Blindspotting season 2 review: An uproarious, insightful return

The first season of Starz’s Blindspotting pulled off several feats at once: The series served as a continuation of the 2018 film of the same name, a love letter to the city of Oakland, a hilarious and heartfelt family dramedy, and an empathetic examination of the toll mass incarceration takes on convicts and their loved ones. Now, nearly two years after the show’s debut, it’s back for its second installment, which premieres April 14, following the characters’ continued development as the tone switches from hilarious surrealism to heart-wrenching pathos from scene to scene. Season two is a welcome return to the show’s nuanced cast of characters, though at times over its eight-episode run, it tries to fit in more plot than it can thoroughly explore.

Things pick up nine months after last season’s finale, which brought us Ashley (Emmy winner Jasmine Cephas Jones) and Miles’ (Rafael Casal, who also serves as writer, director, and co-creator) jailhouse nuptials, as well as Earl’s return to prison for violating parole due to his late return home from work. When we return to the ordeal, Ashley is clearly reaching a breaking point from the stress of raising Sean (Atticus Woodward) on her own. She’s short-tempered and erratic and takes her sadness out on everyone trying to help her, including Miles’ mom, Rainey (Helen Hunt), and sister, Trish (Jaylen Barron). Miles is more present in the show this season, as he takes part in in-person visits and counts down the days to his first family visitation weekend. Meanwhile, Earl has already gotten back out after serving six more months in San Quentin, and he’s trying to reconnect to his past, having moved out of Janelle’s (Candace Nicole-Lippman) place.

Cephas-Jones and Hunt continue to give stellar performances as mother and daughter-in-law in this new batch. After months of living together, Ashley and Rainey have begun to clash over attempts to balance the limited visitation time with Miles. While it’s rough to see the colder side of the women’s relationship, both actors are gifted heart wrenching scenes, navigating several shades of sadness with nuanced turns. Casal is also a delight as viewers get more time with Miles, who seems a world away from the brash, impulsive character we met in the 2018 film. The growth that his character has experienced during his imprisonment is clearly shown even before he gets the chance to directly speak on his time. And as always, Barron is a standout as Trish, this time exploring a more vulnerable side of the sex worker as she processes her unspoken feelings for her best friend Jacque (April Absynth) and jealousy over her relationship with Cuddie (Lance Cameron Holloway).

Blindspotting has always been a surrealist, reference-filled ride—only lifelong Oakland residents will be able to catch all the inside jokes—and this new season improves in toeing the line between reality and imaginative, trippy asides. There’s a memorable sequence in which a Bay Area legend is revived from drowning and awakens with a new, chiller persona. And one effective recurring bit sees Sean’s birthday gift from Miles transform into a walking manifestation of the quality time and safety that’s been missing since his father was locked up. Music also adds to this heightened world, with the characters letting out their hidden thoughts and emotions through rap, spoken word, and dance. All of these interludes are very effective, from an epic performance showing the dynamics inside San Quentin to a quick celebration of looking stylish for a big date.

Underneath all of the genre-bending, though, is a powerful look at the impact of the U.S. prison system. And the introduction of family visitation is the smartest move season two makes to continue that story. Ashley, Miles, and Sean’s first weekend together coincides with a discussion of the n-word and the history of systemic inequality, building several layers while exploring the dynamics of the family’s lives. Instead of feeling dense or preachy, all of this is combined in an expertly written narrative that keeps familial love—between the husband and wife, father and son, and the whole family as a unit—at the center.

Perhaps our biggest issue with Blindspotting is that the series has too many compelling characters for eight 30-minute episodes to cover. More time could be spent on both Janelle and her mother Nancy (Margo Hall), whose solo plots are more sparse compared to their on-screen time spent as Ashley and Rainey’s supportive friends. (Season one’s exploration of Janelle struggling to acclimate back in her hometown is all but abandoned here.) The show also becomes slightly overstuffed when it introduces Tina (Kaitlynn Simone) as a new friend for Ashley whose husband is also doing time. While she gives Ashley a new take on how to handle the separation, it’s disappointing that we don’t get to learn more about her (including anything about her own relationship past her husband’s name). One or two more episodes could give these side plots and characters more room to breathe.

But still, after such a long wait, Blindspotting pulls off an uproarious and insightful sophomore season. Fans of the series won’t be disappointed, as the show continues to shine a light on the ludicrous, beautiful, and often harsh realities of life, while celebrating the power of music and dance and The Bay as an iconic cultural hub. By the final two episodes (maybe the best of the series as a whole so far), it’s clear that there’s just nothing like it on TV.