Warning: General spoilers ahead

Truth be told here, while I did tune in to Aquarius religiously last year and gave the series a B/B+ overall rating for its freshman season, I can’t honestly say it was a show I was waiting for with bated breath on a weekly basis. In fact, after the season 1 finale aired, I wasn’t quite sure if I would even tune in next season. However, after screening the 2-hour season 2 premiere, I am very happy to report that somebody on the writing and production team must be listening to the critics and viewers, because virtually every complaint I had about the show appears to have been rectified.

Perhaps the biggest complaint from viewers is the fact that a full 13 episodes were devoted to Manson (Gethin Anthony) and his commune, with no mentioning whatsoever of any plot to kill anyone. And, even though we thought Manson was responsible for the death of a prostitute from a 7 year-old case Sam Hodiak (David Duchovny) was investigating, it turned out that Ken Karn’s law firm partner, Hal, was the real culprit. Basically, very little happened in season 1, and to be blunt, this isn’t what the viewers signed up for. Well, I can tell you with certainty that this issue is corrected right out of the gate in season 2, with the opening scene of the premiere taking place just moments after the Sharon Tate murders 18 months in the future (see the 1st Sneak Peek video below for a snippet of this opening scene). So, it appears that this season is going to be a quick build-up, with the actual murders likely taking place at the end of season 2.

What’s more, the series is also very quick to introduce the rest of the players in the Manson murders over the course of the 2-hour premiere. So far, only Susan AKA “Sadie” Atkins (Ambyr Childers) and Mary “Mother” Brunner (Abby Miller) have been formally introduced, but in the premiere alone, several more step into the spotlight, including Patricia Krenwinkel (Madisen Beaty) and Tex Watson (Cameron Deane Stewart). The show does a very good job at depicting these fresh, new faces of the Manson clan as green and innocent and who hadn’t even dabbled in drugs, let alone killed someone. But, then, in a very short 18 months and under the intoxicating, dazzling words and charm of Manson, you would see them commit some of the most brutal acts of human violence.

Besides all of the new characters, the premiere also quickly gets to the heart of the issue that served as the “trigger” for the Tate/LaBianca murders — Manson’s hate for African-Americans and what he calls an impending racial war. Manson is visited by one of his former cellmates, Ralph Church (Omar Dorsey), who supposedly protected him in prison, and now, he’s wanting something in return. This includes him and the rest of his black gang moving into Manson’s commune and basically treating the entire Family like they’re slaves. Beating the men, raping the women, and toppling Manson as the leader of the group. Manson finally regains control and Church gets what’s coming to him, but it definitely changes the charismatic leader. All of the crazy talk begins about “blackie” rising up, and Manson gives his very famous “Helter Skelter” speech implying that killing is necessary in order to prevent that.

All in all, a fantastic season opening, and the only real complaint I have is NBC’s decision, once again, to run yet another “experiment” using this show as their guinea pig. Last year, the network posted all 13 season 1 episodes online prior to the premiere to determine the level on which viewers binge-watch television. All indicators point to that little test being a failure with the ratings being far below of what they should have been, in my opinion — and this is even taking into account the online viewership numbers. Now, the season 2 test is whether lumping 3 episodes into a 2-hour effectual “movie” will garner more viewers. I could be wrong here, but my guess is the answer will end up being an emphatic “No.” When I’m watching a television show, I’m on my couch, my iPad or iPhone in hand, and I’ve come to expect those frequent commercial breaks so that I can catch up on social media, email, etc. Having my undivided attention for a full 2 hours was very difficult for me when I screened the episode, and I have a feeling it’ll be true for the majority of viewers as well.

Bottom line — if the 2-hour, commercial-free premiere equates to the first 3 episodes of the show’s sophomore season, the writers did a stellar job on every front, and thus, a stunt like this for the sheer purpose of getting some free publicity is just not needed. You’ve got a show that has finally found its niche, a great ensemble cast, fantastic writing, and a premise that is very compelling. So, why mess with a formula that works?

The 2-hour commercial-free season 2 premiere of Aquarius  airs Thursday at 9/8c on NBC.

PHOTOS

 

VIDEO

Sneak Peek Video:

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Cast Interviews:

David Duchovny (“Sam Hodiak”) Interview:

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Grey Damon (“Brian Shafe”) Interview:

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Gethin Anthony (“Charles Manson”) Interview:

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Claire Holt (“Charmain Tully”) Interview:

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Michaela McManus (“Grace Karn”) Interview:

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Emma Dumont (“Emma Karn”) Interview:

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Cameron Deane Stewart (“Tex Watson”) Interview:

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