Season one of Amazon Prime's mystery-drama series Homecoming had viewers furrowing their brows and scratching their heads. It was a mind-bender of a series, and it's difficult to imagine how a second series could continue on without significantly changing up the main content of the show.
Season two does change things up, but it also keeps many major things the same. This is surprising, seeing as viewers are now in on the big mystery of what goes on behind Geist, the main antagonist. And yet, by replacing previous frontrunner Julia Roberts with a new lead (the intriguing Alex stunningly played by Janelle Monaé), the show successfully forms a new season that is just as full of the rich complexities that viewers came to know and love from the first season. Here are five times audiences fell in love with the new protagonist Alex and fives times she let them down.
WE LOVED HER: She Trusts Herself
Viewers meet Alex when she has no idea who she is, having just woken up with her memory wiped. The viewer is also given clues to whom Alex might be or any of her characteristics as a person, but one of the first acts which assert a quality about her is when doctors try to peg her as a drug addict and she insists she is not.
She has no hard proof but trusts her gut feeling that that isn't who she is. This is a behavior which suggests that, whoever she is, it's someone who commands respect and doesn't concede to others.
SHE LET US DOWN: She Works Against Women
Once viewers are finally given a taste of Alex's life before she lost her memory, she at first seems like somewhat of a hero. She appears to be a lawyer working in defense of a woman who has been sexually harassed by her high-level male boss.
But as the story goes on, it becomes clear that Alex is actually manipulating the woman into dropping her case and that Alex, in fact, regularly works to get guilty men out of such situations.
WE LOVED HER: She's Skilled
Alex may use her talents for unfortunate aims, but those talents themselves are noteworthy. Alex has somehow honed her skills of deception to a level of near mastery.
She doesn't seem to have any qualifications or experience in being what one can only relate to undercover work, or being a spy, and yet Alex easily moves into various fictions of her own creation as if it's second nature.
SHE LET US DOWN: She's A Con Artist
As impressive as she is, the truth of the matter is that Alex is a con artist. Being a con artist is rarely something that can be thrown into a positive light, as it almost always includes fooling somebody else in order to benefit one's self.
The fact that Alex is somewhat of a pro at this makes it even more concerning.
WE LOVED HER: She Created Her Own Profession
In the final episode of the second season, Alex stands with her memory lost, demanding an explanation from Audrey. She can't make sense of why in the world she would do any of the things Audrey claims she has done.
When she inquires into what exactly her profession is and why she does it, Audrey reveals that Alex created the profession herself. Saddening, but also quite impressive.
SHE LET US DOWN: She Works Against Walter
Walter has pretty much never done a thing to let viewers down. He's a thoroughly wholesome character, and his only flaw has ever been being too kind and trusting for his own good.
The fact that season two finds Alex working against Walter - merely for the sake of ensuring Audrey maintains her job promotion - makes it very easy for her to lose points with viewers.
WE LOVED HER: She's A Devoted Girlfriend
Everything Alex does is done to improve on her and Audrey's life. This doesn't make her actions excusable by any stretch, but if one was to view the drive behind her behavior in isolation from its impact on others, it would actually show her to be a devoted girlfriend and rather a romantic.
Such aspects of her character make it difficult to peg her as purely "bad" but rather, show that she is in fact complicated.
SHE LET US DOWN: She Encourages Audrey's Corrupt Behavior
Audrey wouldn't be where she is in season two if not for Alex. Alex was there at every turn of her career, bad-talking the co-workers who didn't believe in her, encouraging her to stake her claim to a higher role in the company.
This would all seem sweet and supportive, if not for the fact that it is accomplished through deceit and hurts innocent people along the way, such as Walter.
WE LOVED HER: She's Compassionate
Alex is shown to have a genuine appreciation for the qualities of others, even if it's at odds with her behaviors toward them. She cares deeply for Audrey, and her coaching her to overcome her weaknesses is her way of helping her be her best self.
When she is trying to con Walter, she mentions on the phone to Audrey that he's a "sweetheart", clearly asserting that her immoral actions toward people aren't a sign of sociopathy or lack of empathy, but conscious blindness or stubborn insistence that her actions aren't that bad.
SHE LET US DOWN: She Preys On The Vulnerable
Everyone is guilty of being self-centered at times. Nobody is completely innocent of that. Knowing this, Alex's profession could be understandable or at least not a major character flaw. However, this would be the case if those she lied to were on her level from the start especially if they had an equal advantage like (for example) two lawyers in a courtroom.
But the people Alex fools aren't only unequal but in states of extreme distress. In this way, her shameful behavior echoes that of Geist, and isn't all that different from Heidi in Season 1.