The first season of Raising Dion came out in 2019 and was a cute, family-friendly superhero origin story about a young kid who discovers he has superpowers. Now, two years later, we finally get a second season. But was it worth the wait?
Here is my review of the American superhero drama Netflix Series Raising Dion Season 2. Check it out.
Raising Dion 2 Series Review
Tow years after defeating the Crooked Man, Dion, Dion continues honing his powers with the support of his mom and Tevin, his Biona trainer who catches Nicole’s eye. After befriending new student Brayden, a series of alarming events unfold, and Dion learns that danger is still looming.
All right, so this is still your family-friendly kid-focused superhero story, and it retains a lot of the cuteness and simplicity of the first season.
Ja’Siah Young, who plays Dion, is great to watch because he has this kindness that emanates from him, even though he kind of scowls a bit with his face throughout most of his scenes.
And I think that’s just more of him as a person trying to figure out how to show the proper emotions rather than him being contradictory in what he displays.
I still really love how pure the friendships are with Dion. His two best friends are Esperanza and Jonathan, and the three share this great bond through support.
And concern for each other and their interactions. I mean, yeah, they’re cheesy, but then the entire show has a pretty high level of cheese to it. And I don’t say that in a bad way.
If this was an adult-themed show and the cheese was at this level, I would see a problem with it. But because this is geared towards the younger audiences and is something that is made so that families can watch altogether, I’m willing to overlook a lot of the flaws that would normally hurt a show.
But that’s not to say that there aren’t storytelling issues within this that do hurt the show. This is eight episodes with each of them in that 45 ish minute range, and while there is some action spread throughout, there’s not a ton of it. So I do think that some of the younger audiences may have difficulty in keeping with this.
There’s also a lot of plot conveniences and story protection for the characters, as well as some pretty overly dramatic dialogue. Situations can be laughable and completely unrealistic, like a civilian being able to have just free rein and input inside a Corporation.
The way one character talks himself into a position reminded me a little bit of that terrible Netflix movie Brazen, where Alyssa Milano’s character talked her way into being part of a murder investigation.
Now here, while it was ridiculous, I was able to overlook it more easily because of just who the intended audience is.
The special effects vary in quality. Now, most of Dion’s powers look good, just like some of the other powered people’s abilities. I mean, they’re visually displayed well too.
And even the practical effects and makeup that are used on certain creature designs, they look disgusting and slightly menacing, but I don’t think that they’re too scary as to cause just a bunch of nightmares.
Some of the poorer effects are luckily showcased more at night, so they’re obscured by the dark and they’re not totally hidden, so I mean that lacking quality is still noticeable, but they’re also not overly prevalent through the series, so it’s not too huge of a negative for me.
I really like the new complication with the story as we have Braden return. He was in season one for just a tiny bit, so the continuation of that story arc is really nice to have.
The story does feel a bit disjointed to me like it was trying to follow too many storylines. The conflict that arises between Dion and the antagonist is enjoyable, but it feels like it’s just a rehashing of season one.
But then the story also brings in other complications with characters that then take the focus off what Dion is doing. And there’s a small storyline with one of the employees at Biona where they study the power of people and it is a complete distraction from the show.
The character is unlikeable from the very get-go and then doesn’t display any type of growth through the season, but they’re also not the primary or that even secondary villain in the show. Making them unnecessary, and then that whole story arc just takes up valuable time with no payoff.
And despite that distracting tangent to the story, the show does create some tension and the mounting suspense.
At one point there’s this ticking clock for a character and that urgency created some surprising emotion for me. I even teared up a couple of times in this portion of the narrative.
And then there are some superhero moments where we watch characters step up and become bigger than themselves. I mean, once or twice I got goosebumps because of the heroics of certain characters.
But I got to say I’m a little bummed out by the ending of this season. There’s a climactic scene that feels large and consequential, but it’s resolved pretty easily and quickly.
And I know some of that is due to this being made for the younger audiences, so the resolution does need to come relatively soon and be easily understood.
But there was also a secondary sequence that felt like it would be the real climax of the show and it just went nowhere. I mean other than to have this very short post-credits scene. It didn’t actually add anything of consequence.
Now, I think the soundtrack is amazing and one of the highlights of the season. There’s a good mix of hip hop, pop, and then even some show tunes, but the best part of this show for me continues to be the friendship that Dion displays.
He exemplifies a hero and how he doesn’t abandon his friends, but also puts others ahead of himself, even if it puts his wellbeing in jeopardy.
And the interactions that he has with his mom. I mean, while they may be a bit quirky and even unrealistic, they’re sweet and heartwarming, which makes the show all the more endearing.
So overall this second season of Raising Dion is just okay. I mean, even when I look at the fact that it’s geared towards the younger audience.
The characters are enjoyable and the actors are very charismatic, but the story tried to take on more than it probably should have, making it a little too long and even a bit disjointed.
The special effects work for the most part and it’s fun to watch Dion learn as he uses new powers. His relationship with his mom is enjoyable and charming and that it works to create a convincing dynamic of a single mom raising a young boy who has incredible superpowers.
The cheese factor of the show is really high, but it’s also what adds to the charm of the whole production. At the end of it, though, I wanted more from the story and the climax, I wanted the investment in the characters and the storylines to be weighty and effective.
There’s no sex, nudity, or even profanity, but there is some violence.
I going to give season two of Raising Dion (2022) Series 3/5.
So did you enjoy the first season of this or is it something that you’ve even been looking forward to having a second season? Let me know in the comments below.
Guys thank you so much for reading the review of the new Netflix Series Raising Dion (2022) Season 2. See you next time.
Raising Dion Season 2 Series Trailer
Here is the trailer of season two of the 2019 Netflix Series Raising Dion. Check it out.
