449. Web-series Reviews – 247

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Special Ops – Second season came in 2025. The series follows Himmat Singh of the Research and Analysis Wing, who draws similar patterns from terrorist attacks and is convinced a single person is behind all the attacks. His task force team of five agents living in various parts of the world aim to catch the mastermind. The story is based on an inspiration taken from nineteen years worth of national significant events.

A review from IMDB...

When Special Ops debuted in 2020, it offered something fresh in Indian entertainment - a grounded, intelligent espionage thriller with Kay Kay Menon anchoring a well-paced narrative as the enigmatic Himmat Singh. Directed by Neeraj Pandey, the series struck a rare balance between geopolitics, character-driven storytelling, and tactical action. Naturally, expectations were sky-high for the season 2 - especially after the successful spinoff Special Ops 1.5. But while this season ups the scale, it doesn't always hit the mark.

This isn't to say it's a failure - far from it. Special Ops Season 2 is a serviceable follow-up that entertains with style and stakes. But in its attempt to grow bigger, it loses some of the personal, sharp storytelling that made the franchise special in the first place.

A Plot Rooted in Modern Fears - But Spread Too Thin Season 2 kicks off with a double blow: a R&AW officer Vinod Shekhawat is murdered in Delhi, and at the same time, AI scientist Dr. Piyush Bhargava is kidnapped from a tech conference in Budapest. Himmat Singh suspects a connection - and he's right. The investigation ends into a mysterious international criminal known only as Collector (Sudheer), who traffics not in ideology, but in rare artifacts and information.

This is very much a Special Ops story: global locations, multiple timelines, layered conspiracies, and a team of elite Indian agents scattered across continents trying to stop a looming national threat. This time, stakes are rooted in modern fears: AI surveillance, data warfare, and systemic corruption.

But here's the issue: in trying to do everything the story becomes too busy. Subplots like bank frauds, political cover-ups, dark web dealings, and personal reveals (such as Singh's daughter learning he isn't her biological father) and betrayals are introduced with intrigue but rarely explored with depth.

Kay Kay Menon Shines, But Others Feel Underutilized Kay Kay Menon, as always, delivers a powerhouse performance. His portrayal of Himmat Singh is so refined, so deeply internalized, that he effortlessly holds your attention even in the quieter moments. He's not a conventional action hero - he's a strategist, a man always a few steps ahead, and Season 2 continues to build on that persona.

The rest of the cast - Karan Tacker, Saiyami Kher, Muzammil Ibrahim, Vinay Pathak, and Shikha Talsania - reprise their roles, but feel mostly underused. There's little character development, and despite their presence in high-octane set pieces, their emotional arcs remain undercooked. The villain, Sudheer (Tahir Raj Bhasin), despite being portrayed as a globe-trotting tech mogul with a collector's obsession, lacks the menace and depth of a truly memorable antagonist.

High Production, Real Locations, and Tactical Action Where Special Ops Season 2 succeeds is in its look and feel. Shot across stunning real-world locations like Vienna, Budapest, Nepal, and the Dominican Republic, the series avoids the usual green-screen fatigue and immerses us in believable spy scenarios. The action is crisp, not over-the-top.

The show's production values are undoubtedly high. Every frame looks polished, and the background score by Advait Nemlekar complements the espionage mood. The dam hideout, the suspended diamond-shaped control center, and other set pieces add visual flavor to the otherwise familiar plot mechanics.

The Tradeoff: Style Over Substance?

Here's the catch: for all its visual gloss and topical relevance, this season struggles to emotionally connect. Unlike the season 1 and 1.5, where tension is layered with relatable domestic beats, season 2 feels emotionally distant. There's a lot of movement, but not enough depth. When emotional threads are introduced - Singh's strained family ties, Sudheer's twisted obsessions - they're quickly pushed aside for the next location or shootout.

The pacing dips occasionally, and the climactic resolution - while serviceable - lacks the urgency and punch. Add to that a few questionable AI-generated visuals (nuclear blast simulations and increasing usage of UPI payments, in particular) and you start to see cracks in the otherwise polished surface.

Final Verdict: 7 out of 10 In short, Special Ops Season 2 is a solid return to the spy universe. It boasts high-quality production, relevant themes, and a commanding lead performance by Kay Kay Menon. The show has ambition - sometimes too much of it - and while it falters under the weight of its own complexity, it never fully loses steam.

It's a classic case of "good but not great." For fans of the genre, it offers a satisfying weekend binge with enough intrigue and action to stay invested. But for those looking for emotional depth or a tighter, more focused narrative - this season might feel like a missed opportunity.

Why You Should Watch: Kay Kay Menon in top form as Himmat Singh Realistic spy-thriller action, grounded and smart Global locations, slick visuals, and high-stakes storytelling Tackles timely themes like cybercrime, data wars, and corruption Why It Might Not Work for Everyone: Overstuffed with too many subplots and characters Emotional threads are hinted at but not developed Climax lacks the tension and thrill of earlier seasons Tech jargon and AI plots feel more functional than compelling Streaming now on Disney+ Hotstar.

My Take – Worth a watch!

 

Harry Wild – Running since 2022. 4 seasons so far. A recently retired English professor discovers a real knack for investigation and cannot help but interfere with the cases assigned to her police detective son.

A review from IMDB...

There have been a number of similar shows on UK TV recently; odd-couple detective teams e.g. The Chelsea Detective, Murder in Provence, McDonald & Dodds. Fabulous for me as they are right in my wheelhouse and this one delivers.

Harry (Jane Seymour) is self-confident, mouthy with few social filters and, as a recently retired English Professor, offers unwelcome grammatical corrections during conversations. She has a detective son Charlie (Kevin Ryan) whose life she generally makes a misery by interfering with his cases - usually by solving them! Her partner-in-crime is Fergus (Rohan Nedd) who is an articulate, street-wise teenager from a poor background. Indeed they first meet during a mugging perpetrated by Fergus on Harry! Their relationship works well and they develop a growing mutual admiration as their complementary skills help them solve cases.

Easily-digestible, enjoyable viewing - believable core characters - interesting stories flying above the mere procedural.

My Take – Saw all the seasons. Worth a watch!

 

Tunnel – Cane in 2017A detective follows the trail of a serial killer 30 years into the future and teams up with detectives in that time period to find the culprit. Korean series.

A review from IMDB...

I wrong a big long angry review after watching the first 4 or 5 episodes. It was almost unwatchable for the first 2-3 episodes -- terrible writing, cringe overacting, everyone's emotions were completely over the top, you didn't care about any of the characters, and worst of all, the main guy is just about the worst heap of steaming toxic masculinity ever to grace the silver screen. He punches and kicks everything, bullies everyone, and is one of the more unlikeable characters I've had the misfortune of watching.

Sooooo, it turns out, it gets better. A LOT better. My wife wanted to keep watching so I stuck it out, and I'm glad we did. The first truly great episode in my opinion was #7, which is almost halfway through. But from there on out it takes many twists and turns--many of them predictable (but still satisfying) and several others which caught us by surprise.

It probably helps to think of this show as being a bit like WandaVision, where the 1986 backstory is deliberately overacted and corny because it's (I'm guessing) mimicking the way Korean dramas/sitcoms were back in 1986. The characters, acting and writing all become significantly more mature as the 2016 timeline evolves.

To be fair, there is still some weakness in the second half: a bit of manufactured drama from characters not telling each other critical pieces of information, poor decision-making by the police crew, and even some straight-up melodrama in the latter half, particularly in the last 3 episodes. But it's forgivable because the story is really solid. It's a very, very good story, and the first 6 episodes were more or less necessary for setting up all the complex twists and turns it takes in the second act. Oh, and the main guy becomes much more watchable after the first half, as he matures as a human being. His toxic masculinity was intentional and it gets fixed as the story unfolds.

It's pretty obvious why there's already one remake, and it wouldn't surprise me at all to see a Korean or Hollywood remake at some point with a higher budget. It's a fairly unique story that's hard to pass up.

There are definitely some timeline continuity issues, and they leave more questions open than they answer by the end. So don't come looking for great sci-fi here.

But as a crime drama, this is about as solid as it gets, and my wife was bawling at the end. I might have had a sniffle or two. I'd rank this up there with Beyond Evil, Stranger/Secret Forest, and The Guest as one of the top non-romantic kdramas out there.

Long story short: Stick with it and you'll be rewarded.

My Take – A great watch!

Adios till next time😊!!