Season 2 of Bloodlands answers a lot of questions from season 1, if not in a very satisfying way. You have good television and you have television that just falls short of being good. Bloodlands is, in my opinion, a series in the second category. On paper, everything seems to be correct. James Nesbitt (Cold Feet), the conflicts of Northern Ireland and dirty cops are all ingredients for a good television series. But it's not really good in my opinion. The first season already suffered from this, but in season two it gets even worse.
In the first season, we saw detective Tom Brannick (Nesbitt) hunt down Goliath, a serial killer who murdered several IRA celebrities in the 1990s. At the end of the season, Goliath's identity was revealed to the viewer and Brannick, but Brannick has good reason to keep that to himself. In season two, Brannick's team investigates the murder of an accountant named Colin Foyle. The police have plenty of reasons to suspect widow Olivia (Victoria Smurfit, Trial and Retribution), but Brannick keeps her out of harm's way because she has vital information about Goliath.
There are illogical jumps in the story
By revealing Goliath's identity, writer Chris Brandon took an unexpected twist that I don't think anyone saw coming. But with this, he has written the story to a point of no return. Because how do you move on after this revelation? Incredible jumps have to be made in the story to smooth things out and propel the story forward, and moments like that disturb. For example, Brannick's colleagues have enough evidence to doubt Goliath's alleged identity. However, the fact that Brannick won't tolerate discussion of this without good reason seems more convincing than all the evidence they have.
Fortunately, some of the questions from season one are answered. But whether those questions are satisfying, not really. And again that has to do with the fact that illogical jumps are made during the story. It feels like an anti-climax, and with every answer comes lots of new questions. The ending is also very open. Despite my criticism, I still hope for a third season.
Bloodlands has some good moments, but those moments are rare
Fortunately, there is still plenty to enjoy. James Nesbitt is fantastic as a gruff detective and the interaction with Victoria Smurfit is a joy to watch. Other cast members such as Charlene McKenna (Ripper Street) and Chris Walley (The Young Offenders) also do well. Furthermore, the links with the conflicts between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland are again very interesting. And at some points, Bloodlands manages to be surprisingly good, for example in episode four. Unfortunately, those moments are rare.
In its second season, Bloodlands continues on the same path as the first. Often enough, it touches the surface of what really good television can be, but never really quite reaches that point. Although we received answers to several questions, there are still plenty of unanswered ones. And despite everything, I'm still curious about a possible third season.
