I had previously reviewed the second season of Cinemax’s The Knick when it was first released on Digital HD format. This week, the second season gets the full Blu-ray treatment, including some new extras. Much of my original review still stands but I have updated it here to reflect this new Blu-ray release.
When the first season of The Knick, Cinemax’s turn-of-the-century medical drama, ended, Dr. John W. Thackery (Clive Owen) had just killed a young patient while trying to transfuse her with his own blood, and so he checked into a center for his opium addiction, where they were going to treat him using a new miracle drug from the Bayer company, Heroin!
The second season picks up right where the first season left off, with perennial slimeball Herman Barrow (Jeremy Bobb) preparing for the groundbreaking of The Knick’s new uptown location, and of course he already has plans on how he will personally profit from the construction. Dr. Bertie Chickering Jr. (Michael Angarano) still holds a grudge with Nurse Lucy (Eve Hewson), but she continues to assist him in the operating room. Meanwhile, Dr. Algernon Edwards (André Holland) hopes to become the permanent head of surgery when the new hospital opens; Sister Harriett (Cara Seymour) awaits her trial for performing of abortions; and Cornelia (Juliet Rylance) headed back to San Francisco to run away from her own abortion and her love for Algernon.
The Knick is one of the few shows that I always made sure I watched the night it aired. I thoroughly enjoyed this second season and it was great to re-visit the episodes via this Blu-ray release. The second season brings a lot of interesting storylines and character developments. We continue to see Thackary struggle with his addictions and the fact that his genius is fueled by them. Also, Lucy learns to be more independent; Barrow gets even more despicable than ever; Bertie must deal with his mother’s ailing condition; and Dr. Edwards must deal with race politics at the hospital. Also, Dr. Gallinger (Eric Johnson) must deal with his very unstable wife, and also delves into the controversial field of Eugenics. We also see an unexpected entrepreneurial venture between odd couple Sister Harriet and Tom Cleary (Chris Sullivan), and there’s an ongoing mystery as to the spread of a new plague and whether or not it is being done intentionally. Some of the medical cases we see this season include a pair of conjoined twins, the fallout from a big disaster, and open-brain surgery on an addict.
The series is beautifully shot by director Steven Soderbergh, who makes use of a handheld camera to bring the viewer right into the action—whether it be in the surgical theater, a carnival, a deadly underground explosion or fire, or even a beautiful ball. The series holds nothing back during the surgical scenes, which look so realistic that you often you want to avert your eyes, but it is also so fascinating to see the barbaric (by today’s standards) nature of the cutting-edge procedures being performed.
This second season of The Knick made my list of my top ten shows of 2015. I found the stories and characters interesting, and the show itself so visually appealing. The hospital set is one continuous structure, which allows the filmmakers to move from one location to the next, down corridors, etc. without cutting. This adds such a realism to the events on screen. There is an absolutely beautiful three-and-a-half minute tracking scene in the seventh episode that traverses the dance floor and conversations at a charity ball.
The technical presentation of this Blu-ray release is fantastic—the show looks and sounds spectacular! The 1080p picture captures every detail of the beautiful sets and New York streets with a crisp, clear picture that shows no sign of grain. And the audio track provides clear dialogue while also enhancing the show’s unique techno soundtrack. The Blu-ray includes almost 80 minutes of bonus features, including all ten episode Post-Ops, four Inside the Body Shop surgical behind-the-scenes features, four fact-filled Knicktoids, plus eight additional behind-the-scenes featurettes. New to this release are three audio commentaries with the cast and creator of the series. I was a big fan of the official The Knick behind-the-scenes podcast that followed each week’s new episode, so I was thrilled to see some of that kind of discussion made available on the episodes themselves.
What’s Included:
Episodes: (5:42:35)
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Blu-ray:
- All 10 Episodes of the Second Season:
Disc 1: “Ten Knots”, “You’re No Rose”
Disc 2: “The Best with the Best to Get the Best”, “Wonderful Surprises”, “Whiplash”
Disc 3: “There Are Rules”, “Williams and Walker”, “Not Well at All”
Disc 4: “Do You Remember Moon Flower?”, “This Is All We Are” - 1080p / Widescreen 1.78:1
- Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1, French DTS Digital Surround 5.1, Spanish DTS Digital Surround 2.0, German DTS Digital Surround 5.1, Castilian DTS Digital Surround 5.1
- Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish, German, Castilian, Portuguese (Brazil), Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
- UltraViolet Digital HD Copy
- iTunes Digital HD Copy
Digital Copy (Redemption Deadline 12/31/2021):
Extras:
- Post-Ops
Writers/executive producers Michael Beger and Jack Amiel and other members of the cast and crew discuss the major happenings of each episode and the real-life historical events that served as inspiration. Each featurette also includes behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with the cast and crew, who talk about what it was like making the episode and working with Steven Soderbergh.Those interviewed include co-producer/writer Steven Katz, medical/historical/technical advisor Stanley Burns MD, make-up effects supervisor Justin Raleigh, and actors Juliet Rylance (“Cornelia Robertson”), Eric Johnson (“Dr. Everett Gallinger”), Clive Owen (“Dr. John W. Thackery”), David Fierro (“Inspector Jacob Speight”), Michael Angarano (“Bertie Chickering Jr.”), André Holland (“Dr. Algernon Edwards”), Zaraah Abrahams (“Opal Edwards”), Eve Hewson (“Lucy Elkins”), Jeremy Bobb (“Herman Barrow”), Jennifer Ferrin (“Abigail Alford”), Chris Sullivan (“Tom Cleary”), Michael Nathanson (“Dr. Levi Zinberg”), Charles Aitken (“Henry Robertson”), Cara Seymour (“Sister Harriet”), Grainger Hines (“Capt. August Robertson”) and Arielle Goldman (“Genevieve”).
- Post-Op Episode 201: “Ten Knots” (3:06)
- Post-Op Episode 202: “You’re No Rose” (3:06)
- Post-Op Episode 203: “The Best with the Best to Get the Best” (3:37)
- Post-Op Episode 204: “Wonderful Surprises” (2:19)
- Post-Op Episode 205: “Whiplash” (2:46)
- Post-Op Episode 206: “There Are Rules” (4:36)
- Post-Op Episode 207: “Williams and Walker” (2:03)
- Post-Op Episode 208: “Not Well at All” (3:49)
- Post-Op Episode 209: “Do You Remember Moon Flower?” (4:12)
- Post-Op Episode 210: “This Is All We Are” (7:27)
- Knicktoids
Pop-up video style historical factoids about the real-life locations, people and events portrayed in the series. For the Digital HD release these were lumped together into one 2-minute feature, but for the Blu-ray the separate items appear on the discs with their related episodes.- Episode 202: The Haymarket (:32)
- Episode 203: Huber’s Palace (:31)
- Episode 207: Conjoined Twins (:31)
- Episode 209: Contraception (:33)
- Audio Commentaries
New to the Blu-ray, the cast and creator of the series provide entertaining and informative commentaries on three episodes (including the season premiere and finale), recounting production stories and discussing the real events and era portrayed in the series. The commentaries appear on the discs with the corresponding episodes.- Episode 201: “Ten Knots” (54:58)
Participants include André Holland (“Dr. Algernon Edwards”), Jeremy Bobb (“Herman Barrow”), Eric Johnson (“Dr. Everett Gallinger”), Chris Sullivan (“Tom Cleary”), Cara Seymour (“Sister Harriet”) and Jack Amiel (Creator, Executive Producer, Writer). - Episode 206: “There Are Rules” (57:07)
Participants include André Holland, Jeremy Bobb, Michael Angarano (“Dr. ‘Bertie’ Chickering Jr.), Eric Johnson, Chris Sullivan, Cara Seymour and Jack Amiel. - Episode 210: “This Is All We Are” (56:04)
Participants include André Holland, Jeremy Bobb, Michael Angarano, Eric Johnson, Chris Sullivan, Cara Seymour and Jack Amiel.
- Episode 201: “Ten Knots” (54:58)
- Inside the Body Shop
Make-up effects supervisor Justin Raleigh takes viewers behind-the-scenes to see how some of the season’s more graphic scenes were achieved.- Episode 201: “Ten Knots” (1:17)
Actor Michael Angarano talks about filming the scene involving a bloody leg abscess. - Episode 202: “You’re No Rose” (1:20)
Actors André Holland and Clive Owen talk about filming Algernon’s ocular surgery. - Episode 204: “Wonderful Surprises” (1:43)
Actor Clive Owen talks about filming Dr. Thackery’s autopsy of a heroin addict. - Episode 205: “Whiplash” (2:00)
Actors Clive Owen and Eric Johnson and medical/historical/technical advisor Stanley Burns MD talk about the open brain surgery sequence.
- Episode 201: “Ten Knots” (1:17)
- The Knick Under Construction (10:27)
Production designer Howard Cummings gives a walking tour of the Knickerbocker and Mount Sinai hospital sets—the surgical theaters, scrub room, hallways, and ward. He shows off these beautifully-detailed sets while explaining his design choices and inspirations. - Inside The Costume Shop (5:42)
Actors André Holland and Juliet Rylance join costume designer Ellen Mirojnick backstage in her costume shop to talk about how the looks for their characters came about. - Invitation to the Ball (5:30)
The cast and creators talk about the extravagant location and costumes used for the charity ball scene in episode 7. They also discuss the black-face sequence, dancing, and shooting the amazing three-and-a-half minute single tracking shot. - Behind The Scenes
- Addiction: 1901 (1:40)
The writers and cast talk about drug addition in the era of the series. - Feminism: 1901 (1:33)
The writers and cast talk about women’s role in society at the time of the series. - Eugenics (1:39)
The writers and cast talk about eugenics, one of this season’s controversial, but historically accurate, storylines. - Race (2:44)
The writers and cast talk about the topic of race during the early 20th century setting of the series. - Corruption (2:29)
The writers and cast talk about various levels of corruption the characters are involved in.
- Addiction: 1901 (1:40)
Final Thoughts:
I can’t recommend The Knick Season 2 highly enough. The series is beautifully shot and the audio and video presentation of this Blu-ray release helps to showcase this. The second season gives all of the characters a chance to grow, and explores some interesting storylines. This was a show I couldn’t wait to watch each week when it aired, and I enjoyed it even more checking it out again on this release. This Blu-ray release also contains almost 80 minutes of bonus material as well as three new audio commentaries that weren’t previously available with the Digital HD release. I hope that we will get a third season of this series, but either way, this second season comes highly recommended.
