Photo Courtesy of Josephine Sittenfeld, Wikipedia
The latest season of Netflix’s popular “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” delves deeper into the mind of its protagonist. Produced by “30 Rock” alumni Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, the show stars Ellie Kemper as the titular Kimmy, a woman recently rescued from a cult in Indiana.
The series’ first season introduced viewers to Kimmy’s bizarre past: in the eighth grade, she was abducted by the Reverend Richard Wayne Gary Wayne (Jon Hamm) and held hostage in an underground bunker for 15 years. Following her escape, Kimmy settles in New York City and attempts to acclimate to the adult world while trying to find a home and get a job.
Fey and Carlock have managed to create a quirky comedy in “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” despite the show’s dark subject matter and focus on a woman’s traumatic experience.
Although it still takes place in New York City, the second season of the show takes on a different tone from the previous seasons as Kimmy further develops into a fully-realized character.
In this season, Kimmy realizes there are things in the outside world that she can’t control. In season one, Kimmy was clearly the hero, defeating her abductor and finding an optimistic attitude in the face of hardship. But in season two, Kimmy comes face-to-face with the setbacks of the real world. These obstacles force the character to evolve and grow.
In order to deal with her issues, Kimmy visits her therapist Andrea, played by Fey. It is clear that Andrea is a raging alcoholic, and although she tries to help Kimmy, she needs Kimmy’s extreme optimism just as much as Kimmy needs her occasional sober advice. The two wind up giving each other therapy.
As the season progresses, Kimmy deepens her relationships with supporting characters from season one, including Titus (Tituss Burgess), Lillian (Carol Kane) and Jacqueline (Jane Krakowski). All of these characters remain just as goofy as they were in season one.
The second season is jampacked with cameos from celebrities, including Jeff Goldblum, David Cross, Zosia Mamet and Fred Armisen.
As she gets a job at a Christmas store and devotes her time to helping others, Kimmy realizes there is a life outside of the bunker where she lived most of her life. But despite her progress, Kimmy is still dealing with her past: after meeting a soldier in a bar, Kimmy realizes she may have PTSD.
Kimmy and her friends are just as laugh-out-loud funny as they were in season one, but the humor of “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” is now tempered by more somber themes. But Kimmy lives up to her name, and triumphs over all.
dnucci@ramapo.edu
