Enigma Black Stage

Not For Everyone

The best and most inappropriate way I can describe this is imagine if Dario Argento (Italian film maker known for Suspiria) and Orson Welles (of Citizen Kane fame) got really drunk and decided to have a threesome with The Manchurian Candidate- Black Stage might be the head scratcher, imaginary love child of that drunken encounter.

If that sounds intriguing, this second season of Enigma is for you. I thoroughly enjoyed the fusion of old world belief with contemporary celebrity culture, although the execution was a little clunky.

I truly wish they had done two or three more episodes to really explore some of the post-modernist, Marxist, and capitalist social indictments that seemed too tacked on to really make for cohesive themes. This is a series that suffered from brevity- a more expansive third act might have made this a real contender for classic status.

It feels incomplete and my high rating is more of an appreciation for what was there instead of what was missing.

Season one started by sowing chaos on a small scale while season two attempted to bring that chaos to a national stage. Again, the brevity of the story, the lack of revealing the impact on the watching audience, and a budget that couldn’t allow for a more expansive story really makes the narrative they were attempting to tell feel incomplete. Ironically, a character speaks at length about what happens to understanding when chapters in a book are missing or skipped. This season feels like some of the best chapters were referenced instead of given to the audience.

But I enjoyed it. It was different (which is becoming increasingly rare) and if you are a true fan of horror that attempts to hold a mirror up to society, give it a shot. Even imperfect horror is better than no horror at all!

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The Perfect Follow-Up!

After watching the first season of Enigma, I was super curious to see what they were going to do to follow it up. Frankly, I was fine with the open ending of season 1, but was super glad they decided to continue with the show. I LOVE seeing Win as Ajin, and I was really curious as to how they would up the stakes for a season 2 and BOY did they!!

As Ajin continues on his journey to hunt for Enigma, he moves on from the high school and instead gets involved in a competition where actresses are competing to be in a famous director's newest project. However, there's something sinister behind the scenes - the lead actress will get to wear the dress created by the director's grandfather, but there's somethin dark lurking in its creation. Ajin guides Plengpin through her journey to win the top spot, but the pair might regret ever entering the competition.

I LOVED the way they continued this story. Sticking with the idea of competition between women from the first season was a great way to keep the story feeling cohesive, but it's very clear that they are no longer dealing with an amateur like in season one. The magic and the villains are so much more intense - and the chemistry between Ajin and Plengpin much better than season 1 (mostly because the female character is, yknow, an adult). The backstory, both with Ajin and this mysterious dress, were incredible. It really made this season feel more thought out than last, which I really appreciated. The twists at the end had me SHOCKED and I can't wait for season 3! As always with shows of this length, I would have loved another episode or two to really dive into some of the backstory, or to flesh out the finale a bit more, but overall it was such a great watch. If you even remotely enjoyed season one, this season is worth watching!!

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