by Emily Worrell Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for The End of the F***ing World Seasons 1 and 2. The headline of this review may come off as a bit of a surprise to readers who are familiar with my previous work. As a huge fan of The End of the F***ing World, I was not shy with my opinion about the decision to renew the show for a second season. It seemed silly to continue the show when the first season was concluded in such a tragic, beautifully ambiguous way; plus, the first season had ended where the source material (the graphic novel by Charles Forsman) did. Could show writer Charlie Covell pull off creating a completely new story arc that not only lived up to its predecessor, but also fit the quirky, dark tone that fans of the show had come to love? The answer, as it turns out, is yes. While the second season of The End of the F***ing World isn’t quite as good as the first—which is to be expected with TV shows like this—it’s still a surprisingly strong addition to Alyssa and James’ story that builds on both of their characters and has the same dark, comedic tone fans of the first season grew to love. Season 2 tells the story of Bonnie (Naomi Ackie), former lover of Clive Koch (Jonathan Aris), who is hellbent on exacting revenge on Alyssa (Jessica Barden) and James (Alex Lawther) after his death. Her revenge ends up reuniting the duo, who parted on extremely uncertain terms. Alyssa and James struggle to reconcile and come to terms with what happened when they were 17, all with the threat of Bonnie lurking right under their noses.
Same show, new material
Wonderful characters played by strong actors
Pacing issues detract from the otherwise strong season
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