Nicole Kidman leads a new cast of somewhat unwilling strangers seeking wellness in Hulu’s Nine Perfect Strangers Season 2.
Nine Perfect Strangers Season 1 premiered four years ago and was adapted from Liane Moriarty’s best-selling book.
Many assumed it would be a limited series since the first season covered the entire book, making some key changes, such as making the series campier and more dramatic.
However, Hulu renewed it, and it became an anthology series, so Season 2 features a new cast of characters and a new location.
The Swiss Alps almost became another character as the location was gorgeous and more prominent on hikes and other scenes.
Therefore, while Nine Perfect Strangers Season 1 provided background information about Masha’s (Nicole Kidman) life, you won’t be lost if you missed it.
The first few minutes of Nine Perfect Strangers Season 2 Episode 1 explain how Masha became famous because of her new psychedelic drugs and why she created them.
Since being sued, she traveled to the Swiss Alps to run a wellness retreat with her former mentor, Helena (Lena Olin).
The new guests have more emotional baggage and secrets than the original ones, and I’m intrigued enough to learn more about these characters and their secrets.
Masha Doesn’t Play By The Rules, and The Staff Has Difficulty Setting Boundaries
Masha doesn’t play by the rules, and her former mentor, Helena (Lena Olin), and Helena’s son, Martin (Lucas Englander), have difficulty setting boundaries.
Masha had better luck flirting and dominating Yao (Manny Jacinto) in the first season since her charm does not phase Martin.
He wants the psychedelic drugs to be appropriately measured and for their guests to feel safe.
There’s so much on the line for Helena, as it’s their reputation, but she genuinely cares about Masha and her well-being.
She probably regrets showing Masha how to create psychedelic drugs to recreate memories because Masha is now too concerned with reliving the past instead of focusing on the present.
It also wasn’t wise to give Masha carte blanche with the guest list since she selected someone with whom Helena had an uncomfortable past.
Many people know David Shaw, Peter’s father. In the ending scene, we saw Masha making out with him, but how does Helena know him?
Nine Perfect Strangers Season 2 Premiere Teased Some Secrets, But We Don’t Know Masha’s Endgame
Like in the first season, Masha invited this select group for a reason. Each guest has emotional baggage or trauma.
We’re not sure what happened yet, but Tina (King Princess) experienced something that caused her to stop playing music and pull away from her girlfriend, Wolfie (Maisie Richardson Sellers).
I wonder if an instructor assaulted her since she kept wanting to bathe, and she seems to have blocked playing music.
After watching the scenes, it’s a gut feeling, and how Wolfie wanted to break through Tina’s trauma.
The series has not addressed why Agnes left the convent yet, either. It could be that she fell in love or felt another calling.
The season premiere touched on Brian’s backstory and the dysfunctional family relationships between Peter and his dad and Imogen and her mom.
While David came to the Alps for his son, I suspect Victoria wants to avoid her daughter. Dysfunctional family relationships can be entertaining, so I’m cautiously optimistic about watching these unfold.
Nine Perfect Strangers Season 2 Premiere Set Up Some Interesting Relationships
The best part of Hulu’s Nine Perfect Strangers is the cast interactions, since the guests are silenced for several days in the book.
The series continued this trend in the Season 2 premiere by setting up some interesting dynamics.
Agnes (Dolly de Leon) showed compassion to many characters and embodied a former nun. I loved her talk with Wolfie as they contemplated life’s next options while drinking tea. Sometimes, it’s the simple things in life that matter.
She and Brian (Murrey Bartlett) seemed like unlikely friends since he initially appeared bossy and angry, but their interactions reminded us not to believe first impressions.
Imogen (Annie Murphy) and Peter (Henry Golding) look like they are the initial rootable couple. While I wish they hadn’t jumped into bed so fast, they are adorable and have believable chemistry.
Imogen felt displaced since her mother brought another boy toy, and Peter threw her a lifeline.
He seemed to understand her, and those smoldering looks spoke volumes.
It’s not often that a woman asks a man what they want so soon in the relationship. We’ll see it evolve over the next several episodes.
Teaching Tolerance and Kindness Was An Underlying Theme
So far, the second season seems more dramatic with a preachy underlying theme. It’s missing the humor from the first season, but that may come in later episodes.
Nine Perfect Strangers Season 2 Episode 1 introduced us to the new guests, while Nine Perfect Strangers Season 2 Episode 2 delved into Brian’s backstory. While it was interesting and important to learn his triggers, they used too many flashbacks.
Parts of Brian with Jessie were funny, but the underlying theme was to have the courage to admit your true feelings.
Many guests struggled with that, especially Brian, who people like Imogen judged for losing his job.
Brian’s comment that children don’t fail struck a chord. It’s the people in their lives who make them feel like failures.
Almost everyone has felt like that, and that’s probably how Imogen felt with her mother and why she’s so judgmental of others.
I suspect that Imogen and Victoria grieved the loss of a father versus a husband differently, and their memories of Imogen’s childhood differed.
That complex relationship could be interesting to explore.
Neither Tina nor Wolfie had been honest and felt resentment towards the other. If they don’t communicate soon, I’m unsure if their relationship will survive, and I liked them initially.
Initial impressions suggested that Tina was secretive and unappreciative, while Wolfie seemed controlling. Neither first impression was probably correct, but the ladies had a lot to discuss.
Big Name Actors Were Underused
Nine Perfect Strangers Season 2 included stars like Christine Baranski and Lena Olin.
While I thought Victoria (Christine Baranski) had some funny lines, especially when she joked about her conflicting relationship with her daughter, she was underutilized.
She’s a comedic legend, but the first two episodes did not take advantage of that.
I’ve adored Lena Olin since Alias. She was one of the reasons I was excited for this season, but again, she wasn’t used enough.
She’s a dramatic actress, and I felt like Helena was basically used as a foil for Masha, whereas I crave more about her actual backstory.
Over to you, Nine Perfect Stranger Fanatics. Will you continue to watch Season 2? Who are your favorite guests so far?
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Watch Nine Perfect Strangers Online
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