Mindhunter Season 2

The problem with Mindhunter's second season is that David Fincher crafted its predecessor too well to be followed by an adequate sequel. While the show doesn't feel it has changed its tune, something within the soul of its narrative has turned a tad sour leading to a few disappointments along the 9-episode serial killer saga.

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Season 2 picks up right after Holden Ford's (Jonathan Groff) meltdown after confronting one of the shows largest (both in size and on-screen presence) incarcerated killers Ed Kemper (Cameron Britton). With Ford in hospital and absent from the office, the world starts to move on without him as new FBI boss Ted Gunn (Michael Cerveris) moves in, vouching his support in full to the psychological unit.

This massive change in cast solves one of the major cliffhangers from last season; the internal investigation against Ford for some of his actions during the interviews, which is essentially thrown out the window now that one of the big players is vouching for the BSU. Already, the differences arise between the 2 seasons: where season 1 was slow and dragging at times, on the path to an eventual explosion, season 2 has hit the ground running, wasting no time after the former's impactful finale.

During his stay in a hospital ward after last season's panic attack, Ford is told he may have some form of Panic Disorder which, during the first leg of the season, seems to be heavily impacting Ford's mental state and his position within the BSU yet as the show continuous, it's slowly weeded out of the narrative with a couple of mentions here and there. This is where the seasons mainly differ.

Both have slow and meandering narratives, the difference between the two is at what points do they turn the tables and pick up the pace. In the case of the second season, it unfortunately never does. The story explodes from the first episode, picking up the pieces from last season but once everything has started to calm down, the plot sort of stumbles towards a boring last couple of episodes which lead to having an opposite effect from the long-awaited bout between Kemper and Ford.

While that major change in pacing may hurt Mindhunter's overall reputation, the characters, performances, and world that Fincher has created have fortunately stayed the same. Ford is still brash and given an excellent performance by Groff to be an arrogant yet likeable prodigy who rarely listens to others, Bill Tench (Holt McCallany) continues to be as likeable as ever as he juggles work and family matters which becomes a massive driving force to the show and adds a new depth to his character, and every serial killer we encounter, old and new, leaves a lasting impression although they may only get 10 minutes of total screen time.

The one character that was lacking was Dr. Wendy Carr (Anna Torv), and in no-way was Torv's portrayal the problem. As the show progresses, Tench and Ford go out of the office to solve a case while Dr. Carr stays in the basement, breaking up the trio that truly made the first season what it was. While we see a little bit more into her personal life and her relationships outside of work, it is constantly playing second fiddle to the boys which, in most cases shouldn't be too much of a terrible thing, yet as the plot becomes sluggish and at times tiresome, you wish that she would play a more present role within the grey and dreary FBI world.

Fincher is present throughout the season, and due to his style and the shows excellent writing, the slow moments don't feel as slow while watching them, hitting you with a realisation once the show arrives at its underwhelming end. It's hard to say what exactly could have been done to make it better, but what is clear is that some plot lines were given too much importance only to be discarded further down the show's timeline leading to an unfortunate cold and stale finale.