Anime shows often suffer a second season curse, but not always because the show takes a weirdly long hiatus. Sometimes, they simply aren't as good as the first season. Beastars season 2, when I first saw it nearly 4 years ago, felt like the rare anime show that continued to live up to its great first season. My worry on this rewatch wasn't that the season as a whole would be much worse, but that the final episode would be worse than I remember. Thanks to a friend of mine watching it and bringing it to my attention, I can't say I'm surprised he was right again. At best, I'd say season two's finale leaves me with mixed emotions, or with a somewhat bittersweet taste in my mouth. The reality though, is that despite so much of the season being very good, the finale episode undoes so much of it. I still like the season and think it does enough to remain at worst decent, but I can't shake the feeling that a lot of it leaves me thinking it was...Pointless? Legoshi spends so much of this season becoming a better person and seemingly going to new depths to understand herbivores that no other carnivore has done...While I get a story about our inherent natural limitations could apply and be compelling, it feels like it comes out of nowhere here. It feels like the show's baffling decision to go back on this damages his character arc. The penultimate episode with the bugs already felt like a stretch I wasn't too happy about but the finale is much worse. You know the worst part about that? It's not even that the story goes in a direction I don't like, I can happily accept that if it's well written, but the worst part is that none of it feels like it leads to anything. If I was drunk I could pretend it was a subversion of our expectations in regards to an anime character powering up through the power of friendship in a twisted way, but I was unfortunately sober watching this finale. Everything just felt rushed, be it the way he abandoned his principles and two season's worth of effort and conviction, or even the way it all culminated into nothingness. The fight is a total dud, doesn't last more than seconds and feels inconclusive in the worst way. You then have to factor in whatever the hell Louis' arc was, and how a decently interesting side story culminates in him just giving it all up, we lose a character in a contrived way (where did that lion in the tunnel even come from) and then Louis goes to help his friend without his gun. I'm not even sure I buy the relationship between the two that the show started to push towards the ending and how it is almost treated on equal footing with Legoshi's relationship with Haru. Feels like we really could have had the change of heart happen by showing what Legoshi is willing to do, likewise Louis, without actually going through with it. It all just feels contrived into existence. Sure in some ways season 2 further improves on the worldbuilding, but Beastars has this frustrating lack of time I can't quite explain. I really enjoy it but it feels like each season should be twice as long. I want to see so so many more interactions, so many more dynamics, but it all feels like it isn't there enough. The show this season felt like it wasn't quite sure how to progress the dynamic between Haru and Legoshi, even though it shouldn't be that difficult. It almost feels like it is stalling that relationship so that it can explore other stories. I really wish this show did more little stories like it did with the hen and Legoshi in season one, or Sheila and Peach in season two. Stories like those make me feel an anthology show based in this world would be great. Anyway, season 2 is a little different to 1, but it is really that final episode that makes me think it's a slight drop off in quality. Haru is seemingly sidelined, some characters barely get screen time, and then everything just feels rushed in the finale. What about the reactions of students when they find out who the killer is? What about more reactions to what Legoshi has done that aren't just from some sort of secret admirers of his (speaking of which why not bring up the snake again)? So much potential, so many interesting stories to tell, yet so little time. I hear the manga really shits the bed at the ending and what I saw in the finale is worrying mostly because I'm not sure this show is above adapting potentially bad writing decisions. I still look forward to season 3 part 1, but in the back of my mind I worry for that part 2.