Rectify: Season 2 (DVD) – Series Review
In our review of the first season of Rectify, we were already very enthusiastic about the series. Now that season two is out, we were curious whether or not it would live up to season one. We’ll tell you now: don’t expect too much action, because you will be disappointed, but if you’re a fan of a series that emphasizes character development, rather than exciting events all the time, than certainly stay tuned.
After Daniel Holden (Aden Young) gets out of prison after nineteen years on Death Row for the rape and murder of his friend Hanna Dean, he goes to live with his family again in Paulie, Georgia. While new DNA evidence questioned his guilt, thus setting him free, not everyone tends to believe he is without blame. Daniel gets beaten up quite badly, making him end up in hospital, where he is kept in an artificial coma. His mother Janet (J. Smith-Cameron) and sister Amantha (Abigail Spencer) fear for his life, and in the meantime sheriff Daggett (J. D. Evermore) investigates the attack. Tawney (Adelaide Clemens), Daniel’s sister-in-law, prays for him, but she has other things on her mind too, as she feels like her husband Teddy (Clayne Crawford) is holding something back.
Sheriff Daggett soon arrests Bobby Dean (Linds Edwards), Hanna’s brother, for Daniel’s assault. Amantha strongly believes that he was indeed one of the guys who beat her brother up, but eventually Daniel says differently, even though chances are that he isn’t telling the entire truth. Daniel just can’t seem to find peace, not even when he goes on a trip to Atlanta, where he hopes to be anonymous among all those people. Amantha has been trying nonstop to build a case for him, together with his lawyer Jon (Luke Kirby), who also happens to be her boyfriend. She still believes that he had nothing to do with the murder of Hanna. Daniel may be out of prison now due to the new DNA evidence, but that doesn’t mean that he isn’t guilty in the prosecutor’s eyes. She tries the best she can, but Daniel just seems very tired of it all, as if he doesn’t care anymore. Thus Janet asks Amantha to take some space, but that’s not so simple for her, as she would the control she now has on Daniel’s life. Meanwhile Teddy tries to save the family business, but his father Ted Sr. (Bruce McKinnon) is against the investment he is about to make. Also Teddy’s relationship with Tawney has many ups and downs, mostly due to Tawney having been so close to Daniel while he was in prison.
Truth be told, the story isn’t moving that fast. Everything is presented in a really quiet way, which is actually very nice, as it elevates the series to being more than just consecutive events to keep the viewers’ attention. Instead, the series keeps being interesting because of Daniel’s restrained character, which is rather complex to figure out. He often does things that both viewers, as well as the other characters find hard to understand, thus find difficult to deal with. This constant wonder about what is truly going on in Daniel’s mind, each time something new happens, is what the whole show is about. Important events often happen off screen, in between episodes, thus never really raise real excitement, while still helping the story to move forward, be it within its more tranquil pace.
Every now and then, we do get a glimpse of what goes on in Daniel’s mind. It’s often conversations between him and Kerwin (Johnny Ray Gill), a guy he became friends with in prison, but who was less lucky than he was and got executed. Also conversations with Charlie the Chaplain (Matthew Posey) (yes, the joke gets pointed out more than once) give you more of an idea of what it must have been like for Daniel to be in prison.
Aden Young portrays a very downhearted Daniel however, he sometimes does want to fight and just lead a normal life. His acting is quite distant most of the time, which fits his character well, but still feels a bit weird at times. Abigail Spencer plays his sister Amantha, who always wants to interfere with his life, be it only to do good. She is very convincing as the ‘bitch’ who just doesn’t let go until she gets what she wants.
There are no extras on this DVD release, yet the story doesn’t really call for it either. For series with more action or humor going on, it is always nice to have some gag reel or bloopers to enjoy, but as the story mostly speaks through its simplicity, the lack of extras doesn’t come as a surprise.
Conclusion
This second season of Rectify lives up to the expectations that were set after season one. When it comes to story value, there is not that much to discuss, yet it’s enough to keep things interesting. While Daniel is certainly a part of the events happening, he keeps to the background a lot, as he is still searching for himself, and that is what makes the series so interesting. It’s not the story itself, rather than what’s going on in Daniel’s mind that makes it fascinating. All of this combined with the top-notch acting performances makes this series definitely worth your while.
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