THE OA PART II: Sophomore Season Raises The Bar Even Higher

What an age of television to be living in. It is incredible the amount of content available and the high caliber each is able to achieve. Though within an illuminating sky of stars, some continue to shine brighter than others, challenging those around them to push farther – to challenge themselves and their audience. Enter The OA.

When The OA premiered two years ago on Netflix, a quiet introduction to the vast library the streaming service offers, it became a word-of-mouth phenomenon. With little to no promotion before or after its release, The OA was a series you either found clicking through options, as a recommendation of a friend or drawn to it through a fan-based loyalty to creators Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij (whose previous works The Sound of My Voice and The East speaks to the success this dynamic duo have boasted for years).

From the moment the series began, you were captivated by Prairie’s (Brit Marling) story, hypnotized by the need to know what happened, and yearning for the strength to believe. The intricacy of detail and delivery were tightly woven in a solid introductory season, so much so that when it ended, your disbelief and emotional roller coaster will leave you with a serious craving for more. Enter the joyous announcement of renewal for season two – as well as the radio silence that followed, fans anxiously waiting for answers. Finally two years later, Part II has arrived – and the wait was well worth it.

The OA Returns

It is hard to describe The OA without giving too much away, though as difficult as it might be, it is one of those shows you strongly encourage to the point of obsession. An indescribable need to have others share in the experience you have witnessed. And yes, experience. This is a series that will draw all kinds of reactions. In the end, the rush of emotions left in its wake will leave you feeling as though you had been there, paralleled in your own dimension.

Where The OA Part I focused on Prairie and how she got to her present state, Part II elaborated her story, bringing new puzzles and challenges both for its characters and viewers. In an instant, The OA has you again, its avenue of recaptivating its audience perfectly executed through the introduction of private investigator Karim Washinton, played brilliantly by Kingsley Ben-Adir. Through his introduction into the series, Karim’s interactions on a path to find a missing teen slowly draw in the characters from season one – though not how one would think to find them. This understanding will find itself in the forefront again in the final moments of the season – an interesting and brilliant way to bring the entire season full circle (one of many, I might add).

It’s hard to top a freshman season as intricate and perfectly executed as season 1 of The OA had been, but the time and patience put into the creation of season 2 was well worth the wait for viewers, the payoff better than the first. Honestly, I don’t want to wait another two years, but would gladly find the patience for the quality storytelling that it bears.

One of the biggest challenges shows face is the expansion of the original idea and character base. Many succumb to the pitfalls of the sophomore season, expanding too rapidly or not at all, letting the series linger just above stagnant or confusing. The OA seemed primed to potentially fall victim to these pitfalls as well, its expansion involving a span of multiple dimensions and multiple roles for each actor. But the show breezes pass them with ease, not only elevating themselves beyond a simple expansion, but also laying the groundwork for its future seasons with each episode installment.

Inter-dimensional Trust

Worm holes, black holes and the prospects of ourselves living different lives is nothing new to cinema or television. It has been done before. But in recent years, it seems to be taking a more realistic and mesmerizing shape. Films and television series that have decided to tackle these ideas within their stories have become more trusting of their audience, asking them to think rather than be told. It has also found levels of entertainment in the breadth of knowledge it presents to its audience, no longer a head scratcher, but pure entertainment with an abundance of rewards to reap.

Interstellar is one of the most recent examples that comes to mind, its deep knowledge of the most current theories surrounding the existence and makeup of Black Holes not strictly catered to those who are on the up and up. The same can be said about its own multidimensional, time traveling aspects that shape the entire film. There is such a trust in the audience that they will understand, the power of the story elevated by this new possibility.

The OA encapsulates this idea of trusting its audience, presenting a multidimensional landscape for our characters to travel through. This trust in the audience gives way to a tighter script and execution. There is no need to waste time on explanation. If your story is solid enough, your audience will be right there with you, following along. The perfect example in this latest season of The OA is the Octopus within the series that Nina (Brit Marling) is able to communicate with. We are given information from the Octopus; we understand there is some mystical connection between Nina and it, and even though we are never really given an explanation of who it is and how it came to be, we accept it. We understand it as a part of the story, of this dimension – I mean heck we have seen crazier things up to this point anyway.

There too is a trust the audience has in its storytellers. We trust that we may not get the answers right away, but they are creeping towards us with each episode. We accept the journey that these storytellers have laid out for us, and embrace the ambiguity for the rewards it presents by the season’s conclusion. This symbiotic relationship between viewer and crafter is never strained, only heightened, each reaping the successes their part plays.

Conclusion: Season 3 in another dimension

Somewhere, in another dimension, season 3 is already available, and if I could just learn the movements and teach four others, we just might be able to see what happens next that much sooner. Until then, multiple rewatches and patience will have to suffice, the experience of The OA lingering in the recesses of my mind. Television is reaching a new age where the demand and the delivery of content far surpasses where we thought we could be today. It is an exciting time to experience this age of TV, and with shows like The OA, the enticing pull of TV has never been so strong.

The OA Part II was better than one could have ever imagined, its ingenuity and trust in its audience, coupled by the brilliant execution of its power duo, brought the series to new heights, raising the stakes for shows competing for audience attention and for Season 3. I hope we may not have to wait as long as we did this time around, yet if that is what Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij need to craft such an intricate work of art, than so be it.

What did you think of Part II of The OA? What are your thoughts on season 3? Let us know in the comments below!

The OA was released on Netflix on March 22, 2019.