Impact Winter: Series Two — Audible Review

The hit Audible Original series from executive producers of The Walking Dead and the writer of Pacific Rim returns for its highly anticipated second season.

Six months have passed since the Vampire Queen fell silent, and the world balances on a knife’s edge. Rejoin the courageous Dunraven sisters, Darcy and Hope, as they navigate the vampire apocalypse in a sunless, endless winter that grows deadlier with each passing day. Brace yourself for a frigid realm of sacred daggers, mighty swords, secret seaside caves, unthinkable human blood farms, and a superpowered vampire villain on the hunt. Will Darcy emerge from hiding to save her sister? Will Hope venture from the castle refuge and find Darcy first? When all paths converge, everyone in Hope and Darcy’s orbit is in mortal danger, including the sisters themselves.

Dare to listen in the dark again as this thrilling saga expands to new lands, new loves, new weapons, and new warriors. Presented in Dolby Atmos spatial audio, the second season of Impact Winter is designed to haunt you like never before. Hear your heart stop.

The second season of Audible’s Impact Winter makes a truly epic return. Travis Beckham writes, directs, and executive produces the second season of his unique take on the vampire genre and raises the stakes in his vampire dystopian.

Holliday Grainger returns alongside the cast of season one, which explores the aftermath of season one’s reveal. What I liked about this season was the detailed exploration of the characters outside of the small group we got to know in season one. As Darcy adjusts to her newfound vampire abilities her determination to find and kill the Vampire Queen drives her to dark and emotionally challenging places. Meanwhile, Esme Creed-Miles’ Hope picks up where Darcy left off to protect their small human community and becomes torn between her duties and fledging romance with a human with a mysterious past.

This season explores the vampire lore that was hinted at in last season’s finale, further exploring the vampire council and political war brewing as rumours of the Vampire Queen’s status or even whereabouts cause friction and paranoia within their ranks.

Grainger and Creed-Miles’s performances were great this season. The emotion they bring to their respective stories gives the writing so much more grounded realism. Even though this season leans even more into the supernatural, at its heart, it’s the story of how far these characters would go to save the people they love.

The most significant change to this season is the recasting of Felix, who was previously voiced by Himesh Patel and is now played by Sacha Dhawan. Although initially disappointed by this change, after the first episode, I was blown away by Dhawan’s performance and his brilliant chemistry with Grainger. This season also saw the return of David Gyasis, Bella Ramsey, Caroline Ford, and Liam Cunningham.

In addition to the returning cast, the new additions included the impressive voice talents of Ellie Bamber, Andrew Gower, Gina Stiebitz, Danielle Galligan, Navid Negahban, and Ralph Ineson. The much larger ensemble cast was a welcomed surprise, and I appreciated the fact that Beckham took the opportunity to expand the universe rather than play it safe, as some writers may do.

Bamber’s Lydia and Creed-Miles’ Hope have nice chemistry, even though it took me a while to differentiate between their voices. Their relationship is sweet, and the mystery of Lydia’s past connects to some crucial plot points. Perhaps, I was raised on too much Twilight, Buffy and The Vampire Diaries, but it wasn’t until this season I realised I was shipping Hope and Penelope (played by Caroline Ford). However, the platonic love story that was being played out instead between the young guard and her vampire companion was a much better alternative. The scenes which explored the friendship between Hope and Penelope were some of my favourite moments.

I went into this season with certain expectations, and at every episode, I was taken by surprise in the best ways. Impact Winter had some of the best writing I’ve seen – or heard – in a long time, and I was so invested in the outcome of these characters. All of the pieces come together in a finale that had my jaw on the floor. I cannot wait to start season three. I did some out research as I assumed season three would be the end, but it seems Impact Winter has a potential fourth season planned to conclude Darcy and Hope’s story. Titan Comics also has a prequel graphic novel set to be published soon (it’s been released in three parts as comics), and a TV adaptation has been discussed. Fingers crossed, Impact Winters gets an adaptation similar to The Last of Us; this story deserves a big-budget production with a network like HBO.

My rating for Impact Winter: Series Two is ★★★★★.

Impact Winter: Series One-Three is available on Audible as an episodic audio drama. My review for Series Three and the Impact Winter Graphic Novel will be coming soon.