Summary
The Tailor returns for a second season after a very brief break, and it’s an even more assured and compelling outing that the surprisingly successful first season.
This review of the Netflix series The Tailor Season 2 does not contain spoilers.
When it debuted on Netflix earlier this year, nobody quite expected how much of a hit The Tailor would be. A Turkish melodrama from Onur Güvenatam, supposedly based on a true story, the seven-episode first season provided a complex, soapy web of secrets and lies that was as ridiculous as it was oddly captivating. And now, scarcely two months later, it’s back.
The show’s quick return is perhaps just as well since the first season ended on a massive cliffhanger. There’s an awful lot to catch up with here, and plenty more places to go with the story and characters, so another eight episodes might be just what the doctor ordered.
The Tailor Season 2 review and plot summary
For the uninitiated, the basic premise revolves around Peyami, a well-to-do tailor who has built a reputation while remaining highly secretive about his personal life, especially his mentally handicapped father, Mustafa.
Peyami’s best friend, Dimitri, is a psycho whose fiancé, Esvet, flees his clutches and finds employment as Mustafa’s caregiver, her true identity a secret to everyone. You can see how things get rapidly more complex from here.
At the end of Season 1, Peyami was shot. While concerns about his survival turn out to have been overblown, things aren’t going especially well for him having to witness Esvet marry Dimitri amidst the continued unraveling of his family dynamic.
The second season continues to expand on ideas floated in the first season about Peyami’s mother, his relationship with his father, and the fallout of the first season, while also introducing some crucial new characters who shake up the dynamics in fresh ways.
Without having the responsibility the first season had of introducing all of these various elements, sometimes leaning on a little contrivance to get the pieces into position, Season 2 is a more assured outing for The Tailor.
This manifests in various ways, from the writing to the pacing and the visuals, which are sometimes striking in their elegance, especially in terms of costume design. It’s a necessary detail given Peyami’s profession, and it does a lot of heavy lifting. Few streaming shows look quite this good.
Is The Tailor Season 2 good or bad?
Once again, The Tailor is a show that has no right to be as compelling as it is, and this second season arguably tops the first. The dynamics are more complex, the storytelling more confident, and the ending more satisfying. It’s a fitting thematic payoff to the foundations laid by Season 1.
Is The Tailor Season 2 worth watching?
Fans who have been eagerly anticipating this follow-up didn’t have to wait long, and won’t be disappointed with the result. “More of the same” is usually a criticism, but here’s a welcome assurance that The Tailor didn’t lose a step between seasons.
What did you think of The Tailor Season 2? Comment below.
You can watch this series with a subscription to Netflix.
