THE HEALING KIND // A REVIEW OF "THIS WAY UP SEASON 2"
When THIS WAY UP, Aisling Bea's tremendous mental health comedy, premiered in 2019, there were a lot of Fleabag comparisons (which I understood but didn't make myself). Now in its second season, Bea's compassionate comedy shouldn't receive any of that, but should receive plenty of praise. Bea, who wrote all the episodes and stars as Aine (the main character amongst a very talented ensemble), has grounded her character with more stability in her life and though there are still some cracks, she's gained a good amount of her confidence back. Much like season one, she still teaches ESL and but is now also secretly dating Richard (Tobias Menzies), the father of one of her private student (the romance was building all last season). Aine and Richard are very different, but they also weirdly work well together, thanks to the performances of Bea and Menzies.
Last season Aine's incredibly supporting sister Shona (Sharon Horgan) was her main support system, truly becoming one of the main cushions Aine had after she checked out of a rehab center. Now, they both are supporting each other and their own dynamic has changed. Before, it was Shona sensing that Aine was hiding something. Now, Aine senses that her sister is doing the same, and she is. Last season, Shona had an affair with her coworker Charlotte, something that her fiancé Vish (Aasif Mandvi) doesn't know about. She's trying to balance planning her wedding while Vish is out of town and finding a way to continue working with Charlotte. With Aine, we don't see as much of her class, but we do have a strong new plotline with her and her boss James (Ekow Quartey) and the future of their school.
The entirety of Season 2 is, I'm happy to say, just as sharp, witty and emotionally grounded as the first. Just as the first season opened the door to talking about mental health alongside sex jokes on a comedy series, this new season shows the progress that one can make going forward, while still acknowledging that it's still a day to day struggle. Aisling Bea is fantastic, both in her comedic and sarcastic banter with...well, everyone, as well as her more grounded emotional touches. Sharon Horgan is brilliant as well, and the chemistry between the two is as strong as ever (in fact, even stronger). And although Bea and Horgan lead the way, the entire ensemble made up of Horgan, Tobias Menzies, Indira Varma, Aasif Mandvi, Kadiff Kirwan and Ekow Quartey equally shine and radiate around each other. It's a blessing that Hulu and Channel 4 have given such a great platform for Bea's creation here, and at least from the first two seasons, it seems to only be going up from here.
GRADE: A
CREATED AND WRITTEN BY Aisling Bea DIRECTED BY Alex Winckler STARRING Aisling Bea, Sharon Horgan, Tobias Menzies, Indira Varma, Aasif Mandvi, Kadiff Kirwan, Ekow Quartey NOW STREAMING IN THE US ON HULU AND ON IN THE UK ON CHANNEL 4. FOR MORE INFO: US - THIS WAY UP US or THIS WAY UP UK