Tea in the Sahara
Kev: Critic & Podcaster
The first time I clocked there was a 2nd season of Aftershock after noticing a massive peak in my own original 2021 review proving the unfortunate adage trap – you snooze you lose!
So welcome podcast fans to my slightly belated signpost review of Aftershock S2 – co-written by Patrick Carman, Ben Haber & Sarah Wayne Callies, co-produced by iHeartRadio with Nomadic Engine.
Abridged recap – The drama & action is back sticking with our island popping up in the Pacific which wasn’t there before. Our heroine Cassie (Sarah Wayne Callies), has escaped an exploding warship and gets back onto terra firma whilst nutjob escaped convict Wayne (David Harbour), who is still at large. Oh, and whatever you do don’t drink the water on the island as you’ll end up deader than Blockbusters!
When returning to an audio drama of this magnitude I kind of expect BIG things if the previous season’s watermark was set so high – pun intended. Aftershock S2 kicks on with its continual modus operandi formula of flipping from present to past tense storylines adding historical context. Elephant in the room time, from my POV this back & forth plot timeline thing frustrated me a tad checking back & forth instead of cracking on with the storyline in the here & now. Does anyone else have those vibes?
That being said with this outing we are introduced to some fresh gen Z characters who aid the show in the shape of hotwiring juvenile Julian (Joshue De Jesus), and further airtime for McKayla voiced by the talented Tati Gabrielle.
David Harbour’s fleeting performance as escaped convict Wayne may leave some audience members flat – especially if he was your fav OG character from S1 and hoped his inclusion would run further into S2. However, is he really dead…
Personally, I had to wait a bunch of episodes for narcissistic Captain Dover (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), to show up and add bad guy vibes that had been seriously missing from the show. That said, this time around he does appear to have softened a touch – even taking salty backchat from younger characters. David Morrissey’s inclusion as a billionaire hellbent on owning the island and kicking everyone else off added an injection of star acting quality to this popular podcast’s roster.
So does Aftershock still pack a punch in 2023?
The suspenseful storytelling is still fully intact with the show heading into a different narrative arc as the podcast expands on the recent chain of events. After all an audio drama couldn’t maintain the same velocity of visceral carnage and destruction witnessed in its opening season – a need for deeper plotline development was kind of guaranteed.
The panorama of sound design on display remains top-tier created by the magician himself Jeff Schmidt – albeit at a less than manic audio pace of buildings falling down all around you. From my POV being from the UK the short window into the complexities of Hawaiian culture within America was the highlight of the show. This included a native Hawaiian funeral song performed by Lei (Janel Parrish), which was absolutely stunning.
Concluding thoughts before scores – my rationale for harsher critiquing towards S2 of Aftershock is simply because S1 was so incredibly bespoke – it was always going to be a tough podcast act to follow. If there are to be more seasons of Aftershock (yes please), what I truly hope doesn’t happen is for them to become more diluted in terms of directional quality losing sight of the show’s unique qualities. Let me know if you agree/disagree with me in the comments below guys…
Aftershock S2 scores – 3.5/5
Aftershock S1 review
Aftershock S2 Spotify
Q&A with Sarah Wayne Callies
If you’ve enjoyed my tone of writing get in touch for your own bespoke podcast review – tinthesahara@gmail.com
Cast & Crew
SEASON TWO STARRING
SARAH WAYNE CALLIES, DAVID HARBOUR, JEFFREY DEAN MORGAN, TATI GABRIELLE, JANEL PARRISH, RUSSELL HORNSBY, LOVI POE, JOSHUE DE JESUS, KELLY HU, JEFF FISCHER, DAVID MORRISSEY & ROCKMOND DUNBAR
Tea in the sahara 