adamrhysdavies

Yes, it's mind-numbingly dumb. Yes, it's more cliche than a leprechaun's pint of Guinness. Yes, it's got more holes than a pair of socks from the 1970s, but if you're looking to veg out with a few beers and a slice of pizza (or two) after a hard week of grafting, it does the job very well.

If you're looking for something deep and meaningful, thought-provoking, or intellectually challenging, give this a miss. If you're after a bit of fluff with twists, turns, and hooks that your pet Labrador would be able to comprehend, dive in!

Disengage your brain, put your feet up, tuck in, and relax. Fast-food drama when you can't be arsed to think beyond the opening credits-just what I needed!

I'll keep this short and sweet (because I've had one-too-many glasses of wine!). I found season one somewhat hard-work; it was excessively baggy and deliberately explicit. It was apparent that Netflix wanted its viewers to be wowed and offended at the same time; they did everything they could to deliver the shock-factor whilst (not so) gently reminding us how much episode had cost them to produce. That said, it did just enough to allow me to become moderately hooked...

Season two was worth the gamble as it skips along at a much brighter tempo. It's more clearly defined; the goodies and the baddies are easily identifiable and the overall pace and (somewhat clichéd!) cliff-hangers will seduce you into wanting to find out what happens in the next episode. The (sometimes uber-stiff!) dialogue still needs a little work (as do the array of multicultural accents!) but in general, due to the overall storyline taking a much-more linear path, it's easier for the viewer to immerse him/herself in the world that the producers are trying to convey. The ride is far more enjoyable this time round. Like a well crafted roller-coaster, it's safer, faster and the reassuringly scarier than its rickety predecessor. Have the producers dumbed things down a little? Quite possibly. However, for me, it made the dramatic universe much more accessible and enjoyable.

You probably won't have to concentrate so hard this time round, but the slimming down of the narrative combined with an easier to follow plot made this a far more satisfying experience that the season that came before it.