The OA Season 2: Crazier than Season 1 and Still Fascinating

More than two years have passed since Season 1 of The OA premiered on Netflix. It’s been so long that as my husband and I started Season 2, he looked at me and said “But where is that cop lady?” It was then I realized he remembered almost nothing from Season 1.

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Recap

It was all pretty complicated but this video should help you remember everything you need to know.

Part II

Part II, as it’s being called, starts seconds after Part I ends. However, before we can meet up with Prairie (aka OA) and her friends from both in and out of the five-sided glass prison, we have new people to meet.

The New Guy

Karim Washington (Kingsley Ben-Adir) is a private investigate who’s search for a missing teen is deeply entwined with the mythology of OA and her dimension jumping friends. 

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Karim becomes a key player in helping OA find answers, answers that will also help Karim’s investigation. A guest appearance by Zendaya (The Greatest Showman) leads Karim to a mysterious video game and house that are tied to vanishing teens. Then it gets more complicated.

If you thought that dance was crazy…

I realize they are called “the movements” but I have always thought of it as a dance. The five movements OA taught to her teen friends continue to play a pivotal role in Part II. YouTube is full of videos of the movements. I found modern dance companies, people in fountains and instructional videos for viewers at home, that all demonstrate the movements. My favorite might be this anti-Trump flashmob from 2017, filmed outside the Trump International Hotel in NYC.

Sadly the movements could not work their magic to unseat the president.

Anyhow, by the time we reach episode four of Part II, things start to get bananas. When OA and Karim visit a strange private club that houses a psychic and weirdly sexualized octopus (yes you read that correctly) there is a shift in the tone of the series. Audiences suddenly find themselves getting a lecture on conservation which is echoed one episode later when OA meets the talking tree. I love my planet and drive my family mad with recycling instructions, but the sudden “Earth Day” message thrown into episodes 4 and 5 feels out of place.

Imagery of the Odd

There are many strange visuals this season, as there were in the last. More exploration into NDEs (Near Death Experiences) as well as dream sequences provide a plethora of bizarre images. Plants grow from people’s ears, robots dance, and don’t even get me started on the torso licking. 

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Good things come in peculiar packages.

Don’t get me wrong, for all the strangeness in this show, I am completely on board for wherever Brit Marling (star and co-creator of the show) and Zal Batmanglij (that is his real last name) want to take me. The OA continues to be an original and captivating series. Part II does reveal many answers but also leaves audiences with a lot of questions. Bonus: a very twisty ending will have you running to Google when it’s all done. 

You can find Emily’s coverage of Part I here.

Parts I and II of The OA are streaming now on Netflix

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