The second season of Aspirants unfolds along two timelines, one of the past, and the other of the present, while tracing the events of Abhilash and his friends as they navigate the atrocities of the system while slogging in their daily lives. The story here is good while painting a practical picture of the Civil Service officers, along with the plight of lives that they are subjected to, with respect to the people around them. The screenplay standing at 5 episodes ranging from 30 odd to 50 odd minutes each does briefly dabble with the idea of persuading the drama in the ‘heartfelt’ territory before opting for a more matured and realistic take on the life after UPSC.

The drama unfolds along two timelines wherein you are introduced to the protagonist and his friends while also enunciating on the lives that they have been living while highlighting their equations with each other. With respect to the timeline of the past, there was this little criticism in season 1, given how rushed the ending was with respect to the resolution of problems and the mending of relationships. The writers have tapped exactly in that period wherein the protagonist is appearing for his pre-mains in his fifth attempt while soon running out of time with respect to the number of attempts. Both these timelines unfold together while frequently drawing parallels with the situations that the protagonist finds himself in. There are a little hints along the way which I thought were great ideas used as a foreshadow, which didn’t quite have a reference in this season. That is when I realised that the writers are opting for a more realistic approach(by trading the heartfelt components) which isn’t black or white, but essentially grey.

The proceedings are engaging and engrossing while tactfully creating a synergy with all the characters on show. Their first meetup early on this season did feel heartwarming although a realistic sense of unsaid awkwardness engulfed the room. That for me was a great starting point to build on the character dynamics, while also constructing a world with a potential problem at the grassroot level at the work place of the protagonist. I have often seen that the issue raised with respect to the rich and the poor, isn’t balanced at all. The writers are known to take stands and construct a narrative around it. Yet, the conflict here is real without taking any sides at all. That for me was the essence of the kind of issues that the civil service folks have to deal with, day in and day out. This, while the timeline of the past was used as an undercurrent to set things to perspective with respect to the preparation of the candidates.

The drama gets slightly technical in the middle while also exploring the strenuous relationships between the characters. Here I was a little on the fence with respect to the character of Sandeep Bhaiya, who for the first time in this universe, was shown to be less endearing and a little more rigid and borderline egoistic. I wasn’t quite sure if this approach was the right one, given that his phenomenal character trait was the highlight of the first season(but then time will tell). Also, the shifting relationships of the ‘tripod’ gang was well explored. Having said that, I did have a major issue with the events leading up to the final act. The resolution was just communicated to the viewer, other than actually showing the steps taken by the protagonist. The drama did dip a little for me in that regard. A little spin-off of a subplot did threaten to explode in its third season which definitely would make things interesting. Overall, the screenplay is well written although briefly stumbling in its final act.