Many in the defense world were uncertain about the establishment of the final frontier\u2019s military branch, and the Netflix show by the same moniker faced similar skepticism after its first season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a shaky start, however, \u2018Space Force\u2019 season two has seemingly won over the hearts and minds of viewers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The story picks up three months from where it left off, with Space Force commander Gen. Mark Naird (Steve Carell) testifying at the Pentagon after saving the lives of both U.S. and Chinese space crews from starting World War III on the moon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Naird testifies in a meandering monologue that only Carell can do, his nemesis, Gen. Kick Grabaston (Noah Emmerich), berates, attacks, and outright lies about the events that forced the Space Force crew into the bowels of the Pentagon to share what happened at the end of the first season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having seen both, but not wanting to spoil anything further, the second season does deviates from the first, taking cues from \u2018The Office.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Carell, who produced both shows with creator Greg Daniels, brings a little bit of that Michael Scott charm to Naird, endearing audiences to him in a way that clamoring \u2018Office\u2019 fans wanted but simply couldn\u2019t justify during the first season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The result is pure magic that translates to the entire cast, with heavy hitters like John Malkovich as Dr. Adrian Mallory and Ben Schwartz as F. Tony picking up the comedic mantle in new and exciting ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Luckily, the alterations didn\u2019t impact the way the show earnestly lambasts the Defense Department and its absurdities. Two particularly hot topics tackled in the season: Space Force\u2019s budget and international relations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the second episode, Naird\u2019s attempt at ameliorating foreign relations between the U.S. and China as it relates to space colonization features an exchange between the general and his counterpart that rival what happens when you bring a significant other from a completely different walk of life home to meet your parents for the first time at Thanksgiving, and they try way too hard to assimilate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The result is equally disastrous, which makes for excellent viewing. Who can\u2019t relate to attempting unsuccessfully to use chopsticks and dropping tofu in their water glass?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Though \u2018Space Force\u2019s\u2019 future was shaky at the end of the first season, the second, having achieved an 88 percent<\/a> on Rotten Tomatoes thus far, looks like it may have secured a follow-up to infinity and beyond, or at least until Netflix decides it\u2019s no longer a moneymaker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As Naird says after narrowly escaping a prison sentence at the end of the first episode, \u201cSpace Force isn\u2019t going anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n