The second season of Duranga picks up six months from the events of the first season where the investigation is still underway with a serial killer on the loose. The story here is decent although a little uneventful to begin with, as compared to the first season. One of the main challenges that the makers may have had to face was to restart a show which had a continuing storyline. This was the issue which was also seen in the subsequent seasons of Sacred Games and even Mirzapur where the reintroduction of the world remained a challenge especially when all the character dynamics which were already established earlier, needed that much more time to be established again. Despite that, the story does have decently thrilling moments along the way. The screenplay standing at 8 episodes of 30 odd minutes each does make for a decently compelling watch but not without its share of flaws.

The main issue for me in the drama was that the element of surprise which was prevalent in the first season was missing here. The cat was out of the bag almost immediately with the makers providing a little hint with respect to a character at the end of the first season. So I was a little disconnected with the world building that takes place here as a part of the initial episodes that just felt a little too uneventful. Yes, the investigation was on, and the character dynamics were drawn as well, but I just felt like the makers could have got to the point a little swifter than they eventually did, here. This is not to say that the proceedings were bad, but a better phrase would be falling at the behest of its own predictability.

The writers do find their groove after the initial lag when there is a little more urgency thrown in the mix. The levels of thrills are raised slowly but surely even though the drama largely remains predictable. The little cat and mouse game that ensues between three to four potential stakeholders, does account for a compelling watch with a little hint of cerebralism given the shifting equations of a few characters. Some of the emotions land while a few subplots have slightly simplistic solutions. I would have ideally liked the drama to be slightly more layered, particularly with the events(and resolutions) leading up to the final act. But to counter this flaw, the cat and mouse drama along with bouts of the flashback featuring the rise of the accomplice does keep you briefly invested.

The stakes in the drama always threaten to be raised but always fall a fraction short. I did feel that the psychological angle of the protagonist(s) could have been explored a lot better. That would have had a major payoff in the final act did feel a little simplistic while being immensely predictable. Yet, a little spin-off at the end did setup things for a potential third season which seems to be interesting by the look of things. Overall, the screenplay here is decently thrilling although atleast a couple of notches below the writing of the first season.