Jeff Bridges Returns in The Old Man Season 2: Streaming and TV Reviews

Jeff Bridges in The Old Man Season 2: Streaming and TV Reviews

The Old Man Season 1 had one of the most precipitous in-season declines in recent TV history. If it had maintained the level of thoughtfulness and tension of its first two episodes, it would have been one of the best shows of 2022 (it certainly was great for FX, where it became one of the biggest cable series debuts in years).

But it fell apart as it went along, becoming mired in portentous monologues and baffling plot choices before ending with a reveal so obvious that I couldn't tell if it was supposed to be surprising or not. In the end, it was a disappointing season. So The Old Man Season 2 has its work cut out for it getting the show back on track. The good news is, at least through the first five episodes, Season 2 is better than the worst of Season 1.

The bad news is that it doesn't come close to realizing the promise of those first two episodes. The Old Man's stylistic choices create a tension it can't resolve. Its presentation — especially in the virtuosity of Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow's performances and in the cinematic quality of the direction, cinematography, and editing — is that of a serious show like The Americans.

But its overly expository dialogue and weathervane characterization are that of an unserious show like The Blacklist. That tension makes The Old Man not work as a cerebral drama about the interior lives of spies or as a fun action thriller about old guys kicking ass, but rather traps it in the mediocre middle.

The plot of Season 2 picks up where Season 1 left off. Emily Chase (Alia Shawkat) has been kidnapped by her biological father, Afghan tribal leader Faraz Hamzad (Navid Negahban), which leads to her other … For more details about the season, visit the source.