Dhruv Sharma
After a very strong start in the first episode, ‘Sacred Games‘ eases out a little and takes a small detour to further explore the assortment of all the main characters through flashbacks. While doing this, it also introduces a few more prominent characters such as Shahid Khan (Ranvir Shorey) and Batya Abelman (Kalki Koechlin). While this episode further dives into the season one’s loose ends such as the role of Trivedi in the fiasco and the significance of Dilbagh Singh’s character, it also brings in new mysteries that revolve around Jojo’s traumatic past that might have links to the overall story.
The main highlight of this episode is how after not being able to get his hands on Isa all over again, Gaintonde slowly drifts towards a religious route and the real “sacred games” are now seemingly starting to flesh out. Though this episode is slightly slower compared to the first one, it does not really dedicate an entire episode to only one character. But it still meanders around a little and allows each of the scenes to have a heavy impact on you as a viewer, especially the parts that reveal the inside of the Guruji’s Ashram and his preachings.
Sacred Games Season 2 Episode 2 Recap
In the beginning of the episode 2, Sartaj comes to know that even his father was a huge devotee of Guruji and had even attended one of his reforms at the Ashram. Meanwhile, it’s the year 1995 in Gaitonde’s timeline and yet again, he wishes to rise to Isa’s power so that he can completely destroy him this time. To bait him, he first targets his whiskey business and then sends his men to even torture Parulkar in India. After this, Parulkar further encourages Isa to kill Gaitonde and as expected, he arrives in Kenya to sort out the issues with his business. But as Gaitonde almost gets close to murdering his worst enemy, he realises that he has been tricked by RAW agent Kusum Yadav.
When Dilbagh Singh seeds the idea of turning to a religion in Gaitonde’s mind, he decides to visit the Guruji’s Ashram and that’s where everything he knew about himself starts to change. And as the noble words of Guruji start to enlighten Gaitonde, a false ray of hope seems to shine upon him. His face glows with all the ideas that Guruji plants in his head and this is where the “sacred games” seemingly start to bloom like never before.
As predicted earlier, Jojo’s role in the series becomes more prominent and it is hinted that her traumatic memories might have something to with her sister. Kalki makes her debut in this episode and though she’s only seen on the screen for a short span, it somehow seems obvious that she’ll be a major character much later.
Sacred Games Season 2 Episode 2 Review
The second episode furthers the story and quite nicely lays the foundation for what is to come. It’s good to see how the show further dwells into the past of all the main characters instead of bringing in way too many questions in the minds of a viewer. What’s possibly most impressive about episode 2 is Nawazuddin’s performance. There are also a lot of instances where Gaitonde talks to himself and it’s these scenes where Nawaz’s acting comes to the fore.
What also instantly catches your attention in this episode is the whole vibe that is created around Guruji’s Ashram with bright yet soft color schemes and soothing background score. It’s almost like the creators of the show are trying to convince you that an Ashram like this can easily reform the beliefs of any individual even if he/she is an atheist like Gaitonde.
Anyone familiar with Anurag Kashyap’s previous works will know how he adds a sense of realism by making sure that his characters speak in colloquial language. That’s also quite evident in this season as well.
The collaboration between the two directors, Neeraj Ghaywan and Kashyap, is quite evident in the series. What’s also really commendable, especially in this episode, is how Aarti Balaji, editor of the show, makes sure that the transition between two simultaneously running stories is seamless. While the two directors are doing a great job in laying ground for two story arcs culminating in one, it’s Aarti’s editing that eventually makes sense out of everything and brings the story to life.
Rating: 4/5
