Within the walls of Bly Manor, a grand home nestled in the English countryside, a dark force has taken hold. Horrifying figures appear in the mirrors, and ghosts lurk in the halls after dark; the children look over their shoulders at invisible figures, the aupair sees a mysterious man on the parapet. There is something terribly wrong.

In the year 1987, Dani Clayton (Victoria Pedretti) is a young American woman, newly arrived in London following tragic circumstances. She finds herself employed as an aupair of two newly orphaned children, Flora (Amelie Bea Smith) and Miles (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth), hired by the children’s uncle, Henry (Henry Thomas). Upon arrival at the home, Dani is introduced to the home’s cook, Owen (Rahul Kohli), their housekeeper Hannah (T’Nia Miller), and gardener Jamie (Amelia Eve). The children are strange, with advanced vocabulary and odd mannerisms, most notably their tendency to look over someone’s shoulder as they speak, as if they can see something no one else can. They warn Dani to stay in her room after dark, and to never enter the dusty wing that their late parents once resided. The entire story is narrated by a woman twenty years into the future, framed as a ghost story. And the series does begin this way; a ghost story, a classic horror series full of lurking figures and jumpscares, creepy children with strange dolls. But as the story moves along, it is apparent that not everything is as it had seemed. Bly Manor has a sinister history, it is a web entrapping its victims. What is on the surface twists away from what the audience could have originally imagined, creating a sense of existential horror and dread rather than relying on elements of surprise or disgust.

The Haunting of Bly Manor is the second season in Mike Flanagan’s anthology series, the first being The Haunting of Hill House released in 2018. Both share the same qualities of moving past some stereotypical markers of horror, focusing more on deep characterization and relationship dynamics than cheap thrills or slasher gore. While Hill House was a metaphor for grief, Bly Manor serves a metaphor for guilt, using Dani as a vehicle to pursue this theme, how her past haunts her like the house does. And when Bly focuses on Dani, on the guilt, on the metaphorical purposes of the ghosts and history surrounding the house, that is where it shines. Pedretti was a star in Hill House as Nell, and she nearly outdoes herself in the second series as Dani. Her ability to portray a woman who is on the surface so bubbly and naive, but deep down fractured by her feelings of guilt is unmatched by any of her surrounding cast, despite nearly all of them strong in their roles. The overall story and twist are fascinating and intriguing enough to keep the viewer engaged, but there are pitfalls that are not to be ignored, especially when following a near masterpiece, such as Hill House.

One of the most glaring mistakes had to be in the execution of the backstory, the exploration of the former (deceased) nanny’s story, Rebecca (Tahirah Sharif), and her lover Peter Quint (Oliver Jackson-Cohen). Their characters are not as deeply fleshed out as their surviving counterparts, especially Peter, who the writers cannot decide is an antagonist or someone deserving of the audience’s sympathy. It bogs down certain parts of the story, and especially in the end, muddles the viewer’s understanding of how the mechanics of the house’s trap works. Perhaps even worse was the house’s history, which feels slightly shoe-horned in to explain all aspects of the house when they could have stayed obscured, a mystery for watchers to speculate on. In an effort to avoid any plot holes, they moved the focus away from the stronger areas of the story, which were their primary protagonists, such as Dani and Hannah.

Overall, while Bly Manor falls to live up to its predecessor, it is still a solid series to watch this fall, especially if you’re looking for something eerie, but not too scary. It’s enrapturing and easy to binge, but don’t be surprised if you find yourself disappointed at the conclusion, wishing that some ties had been carried on, and others left alone. Bly Manor is a ghost story and a love story, a story of guilt and letting go; in the places it falls short, there is space to enjoy its achievements in characterization, camerawork, and acting to keep it all together.

★★★★☆

Kate Coakley, class of 2021, is a writer and editor for the Dedham Mirror. Outside of school, Kate is a hockey and tennis player, who enjoys fashion, movies, politics, and spending time with friends and family.