"Serial" Season 2 Joins the Ranks of Disappointing Sequels

Brings the good, and the boring, to your ears.

As the entire podcast listening world knows by now, season two of Serial began about 2 months ago. This season, Sarah Koenig is talking about Bowe Bergdahl. He's the soldier that was captured by the Taliban, but, others say that he is a war deserter. Opinions vary about both situations and Koenig and her podcast are trying to show both sides. One week it seems that he was legitimately captured and the next week, I change my mind and feel that he deserted the war because of the poor living conditions and war is scary as hell. I personally do not know where I fully stand yet, there's still a long way to go before they get to the bottom of this case. 

The path to the bottom has gotten a whole lot longer with the news that they are switching from every week to every other week. Also, this season of Serial doesn't feel the same as the first. That first season of Serial was phenomenal, although the finale left a lot to be desired, and this season just seems to be falling flat. During the first season, I was on pins and needles before, during and after each episode. Did Adnan do it, or was it one of many other suspects? Why would a seemingly good natured high school student turn on a dime like that? Did he really have this insanity deep down in his body? Did his attorney screw him over? Was he set up by his "friends" that were interviewed? What cell phone tower picked up the calls from that night the best? I could ask about a million more questions pertaining to Adnan Syed. For the record, I do not think he did it and I feel very sorry for him that he has had to spend the majority of his life in prison for a crime I don't think he committed. His new trial can prove me wrong and I'll sound like an asshole, but I don't think he did it. My wife, on the other hand, is 100 percent convinced that he did it. She thinks he's guilty, showing no doubt in her face or voice when we talk about it. We still talk about it to this day by the way. That first season had everything. Drama, intrigue, horror, guilt, flip flopping, it was perfect. I would be scared to go to sleep some nights, just thinking about it. I also have had sleepless nights thinking about whether Adnan is guilty or not. That is the mark of good podcasting.

This season of Serial doesn't have the same allure of the first season. That's my point today. I know it's very hard to follow up something that was so big and virtually came out of nowhere, at least to my generation. "Serial" type stories have been around as long as talk radio has been around, but with my generation, this was the first "serial" story we'd really paid attention to. I also think that expectations, mine included, were way too high going into this second season. There was no way Koenig could top the first season, but I thought she had a chance. It's like a sequel to a great movie. Not every sequel will be "Terminator 2:Judgement Day" or "The Godfather: Part 2", not even close. Most sequels are more "Speed 2: Cruise Control" or "The Godfather: Part 3". They are usually much, much worse because it's so hard to recreate what the actors and director nailed the first time around. It usually backfires and I feel that's what's happening with the second season of Serial. I don't find myself waiting for the new episode every other Thursday. Now, don't get me wrong, I still listen, but it feels like homework this time around. I feel almost obligated to listen because the first season was so groundbreaking. You should never feel obligated to listen to something that you get for free. It should be fun and you should want to listen to it. Much like the first season, you should be on pins and needles waiting for the new episodes.

A deeper problem I think they're having with this season, most people, if not everyone, knows the Bowe Bergdahl story, or they know of it. That wasn't the case with Adnan Syed. I had never even heard of this story that happened in Baltimore more than a decade ago. It was great to hear her uncover new evidence and things that the police and the attorney's missed the first time round. Every week she'd peel back a new layer on the onion of this pretty much unknown story to anyone outside of the Baltimore area and it was great. Like I said before, anytime there's new news on Bergdahl, it's national news. We all find out about it the same time Sarah Koenig does. There's no intrigue or drama in that. It's no fun. She will bring some "new" news to the story and I'll sit back, listen and yell into my phone, "We all already knew that!", there is nothing that she can bring to this story that we all don't already know.  I still listen because I like the way Sarah Koenig speaks. She has a very calm, perfect for NPR voice that only Cecily Strong from "SNL" can replicate. I commend her for taking on a much bigger story for the second season of Serial, but it just doesn't carry the same weight the first season did.

Hopefully for the third season, there will definitely be one, she picks a smaller story again that the entire nation doesn't already know about. This season though, has been pretty dull, at least so far.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He loves great storytelling, but dislikes being bored. Ty is a great storyteller who is not boring. Find out for yourself by following him on twitter @tykulik.