Review: “The Hollow” Season Two (Netflix)

Adam, Mira, and Kai are three teenagers who awaken in a room with no memories of themselves or each other. They must rely on a serious of mysterious clues and embark on a fantastical and dangerous mission to find their way home. This is the premise of the first season of Netflix’s animated series “The Hollow,” which was a smart and entertaining adventure from creator Vito Viscomi (“Nerds and Monsters,” “Yvon of the Yukon”). The dynamics between the three main characters were portrayed in a more realistic manor than usually seen in a genre targeted at a tween/teen audience, and the mysterious element of the storytelling was very effective.

I had only two issues with the first season, the first being the character of Kai, who was written slightly more broad and “cartoonish” than the others, resulting in a more stereotypical sidekick character who often makes obviously poor choices for the purpose of plot complications. The other was that the mystery of where they were and what was going on (SPOILER), that they were trapped in a video game, was deduced by Adam fairly early in the season, dampening the suspense a bit. That said, the season finale still managed a few surprises, including the live action reveal of the characters.

I’m happy to say that season two is just as strong as the first and manages to skirt around the few issues I had with the first season. After successfully winning the Hollow game at the end of season one and awakening on the real world on the set of the Hollow television show, the three teens suddenly find themselves back at their homes, though they are clearly back in the Hollow game with no memory of how they got there, or any knowledge as to why this hyperreal version of their lives even exists in the Hollow. They must team up with their former rivals Vanessa, Reeve and Skeet to search for the avatar of the Hollow host Gustaf (or Weirdie as they call him) to find out how to get home.

With their memories of their real lives restored, we are given quite a bit of backstories to the characters, which fleshes out all six of them quite nicely. While the backstories provide most of the drama, the writers managed to create an element of danger to the story by establishing that the normal rules of the Hollow video game no longer apply to them, thereby adding tension to their adventurous mission.

Kai was toned down quite a bit and was given some real nice character moments, though a feud between Adam and Reeve, a carry-over from the real-world, serves to add forced tension to the plot that Kai’s incompetence did in season one. While I suppose it is fairly representative of how two testosterone fueled teens would handle their grievances, their constant bickering became quite repetitive.

Season two is considerably more plot heavy than season one was, particularly when we finally begin to get answers, but it’s not overly complicated. It definitely takes a page from series like “LOST” and “Black Mirror” but more accessible for a younger demographic. If there is a season three, I’m curious as to where it will go, because the big reveal in this season (which we learn close to the end of the season) would mean a significant course redirection going forward. Of course, I could have said the same thing about the finale of season one.

“The Hollow” has turned out to be a very entertaining series for young adults and not so young adults alike. I was happy to binge it with my 8-year-old son, who was counting down to the premiere for weeks (I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t looking forward to it as well). Continuing with a great animation style, well written characters and plenty of action, the season two of “The Hollow” is definitely worth the watch.