Season one of stand-up comic Sumukhi Suresh's Pushpavalli (streaming on Amazon Prime) came out back in 2017 before we knew of Joe Goldberg (from Netflix's YOU), our current generation's favourite stalker-serial killer. Of course, Pushpavalli isn't the name-changing, secret-room killing psychopath who manipulates her whole existence in that universe...but she never seems too far behind any of these.

With a gritty and unapologetic Pushpavalli, backed by very interestingly written sub-plots and some super convincing performances, the first season was not only out of the box but also something that made us look forward to more of that greyness. Well, at the least, Season 2 not only gives us all of this and more but keeps us hanging on its cliff, anxiously looking for other platforms for a possibly unreleased finale.

The season opens with a sharp introductory sequence which is a recap of all the haps and mishaps of Season 1, which doesn't just serve its purpose for the viewers, but also lands as Pushpavalli's recollection of what has led her to now being seated at her engagement, clad in a fine saree and dripping in gold and some tears. In short, right from her obsessive streak with her 'perfect' Nikhil Rao (Manish Anand) to finally being exposed for all her wily acts of trying to get with him and eventually being ousted from his life, we get to see most of it again.

Amidst this chaos, we have an explosive Pankaj (Naveen Richard), Pushpavalli's boss at a library where she is shunned, and his impressively etched romance with Swati (Pritika Chawla). Pushpavalli is more than prepared to enter Nikhil's world once again… but this time, she has revenge running through her veins. As she agrees to get engaged to Vidyuth (Vidyuth Gargi), she uses her ally Tea Boy, to mess up Nikhil's business. Pushpavalli's devious games are now taller, stronger and sharper. She doesn't quite cruise her way through this, but she's somehow always ahead.

With all the tricks up her sleeve, Pushpavalli manages to convince Pankaj to give her job back to her, somehow finds a spot back in the PG she was kicked out of, ends up convincing Nikhil that she's past all that nonsense she was up to, keeps Vidyuth on the hook, and continues her smart game towards some sweet revenge. The show is set in Bangalore, just taking off from Season 1. To keep in line with this, we are made to feel like we're roaming in a typical Bangalore neighbourhood. We have Pushpavalli's Tamil background, her Kannadiga home-stay, some typical Hindi and contemporary English.

This season has been yet another exhibition of some fine talent. There is nuanced writing, exceptional performances, well-directed and coherent episodes on display. Character depth and development have been excellent with regards to season two. Everything seems very clear, and each character gives space for us to empathise with them, while we have our minds locked in with the progression of the story. There's no black or white here. We're dealing with grey. We're probably dealing with more than 50 shades of it. Pushpavalli's process is quite unfathomable at times, but somehow, you're with her, telling yourself that it’s alright. Her unscrupulous actions still don't necessarily mean we might not side with her.

There's chemistry between Pushpavalli and everyone she's put up with or against. Pankaj's weird protectiveness over Pushpavalli despite his brashness towards her and her shifty behaviour, Nikhil's uncertain emotion towards Pushpavalli, and now Vidyuth's innocence coming in contact with Pushpavalli's evasiveness. Each of these relationships is admirably dealt with. The ace in this deck is certainly the pristine romance between Pankaj and Swati. It is cute. It is enjoyable. And Naveen Richard's existence is a rib-tickling comical show that allows some sensitivity to creep in at times. And boy, he carries that sensitivity so well.

There's a lot to take away from this show. A lot of stereotypes are called out, one doesn't simply embrace sympathy, dealing with insecurities and most importantly, keeping things real. This season warms your heart as much as it would shake you up with its happenings. The anxiety that would follow after the end of this season's finale is enough to say that we want this story running longer, getting crazier, remaining dark-ishly funny and never losing its charm!