Heels’ Second Season Review: The Spades Get Off to a Great Start But Quickly Collapse.
Heels Season 2’s premiere episode is a welcome change of pace. The season premiere, which is almost entirely told in flashbacks, examines Ace (Alexander Ludwig) and Jack Spade’s (Stephen Amell) relationship with their father. While Season 1 only made passing references to this connection, it had an impact that was evident in most of the episodes. One would imagine that after a debut that was both heartwarming and exhilarating, Season 2 would aim to surpass Season 1. Unfortunately, it isn’t true.
Heels continues to follow the trio of wrestlers who produce weekly shows for the locals of Duffy, a tiny town, in Season 2. Even though the fights are fictitious, everyone enjoys them since the townspeople find great enjoyment in the simulated rivalries and clashes. But this time, Crystal (Kelli Berglund) is added to the slate after demonstrating her wrestling prowess at the end of Season 1 and drawing chants from the audience.
The primary problem of Heels’s second season is the same as its first. It would be fantastic if the show provided us additional things to link to and care about, like a callback to a rehearsal scene or a specific maneuver that a character had to work really hard to master, because we aren’t physically there to cheer along the crowd. However, we hardly ever witness the wrestlers’ hardships on the ring. Heels Season 2 deprives us of connecting the dots between what occurs backstage and how it affects what happens onstage by opting to largely keep us in the dark. Because of this, we become less interested in the fights with each encounter because, similar to Season 1, there are only
It’s not that Heels doesn’t make an effort to be creative in each presentation. This season, a large, Batman-like persona is introduced to the ring, but it soon becomes apparent that his only contribution to the match is theatricality. What exacerbates the situation is that Season 2 defies logic by having characters appear on the ring in physically impossible ways or by simply appearing as though no one saw them enter despite the lights being on, all in an effort to surprise us as viewers. Conversely, the scenes that would actually make us care about the bouts (practices, arguments, and plot development) are hardly ever included in the new
Heels Season 2 makes few improvements to its plot arcs in terms of representation. The show admits that there is a dearth of female representation in phony wrestling, but it also seems content with having Crystal be the only well-known figure in the league and giving her very little control. At season’s conclusion, it does improve somewhat, but character development is, to put it mildly, sluggish considering it takes the better part of 16 episodes to get there. Not to mention, of the key wrestlers, Allen Maldonado’s Rooster Robbins is the only other Black character that has very little storyline outside of the ring.
Ironically, Heels is very at ease providing Bill Hancock (Chris Bauer), a character who openly exhibits misogyny and is infrequently held responsible for his actions and words, a lot of room. While it is understandable that the characters in the plot brush him off, Hancock is given a pass by the series itself, which provides numerous opportunities for the character to develop in the eyes of the audience. True, the character’s antiquated viewpoint occasionally reduces him to the role of comic relief. But at one point in the season, he even receives a dramatic arc and a kind of atonement that gives him depth, which is more than can be said for a number of other characters.
You Most Probably Won’t Be Let Down If You’re an Addict ‘Heels’ Fan
All in all, Heels Season 2 offers a lot to watch if you’re searching for a low-to-no-stakes show. Simply witnessing the existence and interactions of small-town people within a particular microcosm and being only mildly involved in their concerns and affairs has some significance. Naturally, further exploration is welcome, but when the show isn’t on the ring, Heels doesn’t give the impression that it wants to be a sappy drama that makes you want to curl up into a ball by the conclusion of each episode. Because of this, the show’s funerals contain a hint of hope, and nearly every character gets to provide comedic relief.
All in all, Heels Season 2 offers a lot to watch if you’re searching for a low-to-no-stakes show. Simply witnessing the existence and interactions of small-town people within a particular microcosm and being only mildly involved in their concerns and affairs has some significance. Naturally, further exploration is welcome, but when the show isn’t on the ring, Heels doesn’t give the impression that it wants to be a sappy drama that makes you want to curl up into a ball by the conclusion of each episode. Because of this, the show’s funerals contain a hint of hope, and nearly every character gets to provide comedic relief
The conclusion of Season 2 alludes to a significant turn in the lives of numerous Heels characters that has the ability to upend this framework and fundamentally alter the show’s basic premise. Heels has the ability to significantly improve its emotional beats if the writers build on what is initially presented. But for the time being, we’re left with characters that don’t receive enough attention and fights that aren’t all that shocking.
