What I’m Watching: Undone (Season Premiere)

Undone: Season 2, Episode 1 “The Cave” (B+)

I’m so thrilled that this show is back, and I can’t believe that it’s been two and a half years since season one premiered. I didn’t even realize that it was well before the pandemic, and I know that I was worried on a few occasions whenever I remembered just how long ago it was renewed without any news of when this new season would be debuting. But now it’s here, and this first episode was fantastic enough before the awesome surprise at the very end which has me very excited. Camila and Sam were both extremely concerned about Alma and her mental state, and then she got to realize that she was in a different reality where Becca was on her honeymoon and Jacob was still alive. It was fascinating to see how he reacted to the news that she was the Alma he had coached on helping him stay alive, but it turns out that having him around wasn’t quite as wonderful as she had thought since he’s not into feelings and her mother is deeply unhappy. Seeing her spring into her new professor life was cool, and it’s definitely a more presentable if far less interesting – to her – career. I thought that the man we couldn’t see in the car might be Sam or some other element of her other life, but instead Alma found out that she was seeing through Becca’s eyes, and not just that, but that she and her father aren’t the only time travelers in the family. I’m glad that Angelique Cabral is going to get to have a bigger role now, and I’m so intrigued to see how she approaches her abilities.

What I’m Watching: His Dark Materials

His Dark Materials: Season 2, Episode 2 “The Cave” (B+)

All of the antics surrounding the magisterium are considerably more intense and a bit less engaging than everything else that’s going on, but it’s clear that the worlds are going to continue to collide, especially considering the destructive drive that the cardinals have to see their will exacted upon all worlds. Mrs. Coulter is doing a good job of remaining calm and determined, fiercely protective of Lyra even though her aims for her daughter aren’t necessarily any nicer. It’s strange to see Lyra out in a world where Will uses a smartphone and her Oxford looks different, a place that she seems to do well in even if she doesn’t understand the way that things work at all. Mary was pretty startled to see how Lyra operated and what she was able to achieve with her mind, and, as long as she doesn’t get killed by someone from the other world, she will end up being a good ally for Lyra and Will. It wasn’t a surprise that Will didn’t take being called the “good type of murder” very well, and his visits on behalf of his mother were also met with doubt and suspicion. I know they did fine meeting up and Lyra has chosen to trust Will completely, but it would make me feel a lot better if she had a smartphone too so that they could be sure to keep in contact. After all, this is the same show where kids used to get “gobbled up,” and it’s likely they could have been more easily located had they just been able to drop a pin. It’s an interesting choice to make this story set in the modern day since cell phones definitely were not in popular use when the books were first published in the late 1990s.