American Vandal Season 2 - Character Structure

American Vandal Season 2 does a really good job crafting its narrative. Structurally, it varies from the first season by removing the documentarians as a major element from the story. This allows for the completely new cast to make the show their own. The show becomes a narrative about brand new characters that you get to know more about throughout the season. It was this slow reveal of information that really kept me interested in the show.

Other stories have characters go through arcs. The character goes through a change in the story and is able to accomplish what they need to because of that change. American Vandal Season 2 has its characters stay mostly static, the only thing that changes is how much we know about them. It helps that the documentarians are removed as characters and act more as the filter the audience receives information through. It makes the show really engaging to watch since it can easily keep you invested. 

By controlling what we know about characters and how the audience receives that information, the show is allowed to do whatever it wants to keep you invested. Minor details can be expanded upon to great lengths just to misdirect the audience, and it works.

For some, the show might feel a little less personal. The outro to the final episode doesn't help in that regard either. But I would argue that I was more invested in the new cast of characters because their lives were filled out. A lot of the characters are built upon cliches but the show does a lot of work to make them more real. It blurs the line between pure fiction and believability. 

Season 2 of American Vandal was a worthy successor to the breakout hit that was the first season. In a lot of ways I actually liked this season more than the first one, it dragged less in the middle and always kept the viewer engaged.