Last One Standing season 2 continues the innovative premise of the Netflix reality show as comedians star in a thrilling drama and compete with each other with jokes and improv during the unscripted moments.
Story
Episode one begins the shenanigans as the scripted part tells the story of mayhem at a hospital where the comedians, all playing their parts as doctors and other staff members, have to one-up each other telling jokes and performing improv.
Episode 2 sees a Kaiju terrorizing the halls of the hospital as the comedians have to contend with some honesty and secrets they’ve never spilled, before dropping some truth bombs.
Episode 3 sees the comedians delivering jokes and improv with the premise that they’ve all had some realizations as the mystery of the virus spreader is being worked on.
Episode 4 takes matters for a spin as the setting relocates to a hideout of masked outlaws, who all share their painful past experiences.
Episode 5 takes the comedians, who are joined by some new faces and the comedy duo Unjash, to a fight club where they share stories of their major screwups.
Episode 6 is where the comedians hand spy Ahn Mika to read complaints and negative feedback after she’s captured, and hilarity ensues.
Episode 7 marks the penultimate entry as comedians contend with a cloning program.
The finale of Last One Standing season 2, episode 8, sees the comedians have a brief refuge to distract themselves from the dire circumstances, by telling funny stories.
Positives
The dramatic parts in Last One Standing season 2 are really great and it’s very commendable how the comics are able to switch it up and play their dramatic parts so well. It’s not like they’re going to win Oscars, but they do manage to make it very believable.
The budget helps too, and the effects, even the prosthetics and makeup stuff are very good. Due to the overall nature of the show, what would have otherwise been weird, just seems right at home with its goofy charm.
One of the best parts of the improv segments is all the character-breaking that occurs, and it really feels like a group of best friends trying to keep it together during a situation that warrants no laughs.
Negatives
The format is incredibly vexing in that it fails the premise by having the two judges talk at a constant rate. There is absolutely no need for them to deliver a commentary, and yet their constant chirping just ruins all the authenticity.
What makes this even more frustrating is that it goes on even during the scripted parts, where all the legitimate tension and thrill are diminished.
Unfortunately, the hilarity of the jokes can’t really be translated well, or at all, in some cases, to audiences outside of Japan.
Verdict
Last One Standing season 2 continues to build upon the premise from the first season and while some things continue to work for the show, its format persists in being intrusive in a manner that detracts from a lot of hilarity and drama that it can proffer.
Last One Standing season 2
Director: Hayato Kawai
Date Created: 2023-10-10 12:30
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