“Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft” Season 2 Review: A Thrilling and Impactful Conclusion

Lara Croft returns for a thrilling second and final season of Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft, and this time she must contend with the powers of gods.

After a fun, though relatively forgettable first season, animated series Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft returns with another exciting yet more impactful second season. The action sequences sprinkled throughout the season are enjoyable, and the narratives about the importance of relying on others as well as the impact of “tomb raiding” on other cultures provide compelling through-lines throughout the season.

Upon rescuing Sam (Karen Fukuhara), Lara (Hayley Atwell) is approached by the mysterious Fig (Marisha Ray) with an interesting proposition from her employer Mila (Tricia Helfer). Mila claims to want to help the world and requests that Lara give her an ancient African mask taken by her father so that it can be returned to the culture from which it was stolen. Despite her years of experience, Lara is too quick to trust Mila and hands over the mask. Unsurprisingly, Mila is not who she seems and kills the previous owner of the mask to take his power for herself.

The season revolves around Lara and Sam doing their best to correct Lara’s mistake and stop Mila from collecting the other ancient Orisha masks. Sam is a great addition to the team, and her dynamic with Lara is enjoyable. The rest of the returning members of Lara’s team also have moments to shine in their brief appearances throughout the season. An episode involving the team having to infiltrate a party to break into Mila’s office is a particularly memorable highlight in the season.

Each of the centuries-old gods have different abilities provided by their respective masks, and learning more about the gods and the mythology is an enjoyable part of the season. One god in particular, Eshu (O-T Fagbenle) joins Lara and Sam and provides equal amounts of comic relief and heartfelt emotional moments throughout the season. Though we don’t spend as much time with the other gods, they are all still interesting characters and it’s heartbreaking to see a couple of them die at the hands of Mila.

Though the season is fun throughout, the message about the impacts of imperialism and the stealing of treasured artifacts from native cultures to put into museums and private collections is a vital one. Lara must contend with both her and father’s role in stealing many of these artifacts, and Eshu’s breakdown at seeing his old artifacts on display is one of the season’s most emotional moments.

Upon recovering his mask, Eshu must evolve into the hero he’s meant to be and lead a resistance against Mila and her accomplices. The final battle is thrilling throughout, and the reappearance of the remaining gods to help assist in the fight provides a satisfying triumph to end the season. Lara’s decision to take a much-needed break with her allies and return the items in her collection is a nice note to end the season on.

Though ending a season in today’s day and age of quick cancellations on a cliffhanger is already a bad idea, making the decision to end a previously-announced final season on a cliffhanger is nonsensical. Thankfully, the rest of the ending and the season overall ends on a high note for Lara and her animated adventures. With a live-action series and new games recently announced, there will be plenty more adventures for Tomb Raider fans to enjoy in the near future.

Author: Jessica Wolff

Jessica Wolff is a graduate of Drexel University with a BS in Film/Video. She has a passion for entertainment and representation in entertainment. She currently resides outside of Washington, DC.

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