Review of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (2009)

T: Watching Haruhi, I see. The first season again? NK: I'm trying to forget that the second season exists. T: It couldn't have been that bad. What went wrong? NK: They made a second season. T: Come on. A little more detail would be nice. NK: That is the true mistake, though. The first season of Suzumiya Haruhi was enough. The characters were designed well, the stories were all the right length and really helped show how the characters developed over the course of the series. It ended on a very good note and nothing needed to be added. T: The ending was open, though.It would make sense to add more after the events after the first season.
NK: Yes it would. They didn't.
T: Wait, do you mean that the second season takes place during the first season?
NK: Correct. And there were only three stories. 14 episodes. Not quite as concise as the first season.

T: What were the stories, dare I ask...
NK: A one episode trip back in time for Kyon. That was actually good. Then the Endless Eight began.
T: The...Endless Eight?
NK: Eight episodes that repeated the same two weeks of summer vacation because Haruhi didn't do her homework. I just summarized over half of the second season for you.
T: Um...spoiler warning?
NK: Why bother? You're wasting time by watching the same thing eight frickin' times. I figured I'd remove curiosity for that part of the story for everyone.
T: And the final story?
NK: The other 5 episodes were about the making of the movie that acted as the prequel episode to season one.
T: That's it?
NK: That's it. No further character development, no captivating plot, nothing. Just a 14 episode time sink.

T: There had to be something good, right?
NK: I have two good things to say about the second season. First, the characters were intact. They weren't acting in a way that would surprise you despite the obvious cash-in that this season was supposed to be. Second, the opening was actually enjoyable despite the how bad the season was. It makes me wish that it was the opening for the first season.

T: So...no recommendation.
NK: If you've watched the first season, this is entirely pointless. If you haven't, you can actually find the broadcast order for when the episodes were aired in chronological order with season one. That might be a bit better context-wise, but you're better off just watching season one. Hopefully, the movie is better. The first season deserves such a better follow up than this.