The Promised Neverland S2 Anime Review: Welcome to the Demon World…
…where everything sucks, including all attempts at complex characters and a suspenseful plot. Let’s get into the weirdness that was The Promised Neverland Season 2. SPOILER ALERT, because the contents of this review will touch on both season 1 and season 2.
SPOILER ALERT
The Promised Neverland season 1 was an exciting watching experience filled with intrigue and mystery. In the final episode of the first season, a group of children managed to escape the “orphanage” they grew up in and “zip-lined” their way into the forest in search of a better life. The whole premise of this was really exciting because the audience knew that some wild shit was going to await them in the forest. I think that season 2 starts off pretty strong…the children have a mission and a goal in mind, but are ultimately going into the forest blind. The natural-born leader of the operation is the fearless Emma, who has taken it upon herself to lead the way and provide the confidence that they all need. Along they way they find friends, learn more about the world they live in, and reconnect with the past.
I think the main problem with this season is that interesting scenarios and opportunities are introduced, but they ultimately lead to nothing. The writers seem to sprinkle in the thought that something is not what it seems, but it doesn’t fully get explored. I have a ton of questions like, “in that bunker, who was responsible for writing the messages of ‘HELP’ on the wall?” “Why did Sonju say that cryptic thing about how he was excited for the children to turn into adults so he can eat them, but ended up helping them ultimately make their escape to the human world?” “How was it so easy for the kids/mothers to assimilate into the human world without any problems at all?” There were a lot of situations where I felt like the kids got away too easy as well. For instance, it’s inconceivable to me that elementary school children are able to outrun demons in the forest (bounding all four legs mind you!!).
The biggest wtf moments happen near the end of the season. This world is full of dangers and messed up situations, but these kids beat the system and save practically everyone within a matter of a few days. It’s a wildly unrealistic ending and I’m sure it doesn’t sit well with viewers how the writers try to justify the “happily ever after.” The final episode was a straight doozy and I’m not convinced at all that they subverted the system and made it out alive.
In conclusion…
The Promised Neverland Season 2 is a hot mess, and the mystery and intrigue of the series vaporized into nothing in the final episode. The new characters that were introduced became boring when their complexity turned one dimensional. A lot of the drama of a thriller series comes from the shock of uncovering a backstabbing character or a mystery that unravels itself into a shocking reveal at the end. This season was not particularly successful at convincing us that it was really thought through.