After my first CHARACTER POWER RANKING was such a hit I had to do season 2.
Similar to round 1, I’m not going to delve into the heart of the show. All I’ll say is I still think it’s the best show I’ve seen; the music, the imagery, the themes, the must-watch interactions. The show is just great.
As far as these rankings, it’s combo of how much I like the character, how believable they are, and how compelling their scenes are to watch.
Enjoy.
15. Greg
It’s not Uncle Rico’s fault, Greg was just a shitty character. He was barely in this, and when he was, he was boring. I also don’t believe he would plot to kill Tanya. Call me naïve, but someone with a second chance at life wouldn’t do that to the person who saved them.
14. Quentin
A fantastic gay man to begin as his storyline was unfolding, but the fantastic gay man schtick got old even before Tanya realized what was going on. Not enough juice or screen time to be any higher.
13. Albie
They did a great job of dressing Albie like a zero douglas cuck. He wasn’t terrible, but most of his commentary was stereotypical and him insisting on $50k from his father at the end was unconvincing (though fun to watch his dad say he sucked). I’ll give him credit for giving me the ick when he was getting more ‘aggressive’ with Portia.
12. Valentina
I couldn’t help but compare Valentina to the GOAT Armond and she just didn’t have it. Armond was a tortured soul constantly questioning life while faking a smile as the manager. Valentina was just worried about Rocco. She wasn’t unlikeable like Greg or Albie, and even had some zingers, but I just wasn’t that interested in her exploring being a lesbian.
11. Lucia
Lucia was mildly entertaining but it felt like wasted potential after how good she was in the first episode. She went about her business and I didn’t mind at all that she was playing Albie, but the literal scenes with her were just meh.
10. Jack
I found the trajectory of Jack and Portia to be completely believable. He didn’t have a ton of screen time but I felt he did well with what he had. Dropping her off at the end was a nice touch.
9. Mia
Opposite of Lucia, Mia grew on me as the season went on. She was initially worried about prostituting until she realized how much she could gain from it and in the end, got all that she wanted. You go girl!
8. Ethan
I liked Ethan less and less each episode. He embodied the ‘good guy’ getting rich well to start, but I found his becoming unhinged at the end a bit unrealistic; just being so aggressive with Harper and Cameron for someone who was seemingly so measured. It was too over the top. Still a pivotal character but Harper carried this couple, not Ethan.
7. Portia
Portia did one of the best jobs conveying how bad she felt about her situation when she was stuck with Jack, without a phone, in a different country, knowing that he was banging his uncle. I felt her pain watching that. She was a fun hang and the Tanya relationship was entertaining in the beginning but things more happened to her as opposed to her making things happen.
6. Bert
A breath of intentionally comedic fresh air among a myriad of stressful situations. But there was much more than met the eye with Bert. His line of “They used to respect the old, now we’re just reminders of an offensive past everyone wants to forget.” felt remarkably honest from his perspective. The conversations with Dom about loving his wife were strong. Not a center piece but a great accessory character.
5. Daphne
Underrated (probably)! Great job explaining how she dealt with being married to Cameron, convincing herself she wasn’t a victim, and being happy with the whole situation. Trading traditional relationship happiness for the good life, though she would argue there’s nothing unhappy about her relationship. A seemingly realistic expression of how people would do that.
4. Dominic
Dom wasn’t a rock star, but I was drawn into every scene that he was in. Being between the naïve son and the not-as-dumb-as-he-looked dad was a great dynamic. The conversations he had with both of them were compelling. I don’t want to say he was relatable because I’m not a millionaire and haven’t cheated on my wife dozens of times with prostitutes, but he just felt… relatable. I’d go as far as to say sympathetic even though his situation was entirely his fault.
3. Cameron
A near flawlessly played you-don’t-want-to-like-him-but-you-kind-of-have-to-like-him alpha. The way he and Daphne represented the rich-person perspective on certain topics in the world was 100% believable. The douchebag in him shined through when opportunities for money or women presented themselves. But he was charming! God damnit was he charming. Him acting like everything was normal at dinner after Ethan punched him was awesome. Great facial expressions throughout and I would guess he’s a pretty accurate summation of how wall-street bros live.
2. Tanya
This season was redemption for Tanya. She carried a ton of weight in driving the plot forward and didn’t disappoint as a primary ball handler. Her innocent bluntness and stupidity felt a bit gimmicky in season 1, but genuine in season 2. Her naivete led her passively along the whole way until she got a highlight reel triple kill only to an hero in the clumsiest way possible. I was rooting for her, but she just wasn’t meant to survive with that much money.
1. Harper
Harper was the most realistic embodiment of what she was portraying out of anyone on the show. I wanted to watch every single scene she was in. Her and Ethan were the ‘good’ relationship while Cameron and Daphne were all fake! She knew! The angst she felt towards mostly Cameron the entire show was palpable. And her ability to flip the switch from ‘bitchy’ to go-with-the-flow fun just to piss Ethan off was phenomenal. In the end, she happily fell into exactly what she resented. I thought Plaza was phenomenal in her acting.
1. Cameron – His relationship with Daphne is amazing to watch. This is a guy who doesn’t take life too seriously, like their counterparts, who come off as rocky and accurately lame.
2. Bert – Hilarious back and forth when talking with Dom because he’s always blunt and Dom is always
sheepishly avoiding his talks. “They didn’t look like maids, they looked like pros-ti-tutes.”
3. Daphne – Bubbly and fun. She’d be great to spend a life with.
4. Dom – Trying to give up his sex addiction while “changing” is so common today, but difficult to show in 7 episodes.
5. Harper – I liked her range, but Ethan kills her ability to be 1. “They don’t vote, Ethan.”
6. Portia – Realizing the differences between Albie and Jack and how she needs the middle.
7. Quentin – I think you underrated him. His dialogue was great. “A world without beauty is not a world I’d want to live in.”
8. Tanya – A few great lines but unbearable with her lack of awareness. When she makes Portia hide. The fortune teller. Knocking off the buffet cover.
9. Mia – Piano scenes with Giuseppe were cool.
10. Jack – He had the best line of the entire show, “we’re living in the best time in the history of the world, on the best best fucking planet, if you can’t be satisfied living now, you’re never going to be satisfied. So let’s get pissed. Eh?”
11. Lucia – Great rack.
12. Greg – He had a side splitter when she threw him off while they were banging Tanya says “I must have been disassociating, I was seeing all these faces…of men… with these very effeminate hair styles, and then I saw you, and your eyes…were like shark eyes…completely dead. Dead.”
“Well, you really know how to pop a guy up.”
13. Valentina – Storyline was out of place. Her feeding kittens? Yelling at the coffee guy? Odd.
14. Albie – Too soft for this world. Glad he got played. Zero Douglas beta cuck.
15. Ethan – Boring. He’s a fine actor who played his part well but who cared? This is the least fun guy on the planet and even when they try to make him cool getting with Daphne, I still didn’t care. Harper and Cam were 100x more fun.
Wrong