Television Review: Cardinal (Season 2, 2018)
The second season of the Canadian crime TV series Cardinal suggests that its producers wanted something different, and in doing so they understood the term "season" in the way it means in the English language, where it is synonymous with "time of year". While the first season was set in winter, the second season, based on the novel The Blackfly Season by Giles Blunt, takes place in summer, a change that is extremely striking when it comes to the north of Ontario province, where instead of snow and ice-covered wastelands one is suddenly surrounded by forests and lush vegetation. At the very beginning, however, this atmosphere does not seem too idyllic for an unnamed red-haired girl (Alex Paxton-Beesley) who is desperately trying to flee from someone or something through the dense forest. A few hours later, the same girl finds herself in a bar frequented by bikers and similar sorts, where her unusual behaviour catches everyone's eye, including that of a local policeman who soon discovers a frightening explanation for this phenomenon. Someone had apparently tried to kill her with a gunshot, with the bullet ending up in her brain. After prompt surgical intervention saved her life, police detective John Cardinal (Billy Campbell) and his partner Lisa Delorme (Karin Vanasse) begin an investigation with the aim of finding the perpetrator of this crime. The problem, however, is that the girl, whom everyone calls "Red", has developed amnesia and is unable to say what her name is or where she comes from, let alone who fired the fatal shot at her. While Cardinal and Delorme patiently try to find clues that would indicate the identity of "Red", horrifically mutilated corpses of members of a local biker gang begin to be found around Algonquin Bay, and it is unclear whether this is a feud related to drug trafficking or the work of a disturbed serial killer, or perhaps a combination of both. Cardinal begins to think that these events might be connected to "Red", but his investigation is complicated by the increasingly fragile mental health of his wife Catherine (Deborah Hay).
The second season of Cardinal, despite using a new director-screenwriter team, has remained within the stylistic and atmospheric parameters of the first season in terms of style and atmosphere. Cardinal still leans on Nordic noir, that is, it strives to make the seemingly idyllic atmosphere of provincial Canada frightening, making quite skilful use of the dense, endless and dark forests that are full of life in summer, but also hide all sorts of monsters, of which, of course, the most dangerous are those in human form. From the previous season, the technique is also taken whereby viewers are almost from the very beginning deprived of any dilemma about who the main villain is. Despite this, tension is maintained relatively well, and the opening itself brings several rather surprising twists. The acting is up to par, and Alex Paxton-Beesley in particular deserves mention for a rather demanding role of a character who is, in a symbolic sense, simultaneously alive and dead. Bruce Ramsay also proved very good in the role of a monstrous yet charismatic villain.
Unfortunately, the good initial impression was not sustained until the end. The screenwriters were under too much pressure to fit the original novel and its plot into the format of a six-part mini-series, and over time the second season of Cardinal begins to seem drawn out. This is most evident through the subplots related to the private lives of the protagonist and his partner, which rely on the previous season and give the impression of reheated leftovers. The finale, however, is particularly disappointing due to a series of seemingly "clever" plot twists that, in fact, come across as somewhat irritating clichés, and the ending is in many ways banal. In the end, what saves Cardinal the most is its technical polish and good acting, which raised the overall quality of this season to more than a tolerable level.
RATING: 5/10 (++)
(Note: The text in the original Croatian version is available here.)
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