Following the tragic ending of season one and the shocking revelation that Nick's much younger girlfriend Ginny is pregnant, "The Four Seasons" returns for a second season as the close-knit friend group continues its tradition of taking seasonal vacations together, only this time with a baby.
Tina Fey's second season of "The Four Seasons", currently on Netflix, is even funnier than the first. While the vacations once again descend into hilarious chaos, old tensions and new challenges force the friends to reassess where they are in life, both individually and as couples.
Created by and starring Tina Fey, the comedy-drama follows a close group of suburban friends navigating relationship changes, grief and midlife uncertainty through seasonal holiday getaways.
Across eight episodes, Fey returns as Kate alongside Will Forte as her husband Jack, Kerri Kenney-Silver as the widowed Anne, Colman Domingo and Marco Calvani as married couple Danny and Claude, and Erika Henningsen as Ginny.
Still grieving the loss of their friend Nick (Steve Carell), who died at the end of season one, the group attempts to move forward while continuing their annual trips together.
The season opens with Kate, Jack, Danny, Claude, Anne and the heavily pregnant Ginny hiking in New York to scatter Nick's ashes while confronting the emotional aftermath of his death. Anne and Ginny must navigate their unlikely relationship as Nick's ex-wife and girlfriend, creating plenty of tension from the outset.
Their attempt to scatter Nick's ashes quickly unravels. They first encounter a troop of Brownies on the trail, Danny accidentally leaves the ashes behind after they finally reach the summit, and the group later finds themselves stranded in a rundown motel while police conduct a nearby manhunt. The opening episode is packed with sharp bickering, awkward confrontations and laugh-out-loud moments.
Meanwhile, Jack is determined to run a marathon. Kate reluctantly agrees to train with him but is quickly exposed when she can't identify the first song on the playlist they supposedly share for their training runs, setting up one of the season's ongoing storylines.
Summer brings the friends back together at the beach, where Ginny makes an appearance with the baby. After clashing in the first episode, Anne and Ginny are now living together and raising the baby, with Anne enthusiastically embracing a caregiving role, even testing Ginny's breast pump herself.
Danny and Claude begin seriously discussing whether they want a child of their own, while Jack befriends a guy named Mark on the beach, later prompting the group to play matchmaker for Anne.
Thanksgiving proves just as eventful.
The friends gather at Anne's house, where Danny and Claude announce their plans to move to Italy. Kate and Danny clash, while Jack and Kate's simmering frustrations boil over. Overcome with emotion, Jack kicks the Thanksgiving turkey down the stairs in a moment of comic rage, injuring his ankle in the process.
After everyone leaves, Anne reflects on a Thanksgiving during the Covid-19 pandemic when Nick was still alive, offering a poignant glimpse into the complexities of their marriage.
The final episodes transport the group to Italy to visit Danny and Claude in their new home. In the penultimate episode, Jack unexpectedly finds himself participating in a marathon. Ready to give up midway through the race, he's encouraged by Kate, who joins him on the course.
The moment pays off the storyline introduced at the start of the season, as the couple finally achieves Jack's dream of running a marathon together.
The season ultimately centres on Anne's emotional journey. Feeling isolated in Italy, she reconnects with Mark, whom she met during the summer at the beach. After learning he has a girlfriend, Anne lies about having moved to Italy permanently and dating an Italian man, carefully curating an idealised version of her new life through flirtatious texts and staged photographs.
The Emmy-nominated series concludes on a hopeful note as Anne decides to remain in Italy to house-sit for Danny and Claude who had to move to Philadelphia. The final episode ends with Anne meeting her new neighbour, Gianpiero.
taschica.pillay@nationalmg.co.za