The Trial season 2 review: A missed opportunity through and through

Directed by Umesh Bist, The Trial season 2 stars Kajol and has an ensemble cast of Sheeba Chaddha, Kubbra Sait, Alyy Khan and Jisshu Sengupta. 

The Trial season 2 review: Legal dramas are not a new genre; they give us nothing we haven't seen before but some of them still work because they own the story they're trying to sell. The Trial season 2 isn't one of them! Tackling a different subject in every episode, this series wasn't able to do justice to any of them; the only thing all of the 6 episodes had in common though? Insincere storytelling.

This season begins with Noyonika Sengupta's (Kajol) troubling marriage deteriorating further till she asks for a divorce, that is until her daughter gets a panic attack so severe that she has to be hospitalized. How her husband, Rajiv Sengupta (Jisshu Sengupta) silently tries to win her over by supporting her from the sidelines only to be the poster child of "a tiger never changes its stripes", works like background music for this series; it's the only constant this series has and probably the one thing it does right. In the midst of politics at work and struggles at home, Noyonika is picking up one new case after the other and the beauty of a legal drama is she's able to crack them all albiet some minor inconveniences here or there.

Also Read: Sabar Bonda review: Rohan Kanawade’s debut reframes queer desire through the ritual of mourning!

Watch the trailer here!

Season 2 walked on eggshells on every theme it touched upon - workplace politics, sexual abuse, being queer, the creator economy and more. With influencers being everywhere today - red carpets, advertisements, movies and shows, an episode in this series that was based on the creator community and social media made me wonder why real life content creators weren't roped in for this one! Even the way the director, Bist tries to capture the influencer life felt very fake and surface level! Using slang language in court just for gags, live streaming court proceedings - content creators aren't dumb regardless of how they're protrayed.

This direction makes a mockery out of themes like these instead of trying to capture a new, more evolving world. Every major scene is over explained; there are absolutely no conflicts! Partnerships are said to be broken; the how and why are left to your imagination. Everything is hunky dory just as soon with no real work put in to mend things. 

While Sheeba Chaddha, Kubbra Sait, Alyy Khan are a steady presence in this show, which, let's be honest, this show needs, their characters were done dirty. They deserved meatier roles this season like the one we saw Sonali Kulkarni playing. Jisshu Sengupta plays Rajiv, the husband and the politician, convincingly. So much so that it's hard to tell who's the real antagonist - Narayani Dhole (Kulkarni) or Jisshu Sengupta. Kajol's doe-eyed Noyonika Sengupta resembles the conventional Indian woman you've grown up hearing about and probably witnessed around you - she's cheated on by her husband, her private life exploited by the media, politics at work keep her from getting that damn promotion she deserves, her children blame her for wanting a divorce but she doesn't lose her cool. She's level headed almost to a fault. Maybe if this character wasn't played by an iconic actor, we'd probably be able to see the human behind this Bhartiya 'not very abla but abla' naari.

The Trial season 2 is streaming on JioHotstar!

For more reviews, follow us on @socialketchupbinge