Season 2 of Nine Perfect Strangers introduces us not only to a host of new characters, but also to a new and improved Masha. Season 2 of this show about a wellness retreat takes us to a new location somewhere deep in the German Alps, where a woman named Helena runs a hotel… well, I suppose it’s also a sort of wellness center. She and Masha were acquaintances 14 years before, when Masha’s daughter died. In this season, the strangers aren’t exactly strangers; they’ve all got some sort of connection with each other, which will eventually get unpacked bit by bit. Just like there was Yao in season 1, there’s a man named Martin in this season, but Martin’s a scientist, not an ex-paramedic, who is hoping to learn from Masha’s drug therapy, now that it’s all successful and renowned worldwide. Interestingly, she has to fight a lot of lawsuits, though, because she’s probably ruining a lot of lives, eh? With that said, let’s jump straight into season 2, episodes 1 and 2.
Spoiler Alert
Who Is Masha Waiting For?
Season 2, episode 1 begins with Masha giving a talk about her successful psychotherapy. We hear about the success of Frances’ book, and even get a couple of mentions of Lars’ journalistic work. Now Masha has developed a new drug that hasn’t been tested out yet, but it’s meant to take people back to specific memories. Masha has also been seeing her daughter ever since Tranquillum, which means she needs help, but she’s clearly trying to stick with it and even lies about it on stage. After the interview, Masha heads backstage, where she meets with Martin, a man she seems to know from before, and he refers to a “she” who has been waiting for Masha to return to her for so many years. Masha tells him she wants to see this come to pass herself too, and I suppose this one conversation is enough to convince her to go to Zauberwald, in Germany (and also the fact that she’s kind of broke despite her huge success).
Masha and Martin set up the place for her new guests, and as you can imagine, there are recording devices everywhere. Martin tells Masha there are some rules she must follow, which include her not being able to lock anybody up. The new guest list is extensive and well thought out. We’ve got an ex-nun, who gets mistaken for staff by one of the other guests because she’s dressed in the staff uniform. Then there’s Brian, the guy who mistook her, who is a famous TV show host who used to host a children’s counselling show using a puppet. There’s Wolfie and Tina, a lesbian couple who are musicians. Tina’s lost the ability to play and doesn’t know that Wolfie’s brought her to therapy. Imogen is a snappy woman who is looking to reconnect with her mother, Victoria, but the latter brings along her (very young) boy toy, Matteo, a man who can’t speak English very well, to the retreat, messing Imogen’s plans up, presumably not for the first time. Then there’s Peter, who seems to be in a similar boat to Imogen, but his dad hasn’t shown up to the retreat, so Masha tells them she can not start the program until he shows up. Peter’s dad is David Sharpe, a billionaire businessman with ties to Helena, and Masha too. This is why Helena is not pleased that Masha would bring this guy here, even if it means that he could save their place, which is in dire need of funding.
Imogen seems quite skeptical about this situation, but she might be willing to do anything possible to help her cause, and if this is the last resort, so be it. She meets Peter at the bar, and they end up spending the night together, but she sneaks out of the room rather than letting anybody know about it. She’s like a know-it-all, but she still won’t be able to figure out what Masha is planning.
Why Does Imogen Fight Brian?
In episode 2, we see how Masha and Helena first met, just after Tatiana’s death, and Masha told Helena that she was afraid she’d forget her kid entirely. Helena told her she wouldn’t let such a thing happen, and this is how Masha’s drug therapy started. In the present day, Helena questions Masha’s shocking methods, but Masha tells her that she’s the reason she’s here in the first place. Brian has been acting strange ever since he arrived because one of his briefcases has gone missing. But this is, of course, one of Masha’s tricks, and she knows that he’s got anger issues, so she wants him to open up to her. But what’s Brian hiding? We learn that he used to host a show called Crabapple Clubhouse, where he counseled young children using a puppet. But one day, Brian ended up raging after the crew wouldn’t shut up while he was trying to talk to a child. One of the staff members was recording the whole thing, and so Brian’s show got cancelled, and he did too. It seems Tatiana used to love that show, so maybe Brian is yet another way for Masha to connect to her daughter. On the other hand, Imogen is eager to impress Brian, too, but she comes off as a complete prick who calls him out for what he did, making it seem like he was in the wrong and abused children.
To make matters worse, the guests are served a tiny breakfast muffin before they’re sent off to forage for food, and everything’s messed up because David hasn’t shown up, but Brian’s made the leader of the group. This further frustrates Imogen, and in their hangry state, Brian finally loses his cool and yells at Imogen, making her walk out of the room. To be fair, she was being very mean for no reason. It looks like Masha knew exactly what she was doing by bringing these people together, because when they’re alone with each other, there’s a good dynamic for most of the pairs. But Imogen later tells Peter that she doesn’t hate Brian, and she wants him to like her because she used to watch his show when her dad died and used it as free therapy. On the other hand, Tina tells Brian that she was on his show, and he remembers her as the prodigy, a word she hates, and that she wanted to be an astronaut when she grew up.
At the end of Nine Perfect Strangers episode 2, David finally shows up, and Masha makes him turn off his computer because no external connection is allowed at her retreats (the others have their phones because the mountains block the signals). David tells her that he was intrigued when he learned that his son had an invite too, which is why he agreed to show up. But more importantly, it’s not only Helena who knows David from before, but Masha herself, too. Before parting ways, Masha and David share a passionate kiss, making it clear that he’s there for her benefit too. What we can expect from the second season is a much deeper dive into the characters and their individual relationships. I think this season may already seem slightly more interesting than the first one, but we’ll have to wait to find out more. Additionally, Masha’s taking drugs herself, which is why she can still see her daughter. How will Helena or Martin try to make this go away, and will they succeed?
