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Is season 2 of “Special” still special?

 

Special - Season 2


Ryan (Ryan O'Connell) wants to forget about his disability. He is more than that, and this second season starts by showing precisely that. The disability matters less now, and the focus shifts to relationships. They are difficult. For everyone.  

The disability isn’t gone, but it's moved to a second plan. It is less central than it was in the first season. Ryan isn’t a disability; he’s a regular guy with extra challenges in his life. 

They get me!

In this season, however, Ryan interacts more with other disabled people. Something that he seems to avoid in his eagerness to be “normal”, whatever that means. I think it was a good upgrade to the show.

It shows how unintentional things we say can be hurtful, and it affects Ryan. And all the things that impact us, positive or negative, make us grow.

It was interesting to watch how they make him feel safe. They know what it’s like; they get him; they have similar experiences. That's why they give him a kind of protective bubble against the rest of the world; it’s “us against the world.” That is appealing; that makes him feel good, yet Ryan wants more than that. He wants to fit in. 

Ryan’s mom

Karen (Jessica Hecht) is a very important character in the show, but she was only Ryan’s mom until recently. In this season, she gains a new, independent identity, and the character grows. I loved that.

Her being only Ryan’s mom wasn’t a mistake, though; it was so realistic! Unfortunately, that happens to so many mothers of disabled children. But Karen was able to recover herself, and that was wonderful to watch.

While the show focused on all of Ryan’s struggles, his relationship with his mother was one of the best parts. How do you spend your whole life taking care of someone else? How do you get on your feet again when that person flies away? What comes next? I loved it. Karen has her own battles, and she is so strong! She is a fighter in every aspect of her life.

Disabled people aren’t victims; they are people 

This was a great show. A light comedy teaching many lessons to a society where most people are blind to what’s happening outside their little bubbles.

Ryan is a disabled gay man, but that’s not who he is. I loved the fact that he is never a victim. Actually, Ryan can be selfish and inconvenient sometimes. He isn't some source of inspiration people look to, the kind of thing that dehumanizes the person in question. Ryan is not that; he is real.

Problems? They happen to all of us. They are hard on everyone, and the author doesn’t try to fake it. Ryan doesn't achieve something absolutely remarkable. He just lives, one day after the other. Sometimes in a good mood, other times in a bad mood, but always with funny stories.

I was sad to find out this would be the last season, but it was a good one. It had a bit of a happy ending, and I loved it. 


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