The Flight Attendant is back and better than ever

HBOMax just released the first two episodes of the second season of The Flight Attendant, its black comedy mystery thriller that captured audiences with its first season in 2020.

Our favorite flight attendant, Cassie Bowden (Kaley Cuoco), is living her best sober life in LA while working part-time as a CIA asset. She has a new boyfriend, a solid relationship with her brother, and her best friend Annie and her fiance Max are just about to move to LA as well. With nearly a whole year sober and feeling better than ever since her life turned upside down, what could possibly go wrong?

A lot, apparently, as Cassie finds herself amid another mystery, one even more thrilling and confusing than the last.

Season 1 of The Flight Attendant was praised for its unique editing, pacing, and storytelling, which featured Cassie entering her mind-scape to speak with the man she found murdered next to her in bed from the pilot episode. In season 2, the mind palace is back, but this time, Cassie finds herself aided and hindered by her past selves: Childhood Cassie, party girl Cassie, and rock bottom Cassie.

It’s incredibly refreshing and a testament to the wonderful writing of the show that all the elements that worked so well about the first season can so flawlessly translate to the second, especially amid so much change for the central character.

Season 1 also featured an incredible story about addiction, specifically to alcohol, which also takes a front seat in season 2. Cassie’s continued struggle with addiction and temptation imitates reality, where one year sober can be undone at the drop of a hat.

Kaley Cuoco does an incredible job balancing Cassie’s struggles with her classic dark humor, already proving that she deserves to be included in the Emmy race once again.

Returning favorites Annie and Max, played by Zosia Mamet and Dennis Akdeniz, are wonderful as well. It’s so much fun to watch them get back into mystery-solving with Cassie, especially now that their relationship has been patched up after the season 1 finale.

The first two episodes only offered brief glimpses of Rosie Perez’s Megan, who we last saw fleeing the country in the season 1 finale. She now calls Cassie sporadically from a burner phone and seems to be just as caught up in illicit business as she was during the first season.

With a slew of new faces, including a mysterious couple who look to be the number one suspects in the mystery of the Cassie duplicate, the second season is shaping up to be even better than the last. While there are still six episodes left in the season, I’m already on the edge of my seat, eager to put the pieces together.

I don’t have many expectations or hopes for the season beyond just another great mystery for Cassie to solve, but I do selfishly hope for another appearance from Miranda, especially if Cassie continues to dig herself deeper into trouble.

Michelle Gomez hasn’t been confirmed for an appearance in season 2, but there’s also nothing to suggest she couldn’t return as a guest star for an episode or two. Her note to Cassie in the season 1 finale read: “See you soon x M.” I’d love if “soon,” was sooner rather than later.

Overall, in such a saturated streaming crowd, The Flight Attendant is a show to absolutely be on the lookout for every single week. It’s funny, it’s dark, it’s intriguing, and it’s sure to keep you on the edge of your seat. I could not recommend this show enough.

The Flight Attendant streams new episodes Thursday, only on HBOMax.