I wasn’t optimistic that the second season of The OA could give me everything that I liked about the first season without just repeating it; which I would have likely enjoyed but eventually grow to dislike.

Instead Zal Batmanglij and Brit Marling doubled down on the weirdness, while expanding the story in new and interesting ways.

There’s less of the Five Movements this time around–though they do play role–and more of the oddness that made the first season such remarkable television.

What’s worth mentioning is that the second season is only eight episodes, which is a perfect length and means there’s no bloat and things flow really, really well (something the Marvel/Netflix series, RIP, never seem to get).