"Extraordinary," Year Two

Spoilers for the first season ahead.

The second season of "Extraordinary" is better than the first, because it's more comfortable being a comedy about a group of friends first, and a comedy about people with superpowers second.  There's a lot going on this season.   Jen and Jizzlord have gotten together, while Kash and Carrie have come apart.  We learn a lot more about Jizzlord's pre-cat life, and meet his wife Nora (Rosa Robson) and son Alfie (Alfie Harrison).  Carrie develops a crush on a co-worker, Clark (Kwaku Mills).  Jen starts working with a therapist, George (Julian Barratt), to try and get a superpower.    

Many of the characters from the first season don't return, such as Jen's sister and ex-boyfriend.  However, many of them do, such as Kash's vigilante friend group, who get a little more time to register as individuals this year, and seem way more fun to hang out with than I'd first assumed.  Our leads are still in the process of figuring themselves out.  Carrie and Kash have to learn to be independent, though they have very different journeys.  Jen finally has to deal with some long-ignored personal issues.  Jizzlord has to face sudden fatherhood.  Everyone screws up constantly, but they also make a lot of progress.  

The budget this year goes less toward flashy superpowers (though there are still plenty), and more toward production design.  Jen spends a lot of time in a physical manifestation of her mind with George this season, which looks like a cluttered library.  There are a ton of sight gags here, with books on every subject from "Inappropriate Crushes" to "Weird Things You've Thought About While Masturbating."  "Lies" have their own section, available as audiobooks read by Derek Jacobi.  Nora is a hyper-perfectionist who writes self-help books, with a stifling home and wardrobe to match.  Then there's Kash's big project this year - an elaborate vigilante musical, complete with ridiculous costumes and pyrotechnics.  

With only eight episodes, and the status quo constantly changing, it feels like the season never slows down.  I like that "Extraordinary" pays off storylines that might have been dragged out in a more typical sitcom  fairly quickly.  Kash and Carrie are able to get over the breakup and stay friends, though not without some awkwardness and misunderstandings along the way.  Jen and Jizzlord's relationship actually progresses fairly maturely, though of course Jen ends up in a feud with Nora that results in a lot of shouting and chaos.  There's a shameless cliffhanger capping off another major arc, but that one also comes with a good amount of resolution too.  This is one of the few current comedies with serialized elements I can think of, where every episode is distinct enough that they don't all run together in my head, because the creators ensure fun ideas like Jizzlord-babysits-kittens don't outstay their welcome. 

"Extraordinary" continues its wonderful execution of all kinds of superpowered silliness, including a restaurant you have to shrink to get into, a swirling void that's being used as a convenient trash dump, and that creepy guy at work who knows too much about  all the women's menstrual cycles.  However, it's better at the character moments and absolutely great with the one liners.  It's genuinely touching when Kash and Carrie realize that they miss being together, but not as romantic partners, and when Jen has to say some important goodbyes.  And every time somebody announces that they've done something really stupid with a big grin on their face, I can't help laughing.  

So, enjoy the Halloween episode.  And the birthday party episode.  And the one where there's a gay panic subplot that gets subverted in probably the best way that I've ever seen.  I don't know how much longer this show is going to be around - it already feels like one of those cult television programs that blows up in popularity years after it's canceled.  I'm rooting for at least one more season, to resolve the shameless cliffhanger, but even if I don't get one, I'm happy to declare that "Extraordinary" lives up to its name.      

 

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