It’s Out Of This World: A review of the second season of Netflix’s “Space Force”

I binge-watched the first season of the Netflix original “Space Force” in 2020, right in the midst of lockdown as something to distract myself with. It was a good show to play in the background while doing other things, but I never seemed to get fully invested.

Nothing was all that memorable, and when I opened episode one of season two I could barely remember the major story arcs. But, that’s exactly what “Space Force” season two has done right.

The show has taken a complete 180 in terms of the execution and structure of the story. What I do recall about the first season was the extremely outlandish things that the main cast experienced — such as Mark Naird, the main character’s daughter, Erin, dating a Russian spy or Naird’s wife Maggie going to prison for something we have yet to learn the details of.

Season two takes a much more simplistic tone, which works flawlessly. The show seems more slice-of-life, and way more relatable to the viewer. Erin’s experiences trying to interview for college admissions and Angela Ali and Dr. Chan Kaifang’s confusing relationship hit way closer to home than helping your polyamorous wife escape from prison.

We get to see real moments that don’t appear fabricated at all, and they can apply to so many peoples’ experiences or emotions. The show has learned the art of relatability and reflection this season.

Some of the most beautiful and well-executed episodes of season two focus around Erin and Mark’s relationship as everything seems to fall apart around them. The heartfelt moments like Erin tucking in with her drunk father and Mark making a phone call to the Dean of Admissions at Colorado College to see how Erin did in her interview are the basis of this new season, as is the relationship between the close-knit cast of characters.

These emotional moments are only enhanced by the strategic comedy in every single scene. It reinforces the realism of the scenes and removes the risk of overdramatizing the situations that the Space Force finds itself in. And, of course, credit where credit is due to the actors, who make the comedy flow so seamlessly into the scenes. My personal favorite character who executes this is Dr. Adrian Mallory, played by John Malkovich.

And what I consider one of the biggest strengths of the second season of “Space Force” is that every episode could be stand-alone, but they all flow together as one cohesive series. Since there isn’t necessarily an end goal or main plot point, the show has the ability to create new situations or predicaments in every episode — making it a never-ending stream of content for your entertainment.

And you can never go wrong if Steve Carell is in it.