Summary
Unsolved Mysteries is likely to stay but it has to do better to become a staple series on the streaming service.
This review of Netflix’s Unsolved Mysteries season 2 does not contain any spoilers. The docuseries will be released on October 19, 2020.
We recapped every episode — check out the archive.
I was a big supporter for the Netflix reboot of Unsolved Mysteries — I thought it provided a good mix of mysteries for the audience to chew over. And I can even recall scoffing at a certain critic’s review with the statement of, “These cases do not get solved” — they clearly did not understand the concept. However, and unfortunately, Unsolved Mysteries season 2 does not live up as a continuation — the second instalment feels like a beggy, bottom-of-the-barrel effort to make sure this series is kept alive.
Not every chapter is a dud — the disappearance of a former white house aide and cases of missing children certainly get the viewer’s attention. However, a couple of chapters in this 6-episode second series are not even mysteries. Unsolved Mysteries Season 2 instead opts to keep the same format but wedge in a story that has no action required — the Netflix series needs to prompt the armchair investigators, not bore them into submission.
I still feel there is life in this despite a shoddy second season. The first season provided that comfort; it is a cheesy investigation show but we enjoy the experience all the same. Perhaps the series needs to take their time before thundering in a third season by putting in the time to surface worthwhile mysteries rather than stretching the concept. One of the chapters specifically in Season 2 becomes a collection of ghost stories — it’s all up for interpretation and relies on the viewer’s beliefs rather than becoming a mystery — it’s these missteps that let it down.
But I’m sure fans will indulge in the second season either way and at least enjoy the chapters that are worth our time. Unsolved Mysteries is likely to stay but it has to do better to become a staple series on the streaming service.
Quick episode summary
Episode 1
This chapter looks into the murder of former White House aide Jack Wheeler and the strange connections on the day.
Episode 2
This chapter looks into an unidentified woman who was found in a hotel dead in Oslo, Norway with the alias Jennifer Fairgate.
Episode 3
This chapter looks into the missing fugitive Lester Eubanks, a sexual predator and murderer who killed Mary Ellen Deener
Episode 4
This chapter looks into the tsunami of the Tohoku region in Japan, 2011 — a natural tragedy that rocked the world. The episode looks into the supernatural phenomenons that occurred after.
Episode 5
This chapter looks into the death of JoAnn Romain and the investigation that followed.
Episode 6
This chapter looks into two missing children — Christopher Dansby and Shane Glover in Harlem, New York.
