It's already been six weeks since the highly anticipated season 2 of The Promised Neverland began airing on Funimation and Hulu and the plot seems to be picking up… though not in the direction fans might have expected – or liked. Episode 5 ended with a shocking character return much earlier than in the manga, deleting an entire arc in the process and causing many fans to dislike the season due to the big differences. Is there still hope for The Promised Neverland Season 2? It'll certainly be difficult to appease manga fans at this point, but how many episodes are there for the creators to try?
The more popular first season of The Promised Neverland followed best friends Emma, Norman, and Ray in their attempt to outsmart their foster mother, Isabella, and escape their orphanage with their younger foster siblings upon learning they were being raised as cattle to be eaten by demons. Season 1 gave us 12 episodes of mind-games, twists, amazing music, and some heartache.
Season 2 picks up the story from where season 1 left it and follows the children as they try to survive in a world populated by demons. Compared to the intriguing mysteries of the first season – which the children could only solve through cooperation and careful planning – season 2 seems more concerned with the practicalities of survival.
The children learn to hunt, fish, plant food, and navigate the world disguised as demons. But for many fans, this doesn't live up to the clever story they're used to.
The fact that season 2 only has 11 more episodes to wrap things up doesn't help. While the first season was only concerned with one main event, the children's plan to escape, and Isabella's response, 12 episodes felt ideal to cover just that with enough twists and good characterization of both the children and the villains.
Season 2 is richer in terms of events, given that the children move to different locations and meet new characters, yet, somehow, it does less. Of course, the latest episode's twist will hopefully allow the plot to take new, exciting directions, so we have to wait and see how the story will unfold.
But while leaving the demon world behind is in no way supposed to be easy for Emma and her friends, 5 episodes feel too few to get them any closer to their promised Neverland.
If you are interested in this season's ongoing anime, check out other works by studio CloverWorks, such as Horimiya and Wonder Egg Priority.
Related: Will The Promised Neverland Season 2 Be Dubbed in English? When to Expect a Dub Release Date
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