TV Show Reviews

‘NOS4A2’: Season 2 Blu-Ray Review – Chart A Horrific Return To Christmasland

By Dillon Gonzales
October 20, 2020
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NOS4A2 (Nosferatu) debuted last summer to a mostly middling response from horror fans and those who were fond of the Joe Hill book it was based upon. For a series so obsessed with the idea of Christmas, it is perplexing that the powers that be did not hold the series for some wintertime chills and thrills. That is not a fault of the show, of course, and there are plenty more concrete issues that drag the show down. The way in which storylines played out on the show were often baffling, but a strong performance from Zachary Quinto and some beautiful production design kept you reluctantly tuning in throughout the first ten episodes. Although the series was not a massive hit, you have to assume that Hill’s position as the son of Stephen King swayed the network to give it a second season to wrap up the story. This second installment of the AMC series takes what was somewhat enjoyable about the first season and dials it back to create something that can be a bit of a chore to get through.

NOS4A2 is the tale of Vic McQueen (Ashleigh Cummings), a spirited 18-year-old whose dreams of attending art school were dashed after discovering a special power that allowed her to travel via magical bridge to find things which are lost. This power, while helpful, put her in the crosshairs of the ancient pseudo-vampire Charlie Manx (Zachary Quinto), who kidnaps children and drives them to a “magical” world know as “Christmasland” while feeding on their souls. In this world, you get to live every day as if it is Christmas and unhappiness is against the law. The first season was pretty uneven, but had moments of genuine creepiness that made the show watchable. The first season concluded with Manx being put out of commission after his Rolls-Royce Wraith, the source of his immortal power, was set on fire. Unfortunately, this was not before he could kill Vic’s childhood sweetheart Craig (Dalton Harrod). A newly-pregnant Vic was left to try to put her life together in the aftermath of Manx, which is easier said than done.

The second season picks up eight years after the events of the first season. Vic is living in Colorado with the lovable Lou Carmody (Jonathan Langdon), the sweet, nerdy biker who helped her defeat Manx, and her son Bruce (Jason David). Even after all these years, Vic remains traumatized by her encounter with Max, believing that he is going to come back one day. She appears to be in a good place on the outside, but there are clues that the alcoholism she inherited from her father (Ebon Moss-Bacharach) has come to take over her life. Manx seems to be forever confined to his coma until his loyal henchman Bing Partridge (Ólafur Darri Ólafsson) starts nosing around to fix the Wraith. Of course, he gets revived and is interested in getting revenge on ole Vic, partly because of what she did to him, and partly because he just hates women. Vic has a fear of Manx kidnapping Bruce which occupies a lot of the season, but most of the narrative this year feels very aimless and scattershot. The plot does not flow steadily, instead coming in fits and spurts.

There are some positive things to highlight from this season. The actors are all delivering pretty great performances, especially the always-dependable Quinto and Jakhara Smith as Vic’s Strong Creative friend Maggie. The exploration of Manx’s backstory proves to be the richest creative well of the season, as the reason for certain character traits lock into place. His relationship with Bing also brought some energy to the proceedings as the master-servant dynamic continued to be pushed to its breaking point. New characters are introduced such as The Hourglass Man (Paul Schneider), who actually would have been a much more fascinating character to follow in the long run. This was the problem with the show overall; it had interesting elements, but it always followed the most boring narrative path. Vic McQueen has never been my favorite character, but the ways in which the character was given pretty much nothing to do besides be in a constant state of worry seemed like a disservice to all the progress that was made during the first season. The final episode of the series seems like it is sleepwalking to the end after a fairly exciting penultimate episode. If the show would have continued, I think this would have been the end of the line for me. NOS4A2 is a show that just never clicked for me. There was may five minutes of compelling story in each episode, and that just does not cut it in the golden age of television.

Video Quality

The second season of NOS4A2 comes to Blu-Ray with an eye-popping 1080p presentation that pushes the format to its limit. The series is filled with intricately curated sets and gorgeous cinematography that is presented with perfect clarity on this disc. From the many brightly lit scenes to the darker, shadowy sequences, the skin tones and facial details are incredibly rendered in an expert manner. Subtle facial features are readily visible, such as the nightmarish makeup work for Manx and the children in Christmasland that lends itself to intricate texture. Colors from the blood and costumes pop off the screen alongside the varied lush landscapes. Black levels are very deep and never betray the objects on screen. No instances of compression artifacts crept up during the viewing. This is an immaculate presentation that perfectly showcases a series with beautiful cinematography.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray disc comes with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that is quite lively. The series is primarily dialogue driven, but there are some creepy atmospheric effects and an immersive score that will give your speakers something substantial to work with. There is some nice ambient activity in the rear channels, especially during scenes with the children in Christmasland. The dialogue primarily stays in front center channels and is reproduced clearly. The track does a good job of making sure neither sound effects nor the score ever overpowers dialogue. The score brings a richness to the series that fills up the room on this track. There are a few jolts of action that inject some heft to the low end that is appreciated in a series such as this one. This track has a substantial dynamic range that should please fans of the series.

Special Features

A Look At Season 2: A four-minute look at the new season with the cast and crew discussing where we left off, the impact of the eight year time jump, the themes of the season and more.

Catching Up With The Characters: A five-minute look at what the characters are going through at the beginning of the season, how they are dealing with the absence of Charlie Manx and more.

The Origin of Charlie Manx: A nine-minute in-depth look at some of the revelations from Charlie Manx’s backstory and how it impacted the character for the rest of his life. This feels less promotional and much more substantial than the previous two features on the set.

ComicCon@Home Panel: The 37-minute panel that was hosted remotely during the pandemic halfway through the season is provided here. Creator Jami O’Brien, author Joe Hill and actor Zachary Quinto discuss the new developments of the second season including the deeper backstory of Charlie Manx, differences from the book, new characters and much more. This is a very welcome addition to the set that really ties everything together.

Final Thoughts

The second season of NOS4A2 had some compelling elements, but the show just never seemed interested in latching on to them. Instead, the season proved to mostly be creatively messy and and adrift until the it reached a decently thrilling climax. RLJE Films has given the series a Blu-Ray release sporting a strong A/V presentation and some worthwhile special features. If you are a fan of the show, the quality of the set should not be in doubt.

NOS4A2: The Complete Second Season is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: RLJE Films has supplied a copy of this set free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.