Memory of a Killer: What Season 2 Must Do to Be Unforgettable

The fate of Memory of a Killer came out a little late in the game.

While some shows get a renewal early in their runs (or even before they premiere!), the news that the FOX drama would continue came mere hours before its first-season finale.

A new season presents the series with an opportunity to expand, and we have some thoughts on the paths the show should take to become a better version of itself.

New Bad Guy

One of the best parts of Memory of a Killer Season 1 was Angelo’s quest to track down The Ferryman.

Yes, Angelo is a hired killer living a double life and battling early-set Alzheimer’s, but that still took a backseat in complexity and intrigue to the mysterious figure out in the wild trying to dismantle Angelo’s life brick by brick.

The season finale reveals Agent Grant to be the person on a devastating revenge tour, only for Angelo to murder her, leaving a gaping hole in the bad-guy department.

Memory of a Killer Season 1 Episode 10 sowed seeds of doubt in Dutch about what Angelo may be hiding, but setting him up as the main antagonist would be a mistake, especially when that dynamic and distrust could play out over time.

Memory of a Killer should definitely explore a bubbling Dutch and Angelo rivalry, but the show would be wise to find a new villain that challenges Angelo the way The Ferryman did.

The Ferryman’s mission was personal, and while it’s not necessary for a new villain to also be looking to avenge the murder of a loved one, whatever pits the new villain against Angelo should have roots in something worth the audience’s investment.

Perhaps Dutch had someone before Angelo who feels some type of way about Angelo taking his spot in the business.

Or maybe he has an estranged family member who wreaks havoc on his life and threatens to expose him to the world.

They shouldn’t just reheat the best part of the first season because that wouldn’t be very innovative, but there’s no issue with building on the premise of a big-bad that Angelo and the audience have to sniff out throughout the season.

Expanded Role For Joe

Poor Joe.

In many ways, he was a forgotten man. But when the series took the time to delve deeper into his character, you could tell there was a lot more under the surface.

The relationship between Angelo and Joe was a bright spot, especially as Angelo began to understand who Joe was at his core, which allowed him to accept Joe both professionally and personally.

Angelo lies too much to have a true friend, but Joe is about as close as he’ll get to having someone in the world who has his back.

Naturally, the series spent a great deal of time establishing Angelo and his story.

While there were moments that Joe had time to shine, it wasn’t nearly enough.

No one is saying we need dedicated hours for Joe, but continuing to explore his life and positioning him as Angelo’s number two would benefit everyone.

Plus, we will never complain about getting even more Richard Harmon on our screens!

Figure Out How to Incorporate the Secondary Characters More

Much like Joe was sidelined throughout much of the first season, the rest of the cast was as well.

This is 100% Patrick Dempsey’s vehicle, and he’s the driving force behind everything, but when you have a cast surrounding him, you do the entire story a disservice by not utilizing them appropriately.

We know next to nothing about Dave outside of his profession and relationship with Maria, which the series told us in dribs and drabs.

Jeff’s whole character just revolves around him being Maria’s husband, and he has very little agency of his own.

Maria is the best developed of those not on the murder side, but even her character is stunted.

Although her learning about her father’s double life at the end of the season opens her up to a lot more moving forward.

It would serve the story well to better integrate the cast into the series as a whole, while also allowing them their own subplots, so we can connect with them beyond their dynamic with Angelo.

You have a solid cast of actors, and they could be used so much better.

Explore Angelo’s Past

One of the most interesting hours of the series was Memory of a Killer Season 1 Episode 5, which gave us much greater insight into Angelo’s life before we met him.

So much of this series relies on the pasts of many of the characters, and we still don’t know them all that well.

Leaning into that and including a dive into Angelo’s history in one or two hours would do wonders for fleshing out his character and so much more.

I wouldn’t mind seeing an hour of Dutch, Angelo, and Michael as teenagers, and maybe getting some insight into the dynamic among the three before they were adults and business associates.

Angelo’s past has been built up to almost mythical proportions, and it would be nice to see some of that during flashback hours instead of being fed information here and there.

Alright, Memory of a Killer Fanatics.

You’ve heard our thoughts about what we’d want to see in the second season. Now, we’re turning it over to you! Sound off below.

Memory of a Killer Season 2 will return on FOX.