The second season of Mystery Road: Origin, the prequel to the acclaimed outback noir franchise, premieres on ABC this Sunday. Starring Mark Coles Smith as young detective Jay Swan, the series continues the tradition of high-quality Australian crime drama, though critics note it is the most formulaic entry to date.
Smith steps into the role originally played by Aaron Pedersen, and reviewers praise his performance as fully embodied, saying he feels as though he has always been Jay Swan. The season, directed by Wayne Blair and Jub Clerc, sees Swan investigating a new case in the secret-ridden small town of Loch Iris, where locals are wary of the outsider cop.
The cast includes Robyn Malcolm as Sergeant Paula “Simmo” Simmons, a hardened cop with a rocky relationship with Swan. Malcolm delivers a performance described as an injection of gravitas, though some of her dialogue feels hackneyed, echoing lines from previous seasons such as “we do things differently here”.
The plot revolves around a young Aboriginal boy named Swayze (Aswan Reid) and a missing foster child, with a dead body discovered at the end of the first episode. Despite the writing being more cookie-cutter than before, the season is classily executed with an earthy colour scheme and visual staging that maximises the actors' presence.
Critics note that the series creates an unsettling atmosphere, ripe with the sense that the past clings to the present. While hoping for future instalments to take risks, they conclude that even a weaker Mystery Road entry remains engaging viewing.
