Too many cop out in S2? *spoilers*

I think I agree with you. I found myself dissatisfied at the end somewhat as well. Not enough to not "tune in" next time, but as you say we knew that the two guys with the worst tasks were not going to succeed because they wished for things that were beyond the scope of the show. How would they have shown the one guy living forever, or the eradication of a religion? So it seemed liked the truly negative plans could not succeed and thus were devoid of true tension. (The only other really heinous one was torturing a woman who is alone, but the gal gave that up.) So what we were left with when combined with The Man's task being to help one of his clients (and he ends up going out of his way to help two instead of just one), is a softening of the danger felt from the situation, which lowers the stakes. The arc for this season involving The Man in the Booth himself was not satisfying to me either as Doris's desire for him to love her seemed to come out of nowhere as a cliffhanger shock more than a natural development of their relationship up to that point, and we don't really know enough about either person to make the prospect of love between them that intriguing, as we know nothing of their emotional lives. Also Doris's threat about "I'll call the others and tell them you're here" just seemed too vague to be effectively scary (especially since shows like "Lost" have taught me not to get my hopes up when mysterious "others" are referred to in hushed whispers). Again, I'll keep watching to see how it develops. Maybe my doubts are unfounded.

Yeah, i mean, i agree. I really like the first season on this show and was really excited to watch season 2 but oddly enough I found myself on my Instagram most of the show and not really paying attention...

I don't know maybe it was because like someone mentioned previous, some of the storyline's were too far-fetched so we knew they weren't going to actually occur or who knows...

one thing that annoys me is yes, all the cop-ing out. last season, i feel like the characters lives ended up intertwining more than in season 2 and the "cop-ing out/getting killed" ratio was more even.

this season almost everyone ended up giving up because they realized the errors of their ways or even if they did get what they wanted it was nothing ground-breaking.

like all right... Melody died in her sleep. -___- (and i felt bad for her father because all that trouble he went through to bring her back and she gave no f's...) okay. the boys father came back but we didn't even get to hear it from him we heard it from his douche friend. and it didn't really sound all too happy because he was "afraid to let his father out of his sight". and the woman with the special daughter? even though i guess she got what she wanted, it didn't seem like she had a satisfying resolve either.

and can someone PLEASE tell me the point of Maria? like seriously what was the point? after a while i found myself rolling my eyes whenever I heard her speak. she didn't understand how easy she had it and she kept whining about how she couldn't complete the easiest task ever. really? just pinch 5 babies and you bring your father back from the dead and your sister is cured of an addiction. just shut up. and then she ended up QUITTING?? REALLY? that really pissed me off. pointless.

and what the hell was up with Doris? her and the Man went from batting eyelashes at each other to her commanding him to love her... what?

i dunno, i still enjoyed the show but I think season 1 is classic and season 2 was just... meh.

well, the only thing I didn't like about both seasons is that no bad things happened. No mass-murder, no one tortured, every person killed was bad (the bad cop, the crazy guy that kidnapped the little girl, the man that wanted to eradicate some religion). Why didn't they take it to the next level? Perhaps it's a part of the story, but hell, I;d love to see someone do a bad thing to get what they wanted and then feel bad about it!

it has been a while since i've seen the first season, but if memory serves correctly, james had to kill someone to save his son: and so he did--willem.

personally, i thought delving into the minds of some of these people was really, really terrifying, but, then again, ozu movies have me on the edge of my seat, so maybe i'm a bad litmus test.

I agree 100% Whole suspense gone , especially with Jack.
Most of them backed out - I was very disappointed.

Still I really enjoyed the show,and found it very refreshing. Looking forward to season 3, if planned.

I honestly preferred season 2.

But I can understand why some would prefer season 1.

Good points but for me the show is all about Xander Berkeley and I felt his performance was much stronger in the second season. In the first season, he played The Man like he was an alien making his first encounter with humans. He was always wide-eyed. In the second season, he was more intense and trying to figure them out. Like a shark circling its prey. A natural progression for his character and much more interesting.

Also, although the stories weren't as interesting in the second season, I thought the acting was better overall. For me, the acting by James, Willem, and the old lady were weak. The artist character was completely unnecessary and he was only there for two episodes that I recall. The acting in the second season was solid all around especially with a veteran like Dayton Callie. I thought that showing how some people quit their tasks or ask for impossible things added variety and realism to it. If there were such a Man, certainly people would quit or make large-scale requests that would most likely fail. I agree it's not as interesting or tense. Maybe there could a better variety in the next season.

George Carlin: It's all bullsh-t and it's bad for ya.

Hey ivy. Nice to find out what you liked before Hannibal.

I personally agree with the poster above that said season 2 was better than 1 because of Xander Berkeley's performance. He was changing and getting more curious. Until he was finally motivated to step in and change the outcome of things.

To me it's a story about how it is impossible not to get involved with the outcome when curiosity strikes. That is the trap.

The Man had to retire at that point. He was trying to influence all of the outcomes, which is why they did not have the more interesting conclusions as season 1. That had to happen if he began influencing their wants.

But he uses his influence for good, unlike some fictional characters.

I understand. Thank you for telling me. -The masked bandit