‘Disenchantment’ part two continues the dreamy disappointment

Matt Groening, creator of “The Simpsons” and “Futurama,” returns to Netflix with the second part of the first season his fantasy adventure series “Disenchantment.” The first season was meant to be comprised of 20 episodes, with the first 10 being released last year and the final 10 being released now. The first part of the season, despite some highlights, failed to live up to expectations in many ways. Can the new season elevate this potentially exciting material?

We continue to follow Princess Tiabeanie (Bean) who, after the events of the previous part of the season, continues to question the world and the people around her. Through various fantasy adventures with her elf friend Elfo and her personal demon Luci, new discoveries are made that will rock their world.

This newest chapter of Groening’s fantastical journey plays out more or less the same way as the previous part, with some minor improvements made. Much like the first part, the visuals are very solid for a production such as this. Despite some choppier character animation, the designs, backgrounds and colors fill the world with an unmistakable fantasy atmosphere that never lets up. The integration of the 3D elements for more complex objects and camera movements, while never completely seamless, still proves effective enough and is only used when needed. Along with the visuals, the bombastic musical score aids in imbuing this kingdom with life. The spectacular theme song alone succeeds at capturing that olden-day drunken bar party essence that this series has running through its veins.

The characters here have been elevated somewhat since their last rodeo. Bean, Elfo and Luci are still fun to be around as a trio for the most part and the side characters feel far more fleshed out than before. In particular, the series reveal more about Odval, Derek and King Zog that give their characters more to do this time around while adding much needed dimension to their arcs that make for far more compelling journeys.

Unfortunately, what holds the show back from truly excelling is its lack of identity. Like the first part of this season, this section does not know at times if it would rather tell an overarching narrative or be a sitcom-esque show that Groening is known for. The first and last few episodes of this season introduce heavy plot elements that present themselves dramatically and with emotional weight, but the middle few episodes seem to want to venture off and do more of their own thing. This wouldn’t be so much of an issue if the show made more of an effort to weave its narrative within these comedic vignettes, but it very little — if any — of it is put into doing so.

It doesn’t help that the comedy feels disappointingly executed. While there are certainly jokes that land and will give you a chuckle, much of Groening’s comedic chops that work so well on the typical television format feel out of place here. Much of this has to do with the awkward timing and pacing of many of these jokes, which rarely leave the punch required to give you the hard belly laughs they could create given their often clever set ups and pay offs.

Overall, the second part of “Disenchantment” will give you more or less the same feelings you had about the previous part. While full of potential for both narrative and comedy, the show never fully adapts to its format to effectively have either element seam together in a fashion that works all the way. Here’s hoping that season two will give us the fantastical hijinks and hair-raising storytelling that we’ve hoped for from the beginning.