Brotherhood - The Complete Second Season

A Step Back But Still Among TV's Best
The first season of Showtime's dark, brooding Brotherhood spent time exploring its main characters, often at the expense of plot. So much of what most people loved about the first season involved the family dynamics, the personal struggle and angst and the fine line between love and hate. Just seeing the characters in their unique positions in life sufficed for a larger story.

The second season really couldn't repeat that. Viewers now know these characters and expected more concrete plots to accompany the character studies. Several long plots appear throughout the season, even though at times, the series feels misguided and directionless. The primary stories focus on Michael's physical, mental and emotional recovery from his beating at the end of Season, Tommy's tit-for-tat affair and the arrival of the Caffee's cousin Colin, a blue collar Irishman bent on reconnecting with his American family, including the father he never knew.

That last plot comes with a...

Keeps getting better and better
Showtime's Irish answer to The Sopranos; Brotherhood manages to get better and better with each passing episode, and the second season is no different. Picking up a while after the first season concluded, season two begins with the Caffee family picking up the pieces. Michael (Jason Isaacs) is recovering from the brutal beating he took at last season's finale, and coping with the unexpected mental side effects to boot, all the while still trying to stay in the semi-good graces of crime boss Freddie Cork (Kevin Chapman). His politician brother Tommy (Jason Clarke) continues the campaign trail, and is drawn further and further away from his wife Eileen (Annabeth Gish) after learning of her infidelities. Things get even more complicated for the Caffee's when their estranged Irish cousin Colin (Brian F. O'Byrne) returns to The Hill to reconnect with the family, much to the chagrin of Michael and Tommy's mother Rose (the excellent Fionnula Flanagan). Also in this season, we witness...

Gets better and better
Showtime's Irish answer to The Sopranos; Brotherhood manages to get better and better with each passing episode, and the second season is no different. Picking up a while after the first season concluded, season two begins with the Caffee family picking up the pieces. Michael (Jason Isaacs) is recovering from the brutal beating he took at last season's finale, and coping with the unexpected mental side effects to boot, all the while still trying to stay in the semi-good graces of crime boss Freddie Cork (Kevin Chapman). His politician brother Tommy (Jason Clarke) continues the campaign trail, and is drawn further and further away from his wife Eileen (Annabeth Gish) after learning of her infidelities. Things get even more complicated for the Caffee's when their estranged Irish cousin Colin (Brian F. O'Byrne) returns to The Hill to reconnect with the family, much to the chagrin of Michael and Tommy's mother Rose (the excellent Fionnula Flanagan). Also in this season, we witness...

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