Club Benefits
"Castlevania" producer Adi Shanker and animator Studio Mir are back with another season of "Devil May Cry," Netflix's adaptation of the beloved Capcom video game franchise of the same name. I adored the first season when it premiered in April 2025, and its ending — which saw the U.S. government invade Hell to the tune of "American Idiot" — had me pumped to see where the show would go next.
After watching all 8 episodes of "Devil May Cry" season 2 as part of an early screener, I'm not quite as blown away the second time around. Its sophomore outing definitely feels messier: The pacing's all over the place, the more CGI-heavy fight scenes fall flat with the same clunky visuals that plagued the first season, and the half-baked story feels seriously at odds with the darker, more emotional tone it tries to strike as we finally see Dante and Vergil's iconic rivalry fleshed out.
What is 'Devil May Cry' season 2 about?
Having come to terms with his demonic heritage in "Devil May Cry" season 1 and defeating the White Rabbit (Hoon Lee), Johnny Young Bosch’s Dante is put on ice Captain America style after being betrayed by his ally Mary (Scout Taylor-Compton) at the shadowy DARKCOM government demon-fighting organization. While he's out, the U.S. government rips open the barrier between Hell and Earth to wage war against the ruler of the demon realm, Mundus (Tony Todd), and his forces.
This fight between fleshy humans and bloodthirsty demons goes about as well as expected. Season 2 opens with legions of U.S. soldiers getting mowed down while Mary slips past Mundis' defenses to nab an ancient artifact. It turns out to be the final piece in a mysterious plot by Arius (Sherman Howard), a corporate sorcerer quietly pulling the strings behind DARKCOM, Sparda's sons, and the fate of both the demon and human worlds.
To stop him from reviving an age of chaos and bloodshed, Dante's thawed out and forced to challenge everything he thought he know about his father's legacy and who killed his mother. Just in time, too, because he’s discovered that his long-lost brother Vergil (Robbie Daymond) is still alive and under Mundis' thumb.
Stream 'Devil May Cry' season 2 on Netflix now
In a March interview with IGN, Shanker compared the shift in scope and tone between "Devil May Cry" seasons 1 and 2 to the jump between "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight." I rolled my eyes at that, because season 2 gets bogged down by taking itself too seriously. The emotional beats of Vergil's back story and his icy reconnection with Dante hit their marks well enough, though the former goes to such a dark place it veers into comically edgy territory.
That kind of momentum's routinely interrupted by a truly dizzying number of lore dumps about the politics of Hell and more lighter-hearted fare, like an entirely needless dress-up montage that felt more baffling than a welcome reprieve from the tension. Die-hard fans may also find the divergence from the game canon jarring, as the show's version of Vergil is more independent and less of a slave content on doing Mundus' bidding.
Where season 2 really shines is when it embraces the effortlessly transgressive humor and action-packed mayhem that made the games such a success to begin with. The fight scenes are every bit as explosive and ridiculous as you'd expect, with Shanker continuing to set a high bar for other anime to follow.
Stream all eight episodes of "Devil May Cry" season 2 on Netflix now.
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