Series Review: Taboo – Season 2 (2025)
“He came back from the dead. Now he rewrites the empire.”
After a nearly decade-long wait, Tom Hardy returns as the enigmatic and feral James Delaney in Taboo Season 2, picking up the threads of betrayal, mysticism, and vengeance that made the first season an unforgettable blend of historical drama and gothic noir. Co-created by Hardy, his father Chips Hardy, and Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders), Season 2 expands the grimy 19th-century world of political corruption and colonial conspiracies—this time across the Atlantic.
Set largely in 1817 Boston and the murky outskirts of the burgeoning American republic, Delaney and his surviving allies—dubbed “The League of the Damned”—begin their campaign to challenge both the East India Company and the growing American intelligence establishment. With the Nootka Sound treaty hanging in balance, the stakes become more international, and far deadlier.
Tom Hardy is once again magnetic, growling his way through grim philosophies, ritual scars, and blood-soaked power plays. Delaney remains a terrifying blend of anti-hero and ghost—equal parts brute, strategist, and spiritual vessel. New cast additions, including Carrie Coon as a steely American informant and Rory Kinnear as a fanatical colonial preacher, deepen the show’s complex web of alliances and enemies.
Visually, the show remains stunning: smoke-choked streets, flickering candlelit interiors, storm-lashed harbors. But Season 2 also expands its palette with vast open seas, Indigenous villages, and war-torn frontier settlements. Every frame oozes dread and atmosphere, matched by a haunting score that hums with tension.
Where Season 1 focused on personal revenge, Season 2 pivots toward revolution. The themes are broader—identity, empire, trade, and the mythology of power—but never lose their intimacy. Delaney’s internal struggle with his visions and the “beast within” is a standout thread, giving the character unexpected vulnerability amid his brutality.
Final Verdict: ★★★★★ (5/5)
Taboo Season 2 is a masterclass in mood, myth, and menace. With Tom Hardy at his most unhinged and compelling, the series proves it’s not just worth the wait—it might be one of the boldest period dramas of the decade.
