On September 15, the streaming platform Netflix released Season 2 of the teen drama “Surviving Summer” directed by Ben Chessell. You can see Ben Chessell directing other television productions like “Dance Academy,” “Sucker,” and “Heartbreak Tour Film.”
After more than a year of waiting for the next season, the series surfed the way to the top as it passed Season 1. Season 1 was released on June 3, 2022, and after high success, Netflix announced the renewal of another season only five months after it came out. The big question is whether or not the second season topped the first or if the last season was better.
In my opinion, Season 2 washed the first season down the drain. It was more dramatic, intriguing, and heartfelt. I remember watching season one in 2022 and skipping through a lot because I wanted to get through it rather than wait longer. I saw spoilers on TikTok because I could not wait. Call me impatient or maybe, the show just wasn’t intriguing enough.
In Season 1, the audience is introduced to the main character Summer (Sky Katz), as a rebellious teenager that her mother just can’t handle this summer. Summer’s mom moves her from Brooklyn to the town of Shorehaven, which is on the Great Ocean Road, Victoria, Australia. Summer is not enthusiastic at all about her time in Shorehaven, however when she reconnects with her family friends, Ari (Kai Lewins), Thommo Gibson (Dustin Clare), Abbie Gibson (Adrienne Pickering), and Honey Gibson (Asmara Feik).
The worst part is she hasn’t seen them in a long time, so it really isn’t comfortable for her. Summer meets Ari’s friends and surf buddies Poppy (Lilliana Bowrey), Marlon (Joao Gabriel Marinho), and Bodhi (Savannah La Rain).
She devises a plan to get out of Shorehaven and book a flight back to Brooklyn but instead has an attraction to not only Ari but to the life of surfing. The waves she rides are a little bumpy, but she surfs her way to the end. When it is time to go home, Ari and Summer share their first kiss.
On September 15, when Season 2 came out, it had the same vibes as the previous season. After leaving off in a cliffhanger the previous season, Summer comes back to Shorehaven ready to see Ari and the rest of her friends, while also excited to share how much better her surfing skills got.
*Spoilers ahead*
Instead, Summer is met by Ari’s new girlfriend Wren (Annabel Wolfe), and her brother Baxter (Josh Macqueen). Through the rest of the reason, everyone deals with struggles like jealousy, doubts, and the fear of revealing the truth and one’s feelings. Summer and Wren begin to have a competition for Aris’ feelings, while Baxter starts to grow feelings for Summer. There is not only competition with feelings between various characters (Ari, Baxter, Wren, Poppy, Bodhi, Barlon, and Summer) but also with surfing.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the audience score of “Surviving Summer” is a whopping 88%. It deserves a much higher score based on the storyline and development of the characters. The audience review on Rotten Tomatoes explained their opinion by noting that all the characters (not so much Ari) had a strong character development, and were able to understand their stories better.
Season 2 had more drama and was capable of keeping my attention for a long period. The new season was different because it didn’t let the audience get what they wanted with the cliffhanger. Typically shows will make whatever cliffhanger was previously mentioned have a sort of happy ending the next time it is brought up, however Ari and Summer did not have a relationship next season. I enjoyed the different storylines, and how the writers took them in a different direction.
In the previous season, it felt more based on Summer and Ari’s relationship and storyline rather than a lot of the others, whereas this season featured many different perspectives. The friendships and relationships were strengthened especially between Marlon and Poppy.
In the previous season, Marlon was hung over fellow surfer Bodhi after their breakup, but she did not have the same feelings. This season we got to see a lot more of their friends to lover tropes, as well as how others feel about it. Don’t worry, I didn’t forget about Bodhi and her new relationship with another surfer from a different team, which we learned later had some history with Wren making it harder for her to be honest with Bodhi.
To be bluntly honest, Bohdi and Wren were the least likable characters. Bodhi wasn’t respecting her other friendships, especially Poppy, and choosing not to see right past Wren’s nonsense. Wren doesn’t care about how other people feel, uses threats against other people, and bullies Summer. Even when Summer gave her the option to change from the pact she had with her sister, Wren still chose to act badly. She could have survived summer differently.
The best friendship in the show was between Summer and Poppy. When Bohdi was off with Wren, Poppy and Summer were a dynamic duo. They worked together in the photoshoot making it fun for everyone. Summer valued Poppy so much that she even took the blame for her when she got in trouble with the cops. I strived to see how far their friendship is, and what will be put in place for them next. I don’t just question that, but also if Summer is going to move to Shorehaven, or if Baxter and Summer will get together? So many questions need to be answered!
“Surviving Summer” Season 2 is for the win because I can recall all of this information and was capable of watching it within one day, whereas Season 1 was never truly finished. The first season deserves a solid 3 star rating, and the second deserves a 4.5. Rotten Tomatoes stated it was rated 3.5 or higher.
If you think you can survive summer, then surf your way to Netflix where it is streaming! Don’t worry, all the seasons are on Netflix with a total of 18 episodes!
