Although this review will have spoilers its better if you read this than watch the show since you won't be missing much anyways.

I hated part 2 so much I decided to write my first ever MDL review. Although I watched the show a little while back seeing it as I was scrolling through my completed list filled me with unimaginable rage I had to come and write a review.
unlike some people, I really enjoyed part 1, it wasn't perfect but it was this fun story and I was really looking forward to the next part but it was a big mistake.
At times it felt like they got a whole new set of writers for this part of the show, there were so many things that I felt were being set up to be explored more in this part that were never mentioned and we were just supposed to accept that.

let's start off with the first weird choice, the second in command suddenly disappeared this season with 0 explanation. I don't understand why. All the writers had to do was give one of the kids a throw away line about how he's gone back to the army camp to let them know about the captains death and they lost contact with him at the very start when the kids were doing their little exposition dump of how much they've changed since part 1. That's all it took max 2 extra minutes of screen time, but they didn't say anything and we were just supposed to accept that. I spent a while being incredibly confused before just resigning myself to the fact that they were never going to give us an answer. That should have been red flag number 1 but I didn't listen and continued watching.

My next big problem was with the way they dealt with the aliens. First of all they made a very conscious effort in part one to show us how the aliens go dormant/die when exposed to the cold, and by that I mean long meaningful close-ups that are often reserved whenever a show wants to really hammer in a point or foreshadow something and so I really thought it would be a major plot point in this part, maybe they develop a weapon to do with the cold or maybe they go to a cold place and realise that they can be safe there or something but it's never brought up again and I'm left wondering why the show tried so hard to hammer the point home when they were never going to expand on it

But that random plot point aside, my bigger problem was the way the aliens were just thrown aside this season, relegated to the background since the writers thought that a bunch of teenagers voting on staying or leaving was much more riveting than the aliens. I was definitely at the edge of my seat watching them go round and round arguing over whether to leave camp. The aliens became background characters with no logic as to how they work, I thought they'd explore them a bit more this season but nope.

Speaking of the stupid debate the kids kept having, that was another problem with the show. I honestly felt the kids got more annoying this season, and I saw the whole plot of the vote rigging and who was rigging it coming from a mile away. The constant fighting it brought especially when it seemed to be that there was a side who was obviously in the right. I just wanted them to MOVE ON.

Now I was willing to excuse everything else, despite finding the kids more annoying this part, I still loved them and actually preferred their dynamic this season, (when they weren't fighting that is) they got closer and were funnier as well.

Now on to the absolute WORST part of this drama. The ending. they killed of all but 3 of the characters and ended it with exposition from the main character telling is that life just "went back to normal now" despite the aliens still being there. It felt like a massive slap in the face when I saw it. Honestly, the last 10-15 minutes of the show completely destroyed it. without it I would have gladly given the show a 6-6.5/10, but those last 10-15 minutes. I have no words. Now don't get me wrong I don't mind them killing off everybody that's not the problem it's the way they did it. See if they had these kids die off slowly throughout the show and THEN we were left with the 3 kids I wouldn't hate it, but it's the fact that all but one of the kids were killed during those final few minutes. I don't think ANY of the kids were killed due to the aliens which is baffling to say the least. If the writers wanted to make a 'war is pointless/causes unnecessary deaths' point there were 101 other ways to go a out it than this dumpsterfire of an ending.It would have been smarter to slowly kill the kids off during the course of the show to really demonstrate how brutal war is.

Moreover, they just had a student sexually assault a girl and then kill everyone because the CSAT's were cancelled? Really? That's the route they chose? Not like PTSD or something?? It just felt so stupid. I had to close my laptop and walk around for a while before I could go back to watching although I shouldn't have I should have just left it there. And then they end with the main character taking CSAT and just telling us that everything's fine now? We go through all of that and we don't get to SEE any of the progress made? It's just told.

The writing honestly went so downhill for this season I honestly regret even starting this show