Real Show Talk: The Haunting of Bly Manor Review (Spoilers!)
Before we begin, please note that all sorts of spoilers are ahead!
Welcome to a new episode of Real Talk from OSYL. In this episode, we react to how we feel about completing season two of the Haunting Series on Netflix—specifically, the show the Haunting of Bly Manor. We answer a series of questions to guide us in the episode, but we each took off and discuss all sorts of reactions to this series. This episode features the return of one of our previous guests.
Though this can be a breezy short read, there are a couple ways to listen to the podcast. For the audio portion of the podcast, you can listen below or download directly here: https://realtalkwithosyl.buzzsprout.com/
The podcast will also be on other platforms like Spotify, Apple, Amazon, iHeart Radio, Google Podcasts and InTune Radio! Just search for OSYL!
In this episode, we join our special guest, Niko, and we then take turns answering questions about the Haunting of Bly Manor on Netflix. This episode features the usuals, alongside our special guest: Steven and Tyler. Each of them ran with the questions and provided thoughtful (and sometimes off-tangent) responses to them. The questions are:
How do you compare season 1 to season 2?
Do you like how all the same actors/actresses were used? Did it give you nostalgia? Was it refreshing or did it take anything away from the experience?
Did you know the inspiration for the show is based on a mansion/castle in Lakewood, WA?
How did Hannah interact and touch people while being a ghost?
Why’d the kids forget everything about their youth?
Why does Flora have a different name at the end?
What did happen to Arthur and Isabel?
Why did Viola never kill Miles and Flora’s parents?
How did Jamie know about the curse? Did Dani tell her everything? Even then, how did she know who Viola was?
Comparing the two volumes in this Haunting series, we find the same shared feelings we had in the first volume (Hill House) as in this second volume (Bly Manor). We enjoyed the visuals, the plot, and the character development, for instance. Though Bly Manor shared a tale that seemed more intimate and enclosed compared to the expanded and vast universe in Hill House, the effect was the same—meaning our experience of the haunting tales and the metaphors presented was just as enjoyable to watch.
In the end, we find that Bly Manor had plot holes, and felt rushed compared to the slow and seemingly deliberate burn of the Hill House. Though Bly Manor was in itself just as spooky as Hill House, it wasn’t as scary as a supernatural show as the first volume in Hill House. The last line in the end of the volume describes it best: This is not a ghost story, but a love story. Reflecting on the volume, we discuss how we believe Bly Manor is a metaphor how guilt and regret in our lives have the power to haunt us. Bly Manor as an entity provided its characters as a means to either die with the guilt and/or regret, or liberate yourself from them. Overall, this was an excellent series, especially if you are a fan of the Supernatural / Horror genre. Check out the full season on Netflix now, and afterwards, join us in our reaction to the series.