Summary
Season 2 brings an improvement. While it’s obvious why the second part works better, it’s still an improvement.
This review of Netflix’s Selena: The Series season 2 contains no spoilers — the biographical drama was released on the streaming service on May 4, 2021.
With the first part of the series landing like a popped balloon, we waited with anxiety for the second season — were the team behind Selena: The Series going to bring the same generic recollection of Selena Quintanilla’s life? The first season is a marked let-down that only served as a wishy-washy drama rather than powerful storytelling of a beloved legend.
Selena: The Series season 2 is not too far behind season 1 in delivery and approach; however, it does benefit from focusing on Selena Quintanilla and the evolutionary phase of her career where she launches her own businesses, gets married, and transforms her career even further. Season 2 zeroes in on a Selena that was determined to nail her identity, emanate a genuine version of herself, and have a realistic romantic life away from her overprotective father.
Season 2 has all the same ingredients, but it lands slightly better — it’s no longer a merry-go-round of building a career from the bottom-up. The writers have decided to deepen the themes, leading to the inevitable tragedy that follows. Ironically, I do believe it helps the viewer knowing the unfortunate events that follow — it brings anticipation and sadness to the story, knowing that this singer had her whole life ahead of her, with the family establishing their next phase, cementing their lives.
There’s no denying that the cast is embracing this story — the writing still suffers from surface dialogue, which is mostly the problem of the series. The team completely forgot how humans talk to each other, and it feels artificial at times.
However, Christian Serratos can be proud of her representation of the singer in both parts — while it’s unfortunately not been critically acclaimed, her performance of Selena Quintanilla has been heartwarming. It is quite the transition from smashing the heads of zombies in The Walking Dead to bringing a beloved singer to life.
Selena: The Series season 2 brings an improvement. While it’s obvious why the second part works better, it’s still an improvement.
