Dear White People’s second season is much stronger than the 1st in almost every single way. I’m so happy they didn’t chase the rabbit like they did in season 1 with the online troll subplot. Thankfully this season doesn’t feature nearly as much (or really) any hackneyed and immediately dated dialogue like the first season which was like a verbal diarrhea of 2012 Tumblr racial discourse.
There’s more spotlight and all the interesting characters even though 1 pretty much is still a comedic plot device. They engaged with the idea of a hotep character without feeling like a parody and instead felt like a genuine recreation of how they act and manifest in real life. The highlight of the season both thematically and in terms of actual acting was episode 8 with the confrontation between Gabe and Sam which finally features a takedown of white anxiety and saviorism beyond surface level accusations of white guilt.
Sam actually gets read and addressed by her friends and other characters in a genuine way. The music is a step up. The final episode read of even the premise of “Dear White People” was cute and cheeky too.