In season 2, the TBS series goes full-on thriller.
Search Partywas one of last years stunning TV surprises.
Then came the first season finale, a plot-shocker that pushed the shows dark whimsy into full-blown Camus territory.
It was impossible to say what we were looking at, precisely.
It was like wed seen someone self-actualize into oblivion.
So go watch season 1 if you havent yet.
And then stop, maybe?
Sadsack private eye Keith (Ron Livingston) chased Dory and her friends up to Canada.
There was a strange scuffle, and Drew wound up bashing Keiths head in.
Im not sure they did.
The shows narrative switch has flipped.
Last season, the friends were trying to solve a mystery.
Its a bold reconsideration, but it feels like the shows horizons have dimmed as a result.
(Someone walks through the streets of New York City with no clothes on.
Thats not, like, a sequence, its a running plot thread.)
Dory in particular seems two perpetual seconds away from coming unglued.
Shawkat sells the stress, but its the only real note she has to play this year.
Thats a significant comedown from last season.
This season, she seems trapped on a personal spiral.
I dont have a partner, I dont have a home, says Dory.
I literally have less than I had before I started looking for Chantal.
If that sounds depressing, keep in mind that that last bit is true ofeveryone.
Its like the cast members have each been locked into their ownMr.
Robotseason 2 prison allegory.
Hagners Portia has a new part in a project about Charles Manson (so hip right now!
), which features one of the hundred Duplasses as a method-y director.
Newly single Drew seems to be going full Raskolnikov, driven by guilt into deeper immorality.
Her sheer awfulness is played for broad laughs, but the whole show feels a little broader now.
Now theyre just all goofs, boozy or oversharing.
Its meant as an insult, but I found myself agreeing.
Yes, Things, Get Worse!
Let This Woman Go Adventuring!
The party isnt over, but I miss the thrill of the search.B-
