The new season of Are You Afraid of the Dark? doesn't pull any punches. Curse of the Shadows is immediately spooky, and the entirely new cast and setting mean audiences can dive right into the scary tale. Despite its limited relationship to the first season of the Nickelodeon revival, Are You Afraid of the Dark? Curse of the Shadows is aware of its roots, with plenty of references to appease longtime fans.

The season premiere, "The Tale of the Haunted Wood," introduces Luke and friends Jai, Gabby and Hanna as they try to discover what happened to their friend, and Midnight Society leader, Connor. Hanna's brother Seth also joins the team, and together they uncover a curse that haunts the local woods, with a tall, creepy monster called the Shadowman hunting anyone caught in the forest after sundown. It seems Connor might be caught up in the curse, and the Mystery Society is determined to find the truth in order to find their friend.

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While the first season necessarily re-cast the Midnight Society, introducing a new actors and characters for the second season sets up the show to continuously update the lineup to tell one full story and then move on. It also suggests there could be versions of the Midnight Society across the country -- a potentially widespread club with many branches.

 

Are You Afraid of the Dark? Midnight Society

Viewers are also introduced to this Midnight Society differently from the first season. The arrival of a newcomer, and her induction into the club, served as a way of bringing the audience into the mystery in The Carnival of Doom. In Season 2, Are You Afraid of the Dark? expects viewers to know what they've gotten into, so there's no time wasted on an introduction. Instead, this season's mystery is dropped in the hands of an already-established group.

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The members of the Midnight Society are also much closer than they were in Season 1. Not only did the previous season work to introduce a stranger to the group, but the premise of the club was that it allowed people from different social groups to bond over a shared love of horror. While the actual meetings of the Midnight Society seemed friendly, interactions during the light of day, and particularly at school, had to be conducted in secret. Part of that was to keep the club on the down-low, but it also served to keep disparate social groups apart. The popular cheerleader and the geeky horror buff could be friends, but only if they kept their interactions out of sight of the rest of the judgmental students.

Season 2 does away with that nonsense. The Midnight Society members are real and actual friends -- Connor apparently makes a habit of sneaking into Luke's room, while Luke and Gabby regularly meet at her food service job. It's a relief not to have to deal with navigating the social nightmares of grade school and instead focus on a scary story.

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Are You Afraid of the Dark? Sardo and Midnight Society

Curse of the Shadows also tells a different type of spooky story from the first season. While scary clowns and a Pete Wentz-looking carnival ringleader were compelling in Carnival of Doom, Season 2's Shadowman creates some satisfying jump-scare opportunities. When Luke becomes cursed at the end of the premiere, there's an extended scene of him unknowingly fighting against the Shadowman for control of the lights in his room that not only pulls in the show's opening for some nice circular narrative structure but also delivers a genuine sense of dread.

The Season 2 premiere also delivers on call-backs to the original series, the best and prominent of which is the return of Sardo (albeit with a different actor in the role), the owner of Magic Mansion, whose outrageously priced gags and tricks frequently turned out to be magical.

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Are You Afraid of the Dark? Sardo

Sardo's role in the premiere is given a new, special prominence: It's he who utters the ritual words, "Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society." His retelling of the curse underscores the revival's commitment to the history of Are You Afraid of the Dark? by incorporating favorite characters and recognizing the expectation and need for ritual words. But it also updates the format, setting the tale around a table with candles instead of around a fire in the woods.

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Are You Afraid of the Dark? Curse of the Shadows feels more like a reinvention than a second season in all of the best ways. The new Midnight Society provides a compelling backdrop for a truly spooky story without the teenage social drama of the first season. With an increase in general creepiness and the number of episodes, the new season is a genuinely compelling watch for all ages -- if they think they can handle the Shadowman, that is.

Are You Afraid of the Dark? Curse of the Shadows stars Bryce Gheisar, Arjun Athalye, Beatrice Kitsos, Malia Baker, Dominic Mariche and Parker Queenan. The season premieres Friday, Feb. 12, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Nickelodeon.

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