Drops of God, Season 2, has some of the absolute finest acting I have ever seen. Which is both wonderful and devastating, as this sequel to the live-action television series on Apple TV is a difficult and very tightly wound sequel to the live-action television series, based on the manga Drops of God, written by Tadashi Agi with art by Shu Okamoto.

In Season 1 we met Camille Léger (Fleur Geffrier), the daughter of renowned wine critic Alexander Léger, who is unwillingly pulled into a competition with her father's student—and illegitimate son— Issei Tomine (Tomohisa Yamashita), to own their father's estate, his reputation and, ultimately, his approval. They move on after the competition, living fulfilling lives. While Camille and Thomas (Tom Wozniczka) build the Chassangre domain up through sustainable wine-growing, Issei confronts his fears through free-diving and accidentally uncovers a dark secret from his past.

When their father's lawyer (Antoine Chappey) arrives at the Chassangre home on their shared birthday to offer yet another challenge to Issei and Camille, everyone begs them to ignore it. But there is too much of their father in them, and they end up traveling to Georgia, where they are embroiled in a family feud and a threat to the very wine they seek.

I had a chance to speak with Geffrier and Yamashita briefly at the London premiere of this series, about this second season of the series, and about their experiences with The Drops of God. They were incredibly easy to talk to, both very relaxed and open with their impressions of their characters and the overall story.

Yamashita had, of course, had a chance to read The Drops of God manga and enjoyed the series very much, while Geffrier had no idea that the manga existed before getting the role as Camille. She expressed amazement at learning of the series and read some of it as they filmed. Geffrier called the manga “intelligent and funny.”

When asked what scenes made the biggest impression on them, Yamashita said that “For me, there's a scene where I was in a cave.” He said that he felt “I was living in the moment…that I couldn't see the camera, almost unconsciously began to cry.” He felt that was a memorable moment, as Issei confronted his trauma.

Geffrier, whose character goes through a significant change in this season, said that for her, the last scene was the most memorable, calling it “important and funny, and I really loved to do it.”

Geffrier also expressed that in Season 1, she felt very connected with the character of Camille, but “the second season is a bit different, because Camille is struggling. Her inner demons show up. So I thought it was interesting to go through this path and discover all that.”

Yamashita commented that he took up free-diving for the series, getting as far down as 17 meters, to prepare to play this version of Issei. Asked about how hard it is to play such an uptight and intense character as Issei, Yamashita laughed and said, “Playing Issei was a nightmare.” He commented that he often felt that he wanted to cry, especially in scenes where Issei learned the truth of why his mother treated him with such disdain.

Both characters face inner —and outer—demons in this series. Camille faces the legacy of her father once again, finding that she is more like her father than she cares to acknowledge. In seeking to save a rare, unspeakably good wine, Camille ends up hurting everyone who cares about her, while Issei finally deals with wounds from his mother's choices in the past for which he and his father were punished, and even now carries the scars. If the first season is about acceptance, this season is about the excess of passion and betrayal.

What this series is not about is wine. Wine is the catalyst for travel, for delving into generational trauma, and ultimately for critical commentary about the wine industry and wine awards. The wine centered on this story is not real; it cannot be real, but the story makes some harsh points about an industry that rewards craft, then denatures and monetizes it. But the story is not about wine. It is about human nature, about the competing drives within Camille and Issei to both acknowledge and kill their pasts.

If you enjoy the Drops of God manga and the sequel, Drops of God: Mariage, for their celebration of wine and food, friendship and teamwork, then stick to the manga. If you're looking for a dark, tense, and tightly wound drama set in the world of wine-making, then this second season of Drops of God, is definitely for you.