The second season of The Tick is comprised of ten episodes of roughly thirty minutes each. Upon playing the first episode, you can instantly feel the higher production values as compared to the first season. The effects are better, the acting is smoother and although the costumes are deliberately cheesy, they look more detailed and less like props.
The story continues straight after the last season with Arthur and Tick gaining plenty of fame from defeating The Terror. The pair is dealing with the aftermath since it is not all fun and games. The Terror and the VLM are frequently references in the earlier episodes. Arthur and Tick has to keep it up as superheroes, working out the kinks and norms that are expected of them. Aegis, the organization that regulates the superheroes, now comes into the play and the pair wants to get official certification. Arthur is still reserved and reliant on Tick for most of the superhero things. It is more evident than ever that he needs to gain confidence. However, you do feel a strong bond between the pair.
Incorporated into the scenario is the series exploring the restrictions that heroes have to endure by a regulatory body. It makes fun of the absurd amount of red tape required to do anything of not only a superhero organization, but just any governmental department. This season really expands our view of the world. Various other superheroes make an appearance and their powers are much wackier and out there compared to the first season. No longer do we think Superian is the odd one out and the other superheroes only having mild additional powers.
Speaking of Superian, he is not facing an identity and popularity crisis. After it is revealed that The Terror was still alive and he screwed up declaring that he had defeated him, it is now biting him back even though it was an honest mistake. You can see how demoralizing it is when you lose your popularity and the public starts to turn on you, especially when it is unfairly so. He is doing what he can to help his image but only makes it worse. You can feel that his sanity is starting to lift. Although he asks Arthur for advice, we can see that he is going to become an issue later on.
The other pair that the series focuses on, Overkill and Dot, have now paired up. They carve out their own tangent of the story which is arguably more interesting than Arthur and Tick's. Their paths do cross from time to time but it's more interesting because it is less sunshine and righteous. The season explores part of Overkill's backstory and his connection with Aegis, while Dot is a lot more badass, able to hold her own in fights. There is a huge improvement in the humor and dialogue compared to the first season. This is particularly since we already know the characters fairly well and we're able to find out more about them. Tick is the obvious one with tons of great material thanks to his overly literal sense of attitude.
What you do feel is that the season feels different since it is not focused on The Terror anymore. Instead, it lacks an obvious villain for most of it. It's hard to gain the true villain's motive when they are hidden in shadows all the time. While the other villains are also more than meets the eye, what could appear as pure evil might just be a show. The flipside also happens where the most mundane of characters could be hiding something.
While the season suffers as we don't see the villain until the final episode, it was a fantastic episode. This season had a strong ending where everything just comes together. You go into the last episode wondering how they are going to have enough time to sort out the mess of the situation but they managed to succeed spectacularly and also find the time to tease a lot of future plot threads. It ends on a happy feeling as the characters learn what is important to them. Overall, the second season of The Tick improves on an already robust formula. The humor is a lot more natural, most of the characters continue to be more likable, and it has a neat plot that ties itself up together nicely at the end.
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