The number one rule in Hanna season two is to not trust anyone. The Amazon Prime series aired this past Friday and it’s well worth the watch. Having viewed and reviewed Hanna season one, I was looking forward to the second season. Of course, I was initially disappointed that Joel Kinnaman wasn’t returning for round two, since his character was [spoilers] killed off at the end of season one. Luckily, the void of Kinnaman’s departure was filled with a great storyline, plenty of twists and turns, and improved action sequences.
Season Two Started Off Better Than Season One
Let’s tackle the last point I made there. Hanna was raised in a forest for 15 years with Kinnaman’s Erik, being trained for the day when she would have to fight off people looking to harm her. [And that day has come]. Despite all of this training, I felt the fight scenes with Hanna were lacking [in season one]. Erik’s were great, because Kinnaman is a martial artist in real life and I believe that bleeds into his choreography. Hanna’s fight sequences, though; weren’t that impressive.
The Fights Were Cleaner
That changes in season two. Not only are her fights cleaner and better executed, but I felt everyone was as well. When you have a show about a bunch of assassins, you want to make sure the fights deliver. They definitely did this season. In general, I felt like the pace was better this season. Whereas I felt that season one took its time getting places and that it felt stretched to episode 8 and realistically could have ended at episode five, Hanna season 2 set a better pace. By the time episode eight came, I felt like “wait – it’s over already!?” That wasn’t a feeling I had in season one.
Slight Spoilers
It’s probably because the show didn’t spend an entire episode in a forest. It included more storylines, went deeper into other characters. And honestly, didn’t have an annoying subplot of Hanna trying to be normal with a very bratty teenager who had a loving family but because she was the typical teenage girl she was “so over it”. These teenage girls in season two are not the average teens. They’ve been trained their entire lives in a facility and had their entire personalities [literally] crafted for them. They’re even synthetically made – which is something that was thrown in there and never really talked about again. That and the “wolf DNA” were really my only gripes about this season.
I really enjoyed getting to see more of the girls and how far Utrax would go to brainwash them. I felt extremely bad for Clara, who was manipulated at every turn. Her emotions and longing to find out more about her mother were used against her throughout the show and I am glad that she had someone like Hanna on her side. Someone who could relate and who was resistant to the manipulation tactics that the group used. And the tactics ran wide. From constant surveillance to fake identities.
Sandy!
One girl who took everything way too series was Sandy. I knew that her character would play into the plot of season two from her curiosity in season one’s finale and how much she was in the trailer for season 2. While the girls were encouraged to engage with their fake families (which was really just one woman messaging them all), Sandy took it to another level. Every girl knew this was fake. Their names were fake (having gone from Trainee 123 to an actual person), the family they were given were fake, and their personal history was fake. Still, Sandy acted like the “mom” she was messaging was her mom or that her “sister” really died at one point. It made you believe she was delusional and perhaps the most empathetic out of the bunch when in reality she was a stone-cold killer. In a way, she reminded me a lot of the concept of Killing Eve.
Marissa Becomes The Good Guy This Season
Season two really was defined by the sentiment of “don’t trust anyone”. Although, the only person Hanna could trust was Marissa. Which, I found so interesting considering she was the enemy in season one. We saw several times Marissa and Erik duke it out. So, the fact that Marissa becomes Hanna’s number one ally was really intriguing, but I did like the shift. Mireille Enos is a talented actress and I enjoyed her storyline with Hanna, as they had some great scenes together.
Lastly, I’d like to talk about Dermot Mulroney’s John Carmichael. A worthy megalomaniac head of a secret facility full of teenage assassins, Mulroney did well this season. While not overly present or even loud, his character was smooth and calculating. Always there and always willing to pull the trigger. He was a good addition for season two and it made me appreciate Mulroney just a bit more.
Rating: 4.5/5
Overall, I really enjoyed Hanna season two. I’d love to see a third season of this show. While season one was good, season two certainly sells the show for me. Let me know what you think of Hanna season two and how you compare it to season one!
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