Stephen King’s reign in Hollywood continues, and for good reason. His chilling narratives have found a comfortable home on screens big and small, with adaptations finally capturing the essence of what makes his writing so compelling: an atmosphere thick with dread that seeps into your bones. From the terrifyingly realized Derry in IT to the claustrophobic horror of Gerald’s Game, and the King-infused tapestry of Castle Rock, there’s no shortage of masterful adaptations. But for those seeking a truly gripping Stephen King television experience, look no further than Mr. Mercedes, particularly its enthralling season 2.
Originally airing on AT&T AUDIENCE Network, Mr. Mercedes season 1 quietly became a standout thriller, and season 2 elevates the tension and intrigue even further. Moving away from the typical Maine setting of King’s stories, the series plants itself in Bridgton, Ohio, a city grappling with the aftermath of a horrific massacre perpetrated by Brady Hartsfield (played with chilling intensity by Harry Treadaway). Season 2 picks up a year after these devastating events, plunging us back into a world still shadowed by Brady’s malevolence.
For newcomers, season 1 of Mr. Mercedes introduced us to Brady, a character embodying a terrifying cocktail of class resentment, toxic masculinity, and pure sociopathy. His gruesome act of driving a Mercedes through a crowd of job seekers set the stage for a season-long cat-and-mouse game with retired detective Bill Hodges (a brilliantly gruff Brendan Gleeson). Hodges, haunted by his failure to stop Brady, is drawn back into the fray by the killer’s taunting messages, promising further carnage. Their twisted dance, filled with suspense and mounting casualties, culminated in Brady’s capture – or so it seemed. With Brady seemingly neutralized at the end of season one, questions arose: could Mr. Mercedes maintain its gripping edge?
Season 2 swiftly dispels any doubts. In fact, Mr. Mercedes becomes even more captivating in the wake of Brady’s apprehension. While the first season explored the twisted fulfillment both Bill and Brady derived from their deadly game, season 2 delves into the unsettling concept of stasis. What happens when individuals, defined by their conflict, are forced into unsatisfying holding patterns, yearning for a new direction?
For Bill Hodges, the pursuit of Brady was an unexpected path to redemption. It pulled him from a self-destructive spiral of booze and apathy, giving him purpose and a chance to prove his worth. For Brady, being the hunted was a perverse form of validation, a twisted assertion of power after a life marked by abuse and neglect. Mr. Mercedes masterfully navigated this disturbing dynamic in season one, never shying away from the darkness at its core.
Now, with Brady incarcerated and seemingly incapacitated, both men find themselves adrift. As Bill confesses to his ex-wife Donna (Nancy Travis), “I’ve lost my moorings a bit.” Without Brady as his focus, Bill risks slipping back into old, destructive habits, the very habits he had overcome when lives were on the line.
Brady, however, isn’t stagnant by choice. He lies in a vegetative state, the result of Holly Gibney (Justin Lupe), Bill’s resourceful partner, delivering a series of justified blows to his head. Bill visits Brady frequently, still consumed by his nemesis, hoping for the day he’ll face justice. This seems unlikely given Brady’s condition, until his ambitious doctor (Jack Huston), spurred on by his wife (Tessa Ferrer), injects Brady with an experimental serum. And here’s where season 2 takes a truly Stephen King-esque turn: Brady begins to awaken, and with this awakening comes a terrifying new ability – mind control.
This is where Mr. Mercedes season 2 diverges from the source material in some intriguing ways. Having exhausted the narrative of King’s first Mr. Mercedes novel in season one, the showrunners faced a choice: adapt the second book, Finders Keepers, where Brady is absent, or leap ahead to the third, End of Watch, which brings Brady back in a supernatural form.
Wisely, they chose the latter, recognizing that the twisted relationship between Bill and Brady is the lifeblood of the series. However, King’s novel takes Brady into a decidedly supernatural realm, granting him psychic abilities to maintain his menace from a comatose state. This transformation, while faithful to the source material, presents a slight tonal shift from the grounded, chilling realism of season 1 of Mr. Mercedes and the award-worthy portrayal of Brady by Treadaway. Brady in season 1 was a disturbingly real monster, a resentful outcast with a warped worldview, terrifying precisely because he felt like someone who could exist in the real world. Turning him into a mind-controlling villain risks diluting some of that raw, unsettling relevance.
Despite this shift, the writers adeptly navigate this new territory. Season 2 masterfully retains the show’s core themes: masculinity, mortality, and the paradoxical way the former often confronts the latter as a threat. Funerals, graveyards, and hospitals become recurring settings, underscoring the omnipresence of death in Bill and Brady’s worlds. When Brady chillingly tells Bill, “I’m what keeps you alive,” it carries a disturbing weight of truth.
The cast remains exceptional in season 2. Gleeson continues to embody Bill Hodges with a world-weary gravitas, making him one of the most compellingly flawed characters on television. Lupe’s portrayal of Holly is equally impressive, evolving into Bill’s guardian angel while maintaining her unique quirks and vulnerabilities. Her nuanced depiction of Holly’s OCD-like tendencies is a highlight of a series brimming with strong performances. Jharrel Jerome, Breeda Wool, and Holland Taylor also return, enriching the ensemble cast.
Four episodes into season 2, Mr. Mercedes maintains a deliberate pace, prioritizing atmosphere and character development. This patience, uncommon in many thrillers, is what elevates Mr. Mercedes above the pack. As the season progresses and Brady’s powers grow, the show will undoubtedly accelerate, testing whether its grounded tone can fully accommodate this supernatural element. But for now, season 2 of Mr. Mercedes remains a dark, compelling, and thoroughly binge-worthy ride, earning a solid B+.
