MINDHUNTER season 2 has been mind-blowing, in particular the episodes helmed by David Fincher and Andrew (CHOPPER) Dominik. There is a coldness to it that is completely absorbing and frequently chilling, but this time around we are also given a much more harrowing insight into the personal lives of two of the show's main protagonists, Bill Tench (Holt McCallany) and Wendy Carr (Anna Torv).
Like the first season, a big part of season two's gravitas is provided by the supporting actors putting in turns as some of the world's most infamous and reviled serial killers. Cameron Britton returns as Ed Kemper and is joined this time by Oliver Cooper as David "Son of Sam" Berkowitz, Christopher Livingston as Wayne Williams, Robert Aramayo as Elmer Henley and Australian Damon Herriman in his second onscreen performance as Charles Manson this year (having also played him in ONCE UPON A TIME IN...AMERICA). All of them put in terrific, skin-crawling performances, and Herriman's Manson is much more developed and effective than his (very brief) appearance in the Tarantino flick.
Having the horrific Atlanta child murders of 1979-81 as its main backdrop was a good dramatic move, allowing the writers to deal with subtexts of racism and political agendas. I love the way the series is leading to what seems inexorably towards a confrontation with Dennis Rader (BTK), though since Rader was not caught until 2005 I imagine there will still be at least one more season before then. A likely backdrop for season three would be the Green River killings, which would make sense as they started not long after the Atlanta killing spree stopped, and FBI agent John Douglas was also involved in the case. It would also give the filmmakers the opportunity to weave Ted Bundy into the series if they wanted, since Douglas consulted Bundy about the Green River case.
