Customer Reviews:
 Sanctuary under siege March 6, 2010
E. A Solinas (MD USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
"Sanctuary" has always been a murky, shadowy series, but the second season of this sci-fi/action series makes everything much, much darker -- death, insanity, and the biggest baddest Abnormal since... well, ever. Unfortunately it begins on a rather contrived note, and the handling of the Cabal and Ashley are pretty clumsy, though the stories that follow are more solid and intense than those of the first season.
In the aftermath of the Cabal's worldwide attack, the gang encounters a young con artist named Kate Freelander (Agam Darshi), who has been hired by the Cabal. But when Magnus (Amanda Tapping) and Will (Robin Dunne) go hunting for the Cabal's headquarters, they encounter Ashley (Emilie Fullerup). Except now she's been transformed into a vampire hybrid, and is leading an all-out assault on the Sanctuary.
The Sanctuary gang also have to take in hundreds of new Abnormal refugees, in addition to their usual problems -- a future scenario filled with cannibalistic zombies, a flying superhero, Henry's old flame is attacked by a peaceful Abnormal, a vampire squid, a rageaholic Abnormal mob boss, and a gang of trust-fund vampires. Even worse, Druitt (Christopher Heyerdahl) seems to have returned to his "Jack the Ripper" ways, and Magnus seems to be going insane after shooting Bigfoot (Heyerdahl again).
And a trip to Mumbai goes horribly wrong when Will becomes the host to a bizarre Abnormal, which connects him to Big Bertha, a vast, ancient Abnormal "who raises the seas and shakes the land." Problem is, someone else wants that power instead.
Maybe it's just my imagination, but "Sanctuary Season 2" seems considerably darker than the first season (which is offset by more sunlight). It starts off rather wobbly for the first few episodes, which are basically devoted to writing both Ashley and the Cabal out of the story -- and it's done in a painfully contrived manner, especially since the Cabal seemed to be the Big Arc Villain.
Fortunately the standalone episodes, and the ones involved with Big Bertha, are far better written and much more suspenseful. Lots of buttkicking action, gruesome murder (knives, spores, zombies), some truly bizarre abnormals, and the usual gothic gloom and rainy skies. But while the overall storylines have become much darker, there's still an undercurrent of quirky humor (Henry and Bigfoot go off to geek it up at Comic-Con... especially since nobody notices the Big Guy there). And the whole episode with the Adjustor was just hilarious.
Tapping has some of her most intense, brilliant performances here -- grief over her daughter's loss, paranoia, struggles with her ex-lover's killer nature, and even the possible loss of the Sanctuary network. Heyerdahl is equally brilliant as both the bloodthirsty Druitt and the gentle (if grumpy) Bigfoot; Dunne is awesome as both the gentle, intelligent Will and the hardened, cold "future Will"; and Ryan Robbins is a lovable technogeek with some hidden sorrows.
The one false note: Kate. Darshi is a good actress and the character has some promise, but why replace the annoying blonde with an equally annoying brunette? Fortunately, there are some excellent guest stars -- a grizzled Michael Shanks, Erica Cerra, and the villainously hot Calum Blue.
"Sanctuary Season Two" has some big fat stumbling blocks (I want more Cabal!), but the actors are still brilliant and the storylines are picking up. Worth seeing despite the wobbly first few episodes.
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