WATCHED: Stranger 2

The only frustration I felt, while watching "STRANGER 2", was that I'd forgotten certain character's roles in the first season, even though I'd recognise them in the current (ended) second season. Because some of them do (re)appear, and are quite constantly referred to as well - even for those who are no longer apart of the faux-mortal realm - so viewers jumping into their tale might get a gist of whom they were, but in reality the investment of the actors in their reactions and roles, begs a clearer connection to the first season IMHO. Also, if you do not already have known about the characters and their quirks, there is not much here to help new viewers keep track or get up to speed.

I have no doubt this season was meant to be a direct sequel to Season One, wiht no apologies given for those who have not caught up, IMHO. A part of me does feel that one would have a much more enriching viewing experiencel, if you've first watched Season 1, then followed by this. At one point as I was deciding to start this season I did consider re-watching Season 1, but decided against as the allure was not as great, IMHO, and that there were other programs which held my attention.



I had binged watched the entire 16 episodes over a weekend, bolstered by the consequent clicks to see "what happened next", but had asked myself if I were able to sustain my attention to continue watching this, if I had followed their "two-episodes-a-week" frequency? I doubt I would have, truth be told. But I certainly am glad I am able to acutally complete the entire season, and it was quite frankly a decent watch.

I had personally felt the show was a "prestige" piece disguised as "grassroots", viewed thru reality-tinted lens, with the actors shining thru a scripted tale of cliches with little twists to tease, but not enough to tintilate attention, save for the myriad of connected evens and people, which proved intriuging in the beginning episodes, but felt were way too many red herrings and wild goose chases to make a decent payout for my decision to stay with the series to the finale. In short my patience was not rewarded, but the level of tolerance is different in differnt people, of course.

I was initially hesitant to start this series, as all trailers and reviews point to it being extremely "political" - at least in the inter-agency in-fighting, and was indeed confronted by a entire history of Korean political history and corruption, which elevates what would be a procedural, into a history lesson I was not interested in (much like "MONEY" was), but for the lingering memories of the characters - for which they certainly provided entertainment value, especially in their interaction and conversations, even though subtitled.



Is it worth applying to Netflix just to watch this? NO.

Is it worth your investment of time to follow this season? I was not worth it, for me.

Did I waste my watch-time? I'd like to think "NO", as I'd welcomed the return of the principals, that would've helped egg me on to rewatch Season 1, but for newer shows appearing on the horizon, and I'd like to move on, thanks.