The Season 1 of Sneaky Pete was one of the most popular shows for Amazon and now the show is back with Season 2 consisting of another ten episodes. The extremely enjoyable first season was about Marius Josipovic, a mild mannered con man who assumes the identity of his rather gullible prison mate, Pete Murphy, and intrudes into his family to swindle them out of some money that he desperately needed. The actions of the fake Pete put the family members who already had their own issues, into a lot of trouble and though the end was wrapped up quite neatly for everyone, the new Season explores the consequences of their earlier actions. In the 1st Season, the wonderfully developed side plots about the family gave perfect support to the main plot and these are further explored here. The deceits and lies of this season run deep and one has to follow the characters to enter the labyrinth that the plot builds up, as Marius struggles to keep up with the pressure that he is put into this time.
The Season picks up right from the spot where it left off with Marius being picked up by two henchmen who works for a no nonsense gangster named Luka Delchev who has the reputation of melting his victims in acid. The men mistakes Marius for Pete and they want the $11 million which the real Pete and his mother stole from their boss some years back. The 1st season had darker tones mixed with the fun factor of the con game and this season is no less with Marius realizing the seriousness of the game as he tries to put himself ahead of Luka in reaching the money. The first task that he has to perform to is to bring the original Pete out of jail and locate his mother. As time runs out for Marius, the whole family is put into danger by the gang who are ruthless in their pursuit for the money.
On the other side things go sour with the Murphy family as the past comes back to haunt them. Audrey has still not shaken off her encounter with the corrupt detective from NYPD and now she has to face an investigation into the incident. Taylor, the local cop, tries to cover up the case to save his grandmother to the best of his abilities but Joyce Roby, the detective put in charge of the case is smart enough to figure things out pretty fast. Julia is sunk in her money laundering scheme for Dockery and lands into further trouble while managing her deals with some shady men. Trouble brews up for Otto as the son of the hitman he hired earlier comes back to follow his father’s trail looking for answers. The multiple threads separate the characters into various zones and some of the family drama is lost. But the show keeps up the freshness in the plot with twists and turns coming up frequently, thus holding on to the viewer’s interest.
The setting of a con in a way that is not only entertaining but also has enough complexity so that when the layers are peeled off at the end game, the viewers delightfully find the pieces of the puzzle meshing perfectly, is not an easy task. Though the basic themes remain same as the first season, the show sets up the stage for a more elaborate con in this season and pulls it off successfully. But this comes at the cost of some implausibility in the narrative that sticks out oddly at times. This makes the new season lack some of the coherence of its initial season. There are moments where season demands the viewers patience for it to unfold the next stage while the characters delve into their past or unravel more about their own family. But the show never fails to surprise the viewers and keeping up the tension with the multiple threads running parallel to each other and the stakes gradually getting higher. The new developments are piled one above the other and at the end almost all the family members are breaking the law in one way or the other. Combining a heist theme with family drama successfully for two successive seasons is a commendable feat and showrunner Graham Yost deserves full credit for the same.
Whatever the show lacks from its initial season, it compensates with the performances as the actors shine in their roles in unison as they did earlier. Giovanni Ribisi is perfect as the slippery Marius with his expressions and body language portraying not only an expert swindler but also a certain sense of vulnerability and moments of helplessness. Though he forms the main framework of the show, the show does not explore the emotional side of Marius in detail so that chapter is left rather undiscovered. Margo Martindale as Audrey is a joy to watch in every moment she is present on screen. Other actors like Peter Gerety as Otto, Marin Ireland as Julia, Libe Barer as the pesky Carly, Shane McRae as Taylor, Alison Wright as Marjorie fill up their roles perfectly. Ethan Embry, who plays the real Pete Murphy, is given a larger role in this season and he plays the part of a simpleton perfectly with the right comic timing. Jane Adams who comes in the role of Maggie Murphy this season matches every step with Ribisi in her role and meshes with the rest of the cast perfectly.
Bryan Cranston, one of the shows creators, in his role of Vince in the first season ruled every scene where he was present as he always does. John Ales who plays a similar kind of intimidating gangster does justice to the role in his own style. The absence of a heavyweight like Bryan Cranston also helps in developing the other characters like the two associates of Luka played by Desmond Harrington and Joseph Lyle Taylor. Sneaky Pete will do well if it changes the portrayal of its villain in its third season as any repetition in the lines of Vince or Luka is bound to get monotonous.
Season 2 takes us deeper into a conman’s world and in this twisted world of trickery and double cross it is hard for the audience to figure out the game until the very end. This requires more attention than that of the earlier season to catch the details. It also highlights how the consequence of one action by a person in the past can give rise to a chain of events affecting lives all around him in the present. Though not as great as its 1st Season, Sneaky Pete does well to entertain and remain a fun filled series in its second run. A perfectly ensemble cast can notch up the level of a drama series by quite a few degrees and this show is a great example of that. Sneaky Pete remains a great choice for a binge watching through a leisurely weekend or lazy afternoons. If you have not watched the first season, go for it and then come back to enjoy the second run for sure.
By Ananya Lahiri
Copyright ©-2018 teleratz.com
Teleratz 