color in this season are all sex workers. In the first season, I liked that there were indigenous people represented in the story. In the 2nd season, the portrayal of women of color made me uncomfortable.
Things I liked:
A queer character who is a total sweetheart (the medical examiner)
More queer characters who are less likeable, but still sympathetic, which is a nice touch
I like the complex working relationship and eventual friendship between Robin and Hilmarson
Robin being a good detective and a badass person
This show basically has all the content notes -- rape culture, harassment, violence, guns, miscarriage, drinking, smoking, seriously why so much smoking, drunk sex, nudity
