Although it changed many of the details, and completely re-wrote the ending, the first season of Carmilla nonetheless used the plot of Sheridan Le Fanu's book as its basic framework: a cabal of vampires attempts to sacrifice young woman but their intended victim is more resourceful than they expect. Season two, on the other hand, is all new material. So how does the show handle the transition from adaptation to original work?
Well, with mixed success, to be honest. There are plenty of elements that work: the supporting cast remain excellent, and there are some genuinely funny exchanges of dialogue, for example. The progression of Laura and Carmilla's relationship - both forward and backward during the course of the season - is also pretty well-handled as the two of them find that their very different temperaments and ideals make it hard to be a couple.
On the flip side, I felt like the overall season arc did not hang together as well as in the first season. For one thing, the main plot is less personal to the characters (though still potentially as fatal). More importantly though, I think it has too many players at work, and they change alliances and allegiances with a rapidity that is doubtless intended to be exciting but instead came off to me as being rather overdone. The show's tendency to say "really exciting thing is happening outside!" and then not show you it (because of the budgetary requirements to do so, no doubt) is also even more pronounced in this season than the last.
So overall it's a mixed bag, but it gets a qualified recommendation from me because at the end of the day, I still want to see a third season so we can find out what happens next.
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