I loved Season 1!!!! Couldn't wait for Season 2!! Just finished watching. (NOTE: Watched S1 originally because I love the podcast.) Was really looking forward to S2 and right off the bat... FLAT. Ruined.
Aaron Manke IS Lore. *
Without Manke narration, the magic simply didn't happen. ALL of S2 is missing the very thing that makes it stand out from other stories or historical tales: Narration by Aaron Manke. He put the "difference in with the odd connections, the twists, the references to "folklore" that were just a little bit similar to "the monster under the bed" we all feared ourselves. We the viewer/listener heard the creepy as familiar and this captured more of our attention without us even realizing it until later.
Those are the things that made/make Manke's narration essential, with his additions and sometimes seemingly random facts, as he eventually knits them all together in a neat little bundle so not only are you told the main story, but you're left with quite a few other things to ponder as well. And you might just check under the bed again. That's what S1 had that S2 doesn't.
I watched every S2 episode hoping the next one would be better than the last. I could see the writers "trying" with the final episode, but simply adding the thoughts of a character as narrative isn't the same. Season 2 of Lore became just another show telling a story about something that happened at some point in history, and as for this viewer, I was quite bored and disappointed.
* As for other reviewers who I've seen complain about the "sound" of Aaron Manke's voice or the "monotone" or "pauses", IMHO that just adds positive points to the creep level.
Aaron Manke IS Lore. *
Without Manke narration, the magic simply didn't happen. ALL of S2 is missing the very thing that makes it stand out from other stories or historical tales: Narration by Aaron Manke. He put the "difference in with the odd connections, the twists, the references to "folklore" that were just a little bit similar to "the monster under the bed" we all feared ourselves. We the viewer/listener heard the creepy as familiar and this captured more of our attention without us even realizing it until later.
Those are the things that made/make Manke's narration essential, with his additions and sometimes seemingly random facts, as he eventually knits them all together in a neat little bundle so not only are you told the main story, but you're left with quite a few other things to ponder as well. And you might just check under the bed again. That's what S1 had that S2 doesn't.
I watched every S2 episode hoping the next one would be better than the last. I could see the writers "trying" with the final episode, but simply adding the thoughts of a character as narrative isn't the same. Season 2 of Lore became just another show telling a story about something that happened at some point in history, and as for this viewer, I was quite bored and disappointed.
* As for other reviewers who I've seen complain about the "sound" of Aaron Manke's voice or the "monotone" or "pauses", IMHO that just adds positive points to the creep level.