Review: Homecoming Season 2 Episode 6

After I had finished watching the first season of ‘Homecoming‘, I had wondered why they needed to make a second one. However, because the show was under Sam Esmail’s supervision, and because we all know what mind-bending twists he served in ‘Mr. Robot‘, I was looking forward to finding what he had in store for the second run of an already great series. Sad to say, by far, this one has proved to be a massive disappointment. Even with the excellent cast at its disposal, ‘Homecoming’ looks like it doesn’t even want to make an effort anymore.

Homecoming Season 2 Episode 6 Recap

After the fight with Walter at the bar, Alex decides to adopt a different strategy with him. She buys a melon and a syringe. She has the vial of the red liquid. It will make Walter forget his memories, and the problem would be solved. She practices her moves on the melon, and the next day, hikes to Walter’s place, prepared to do whatever it takes. However, he is not there.

Finding his reports from Homecoming on the floor, she thinks that he has left for Geist. The previous night, he had told her about confronting them at the facility, where they would have no choice but to answer his questions. She calls Audrey’s office and tries to warn them, but it turns out that Walter is not there. He is waiting outside her motel room.

He offers to take her fishing, the pastime he had mentioned when they were at the bar. Alex considers it another opportunity to rectify the situation and agrees to go with him. On the way, Walter questions her about her life. He asks her about her time in the military, and when she deflects them, he focuses on her relationship with Audrey. She comes close to dosing him but loses her opportunity. As they head towards the river, Alex starts to get suspicious of him and asks him where they are really going and why.

Homecoming Season 2 Episode 6 Review

A magician’s trick is intriguing as long as they don’t reveal the trick behind it. A mystery is good enough only when it keeps the audience guessing. The first season of ‘Homecoming’ built a web of secrets, lies, and flawed memories around its characters, turning them into an intricate recreation of a Hitcockian story. A lot of that was owed to the way Esmail played with the little details in the background and the movement of the camera in relation to the characters and the story. But this season has none of that.

One would consider it a bold approach to leave behind a tried and tested formula, especially when it had yielded impeccable results. However, it is also a smart move because some things run their course, and it is best to understand when to end them, lest they ruin themselves by overreaching their mark. ‘Homecoming’ prevented that by not adopting Esmail’s trademarks of the first season, but it couldn’t save itself from outgrowing its charm.

The first two episodes looked like the show was acutely focused on creating a dense mystery, and perhaps taking a traditional approach of storytelling was a better way to deliver that. The twist in Monae’s character’s identity and the relationship with Hong Chau’s character, Audrey, was also something that the audience wouldn’t have seen coming. However, whatever goodwill the second season had earned was laid to waste after the third episode.

Instead of unraveling the mystery through the parallel approach of past and present, the show decided to do this the usual way and went about unwrapping the whole thing all at once. There was no more teasing of details, no more inviting the audience into the guessing game. It served the entire thing to us on a silver platter, and that’s never an encouraging step for a show that wants to shock you.

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