The Family Man - Season 2 (2021) Review

Name - The Family Man (Season 2)

Creator - Raj & DK

No. of Episodes - 9

Runtime - 33 - 60 mins each

Platform - Amazon Prime Video

The abject lesson in crafting a cliffhanger ending to one season, especially a cliffhanger ending as exciting as Family Man Season 1, is that the new season would immediately continue from the first season. What it shouldn't do is just jump a couple of months into the future, and showcase the characters moving off from the events, and then by storytelling structuring reveal what actually happened, which could easily have been used to end Season 1.

This is not an opinion of a show, this is a view of a storytelling structuring which doesn't work in the current landscape.

Thankfully though Family Man Season 2 is the prime example of one of those shows which proves that even if censorship can dull the teeth off your show, it won't completely damage the impact your show would have if the story actually is good. And while due to censorship, the terrorist organization which is the antagonist this season is not explicitly named, even though we know which group it really is, the sharp bite of the show is still there, even as the dialogues sometimes feel far more simplistic and less nuanced than the first season.

One of the moments in which Family Man Season 2 excels is in character arc explorations. Srikant, played by Manoj Bajpayee, was a soldier and a patriot first, and a performative family man in the first season. But as the show begins, we see Srikant disillusioned with his patriotism and his work, and thus leaves his job, joins a new corporate one, and strives to be more of a family man. As a result though, the performative aspects carry over to both his family as well as his work life, which causes him to feel lost.

This lost feeling is echoed by the primary antagonist of the show and Srikant's chief foil, Samantha Akkineni's Raji, an ex soldier, ex-freedom fighter who is now working in a textile factory living her life on autopilot, and basically lost, until orders come from above and she starts to find herself again. This mirroring between two individuals, an angry jaded patriot, and a fanatic nationalist, is fascinating.

But The Family Man also is such a successful show, because the family aspect of the show is intrinsically tied to the show's identity, and here, the family aspect also becomes tied to the show's plot, as well as in exploration of karmic comeuppance. The show's exploration of family dynamics and humor is still on ;point, a forte of creators Raj and DK which works in sync with the action set-pieces.

The action set-pieces which were the highlight of the first season, don't capture that same spark, that same surprise of "I-Can't-Believe-You-Did-That" energy, but now instead of a well done gimmick it has become a style statement. And when these single shot set-pieces start, you feel that visceral energy again. And that is a testament to the stunt choreography as well the editing for this season. The supporting cast of this season, with regulars like Priyamani, Sharib Hashmi, and an extremely defiant Ashlesha Thakur as Dhriti rounds up an ensemble, but the star of the show is still Manoj Bajpayee, who is capable of bringing the prickly grumpy energy of Srikant, as easy as cussing someone while also bringing an energy of existentialist crisis of this season.

The big cons of this season would be that the central plot doesn't feel as expansive as the first, even as the Zulfiqar mission objectives and antagonists get seamless integrated into the narrative. The inclusion of Chellam, a retired super-spy who is almost like Batman in his paranoia, feels like an easy plot moving device, and thus strain the realism of the show at times.

The family Man Season 2 is not without its flaws, both intrinsic as well as extenuating circumstances contributing to it, but this definitely is a far more darker and far mature season at least in terms of character development. Also we are shown an India under a bengali PM very much reminding you of current CM of Bengal, and the results are interesting, to say the least.