REVIEW: ‘The Devil’s Plan’ Season 2 Is Off To A Rough Start

Following up on the popularity of its first season, The Devil’s Plan Season 2 brings the reality competition show back to Netflix with a new group of contestants to compete and scheme their way to a huge cash prize. 14 players compete in both group-based and individual contests to stay in the game and up the ante as the prize grows when special conditions during main challenges are met. While the setup promises lots of drama and potential, it fails to maintain its momentum for long.

Like its predecessor, The Devil’s Plan Season 2 splits each day into two episodes. Odd-numbered episodes focus on the main challenge of the day, with the even-numbered ones focusing on the elimination challenge that targets the bottom half of the pack. With each episode coming in at roughly an hour and a half, both challenges are looked at in great detail. However, it is this detail that quickly proves to be the series’ undoing. Let’s look at the main challenges first, as they are the weaker of the two types.

These challenges struggle under the weight of obtuse rules and a slow, grinding pace. The first splits the participants into groups, forming them into a cops-and-robbers setup. With a subway map to play on, the police try to puzzle out where on the map the robbers are, but two of the cops are corrupt and are trying to throw the others off the trail.

Watching people endlessly guess map coordinates to find out if clues are present isn’t exciting. While there are player interactions sprinkled throughout, they rarely create much drama or momentum for the contest.  As the challenge draws to a close, some excitement does build as contestants become more desperate, but what energy there is comes about a half-hour too late to salvage The Devil’s Plan Season 2′s opening game.

The Devil’s Plan Season 2 struggles with its pacing, lack of drama, and challenges.

Similar problems plague the second main event in episode three. The activity just doesn’t feel compelling to watch, even though there is a greater air of mystery surrounding how this task plays out. It also crumbles under the weight of its extended length and bland core concept.

The elimination tests that come at the end of each of The Devil’s Plan Season 2’s days fare better, but not by enough. The games are far more straightforward, allowing the contestants to hit the ground running. The more free-for-all nature of these tests also works to increase the tension and suspense of the games, as it feels far more likely for anyone to lose.

Unfortunately, once again, these games get stretched for too long, causing even their strongest starts to eventually deteriorate to a crawl. Even the peril of pending elimination is unable to keep these games as compelling as they need to be. And that’s despite some fantastic production decisions regarding how the games are presented.

Throughout all of The Devil’s Plan Season 2’s contests, what the viewer is allowed to know at any given time is excellently handled. The balancing act of allowing enough information to wet the curiosity without ruining the suspense is handled skillfully. When all the participants have hidden information, the show will reveal some of it to the audience, but not all. This keeps them more in the know, but never enough to spoil the surprise.

Notable standouts include Justin H Min of The Umbrella Academy.

This ability to conceal key elements to increase curiosity is doubly true for the special challenges hidden around the show’s structure. These unique challenges bring the biggest question marks to the show. Since the series introduces these concepts only briefly, what they ultimately bring to the show is still unknown. This mystery provides a strong hook for fans to watch unravel. 

Thanks to its great chemistry, the cast is the other element that helps The Devil’s Plan Season 2 through its sometimes oppressively long episodes. The fourteen contestants deliver a good mix of personalities and approaches to the assigned tasks. How they gel and evolve throughout adds some interesting social elements to the series, helping to provide additional reasons for some to stick with it. Standouts include 7High, a professional poker player who drives much of the series’ social drama, and Justin H Min (The Umbrella Academy), who exhibits a level of manipulative skill playing the games that is sure to make him a fan favorite.

The overall visual presentation of the show is good. Nothing special thus far is likely to grab the eye or linger in memories, but none of it will haunt any memories either. It works for what the show plays at, bringing an adequate atmosphere for the series to play out.

The Devil’s Plan Season 2 works some magic with its socially driven challenges and strong cast chemistry, but ultimately falters under the weight of games that don’t grab enough attention and linger for far too long. If the pacing was better, there could be something here. As it stands, it isn’t worth the effort to slog through.

The Devil’s Plan Season 2 Episodes 1-4 are streaming now on Netflix, with new episodes dropping every Tuesday.