Fans of The Haunting of Hill House can look forward to another ghost story as Netflix gets set to release the second season of their anthology series, The Haunting of Bly Manor.
While the first season was based off the novel of the same name by Shirley Jackson, the second season follows suit, as it’s based off the novel, The Turn of the Screw by Henry James.
The second season doesn’t draw you in as instantly as the first, but still keeps you captivated and guessing the outcome along the way.
Mike Flanagan once again proves that the characters are the main thing you need to captivate. The acting truly steals the show, with some familiar faces from season one and some outstanding newcomers. Even during the more tame moments of the show, the actors are able to pull you in and stay invested throughout.
We begin our story at a wedding where a ghost story is told. We are thrust into the midst of said story as we meet Dani Clayton (Victoria Pedretti) a young American au pair in 1980’s Britain, who is being interviewed for a job at Bly Manor by Henry Wingrave (Henry Thomas), Uncle to the orphaned children who inhabit the manor.
As we arrive at the Manor, instantly we know things are off. There are questions about the deaths of the children’s parents, and mysterious death of the previous au pair Rebecca (Tahirah Sharif). The staff also raise an eyebrow or two. The grounds keeper Hannah (T’Nia Miller) is acting off, the cook Owen (Rahul Kohli) is often making despairing remarks about the manor, and the gardener Jamie (Amelia Eve) doesn’t seem to like much of anyone or anything, especially children.
Oliver Jackson-Cohen and Kate Siegal also continue with the franchise in this season.
At it’s core, much like the first season, the story is one of love. It shows beautifully how love can come in many different forms, and how strong an emotion it really is.
This season won’t have you staying up all night wondering what comes next (or out of sheer terror) like its predecessor. With less psychological terror, and more jump scares, it is simply a different type of horror style. The story won’t drive forward quite as fast, and there is an episode that feels a bit out of place, though it is necessary to have you understand the full story. However, the plot still unfolds in an interesting way and the actors make you care for the characters so deeply, you generally care what happens to them next. By the end you will feel just as connected as you did to the Crain’s.
You can watch Netflix’s The Haunting of Bly Manor on October 9th.
