Second Season Prodigal Son Losing It's Allure -- But Prodigal Daughter Holds Promise

Warner Brothers police drama with a twist, Prodigal Son, gets the Blu-ray release for its second season. Malcolm Bright (Tom Payne) continues in his role of consulting profiler for the police department, bringing his unique perspective to the solving of unique homicides. That perspective comes from the fact that his father, Dr. Martin Whitly (Michael Sheen), is the infamous serial killer known as The Surgeon. From his special accommodations at the Claremont Psychiatric Hospital, Martin stands ready and eager to "help" his son get into the minds of the various psycopathies he must unravel, all while getting further into Malcom's head as he struggles with repressed memories.

In this second season, however, Malcolm is doing his best to cut himself off from his unorthodox inspiration, going cold turkey from his father. And he has bigger worries on his mind. His sister, Ainsley (Halston Sage), murdered a man at the end of last season. Granted, she can't remember doing it and, granted, the man was a serial killer stalking the Whitly family, but it still causes Malcolm to worry that his sister may have a genetic tendency inherited from their father. And, as the season progresses, we find that this may actually be the case. 

The major focus of this second season is the planned escape many of the patients are planning, a plan that comes to Martin's attention. He's ready to sieze on it, but it would mean leaving behind a newly formed romantic entanglement with the controlling Dr. Vivian Capshaw (Catherine Zeta-Jones). He needn't worry, however, as there's more to Dr. Capshaw than meets the eye -- something dark and deadly that will have a huge impact on the entire Whitly family, including Martin's ex-wife, social butterfly Jessica Whitly (Bellamy Young).

The season also deals with subplots involving Detective JT Tarmel (Frank Harts) involving racist cops in the precinct, and a visiting European celebrity detective, Simon Hoxley (Alan Cumming), who -- quite correctly -- has a murder to pin on Malcolm and Ainsley, unless Malcolm can steer the evidence otherwise.

Unfortunately, overall, the individual plots seem a little too thin, and even at times a little too lighthearted. The bright spots here are, ironically, Ainsley's emerging darkness which is even more compelling that watching Michael Sheen chew up the scenery every time he's on screen. In short, worth a watch but maybe not a rewatch.