La Brea: Season Two Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

La Brea: Season Two Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Justin Dekker September 8, 2024

NBC's time-traveling science fiction drama 'La Brea: Season Two' arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Universal. Join Gavin (Eoin Macken), Eve (Natalie Zea), Izzy (Zyra Gorecki), and Josh (Jack Martin), and the rest of the castaways as they continue to struggle to survive after having been flung back in time to 10,000 B.C. Dinosaurs aren't the only things they'll need to overcome if they're going to find a way back home. All 14 episodes are included in this three-disc release. Technical merits continue to be strong, though supplemental material is absent. Neither a slipcover nor a Digital Code are included.

Those who have not yet seen La Brea: Season One are encouraged to do so before reading further as the following likely contains spoilers from the first season.La Brea: Season Two, by virtue of its concept and cover art promises dinosaur-related mayhem due to the bulk of the of the series' action being set in 10,000 B.C. And while there were certainly still dinosaurs roaming around the west coast locations La Brea calls home, they're not the beasts like velociraptors and tyrannosaurus rex's that populate the incredibly popular Jurassic Park franchise. Instead, it's buffalo, giant sloths, and wooly mammoths that those who fell through the sinkhole encounter. While this is somewhat disappointing, it's certainly understandable as human conflict and time travel both serve as the series' primary points of focus.

If season one had a significant weakness, it was that it attempted to juggle too many characters and plotlines in its scant 10 installments. Episodes felt haphazard and rushed as short scenes focused on a specific subset of characters played out in rapid succession filled with terse or tense exchanges followed by strong, melodramatic reactions. In its attempt to forward too many agendas and promote too many characters, the overall result was thin storytelling stemming from choppy pacing. To be successful, this was the most important hurdle La Brea: Season Two needed to clear, and it does so in its own way.

Given a perilous setting coupled with the low skill level of most of those in the clearing, their decided lack of resources and weapons, and the volume of threats both human and otherwise, La Brea: Season Two does manage to cull the herd, so to speak, just not in the most obvious manner. Since this is network television and it's not rated TV-MA, dinosaur attacks, disease, starvation, exposure, and any other lethal consequences of living in 10,000 B.C. aren't the culprits behind this reduction. It's simply that plotlines begin to favor certain characters over others with those rendered extraneous fading into the background where they mill about and fill out scenes but don't serve as distractions. While efficient from a storytelling perspective it does seem to be a missed opportunity to raise the stakes for our heroes. As the castaways have done little to erect defenses, improve their living conditions, or craft weapons, seeing members of the ragtag group of survivors fall victim to these and other threats would have served to increase realism and dramatic tension. The survivors wouldn't have just wanted to return to their time simply to resume their "normal" lives, they would have needed to in order to escape the myriad threats as their numbers dwindle episode by episode. As interesting as those scenarios may be, however, La Brea has more in mind than a straight-forward story of survival in a hostile environment.

This improved focus benefits season two immensely, with viewers given ample time to zero in on the issues and characters that matter most in longer scenes that are allowed to play out more naturally. Sam evolves from a stereotypical leader into a father who doesn't always do the right thing but is clearly concerned about his daughter. Both Lucas and Veronica, thanks to some much-needed character development, grow into more well- rounded and interesting players in this tale, sometimes, quite surprisingly, being high points of certain episodes. Likewise, over the course of these 14 episodes, Scott develops beyond his simple beginnings in a manner both believable and necessary, with the ever-diplomatic and professional Ty serving as the group's increasingly important ambassador. However, as has been the case since the beginning, at its core, La Brea continues to keep the bulk of its narrative focus on the Harris family in general and Gavin in particular. It's his visions, his determination to restore and save his family, and his family members themselves who sit at the heart of the mystery being examined here and are integral to its solution. Given the problems to solve, frequent plot twists, and the volume of time travel taking place, there simply isn't that much time for such mundane things as dinosaurs. And for the purposes of La Brea's overall story, that suits the series just fine. Despite some occasionally shaky CGI dinosaur effects, La Brea: Season Two continues to be perfectly acceptable and bingeable escapist sci-fi entertainment for viewers of all ages.

La Brea: Season Two's episodes are as follows:
Disc One

• The Next Day - Picking up immediately after the Season One finale, Sam and Levi hope to extract information from Silas about the sinkholes and find a way to rescue Jake and Riley from 1988. Ty tries to secure an alliance with Paara and her people, while Gavin, Ella, and Izzy journey to what will eventually be Los Angeles. Dr. Aldridge shows Scott something fantastic.

• The Cave - Eve and Levi's daring gambit may be riskier than they had originally thought. Gavin and Ella reintroduce themselves to the members of the clearing. Josh and Riley make important connections in 1988 and Gavin and Silas chase after Eve and Levi.

• The Great Escape - Gavin, Eve, and Levi construct a plan to escape from the Exiles and their mining operation. Scott returns to the clearing as tensions mount with Paara and her people. Lucas, Scott, and Veronica take matters into their own hands and the reason for Scott's deceptiveness becomes clear.

• The Fog - Eve, Izzy, and Gavin reconnect while Lucas and Veronica's friendship grows. Josh and Riley make another ally in 1988 as they work to avert disaster. A dense fog impacts the plans of everyone in the clearing as Paara's people seek retribution.

• The Heist - Gavin, Levi, and their team enact a daring scheme to reach Josh and Riley in 1988. The relationship between Paara and Ty grows. Scott and Lucas take some heroic actions of their own.

Disc Two

• Lazarus - The plan to access the portal to 1988 hits unexpected snags and Lucas faces something that is all too familiar. Izzy has a heart-to-heart with Levi. Silas offers to help on a rescue mission in the mysterious building while Gavin meets someone unexpected.

• 1988 - Reunited in 1988, the Harris family along with Sam and his daughter Riley work to prevent the disaster facing Santa Monica. Ty, Paara, and her people capture an important enemy. Lucas's condition worsens as Ty accepts a challenge.

• Stampede - As the people in the clearing finally start to make some improvements to their living conditions, a stampede of ancient buffalo threatens to destroy their meager encampment. Gavin, Eve, and those who have returned from 1988 to 10,000 B.C. plot to destroy the portal technology to prevent disaster.

• Murder in the Clearing - When a member of the clearing meets with a violent death, Lucas works to find the person responsible. James shares some important information with Gavin resulting in him undertaking a quest to prevent the outcome of one of his visions.

• The Return - Lucas makes a surprising offer to Veronica. The Exiles search for an important book. An unexpected ally arrives from the future as more portals continue to open. Ty receives medical attention as he is able to put his unique skills into practice.

Disc Three

• The Wedding - The first wedding of the people who fell through the sinkhole has arrived, but some guests have more than celebrating on their minds. Gavin and Josh bond with James as Veronica and Lucas enjoy a simple natural wonder.

• The Swarm - As wasps attack the survivors at the clearing, Gavin and Eve work with James in the aftermath of the events at the wedding. Veronica is forced to make a difficult choice.

• The Journey, Part 1 - Veronica, Gavin, and Silas work to understand the significance of the coordinates in the journal. Lucas starts his campaign against Sam to become the elected leader of the survivors. Lucas makes an uneasy alliance.

• The Journey, Part 2 - The time of the vision that has been haunting Gavin seems to have arrived as he and his family try to find the machine that will take them all home. James takes drastic action to secure his vision for the world.

La Brea: Season Two Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

As was the case with season one, La Brea: Season Two sports a sparklingly crisp and well-defined MPEG-4 AVC encoded 1080p transfer. Fine detail continues to impress across the board, handling long-, midrange, and close-up shots with equal ease. Most obvious, though, with close-ups, facial particulars are easily discernable, with fine lines, wrinkles, women's make-up, men's stubble, and and every flyaway hair distinguishable and defined. The natural environments where La Brea spends much of its time also yield high levels of detail in grassy fields, leaves on trees, rocks and rubble in the caves and mines, as well as more modern particulars in Santa Monica when members of cast travel through the city and spend time on the beach in 1988. Colors are nicely saturated with pleasantly popping primaries and convincing, inky blacks. Skin tones are healthy and realistic.

La Brea: Season Two Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

La Brea: Season Two has a powerful English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that should delight and engage its viewers. Consistently immersive, the track utilizes surrounds to add environmental sounds and music to most scenes, placing the viewer in the middle of the action, whether quieter moments in the clearing, the wedding celebration at the fort, or one of the fight sequences that punctuate the season. Like the surrounds, the substantial bass presence adds thundering power behind the buffalo stampede and other special effects lending realism and depth. Sounds such as the flight of arrows move smoothly through the sound field and directionality is spot on. Dialogue is clearly and cleanly rendered, is properly prioritized, and is typically front and center focused. Music is likewise handled well, with a few choice moments where it is allowed to swell and briefly dominate. It's a very lively track.

La Brea: Season Two Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Unfortunately, La Brea: Season Two does not have any supplemental material.

La Brea: Season Two Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

More of a human drama rather than a dinosaur actioner, science fiction fans will find much to enjoy here provided they have an understanding that dino-related mayhem is kept to a minimum, acting more as flavoring and a reminder of the setting rather than the series' raison d'être. It's the journey of the Harris family and a select group of others that are the focus here. While perils are omnipresent, La Brea: Season Two keeps its tone lighter than other survival stories and spends much of its time on character development and various adventures through time as the survivors try to find a way home. Technical merits are strong on this release that is devoid of supplemental material, and La Brea: Season Two comes recommended to the show's fans.