Homecoming never really found its way in season 2. The best thing about it was Janelle Monáe as a strong-minded, powerful woman who gets her memory erased by a dose of the drug made in the Geist company. Janelle Monáe took hold of her character and made her real.
Season 2 of Homecoming begins with Janelle Monáe as Alex (or Jackie as she first thinks) waking up in a rowboat. She doesn’t know the man on the shore who runs from her, or even who she is.
Then the episodes back up a few days and we see what happened to put Alex in that rowboat. The episodes are sometimes soporific. Then you’re shocked awake by music that is loudly overdone.
Audrey (Hong Chau) and Leonard Geist (Chris Cooper) are prominent in season 2. Leonard is the farmer growing the berries that caused the memory loss we learned about in season 1. He doesn’t like the militarization and capitalization of the company bearing his name.
Audrey was behind a big desk answering the phone in season 1. Now, thanks to guidance from her girlfriend Alex, she’s seized power and is basically running the company. She wants to make a deal with the military.
Alex and Audrey are an out of balance couple. Alex’s job is to convince people they don’t want to bring harassment suits against the company. She’s very good at manipulating people. She gives Audrey detailed advice about how to get what she wants. Audrey does exactly as she’s told.
Alex and Audrey have odd chemistry. They kiss, but hold their bodies apart. They sleep without touching. They tell each other they love each other, but I’m not sure I believe it. Only at the very end, when Alex does something kind for Audrey, did I think there might be something real there.
Walter Cruz (Stephan James), who we left in a remote mountain village at the end of season 1, is feeling odd about his mental condition. Time is missing. He goes to the VA and then back to Geist in search of answers. Stephan James was brilliant in season 1, but in season 2 he isn’t given a chance to do much.
Walter and Alex cross paths for a major plot line in season 2. In terms of plot, season 2 was definitely thin. There were only 7 episodes and they were short. Season 2 felt like nothing more than a strange coda for season 1, there to prove the berries are bad.
Homecoming season 2 is streaming on Prime video.
Take a look at the trailer.
If you enjoyed season 1 and the memory erasure story involving soldiers with PTSD, then you’ll understand season 2. It isn’t great, but it stays true to the world built in season 1. Plus Janelle Monáe is worth the watch.