In a review written exactly two years to the day I’m writing this one, I complained that Batman: Caped Crusader did too little to differentiate itself from Batman: The Animated Series. My argument, reduced to its essence, was: with all the talent this show has, why ape an already existing take on the character, even one as great as B:TAS? With Batman: Caped Crusader Season 2, Bruce Timm and his team have figured out one way to separate the show from that previous work. This season is brutal.

If you are of the sect of people who tend to feel that no one of note dying means a work has no stakes, well, I’ve got good news for you. However, it isn’t just about known character deaths. This season markedly ratchets up the nastiness. Even some of Batman’s most flamboyant villains are bled dry—sometimes literally—of their whimsy. There are so many tommy gun mass shootings, it became a waste to keep count. I’m certain it won’t be loved by everyone as a result. Still, credit given were credit due. Whether it works or not, it still finds a way to differentiate itself.

There are other things that are different, of course. As in Season 1, there is a wider spectrum of racial and body size diversity than TAS ever sported. There are several different interpretations of classic characters. Edward Nygma (Ronan Raftery, pouring on the noxious ham) is a nasty gangster type with little time or interest in riddles, for instance. There’s another very familiar villain who gets a very different personality that I won’t name for spoiler reasons. It is a mixed bag. On the one hand, this character could use a fairly different approach. On the other, I’m not sure German existentialist is quite the right call.

Others are question marks like talk show host Hattie (haHA!) Tetch (a sly Laraine Newman). Is she the mother of the future Mad Hatter, Jervis Tetch? Is she this season’s Penguin? (For those who might not know, The Penguin was reimagined as a woman voiced by Minnie Driver last season.) There are also costume changes. Jamie Chung’s dry as toast (complimentary) Harley Quinn, for example, returns, still rejecting every other Harley costume in favor of a porcelain doll/jester look.

And yet, Batman: Caped Crusader Season 2’s overall aesthetic remains deeply indebted to TAS. If I asked you to picture, say, Mister Zero (Kevin Michael Richardson) as a pale, hulking figure with sunglasses and a neck brace in the 1992 cartoon series, you’d likely come up with something nearly exactly the same as the character this show delivers. The art deco noir look is a rich and enjoyable one, but, again, why not either just reboot that previous series or blaze your own trail?

I suspect the answer lies somewhat in my own mixed reactions to this new, more brutal direction. Two of the prominent villain reinterpretations fall flat. The number of bodies is surprising, but none go out with any of the emotional weight of Two-Face’s exit in Season 1. With characters like Batman, any number of takes can yield interesting, compelling tales. If a work falls short, it isn’t because they tried something different. However, one can understand why the creators might feel otherwise. Doing things differently, even just a character or look here or there, leads to disappointment from the rabble and shrugs from the reviewers. Under those circumstances, why not play the hits? Isn’t it better to delight many with something familiar than stick your neck out and end up with a 71 out of 100 from a TV critic?

Batman: Caped Crusader Season 2 swoops into action on Prime Video starting July 31.

Batman: Caped Crusader Season 2 Trailer: