(Semi-Spoiler Free)

Marco Polo, no longer will he be known only for his below average aquatic activities. A few weeks ago the second season of Marco Polo (Netflix’s answer to Game of Thrones, in my opinion) was released onto our laptops and Roku’s like thousands of flame engulfed swallows… And it kicked ass…

Many have been eager for the return of Marco Polo and his posse, and what fans got was quite satisfying (speaking for myself, but I’m sure most will agree). We saw the return of all our favorite characters, some not so favorite characters, and a few new elements were added to mix as well. During the first season we saw a rift form in the Mongol empire between Kulbai Khan and his cousin Kaidu (pretty sure they’re cousins, definitely no reason to look further into that). In this season when we get to see them truly go at it using force and cunning manipulation, to see who truly deserves to lead the Mongol empire.

First off I have to say that Lorenzo Richelmy does a great job as Marco, possibly even improving upon himself and the character from what we saw last season. But this season, even more than last, Marco takes the bench every once in a while to let the other characters shine, and shine they certainly do. The relationship between Byamba, Kublai’s son, and Khutulun, Kaidu’s daughter, certainly has some interesting ups and downs this season, adding a thick murkiness to the existing rift in the Mongol empire. Ahmad, showed his true colors this season, revealing his dark history and his “Little Finger esque” plan. Mei Lin had some great moments as well, both with Marco and Ahmad… Of course, we also got a hefty dose of Kublai, forcing us to ask some tough questions regarding him as a character, like… is Kulbai a dick? Probably. But we still love him. Kind of. Even Kulbai’s son Prince Jin somehow became way cooler this season. Last season the Prince was a punk, now he’s a BAMF. Even Princess Kokachin had some… “interesting” if not terrifically entertaining moments, along with Kublai’s Empress Chabi. Last but not least the ultimate show stealer, 100 Eyes, taking the cake as always, along with his long lost lady friend…

Just about every character was given a chance to make themselves more interesting in either terrific or terrible ways. For those of you who watch the show Vikings, we even got a semi Vikings reunion with Pope Gabriel Byrne and a heaping helping of medieval Catholicism poking it’s ugly head into Kublai’s business.

Marco Polo came back with everything we loved about it, while managing to give us a bit more to chew on. This season also left off in a way that spells out a violent and most likely awesome third season. It’d be nice to get another 100 Eyes short before the third season, actually it’d be nice to get more of anything with 100 Eyes, he is without a doubt the “Omar” of this show, and if the day comes when he gets capped in a convenient store by some toddler, I’ll be extremely upset, and extremely surprised.

So watch Marco Polo season 2 if you enjoy flame engulfed animals, blind kung fu masters, and questionable Catholicism, and check out season 1 if you haven’t seen any of the show (shame on you).

Marco Polo Season 2 gets… 4/5 Stars

If you agree, disagree, or you are in fact a blind martial arts master, please leave a comment, and thanks for reading…

Photo Credit: Snagged from screenrant.com