Episode Guide
ISSUE #201 – | Review Score – 3/5 ISSUE #202 – | Review Score – 3/5 ISSUE #203 – | Review Score – 2.5/5 ISSUE #204 – | Review Score – 2.5/5 ISSUE #205 – | Review Score – 3.5/5 ISSUE #206 – | Review Score – 2.5/5 ISSUE #207 – | Review Score – 2.5/5 ISSUE #208 – | Review Score – 2.5/5 Raising kids is hard work. It’s incredibly rewarding but hard nonetheless. When Raising Dion dropped back in 2019, it took this concept and added in a spice of superhero drama and a sprinkling of mystery to make for a rather enjoyable romp. In the saturated superhero field, it felt fresh to occupy the lives of a suburban family, with mum Nicole trying to come to grips with her son’s superpowers. That coming-of-age drama felt fresh, thanks partly to 7 year old Dion and his loving mother, but it also left plenty on the table for a second season to grow into. Fast forward to 2022 and Raising Dion feels like a very different show – and not in a good way. Now, that’s not to say there aren’t parts to like here but compared to the charm and hook of the 2019 offering, this follow-up feels like it’s lost sight of what made the original so endearing. The story picks up 2 years after the fight with the Crooked Man. Pat is gone, Dion is sneaking out to do superhero shenanigans while learning to control his powers at BIONA, the local Powered hotspot. Unfortunately, the Crooked Energy is not done with the little boy just yet, and finds a new host in Brayden Mills. Bound for Atlanta, he prepares for a big showdown with our protagonist, where things soon turn from bad to worse. With sinkholes popping up across the planet, a strange infection and new interpersonal drama to boot, season 2 raises the stakes for all involved while also losing sight of the mother/son relationship between Dion and Nicole. For much of the season, Nicole finds herself infatuated with Dion’s new trainer, Tevin. This suave, handsome guy ends up in a will they/won’t they romance with Nicole which sucks all the fun out the superhero drama. Why? Well, we never get much development for Dion and Nicole in this time. There are a few arguments and a couple of nice moments between them but they feel negated and at worst, manufactured by the outcomes thrust upon them. That’s a real shame because there are a few golden moments here, including a teary-eyed video message Nicole leaves in episode 7. The ending also shows some development but not the steps that took to get there, thus feeling undeserved. The actual drama between Dion and Brayden is where most of the show thrives. There’s a really nice ebb and flow between these two, although the very-obviously-evil Brayden and his manipulation takes Dion far too long to realize. While that on its own would be fine, after what happened with Pat last season you’d think he would have wised up to this. The rest of the series just sorta slips into middling mediocrity. Esperanza has a whole subplot regarding her singing while Jonathan gets a couple of redeeming moments with the “Triangle of Justice” but largely falls into the background. New players like Janelle and her mum Simone are completely under-utilized too, including an unearned romance between Janelle and fellow Powered teen Fernando, which is given about 5 minutes of screen-time. While all these critiques may sound like I’m being overly judgy, it’s mostly because of how much I enjoyed season 1. These 8 episodes are less about raising Dion and more about raising hell. The added stakes and drama feels overdone and leans way too hard into the usual superhero clichés we’ve seen a million times before. There’s nothing particularly original or unique about this second season, and unfortunately it slips up where it matters most – the relationship between Dion and Nicole. This is one sequel lacking the super ingredients needed to take flight.
