'The A List' Season 2 Review: Incredulous plot saved by Lisa Ambalavanar, Rosie Dwyer
A creepy dollhouse in the woods, a mysterious medical institute where coma patients are transported in from the mainland, mind-controlling teenagers and boyfriends who turn out to be ghosts. Each one of these plot points could possibly be the basis of an entire series on their own, but Season 2 of 'The A List' tries to jam it all into one, which leaves the viewer unable to see the forest for the trees, much like the dazed and confused group of teens lost in the woods on the spooky show.
While we thought Season 1 of 'The A List' was already teetering into bizarre territory, with the resurrection of the long-dead loner Midge (Indianna Ryan) who was trapped inside pretty blonde Amber's (Ellie Duckles) body, taking revenge on the popular Mia (Lisa Ambalavanar), this season has taken the bizarre to a whole new level. From Midge turning Amber into a statue with her glowing violet eyes, to it turning out that the director of the creepy medical institute on the island is Midge's mother and the discovery that Mia and Midge are 'blood sisters', not to mention the ghosts who populate the island behind almost every tree. If teen dramas with mystery and edge are what you enjoy, then shows like 'Stranger Things' and 'Riverdale' should be on your watchlist too.
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To add to this there are the usual teen love triangles and a former best friend who also lands up on the island looking to take revenge on Luka (Max Lohan) for getting him into a car accident and leaving him for dead. Even if you're not mind-controlled, this is a plot that's going to get your head to spin. Somehow, to their credit though, both Lisa Ambalavanar who plays Mia and Rosie Dwyer who plays Alex manage to deliver performances which look credible, in spite of the often ridiculous plot they find themselves in the midst of.
The cast itself, on the whole, is a likeable lot and if the storyline had been kept to a little more of Enid Blyton with edge, rather than a mish-mash of the 'Twilight Zone' and Grimms' fairy tales, it may have actually made for A-list viewing.
'The A List' premiered on Netflix on June 25.