Sweet Home Season 2 Absolutely Disappoints

Sweet Home Season 2 is streaming on Netflix and it is not what it used to be in Season 1. Just to put this out there first – No, the second season of Sweet Home wasn’t as good as the first. The plotting was unnecessary, leading up to an underwhelming showdown. With many unnecessary subplots and characters, Sweet Home Season 2 is an incompetent follow-up to an electrifying drama.

In season 2, many of the characters feel very thinly developed while others are all over the map. Sometimes the writers seem to be operating off the assumption that the viewers care more about everyone on screen than they reasonably could or should, given what has occurred. I think this was one of the biggest reasons people were so frustrated by the first half of the season involving so much time spent searching for Lee Eun-hyuk. 

We understand some of the characters on screen care about him, but Lee Eun-hyuk who was a part of the first season, was not included in the main cast list of Sweet Home Season 2 (including the second season premiere). Fans weren’t even sure about his comeback in the series so we had no real reason to care or be specifically worried about finding him.

Where Were We?

A seemingly ordinary world falls into chaos and bloodshed when an unknown threat turns people into monsters based on their desires. Cha Hyun-Soo finds himself trapped inside the residential building trying to stay alive from the monsters outside. But anyone can turn, even Hyun-Soo who is a special breed. He has all of a monster’s powers but remains human.

By Sweet Home Episode 10, a lot of characters had died, but the cataclysmic events occurred when a gang infiltrated the building for their own greed. One of its members had ulterior motives and a secret. In the Sweet Home ending, Hyun-Soo found himself in a bloody fight and was forced to make sacrifices to save the others. 

Sweet Home Season 2 Happenings

Spoiler Alert – Throughout Sweet Home Season 2, Eun-Yu believed that her brother could still be alive and never stopped looking for him. She was saved multiple times from the monsters in the season and assumed that it was her brother saving her. It was only during the ending episodes that Eun-Yu realized that Hyun-Soo was the one protecting her, not her brother.  

Hyun-Soo soon realizes that the whole propaganda about developing a vaccine with the help of the special infectees was a lie. The doctor, Dr. Lim (Oh Jung-se), who is leading the tests, doesn’t even care about the vaccine. One thing that left a sour taste in my mouth is the fact that the makers decided to keep Lee Jin-Wook in the show with a completely new character (monster), but we rarely see him on screen throughout Sweet Home Season 2.

The Military kills anyone, even if there’s the slightest chance of monsterization. They are reckless and, right at the beginning, cause havoc as they try to kill a monster running away from them. The whole thing ends up causing the death of countless civilians, and it is just pure and other chaos. Sweet Home Season 2 ends with Eun-Hyuk, who had presumably died at the end of Season 1, returning as a monster.

Character Chronicles

Hyun-Soo – Male Lead: Following the death of his entire family in a car accident, Hyun-Soo moved to the Green Home building, where he would meet new people just before the monster outbreak began. During the survival period, we see him battle his inner monster to keep his human consciousness intact. In Sweet Home Season 2, we see him as a fully mature human/monster mutant who tries to bridge the grudge gap between the two opposing races. His notion of this ideal world where humans and monsters live peacefully may be the biggest delusion case of an MC ever to date.

Eun-Yu – Female Lead: Eun-Yu is a somewhat abrasive and headstrong girl. She has a critical, straightforward, and somewhat rude attitude; mostly saying things how they are. An example of this is when she criticizes Hyun-su and tells him to jump from another building so as to not cause trouble for her or the residents of Green Home (in season 1). In Sweet Home Season 2, we see a different side of her – one that is hell-bent on finding her brother no matter the cost.

Seo Yi-Kyung – Known Face: Seo Yi-Kyung is one of the most powerful characters in Sweet Home. She is portrayed by Lee-Si-young. She is a former fighter from the Special Forces unit and a firefighter. She lived with her fiancé in Green Home and planned on getting married. Two days before their wedding, there was an accident in which her fiancé died. Later she finds out that he didn’t die but something is wrong with him. The character of Seo Yi Kyung has no involvement or appearance in the webcomic, and thus everything here is from the Netflix Adaptation.

Yi-Kyung’s Daughter – A Monster Child: Ah-Yi, Yi-kyung’s daughter is the most important character in Sweet Home season 2, with mysterious origins and powerful abilities. Ah-Yi is arguably the most powerful Sweet Home character as of season 2, and she could be the key to understanding more about the monster curse. The child, born as a monster, grows up too fast and possesses the ability to turn people into monsters by touch. The complicated relationship between Yi-Kyung and her daughter may lead to the child becoming a villain in Sweet Home season 3, especially with the revelation that her father is still alive.

Lee Eun-Hyuk – A Surprise: Lee Eun Hyuk was the brain and leader of the surviving group in season 1. His character used to be a medical student showing off his charisma in moments of desperation through his quick judgment. There have been much-divided opinions over his character as many loved and hated him for using Cha Hyun Soo as a means of survival. However, many viewers were left hanging when the season 1 ending hinted at his death. Fans are surprised as Sweet Home Season 2 ends with Eun-hyuk returning as a monster. 

Should You Watch Sweet Home Season 2?

A tiny number of the new characters in Sweet Home Season 2 feel unnecessary and almost cartoon-like in a story like this. This season very much feels like a middle ground. At the end of the show, it pops up very ominously that Season 3 is coming in Summer 2024. It has been widely slated by critics. There were moments to frown on among season two’s bad writing and mind-boggling plot twists.

Sweet Home Season 2 kinda felt like an in-between-season to me. Like it’s setting up for a strong season 3, at the cost of this season being a bit weaker. It’s nowhere near as good as the first season, but you still gotta watch it as a fan of Song Kang or Lee Do-hyun. Now let’s wait for season 3. I feel like if it’s protracted, it will linger on its welcome. So I‘m covertly hoping season 3 will be the final season of this show.