La Brea: Season 2 premiere “The Next Day” tackles the aftermath

“The Next Day” had plenty of storylines to deal with when contemplating the aftermath of season one’s finale. La Brea had to deal with everyone’s adventure at once, with all the central characters spread out geographically or over time. But did it amount to anything?

There are plenty of things being set up for season two. However, “The Next Day” does not handle them directly. It is not necessarily surprising that Gavin’s group does not reunite with Eve right away. However, the stakes La Brea relies on for their storyline had already been dealt with in season one, when no one knew what terrain, animals, or people to expect. While Izzy’s prosthetic leg adds another layer to the storyline, it never comes across that Gavin, Izzy, and Ella are in any potentially fatal danger.

Riley and Josh’s adventure in 1988 kicks off with pretty low stakes as well. They do not get to experience that much culture shock to a new time and instead find a house to stay in fairly quickly after finding the door unlocked and the owners on vacation.

While there are references to familiar territories such as McDonald’s and a note to buy Apple stock, Josh and Riley’s storyline mainly features them enjoying real food for the first time in a while and watching television. Although there is a conversation about the fear of being stranded in 1988 and the uncertainty of ever making it back to their families or home, their story does not directly connect to any undiscovered territory either. Besides a newspaper revealing a sinkhole opened at the Hollywood sign, something that had not originally happened, there is not much pushing their storyline forward.

“The Next Day” used Eve and Levi to connect to a grieving Lucas and captured Veronica. However, Eve and Levi’s eventual capture from otherwise unknown sinkhole residents is the most mysterious part of their storyline, as the group never reached Aldridge and Scott, which was the mission’s original point.

There are teases about what makes Silas so important. However, none of them are given answers yet. Other than him playing a role in creating the sinkholes, there have not been any significant reveals about his character. He remains relatively mysterious, with the only tease being to send the group in Aldridge’s direction due to the glass and steel building.

The building, which was a significant tease at the end of season one, also barely gets any hints other than dangers lurking inside. Although Scott and Aldridge take a hidden staircase into the building, the episode does not follow them, and the audience is left wondering what is inside.

While “The Next Day” was not La Brea’s most exhilarating episode, it laid the groundwork for more exciting things.