I remembered enjoying this second season, so my wife and I stuck with Goliath after a disappointing end to season one. As far as bad endings go, season one puts the first season to shame. My wife’s theory is that maybe there was a writer’s strike at this point, because nothing else explains the quality drop off. I remember seasons three and four being particularly bad, but apparently the sucking starts halfway through season two.
The first half of Goliath season two is strong. Lou Diamond Phillips is here, one of my personal favorites. The plot develops as a potentially great legal thriller, even if there is a weird amputation subplot that I have absolutely no interest in. Then, halfway through the season, Goliath goes completely off the rails. More details in the spoilers section, but the warning label to this season needs to be that you are not getting what you paid for.
On the positive side, Mark Duplass is excellent. Nina Arianda continues to be a strong point for the show as well. Otherwise, I’ve got nothing to recommend here. I guess if I just look at getting some enjoyment from the first few episodes, I can call this season mediocre and give it a 4.
Spoilers
I don’t know why this show sucks so bad. Also, there’s no need for Gabriel to cut limbs off as a punishment, it’s more gross than it is scary.
The fifth episode, where Billy goes down to Mexico, manages to be all kinds of bad things. It’s incredibly boring watching Billy and Marisol wandering around a quincenera for like thirty minutes, and the weird Gabriel jealousy for his foster sister certainly does not help. At the same time, truly depressing stuff is happening back in LA, with nothing that is remotely enjoyable to watch.
Then, the next episode is a different kind of terrible. We get an entire new group of characters, as Billy is kidnapped and just hanging out at a random house. This also takes way too long, and who the hell cares? We know he’s not going to die, so can we fast forward this subplot and get back to a case? Well, no. We never go back to a case. We just have two more episodes of boring and depressing. This season sucks so hard.
My Score
IMDB Series Score
RT Critics
88
RT Audience
53