By Dominique Tassell
*This review contains some spoilers about season two of Netflix’s Cheer.
Landing two years after the first instalment, the second season of Netflix’s Cheer takes viewers on a whirlwind ride that for many includes changing your opinions entirely from how they were left at the end of last season.
The new season introduces a brand new team to follow alongside Navarro – the team at Trinity Valley Community College (TVCC), just down the road.
Plenty of new faces are introduced, but crowd favourites like Gabi Butler, Lexi Brumback, La’Darius Marshall, and Morgan Simianer do return, if only briefly for some.
At first, for many viewers, the team at TVCC is grating in their determination to take Navarro down, but as the series progresses many found themselves changing their tune.
While the first season was all about team spirit, this season follows the team at Navarro as they pretty much fall apart.
With the effects of newfound fame taking a toll and the creeping threat of Covid -19 in early 2020, the first half of the series tracks the team’s progress right up until the day before Daytona is cancelled due to the pandemic. Production then picks up again in time for the 2021 competition.
As anyone who watched season one will remember, the arrest of Jerry Harris happened around this time. Many were curious to see how this new season would handle the arrest, and to their credit, Netflix did a good job.
An entire episode is dedicated to the topic, with his alleged victims given a platform to share their stories.
While Netflix handled the situation well, the episode shows that Navarro could have done better.
Coach Monica Aldama was away performing on Dancing with the Stars when the news broke, and the documentary follows how this affects the team and exacerbates the cracks the news made in their ranks.
The response from Monica and other team members, talking about how they still love Jerry, is especially jarring for some team members who have experienced similar abuse.
When the season picks back up in time to watch the teams prepare for the 2021 Daytona competition, many viewers found themselves starting to root for the other team.
While TVCC certainly seemed less polished than Navarro, their raw talent couldn’t be ignored, nor could the love between the team members.
The team is not devoid of its own issues, with some star members exhibiting worrying views on masculinity, but it was an appreciated opportunity to shine a line on some of the longstanding issues with the attitudes in the sport.
While this season is darker than the first, it provides important insight into complex issues both in the sport and in America more broadly.
At times it was hard to watch, but after finishing the season I found it had delivered on everything it possibly could have.
At first, I thought the rivalry storyline between the two teams might become tired, but it was TVCC that kept the series grounded when Navarro seemed to at times be floating off.
I, for one, am keen to see what the next season brings.
