With the most scripted shows on record, television has been over-stuffed in 2015. Yet in a year so crowded with the incredible television, Amazon had a trick up its sleeve. The first season of “Transparent” was highly acclaimed, nabbing the show and Amazon five Emmys. With high expectations from fans, the entire second season of “Transparent” was released on Amazon this month as showrunner Jill Soloway continues the story of the Pfefferman family and their complicated lives.
“Transparent” doesn’t begin with a nice heartwarming scene to ease viewers back into the show. The season starts with a chaotic, loud four-minute shot where all the characters argue and shout as they pose for a wedding picture. Right when the scene becomes too obnoxious, it cuts to the soothing and beautiful title sequence scored by Dustin O’Halloran. This is where “Transparent” triumphs. The show strikes the perfect balance between annoyance and extreme bliss.
Soloway created the series after her father came out as a transgender woman. The first season was centered on this premise, with Jeffrey Tambor playing Mort, the character who eventually transitions to Maura. The second season expands on this while bringing the other members of the Pfeffermans to the center as well.
Judith Light shines as Shelly, Maura’s ex-wife and the matriarch of the family. Shelly’s character is utilized far more often this season and is often the point of comedy in the series. Amy Landecker also puts in a great turn as Sarah Pfefferman, who feels increasingly lost, having left her husband for an old college fling last season. While the show focuses on the five Pfeffermans in great detail, the supporting cast is superb, especially Kathryn Hahn as Rabbi Raquel and Alexandra Billings as Davina.
Soloway also continues the first season’s constant flashbacks. This season portrays 1930s Berlin, when ancestors of the Pfefferman family were trying to leave the country. Soloway uses the same actors, namely Michaela Watkins and Bradley Whitford, from the first season’s flashbacks to show different characters in this season’s Berlin story.
Despite the jumps in time and the large cast of characters, “Transparent” feels deeply personal. The show’s writing is incredible — Soloway and her writing staff create natural and authentic dialogue, making viewers feels as though they shouldn’t be privy to this family drama. Despite the characters’ often annoying and self-centered personas, they are rooted. These characters are not caricatures — they are people.
With all of the Pfeffermans going to darker and more uncertain places this season, “Transparent” reminds us not only what television is capable of, but why we all love it.
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