Highway Love season 2 review: The vibe and innocence in Ritvik Sahore-Gayatri Bhardwaj's series slowly vanishes

2.5/5

Story:

Karan set off to Spain to pursue his dreams, while Inaaya stayed back in India. Can they pull off the long-distance relationship, or will it cause so many troubles that this couple drifts apart?

Review:

Highway Love season 1 was the story of a couple meeting on a highway and falling in love eventually. There was naiveite, there was blooming romance and there was a whole vibe of will they-won't they because of decisions taken before meeting each other. The will they-won't they vibe is what starts off season 2, but it's all too random and distracting for a beginning. What's worse is that Highway Love season 2 loses on the vibe and, of course, even the innocence which we saw in the first season.

Season 2 of Highway Love commences with Ritvik Sahore driving his car, but being furious. With that, you know that the Spain trip probably did not happen, or something went horribly wrong. Of course, giving this is where he excels, Ritvik is almost flawless with the emotions. His transformation from 'strong man' to one who expresses his emotions openly in private, even though the opening is depressing and confusing, Ritvik is a delight to watch. An excited Ritvik also makes an appearance, and it's good to watch him as much.

Gayatri Bhardwaj's brief appearance there, on the other hand, barely leaves an impact. What does work is her character's determination to sort things out. It is her fury scene, which puts the spotlight on her. Otherwise, the actress has nothing much than drama to offer.

Their cute moment, touching fingers, comes at a crucial time and definitely works. Even if the Spain trip did not exactly work out, things did work in Kartik and Inaaya's favour, and even if it takes some time, the two are finally back!

Also read: Ritvik Sahore announces Highway Love season 2; here's everything you wanted to know about the show 

Anshuman Malhotra's Varun has a lot of moments in this season. He plays an important part before the show comes to an end and in a major decision related to our lead couple's life.

The shaadi season is here, and all we can say is that the girls and boys both know how to have fun in their own way. Of course, romance blooms between our lovebirds despite everything. This is confusing at the start because of how they were crushed at the beginning, but obviously, there's a story behind it all.

The style quotient on the show is on point. The constant blur effects, though, are super distracting.

The season sees a lot of hot-and-cold between Kartik and Inaaya, and it's not even that subtle. Confusing, for sure, it is, though.

Inaaya's suspense over a secret is kind of built. It is touched upon, but then, life goes on. Vansh Sethii, in the role of Sahil, steals the spotlight there.

The eventual revelation is emotion-filled and works. It takes a long time to spill what happened, but it is that suspense in the particular scene that works in the favour of the show.

Sahil and Inaaya bonding over alcohol is one of the sweetest things on the show. There's a hidden message, one that was a part of Itaewon Class, and that is impactful here, too.

Also read: Highway Love Season 2: Release date, trailer, plot, cast, OTT platform and more about Ritvik Sahore's show 

With some laughs and cuteness displayed by Ritvik's Kartik, 5he season is a fairly tolerable watch. It is also the changing point for this season. Ritvik has a new side to show, and you will like it too.

There are a lot of highway metaphors this season, and they all seem forced. The gen z talks featuring Gayatri, though, works pretty well.

Not just Inaaya, Kartik also holds a secret. His, however, is rather out there, and the drama is mostly around it. The drunken confession is what makes takes secret revelation to a whole new level.

In order to state the events that took place during two important scenes, the drama stretches on. We get a filler episode, which wasn't exactly required. Thanks to this, the season runs around in circles.

It takes five episodes to get the makers to take us through a make-do Spain, and even then, it is very random. This episode (the sixth) works best, for it shows what happened that changed Kartik and Inaaya's fate of going to Spain. It is the episode that brings this show back on track. And with it, we get a cliffhanger ending, which definitely hints at season 3.

Verdict:

If you were looking for the elements you in Highway Love season 1 and hoped that the magic is recreated for season 2, you are at the wrong place. The beginning isn't great, the story barely moves forward, and it is only very few moments where you actually feel like you are back on what you knew Highway Love to be. Definitely skip this one unless maybe you are a die-hard fan of Ritvik Sahore.