Utopia - Second Season

   

   The acid trip continues. 

The very first episode took us back to the seventies (1974) when Philip Carvel created Janus under Milner's threat she'd harm Jessica. But neurotic Carvel (played by Tom Burke) tricked everyone by hiding Janus project in... as we got to know at the very end of season one - in the body of his own daughter.
And we're only at episode 3 so far...

   Season 2 starts five months later. The group of activists/fugitives/"friends"? tries to be back to normal life, Ian takes care of puberty-hitting-notorious Grant, Becky is on the run, Jessica is tortured and Arby (he insists on being called by his name Pietre)... has a lovely family. Just see for yourself how lovely he can be, and the penguin moment made me fall from my chair.

   It's really hard to describe what's going on in this series. One has to watch it with their own eyes, because no recap can convey the surreal and threatening quality of this little series. 

The colors as usual are painfully saturated, especially the venomous yellow, often contrasted with brilliant blues. 

 Jessica is a resourceful woman and escapes the prison in the clouds and we see her finding Ian's picture. In the meantime, Lee, who was presumed dead, shot in the previous season by Wilson, comes back and tries to get Arby back. Our slow killer proposes a deal to Lee to keep his new girlfriend and her daughter safe in exchange for Ian, Becky and Donaldson. Meanwhile, Becky and Ian make a groundbreaking discovery...

  I am not going to spoil the fun of watching, because despite the violence it's a pure pleasure to watch, if not for what's going on (worldwide conspiracies, murders, politics, viruses, madness) then for the cinematography. And music, because this season delivers as well in terms of psychedelic soundtrack.

"We can rule out the suicide" - Lee.

   It helps to be familiar with the first season, to be perfectly frank, as the plot continues. There are hints as to what had happened few months earlier, but watching those 6 episodes can be rewarding.

Of course if you're into weird journeys into surrealand.