Hidden Season 2 Review: The Monster Among Us
A need for trust and a need for control are the driving forces of Hidden during its second season, and both prove to be a dark road for its characters.
Arriving on Acorn TV, Hidden finds that that road of suffering may be too big of a burden to bear, but there may be peace at the end, if you can reach it.
The story follows DCI Cadi John (Sian Reese-Williams) and DS Owen Vaughan (Sion Alun Davies) as they try and make sense of a murder involving a disgraced man who has pulled back from the outside world.
This is balanced by the story of three teens, Mia (Annes Elwy), Connor (Steffan Cennydd), and Lee (Sion Eifion), where the varying views of the community help paint a broader picture of the struggle of a town slowly sinking into itself.
A theme of being spread too thin plays into each character’s life, as either the walls close in or the personal and the professional threaten to unravel an already shaky balance.
There’s the sense that the system has neglected or failed everyone in some manner, and their actions are a reflection of their pain and frustration at a community that refuses to accept that very pain and frustration.
It’s a fantastic jumping off point built on from the first season, helping settle in the plight that faces both investigators and the townspeople.
But the main theme of the second season is what someone is capable of. This echoes the first season with its measured pacing and careful attention on the social struggle and hardships of the disenfranchised, while reflecting it back on the system.
Everyone is having a hard time, and everyone just wants to keep getting by. But it also pushes them to do things out of fear and want, and plays with the morality and character of each person as they face these lofty ideas head-on.
Hidden meets those lofty ideas with focus and cleverness as it makes some character decisions initially frustrating until the deeper layers manage to provide context and understanding. The frustration is part of understanding their choices.
The mystery is certainly not the point, as it’s fairly spelled out early on who is involved, but the decision and the ramifications are far more riveting and important to the show. The power of control becomes the ultimate weapon, which leads to some fascinating moments, watching that control at work.
The cast is more of an ensemble this season, each character a key factor to why the season works as a whole.
Their performances hold immense emotional weight behind them, the two standouts this time being Annes Ewly as Mia and Steffan Cennydd as Connor.
They are deep and rewarding characters with their arcs and their portrayals growing more integral to the season working as well as it does.
Reese-Williams and Davies are able to pick up exactly where they leave off from the first season (though the first season is not at all required viewing if you’re looking to jump in fresh). The balance of work and family prove to be gruelling for their characters, both leads dependable and prove to be the calm and steady voices in a crowd of uncertainty.
Similar to the first season, Hidden’s main fault comes from feeling like it’s taking its time. It’s on purpose, to be sure, to fulfill a longer story over its six episodes that is more about the town than the crime.
By season’s end, that is an incredibly fulfilling conclusion; but during the moment, the show can prove a little slow at points.
This isn’t a problem over the course of the entire season, thankfully, but does pop up here and there.
This season continues the trend of the first by being an absolute stunner. The countryside and the striking use of light and shadow give so much depth and beauty to the frame, and one particular sequence during the third episode becomes one of the more eerie television moments in recent memory.
With its second season, Hidden builds on the foundation that the first season created and finds a way to make a larger point about those who suffer. This is more of a human drama than a crime thriller, and the show finds a lot of success by striking that tone.
The fear of an uncertainty looms over everyone, and that tension blankets every scene. Hidden uses its gorgeous setting and pitch-perfect atmosphere to tell a story of people dreaming of better lives, but first they must confront who they are in their home.
The second season marks a great continuation that can be enjoyed on its own or as a follow-up, and its six episodes are a reflection on loss in its many forms.
What did you think of this season of Hidden? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Hidden is available for streaming Monday, June 15 on Acorn TV.
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Kevin Lever
Kevin Lever has been following television closely for most of his life, but in starting to cover it, he has grown a further appreciation. He strives to give the blockbusters their due, and give the lesser known shows a spotlight to find more fans.
4 comments
Initially disappointed. Loved season 1. “Connor” as the wimpiest kid in Wales and “Mia” as queen of the mean girls seem so overplayed as to draw my attention away from all else. Have watched 2 episodes and hope for better as it goes.
The first two episodes definitely run the risk of playing into that too much, but it figures out an interesting way to use those traits as it goes!
Is Mia meant to be the same Mia who was the daughter of Dylan in the first season?
No the little girls name was Nia
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