Tiger King 2 – Netflix Review (3/5)

TIGER KING 2 on Netflix could also be called season 2, but it’s a very different kind of show this time around. And not in a good way. It’s basically Joe Exotic and his “frenemies” – a band of merry opportunists. Read our full Tiger King 2 review here!

TIGER KING 2 is season 2 of the Netflix documentary that became a mega-hit. The fact that it came out just as the world was sent into a lockdown didn’t hurt. Something that’s also covered here in the second season of the true-crime docu-series.

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Our Tiger King season 1 review >

Overall, this really is a freak show galore with “plots” that seem less believable than what you see on most soap operas. Proof that, once again, real-life outdoes anything fiction can come up with. There are no heroes, only media craving narcissists.

Continue reading our Tiger King 2 review below. There are five episodes in season 2 and we’ve watched them all for this review.

Opportunists gone wild

In a just and fair world where love and decent behavior are driving forces, the outcome of season 1 would have been an overwhelming outrage fueled by the animal abuse shown. Something that would result in a change-inducing focus on animal welfare. And also, perhaps, a closer look at the disappearance of Joe Lewis.

I say “perhaps” since no actual evidence seems to have been unveiled in the 20+ years since he disappeared. Instead, we get a wave of “Free Joe Exotic” and “Joe is a hero” slogans along with “Lock up Carole Baskins”. Now, whatever Carole Baskin may or may not have done, Joe Exotic most definitely is not a hero. He did abuse animals in cruel ways which he is also in jail for. He abused and hurt animals for money, fame, and his own pleasure of having the power to do so.

Also, as far as Don Lewis goes, we now know (because it’s covered from many different angles in Tiger King 2) that Don Lewis was hardly a “good guy”. He smuggled so much cash to countries south of the border and was involved with criminals of the kind that wanted to kill him.

Oh yeah, and he had an “affair” with a 15-year old girl in Costa Rica. I say “affair” because a 15-year-old girl is a child being sex-trafficked and not the “girlfriend” of a 59-year-old man.

Carole Baskin is not involved with Tiger King season 2

Carole Baskin is supposedly suing Netflix since she never agreed to take part in season 2. That means all the footage of her is taken from her YouTube channel, television interviews, or earlier footage. Worth keeping in mind while watching this new season.

Again, I don’t think any of the people in this whole ordeal are likable. But Carole Baskin has definitely had to endure more hate than the others involved. Of course, she’s also decided to do her own show now which is called Carole Baskin’s Cage Fight, and airs on Discovery. Watch the trailer for that new production here!

Overall, Carole Baskin doesn’t feature all that prominently in Tiger King 2. Instead, episode 1 focuses a lot on Joe Exotic and the people who tried to get him a presidential pardon for him from Trump just before he left office. They actually went to Washington D.C. on January 6, 2021. As they’re leaving the city, they listen to how the now-infamous events are unfolding after they left.

The worst is yet to come

Episode 2 and 3 in season 2 of Tiger King is mostly about Don Lewis and his disappearance. It would appear that Tiger King has reminded his three daughters that they do actually really want to find out what happened to their daddy. So now, 20+ years after he disappeared, it’s all they care about. This includes getting involved with everyone from a lawyer to a Christian medium.

All of it is facilitated by a self-professed YouTube armchair detective who goes by “Ripper” (his name is actually Jack – of course) who has somehow earned the family’s trust by making it his life’s work to catch Carole Baskin. Because make no mistake, this is less about finding out what happened to Don Lewis and more about getting Carole Baskin thrown in jail.

WANT MORE “ARMCHAIR DETECTIVE” DOCU-SERIES

Check out our review of Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel on Netflix here >

To be fair, I have no problem with “armchair detectives” or “internet sleuths” when they actually focus on solving the crime more than being on YouTube. The HBO docu-series I’ll Be Gone in the Dark about the Golden State Killer was based on the book written by Michelle McNamara. A woman who did make it her life’s work to solve crimes on her own time.

Also, the Netflix docu-series Don’t F*ck With Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer is another example of how a group of people can make a difference. Again, they did so by focusing on the crime and not by focusing on getting themselves on TV at all times.

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Don’t F*ck With Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer on Netflix >

The final two episodes (episodes 4 and 5) go back to focusing on Jeff Lowe – the man who took over Joe’s Zoo in season 1 – and Tim Stark. The latter also worked with Jeff Lowe on creating a new wildlife zoo of sorts. However, it turns out Tim Stark might actually be even crazier than Jeff Lowe and Joe Exotic combined. He is definitely cruel to animals in worse ways and to a greater degree!

Watch Tiger King 2 on Netflix now!

Rebecca Chaiklin and Eric Goode are still the creators and directors of this Netflix docu series. But, honestly, this plays out more like a reality show than a true-crime documentary now. Hell, it could be called “Joe Exotic and his frenemies”. Everybody is rather unlikeable – just as they were the first time around.

Still, the thing that is actually interesting about this new season, is how the rest of us are now involved.  The story has gotten bigger than ever because a group of opportunists has poured their life and money into getting 15 minutes of fame. All on the back of Joe Exotic, who honestly doesn’t mind. He just wishes he could get to experience it more firsthand instead of from inside a jail cell.

Overall, this second season is a bit of a mess. Episodes change focus and leave things hanging that are never picked up again. But, of course, people will flock to watch more of Joe Exotic’s madness. And I don’t blame them. Hopefully, nobody will continue to see him as a “hero” after this.

He may not be responsible for all the crimes he is in jail for. However, he most certainly is guilty of those involving animal cruelty. The one good thing about this second season is seeing where most of those big cats and other exotic animals end up. Good things come to those who wait and you’ll have to wait till the very end of episode 5 for that.

Tiger King season 2 (or just Tiger King 2) is out on Netflix worldwide from November 17, 2021.