Lupin part 2

 2021, created by George Kay, François Uzan - netflix

What I said about Lupin part 1 holds true for the 5-episode part 2: Omar Sy is a very charming lead and the show is very watchable, I'll say without being, let's say, focused.  

Where part 1 felt very full of momentum, part 2 ambles, and frankly hits peril fatigue early on.  The return episode, in which Assan partners up with the detective who has been chasing him (though he assigns the Lupin-loving cop the role of Ganimard - Lupin's police adversary in the novels) in order to find his son, who has been taken by the mercenary hired by the big bad guy, the powerful and connected Pellegrini.  

The over-arching plot, Assan's revenge on Pellegrini for the framing and murder of his father years before, is compelling, as is the drama raised between Assan, his ex-wife and his son, not to mention the people that fall as result of his actions.  Pellegrini is so well connected as to be almost untouchable, but that's what makes him such an intriguing adversary.

Assan is not a superhero, though he is very skilled and savvy, but he's human, and fallable and can even be outsmarted (he is on numerous occasions).  His failures are always more compelling than his successes, but at the same time his failures don't always lead to growth, as the show sometimes forgets about them.

It's a show that's got action, but it's not big action, even though it seems deserving of bigger action set pieces.  Lupin is about stealth and cunning, not necessarily physical adeptness, yet Sy is such a huge presence it almost demands that he use it more.

It's almost disappointing at the end of part 2 to see that part 3 is coming, because the story isn't quite finished.  I would like a new story to begin but I don't know what there is outside of this revenge plot which fuels both parts so far, and I don't know that it has the legs to be dragged out any further.  That said, I do want more of Sy and Lupin.