Liam Hoofe reviews American Vandal season 2…
Netflix struck gold last year with their mockumentary series, American Vandal. The show documented the fallout of an elaborate prank at a school, and had fans all over the internet asking the question ‘who drew the dicks?’. It was a clever piece of television that turned out to have a much deeper message wrapped beneath its juvenile humour and was considered one of the streaming services’ best original shows of 2017.
Fast forward 12 months and Netflix have taken the rather bold risk of releasing a second season. The first season worked because it felt like something fresh and exciting, and it was great to see Netflix satirise their own TV output, but could lightning strike twice with a new set of characters and a whole new mystery.
Turns out that yes, it definitely can. From the outside, American Vandal season 2 may seem even more juvenile than its predecessor. This time around, Sam and Peter, the two documentarians from the first series, have been called to a private Catholic school to investigate ‘the brownout’. The brownout took place one lunchtime, when every student in the school unwillingly drank laxatives that had been placed in their lemonade, forcing them all to lose control of their bladders and their school to look like a sewerage plant had been dumped through the window. This time around, someone is taking the credit for the crime, except, they’re doing it under the alias of ‘The Turd Burglar’.
If this all sounds rather revolting, it’s because it is. The show’s opening episode doesn’t spare the audience any of the gruesome details and initially, it seems the show has lost its way and just turned into yet another vulgar comedy. Fear not though, American Vandal is far too smart for that, and what transpires is an incredibly in-depth look at the way we all use social media, and the way we allow it to control our lives.
It’s a startling turn of events that lead us down that road, and I won’t spoil any of them for you here, but rest assured, American Vandal season 2 is just good as season 1, if not better.
The easiest thing for Netflix to do here would have been to just retell the same story as the first season using different characters. The show was a roaring success and hey, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Netflix, however, doesn’t seem too willing to accept that approach, and they manage to freshen up their material and their characters for the second season. Last season’s suspect was Dylan Maxwell, the high school prankster who had managed to annoy everybody at the school with his antics. Season 2’s main suspect is the polar opposite of this. Kevin McClain is the school oddball, he doesn’t pull pranks on people, he walks around the school pretending to be the fruit ninja and posts tea-drinking tutorials on his Twitter feed.
This character change is also symbolic of the season’s shift in tone. Whereas season one revelled in the humour of the show, Season 2 feels darker, and despite its faecal themed antics, maturer. The impacts in the second season feel more real, and the crime feels more severe.
Of course, the show has still managed to replicate some things from the first season. The show has an incredible grasp on teenage culture- it understands how teenagers engage with one another, and the dialogue is right up to date with the latest teenage lingo. If you don’t know what words like ‘bougie’ and phrases like ‘frfr’ mean, then you will do after watching this.
In what has been something of a mixed year for Netflix, the service have really pulled it out of the bag with American Vandal season 2. The show is funny, gripping, and insightful, and has its fingers on the pulse more than anything else on television right now.
Liam Hoofe – @liamhoofe
