Does Season 2 of ‘She’s Gotta Have It’ Even Know What It Wants?

Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It is back on Netflix for a second season starting Friday, May 24th. Once again, we’re following the life, love, and art of Nola Darling (played by DeWanda Wise). This season is only 9 episodes long and could be finished in an afternoon binge, but it might be hard. Full disclosure: I was not a fan of the first season, but I wanted to give the show another try. It promises sex positivity, Blackness, and politics and that’s my favorite song. But Does It Bop? I got through all nine episodes, but I was left with a lot of unanswered questions. Without any major spoilers, it’s hard to fully explain what I mean. Generally, I’ll say that a lot of the time the characters’ motivations were a mystery to me. Someone has an impulse, acts on that impulse, and then we never hear about that action —- or its repercussions -— again. It’s hard to root for someone when you don’t understand how or why they’re doing what they’re doing. Furthermore, how can characters grow if their actions have no real consequences? It’s particularly disconcerting when these are characters we know and they are characters we know: Nola’s season 1 romantic interests Jamie Overstreet, Greer Childs, Mars Blackmon, and Opal (played by Lyriq Bent,Cleo Anthony, Anthony Ramos, and Ilfenesh Hadera respectively) return; her best friend, Shemekka (Chyna Lane); her manager and friend Clorinda (Margot Bingham); her neighbor Papo (Elvis Nolasco); and her parents Stokes and Septima (Thomas Jefferson B…