Why does nobody talk about how the second season of a show can totally ruin the first one?

I was at a coffee shop last Tuesday and this guy next to me was raving about how he finally got into The Wire. He said he skipped season 2 because his friend told him it was the weak link, and that made me think about my own experience with that show. I watched season 2 first time around and hated it so much I almost quit the whole series, but then I went back and rewatched it years later and realized it was actually brilliant. It just felt so different from season 1 with the whole dockworkers thing, and I think that threw me off. Has anyone else had a show where a season you hated at first ended up being your favorite after you gave it another shot?

2 comments

2 Comments

bethcarr1mo ago

My buddy Dave almost quit Breaking Bad after season 2 because he thought the whole thing with the plane crash was too ridiculous. He said it felt like the writers ran out of ideas and just threw in a random disaster. I told him to stick with it and he did, but it took him another year to rewatch that season on his own. Now he calls it one of the most underrated seasons because it ties into Walter's choices messing with innocent people in a way you don't catch the first time. He even bought the box set just to prove a point.

the_robin1mo ago

Honestly I used to think season 2 of The Wire was completely pointless too. I remember sitting through all those dockworker scenes wondering when the real show was going to start back up. But now I tell everyone it might actually be the season that ages the best because of how it opens up the whole world.