Komi Can't Communicate Season 2

Episode 24

Here we are at the end of season two for Komi Can't Communicate and honestly, this episode perfectly encapsulates what this season set out to do. If the first season was all about a socially awkward person coming out of their shell for the first time and acknowledging that they have the capacity to make friends, then this season is one that not only genuinely shows Komi interacting with said friends while also making more, but also gives Komi and other characters the opportunity to explore more intense feelings that they previously never thought they would ever have to deal with. That said, I do think season one was a lot more tightly-written and had a stronger, more consistent sense of humor overall.

The opening section of this episode acts as a follow-up to the Valentine's Day episode where, for the first time, we get the closest confirmation yet that Tadano does in fact harbor some type of romantic feelings for Komi. Obviously the idea of him giving her candy wasn't meant to be a straight-up confession, but it's a nice little workaround to show that it's at least present in his mind. It is a good step forward that lays the groundwork for a potential season three, where I imagine the romantic relationship between our central couple would be the central focus.

However, what this season also has over the first season is the way that it shows off the cast. The previous season was almost entirely comprised of one-off episodes that each introduced a new character and their dynamic with Komi one at a time. This season actually felt like everyone contributed to making the class feel like a rowdy chaotic mess of teenagers, and I mean that in the best way possible. We get a better feel of how these characters normally interact with each other and with Komi, and we start to see the façade of Komi being this perfect and untouchable spectacle begin to break down. We even have skits that don't involve Komi at all yet were still just as entertaining, demonstrating that these characters have enough personality to carry some skits on their own. Seeing a small game of hitting erasers on a desk evolve into this really elaborate and involved tournament that has almost every character we've been introduced to so far participate is the best summation of what this class represents. Yes, a lot of these characters harbor extreme personalities, but when you look at all of them together as one bombastic mass, it's incredibly relatable and in some ways reminds me of what it was like being in high school myself. I'm very happy and proud of the fact that Komi is friends with a lot of these people, even if some of those friendships are still marred by misunderstandings and awkwardness. But you can argue that comes with the territory of friendship as well.

That's why I did actually feel it a bit at the end of the episode when Komi was worried about the prospect of being in a different class and separated from the friends she spent two seasons forging a connection with. But then, as the episode rather beautifully flashes through the entire show in the background just to really cement how far this character has come, you realize that she still has a lot of work to do in order to be able to stand on her own. The time isn't right just yet but I look forward to her getting to that point. This season was awkward at times and didn't always flow seamlessly, but it communicated its message effectively and its heart was almost always in the right place…just like when Komi speaks towards the end of this episode to Tadano. I really look forward to a potential season three in the future to see what other characters we get introduced to along the way!

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Komi Can't Communicate Season 2 is currently streaming on Netflix.