Camille and Issei return in “Drops of God” (Season 2, Original title: Les Gouttes de Dieu), not as adversaries but as siblings with a special bond. The first season followed them through a competition where only one could emerge as the winner. It was supposed to decide the person who would carry forward the legacy of their father, Alexandre.
At the time, Issei was introduced as a passionate oenophile with no direct relation to Alexandre, which made him seem like a stronger contender than Camille. Unlike him, she grew up resenting her father, whose utmost devotion to wine led to their emotional rift. That’s why wine became mainly a narrative tool for its gripping drama.
The show used oenophilia as a means to analyze the oppressive burdens of familial legacies and all the things that make or break relationships. That approach made oenophilia palatable to an audience who may have ridiculed or scorned its mere presence. Their contempt doesn’t seem unfair or extreme since the connoisseurs who usually indulge in wine-related discussions reek of elitism, making their understanding of the beverage seem inaccessible to anyone who isn’t born with a silver spoon in their mouth. The first season avoided those discussions, instead focusing on the intricate family drama as siblings tried to prove their worth for the throne.
Unlike then, the new season finds many ways to analyze wine-making in a more worldly context, exploring its socio-economic ties without being overt or obtuse with its critique. This time, the drama doesn’t rely on the unnerving tension between Camille and Issei in their battle for succession. The said battle was already won by Camille through her unfair advantage of shared experiences with Alexandre, which Issei wasn’t even aware he was deprived of. Instead, the concerns underneath that battle take centre stage as the siblings are left to grapple with a philosophical burden of their post-battle existence.
Read: Drops of God (2023) Mini-Series Review: A Unique and Sleek Entertainer that Hits All the Right Notes!
The second season shows them reflecting on their lives beyond Alexandre’s legacy, yet within its shadow. Earlier, they refused to be defined by their father’s expectations of them, but those expectations linger through inherited traits and behaviors beyond their grasp or control. The show addresses that transference with such an assured tone and rhythm that you would be compelled to stick with these characters even when they do things they had sworn against. Suffice it to say that their arcs aren’t linear toward a path of steady growth, but include many pitfalls or traps they almost willingly fall into.
The second season’s script focuses on their introspection, often stemming from conflicts of their own making. Their lives don’t offer them any reasons to complain about, which, in itself, should be a reason to be content. Yet, a fateful discovery about a wine brings them back to their quest for self-fulfilment. Left by their father, the wine is considered to be exquisite, and is hailed as the ‘world’s most wonderful.’ He couldn’t find its origins, which leaves his children with a challenge of locating its roots.
Since discovery is central to the plot, the season could have simply been about their investigation and gradual findings, leaving the catharsis to the ultimate reveal of the origins. Instead, it uses discovery only as a playing ground for its psychological drama and relevant socio-economic explorations to address the elephant in the room: wealth. No matter how they try to conceal their steep privilege, it shows up in unexpected places. Sometimes, it takes the form of their self-centredness parading as self-preservation. Other times, it becomes the crux of their paradoxically self-serving charitable gestures.
The second season shows Camille and Issei travelling to different continents, including Georgia, which is believed to be one of the oldest wine-producing countries, if not the oldest. It invites discussions about cultural heritage and tradition in our world, where exploitation is also masqueraded as philanthropic preservation.
The show depicts people using eco-conscious verbiage to mask their capital-driven, opportunistic motives, subtly greenwashing their hunger for approval. Moreover, the script ingeniously weaves similar stimulating threads in its overall plot without burdening or ignoring its central character-driven tale. The ruminative subtext becomes only a cherry on top of a script that skillfully reveals the characters’ gradual learning and unlearning from their own failings.
After the first season stuck the landing, the follow-up was left with the burden of finding a similar footing, especially in the wake of a major conflict having already been resolved. The latest script, while extending its scope beyond the discovery of the wine’s origins, builds a gripping drama, unpredictable for the most part. It achieves that through a mix of Machiavellian schemes and tender moments that analyze the cost of corrosive ambition and the push-and-pull in interpersonal relationships.
While gorgeous to look at and easy to follow through despite the insular nature of oenophilic discussions, the new season becomes a treat because of its unhurried pace, which leaves plenty of room for actors to expand on their characters’ vexations, letting us in on even their fleeting thoughts to make us truly understand their ongoing healing through constant cycles of psychological rebirth.
