I'm just really impressed that in the end the season was technically about 70% just characters bouncing off each other, talking with clashing ideologies or having mad bants. There was a decent chunk of action but it wasn't even the main focus, something I was sure would come from of a videogame adaptation. I was constantly entertained by the way the villains are fucking chewing up the scenery, whether it be Dracula presenting as a really infinitely tired, old warlord wanting to end it all or Godbrand being such a massive fucking dork that the most badass thing he can shout at the front of his viking boat in his badass slaughter wet-dream is his own stupid name.
I'm honestly not a fan of a lot of Netflix shows, but I admit that Castlevania S2 moves at a pace that suits the Netflix production format infinitely better than it would as a weekly serial show - the episodic pacing is a bit awkward for me in the first half (again kind of like how Season 1 felt like an awkward in-betweener being paced too slowly for a clear TV series but with a duration too long for a single feature film) but it really comes into its own in the way it builds up all its characters. Or most of them, I guess. The ancillary side characters like Generals all had cool designs and a couple of slick moves but it's a bit disappointing they got so little development at all, especially given how many episodes and how much time the show spent focusing on Trevor, Sypha and Alucard slumming around inside a library.
The constant talking heads normally would disappoint in a lesser production but the amount of time and care they budgeted to things like composition and art makes so many scenes so vivid and meaningful that it doesn't really matter. The final scene of the season seems like such a lavish animation that in a regular serial format I think it would probably come at the expense of something else in the budget. But here everything shines wonderfully, even if the resolution and setup for Season 3 is probably a bit too corny for my taste. I dunno, Sypha was absolutely top-tier amazing in this season but they pushed the lovey-dovey shit really super hard towards the end in a way I felt was previously more subtle.
Am I reading it wrong?
Personally I think Episode 7 would have been the perfect ending to the season, but otherwise Season 2 was pitch perfect top to bottom. I'm just really incredibly impressed by how well it stands on its own right and not just as a videogame adaptation. I mean, I already got that sense from how much I enjoyed Season 1 without a whole lot of context in the first place, but Season 2 feels like they were given the chance to let the script breathe and give itself room to develop into a deeper thing.
Also I'll say it again, Sypha fucking slays in this season and the sakuga they give her is just *chefkiss*. Love everything about this version of her
).
