Britannia Season II (2019) Review
Britannia Season II (2019)
RUTHLESS ROMANS, drugged-up Druids and capricious Celts…welcome to Britannia. Olivier award-winning playwright Jez Butterworth (The Ferryman) pens this rich historical series that blends fact and fantasy to create a fever-dream drama. Recently returning for its second series on Sky Atlantic, Britannia Series II comes to DVD and digital from Acorn Media International on 10 February 2020 alongside a Series I & II Box Set.
Series one begins in 43AD, as Roman General Aulus Plautius (David Morrissey – The Missing) arrives in Britannia, determined to conquer it where Julius Caesar lost to the Druids 90 years earlier. He leverages rivalries between Celtic tribes: the Regnii led by Queen Antedia (Zoë Wanamaker – Harry Potter), and the Cantii led by the aging King Pellenor (Ian McDiarmid – Star Wars).
As Cantii royal siblings Phelan (Julian Rhind-Tutt – Harlots) and Kerra (Kelly Reilly – True Detective) vie over their right to the throne, there are greater forces at work. High Druid Veran (Mackenzie Crook – Detectorists) summons spirits with gruesome rituals to achieve his own ends, while chosen child Cait (Eleanor Worthington-Cox – Gwen) seeks to fulfil a prophecy with the help of demon-possessed madman Divis (Nikolaj Lie Kaas – The Killing).
The second series follows two years later as the Roman hold over Britannia grows stronger and while some Celts continue the fight to reclaim their land, others are happy to be Romanised rather than face extinction. But when a dead man wakes, it triggers an epic battle of wills between two Druid brothers that puts everyone in danger, and jeopardises Cait’s chances at saving Britannia from the Romans once and for all…Who will rule Britannia?
Reviewing the retail release for the second season of a TV series feels rather redundant. The buying public would already know whether it’s worth their while purchasing a series that they have already enjoyed first time around so anything that a critic would say, or not say, is hardly going to matter a jot to fans of the show in question.
But here I am with the second season of BRITANNIA to review and hoping if, given the couple of year’s gap between the release of this season and the first, there’s a handy recap of what happened first time around. Fortunately there is, and it does the trick with everything comes flooding back. I remember how, like most TV series nowadays, there’s a minimal story is stretched out over ten episodes padded out by the odd surprise, geared to keep the less discerning viewer tuning in week after week.
Season II offers up the same mix as before – and why not, it worked for many first time around – with both David Morrissey and Mackenzie Crook adding gravitas to a script that plays on bawdy humour – if only for shock value – and the usual mix of twists and plot arcs that feel template rather than unique. I found myself enjoying the second season more than I did the first, but could be more to do with the company I was keeping at the time. It’s a fun view but hardly ground-breaking or essential but if you happen upon it you’ll enjoy the odd chuckle and some quality acting in the mix too.
