TechRadar Verdict
My Life with the Walter Boys continues to fall short of other cozy TV Netflix Originals like Virgin River and Emily in Paris, but it's definitely a step up from Prime Video's The Summer I Turned Pretty.
Pros
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A Netflix binge you can completely switch off to
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If you're in the market for twee teen drama, it does the job
- +
Marginally less annoying than The Summer I Turned Pretty
Cons
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The biggest cliffhanger is one you can see coming a mile off
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Turns the dial up on its soap opera drama
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Not all of the storylines stick their landing
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Some questionable performances
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Suspension of belief hugely required
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Complex if you can't completely remember season 1
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As you can probably tell from my star rating, I'm completely split on My Life with the Walter Boys season 2. I've been around the block with this type of cozy TV show before – I'm a self-proclaimed Virgin River expert, Emily in Paris is my guilty pleasure, and I've even been sucked into watching Prime Video's The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 this year. But if I think about these type of cozy dramas in a broader capacity, My Life with the Walter Boys season 2 would be flour if it was a spice.
Let me explain. Our core concept is a very simple one: privileged New York teen Jackie Howard (Nikki Rodriguez) moves to a ranch in rural Colorado to live with her mother's best friend, Katherine Walter (Sarah Rafferty), and her large family after a family tragedy. Based on the book series of the same name, we then follow the ups and downs of Jackie's new life as she settles in, dissecting all the complicated relationships forged along the way. It should be a recipe for Netflix success, but there's something missing here.
The Rotten Tomatoes score for My Life with the Walter Boys season 1 should give you an idea about its existing division. Critics like myself have absolutely slammed it, while 'normies' (that's a compliment, I promise) largely enjoy it, even though the fan score is still lower than rival shows. Why? I think the answer is because its quality across the board isn't up to muster, and that's also the case in season 2.
My Life with the Walter Boys season 2 does the job, but that's not exactly positive
I don't wish to be a massive negative Nelly here. I completely believe TV shows like My Life with the Walter Boys season 2 serve a purpose, and their easy-going spirit and ethos is exactly what we need to tune out an increasingly difficult world. I typically use my mum as a gauge for the genre – if she watches a show without ironing at the same time, binges more than 2 episodes in one go and remembers its name, the show is a hit with its core demographic. Season 2 ticked all of these boxes, and she's already foaming at the mouth (metaphorically, sorry mum) for the green lit season 3.
In short, this means the people actively seeking out the mess that comes with trashy teen romance are getting exactly what they signed up for. But if you don't fit the bill, or you've had enough of the Netflix series hitting the same beats over and over again, season 2 doesn't do much to win you around. Jackie has inevitably arrived back in Colorado after returning to New York at the end of season 1, and her relationship issues have picked up right there they left off.
It goes without saying that romance and family remain at the core of My Life with the Walter Boys season 2, but this time, Jackie is almost acting like Belly (Lola Tung) in The Summer I Turned Pretty. Given how chaotic season 3 of the Prime Video show is going, that's a huge insult. The parallels between the two shows are now closer than ever (you can see this from the trailer above), but rest assured that Jackie isn't quite as bad... yet.
A knock-off The Summer I Turned Pretty isn't what we need this month
Now we've got my main grievances out of the way, let's dig a little deeper into the show's craft. Compared to rival shows, My Life with the Walter Boys season 2 looks slightly cheaper, which is probably a major part of why season 3 was renewed so early on. That wouldn't be an issue if the performances and execution of the storylines weren't so poorly done, at points feeling more like a high schooler's documentary film than a production on one of the best streaming services in the world.
We feel like we're going around in circles when it comes to Jackie's relationship with Alex (Ashby Gentry) and Cole (Noah LaLonde), with Danny (Connor Stanhope) and Erin's (Alisha Newton) only make our heads spin even further. We've even got a separate triangle going thanks to Zach (Carson MacCormac), Skylar (Jaylan Evans) and Nathan (Corey Fogelmanis), and that's all before we even get to George's (Marc Blucas) future plans for the ranch.
It does feel as though you need to study up before diving into season 2, and it can feel mind-boggling to keep up with all the changes, which simultaneously move incredibly slowly and like time is flashing past you at the speed of light. But by the time we get to the final few episodes, you know exactly what's going to happen. Without giving it away, My Life with the Walter Boys season 2 ends on a cataclysmic cliffhanger, but I could tell exactly what was going to happen about two episodes earlier. Still, it's a major shock to see it unfold, and will hopefully shift season 3 in a better direction. I'm sorry, Melanie Halsall, but a better direction is something that My Life with the Walter Boys sorely needs.
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