Counterpart has grown beyond its premise and is still one of the best shows on television, even if we don't get the Howards in the same room together.

Beyond its artfully chilly atmosphere and its surprisingly plausible and suspenseful narrative, the main attraction in Season 2 remains J.K. Simmons’s crafty, quiet portrayal of the two spies named Howard Silk.

The show is so good at grounding its drama that somehow the idea of second, parallel reality just seems like a very normal, possible thing.

Early episodes don't leap off the small screen like they did last year (which is understandable, having lost the element of uniqueness) and a proper evaluation will have to wait a little bit longer. That said, all the episodes are strong.

In short, there’s a lot to track, which can sometimes overwhelm why, in fact, viewers would bother keeping up. But more often than not, Marks finds empathy and momentum at exactly the moments you might feel lost, and, aided by crisp direction from Charles Martin and Kyle Patrick Alvarez, “Counterpart” lends enough emotional oomph to its expanding story to justify further investment in a smart, promising series.

I wish I could watch a Prime-world version of Counterpart. But we do not have two worlds, so instead I will keep watching the version of Counterpart we do have, and enjoy it for the good things it offers, like Simmons’s performance, the moments of plot surprise, and the many, many beautiful winter coats.

Every now and then, Simmons will be back onscreen working opposite Williams or, as a new friend our Howard makes in his travels, James Cromwell, and Counterpart will spark back to life again. But far too often, it feels like a star vehicle determined to prove it’s anything but--and squandering its most valuable resource as a result.

A fine second season that delves deeper into the origin story of the two worlds. As compelling as ever.

Though not as surprising as it was in it's first season, COUNTERPART still holds sway, and bests most tv being produced today. Great actors, great acting, great sets, great cinematography, cool scifi. I hope this series keeps getting renewed because I'll keep watching it.

While it was still worth watching, I was thoroughly disappointed with the way the second season of this show panned out. The first season introduced a fictional world that was full of intrigue and felt entirely original. I was excited to continue watching the events unfold in Season 2. Over the course of Season 2, that intrigue I found so captivating continued to fizzle out more and more. Instead of being excitingly original, Counterpart's plot unfortunately continued to become increasingly bland. It's a shame, because the universe of Counterpart was very interesting from the beginning, and a lot could have been done with it. They should have focused more on the philosophical sci-fi components of the show, and less on boring love relationships and stereotypical television terrorist plots.