Haunting of Bly Manor…a review
I recently finished watching The Haunting of Bly Manor, the second season in the Haunting Anthology by Mike Flanagan. Based on the works of Henry James, specifically The Turn of the Screw, this second season focuses on an English woman named Dani who is hired to care for and educate the siblings of a very wealthy family after their parents have died in a tragic accident.
A note before we dive in. I have never read anything by Henry and so if there is anything in his works that was done in this show intentionally that I did not like well…we can either say just ignore that thought or we can say maybe it could have been done better in this medium or portrayed in a different way.
SPOILERS BEGIN HERE FAM ~ YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
I knew immediately that I would like the show, but that I would not like it more than Hill House. It was the opening tone; immediate action as if we were watching a play and the first character had walked on stage and started speaking. The tone was a lot less dark and muted than Hill House and there was no time spent on establishing shots or pulling us into a mood.
While I had numerous issues with different aspects of the show, there were so many things I loved. Not only was I glad that this was an athology, there for bringing back many of the fantastic actors from Hill House, but I also found myself over joyed to see Rahul Kohli in something other than IZombie and absolutely in love with T’Nia Miller.
At first the kids rubbed me wrong, but I quickly realized they were supposed to. I was incredibly impressed by their acting skills, particularly Benjamin Evan Ainsworth who played Miles. Playing an adult, a now dead and previously very unhinged adult, must have been a serious challenge, but Ainsworth did a great job in my opinion.
While I enjoyed the concept of being tucked away, a unique spin on what happens when someone is possesed, I found the episode where they focused on Hannah exhausting.
I have similar feelings about the doll concept. I found this idea of the dolls representing all the dead and living that resided on the property, living in the doll house of a little girl fascinating, but the idea was never explained enough for my satisfaction. It seemed as if Flora knew how this little doll system worked, but how or why was never truely explaned. I’d want to learn more.
Which brings us to the ghostd themselves. My personal favorite was the plague doctor. It was so fun to find them hiding in the background of scenes. They never felt menacing though and knowing who the ghosts are now, it makes sense I think.
I really enjoyed the story around the lady in the lake. I feel like that episode dragged on forever at the end, but the idea of her sickness and her jealousy, how she died, and how the faces had faded, I loved all of it.
My favorite part of this season was the relationships. Hannah and Owen were beautifully precious and heart breaking. Dani and Jamie were adorable. So much support between these couples. So much understanding and tenderness. Very similar and yet entirely different stories between these two couples.
There were a lot of aspects to this season that I enjoyed and appreciated deeply, but I feel that the show in it’s entirety was a little unpolished. Maybe it was because the story was based on a much looser concept. Maybe it’s because this season had a different writer each episode when Hill House rotated more of the same writers. Either way I do not regret watching this second season and I look forward to a third season if one is written.
