3.5/10 After giving the first season of “Mr. Mercedes” an 8/10 I remarked that if they would have changed the ending to make it a little more finalized, it would have been a terrific limited series and then just be over. In stretching the story onto a second season, this sophomore slump ends up only being about half as good as its thrilling debut. The biggest problem is the plot. Minus the last two episodes or so, all of our time spent with Mr. Mercedes is in his head, which takes the physical manifestation of his basement. While in a coma and receiving an experimental drug, the show wants us to believe that Mr. Mercedes can take over control of people’s minds and bodies, even when they are physically far away from him. While the first season was completely grounded in reality and the only abnormal moments ended up being dream sequences, this second season’s plot just felt silly in comparison. While this is a fictional show and the new drug is experimental, I just couldn’t suspend my disbelief that Mr. Mercedes was able to control all these people. A couple new characters, Jack Huston’s Dr. Felix Babineau and Tessa Ferrer’s Cora Babineau (while acted well by their respective thespians) bring about some problems of their own. Cora is the most unlikeable character in a show with an incestuous serial killer as one of the leads. Their subplot wasn’t nearly as strong as all of the other supporting characters because while we’ve grown to love Bill, Ida, Jerome and Holly, Cora and Felix are largely selfish and two dimensional. To make matters worse, their entire subplot has such an abrupt ending that they never even get a proper send off and are forgotten by the end of the season. There are many ridiculous moments that riddle the show with how unrealistic they are. We have American’s most prolific, current serial killer in the hospital, yet never one guard assigned to watch outside his room (which is always unlocked), even though many people are motivated to kill him, he constantly has guests who shouldn’t be there that the hospital becomes aware of and once he starts showing some cognitive function, no one thinks it a good idea to put some protection around him and his ward. A character near the end of the season unexpectedly is able to get a hold of a taser, yet we are given no explanation of how. There are many moments like these that just seem so farfetched and bring the plot and believability down. Like the end of the first season but minus having to tweak anything, this season has a definitive ending and I am baffled that there is even a third season. If the show would have ended after the first season, it would have been held in high regards. Continuing into a second season was unwise but at least the last couple of episodes ended on a high note. I really see no point in continuing but will check out the third season just to see how it all ends. Thankfully, the soundtrack this season continues to be perfect, I love that they brought back the supporting characters from last season (Justine Lupe as Holly is just the best) and Gleeson is such a likeable, grump guy as Bill. The season starts rocky with way too many fantasy/dream sequences that drag on far too long but ended strong with the last couple of episodes. Feel free to stop watching after the first season but if you do stick around for another, just know that the quality, largely due to the plot/script, goes downhill faster than a runaway Mercedes without any brakes.
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