The first season of Hanna was loosely based on the movie of the same name, featuring the beautiful performance of a young Saoirse Ronan. It’s not easy to top an already well-done piece of work, nor could it have been anything less than intimidating for an actress to step into Ronan’s well-trod shoes–and yet, the Hanna series struck a chord which honored the film and yet stepped off from it into its own direction, lead by the instantly appealing performance of Esme Creed-Miles.
With season two of the show, the story no longer has any more movie content to work off of, and so viewers braced themselves for what the writers would have to offer–and they were not let down. Season two presents a storyline that is just as complicated, exciting, and touching as season one–but what shines the brightest is the tumultuous relationship between the two leading roles, Clara and Hanna.
Should Have Given Up: Clara Left Her In The Woods
Hanna saved Clara’s life and then devoted her own life to training Clara in how to survive in the wilderness. Despite this, Clara can’t let go of her obsession with her birth mother and her feeling of missing out on the world outside of the forest.
Rather than talking to Hanna about it, she opts to abandon all of her efforts and reach out to people she doesn’t even know, putting them both in danger.
Did The Right Thing: Clara Was Conditioned Differently
Hanna and Clara have a bond due to their similar suffering at the hands of the same abusers, but they also have key differences that deserve consideration. Clara has never existed in human society and is left to try to make sense of the information Hanna offers her.
It’s difficult for her to know whom to listen to, and so one might be easier on her when judging her actions.
Should Have Given Up: Clara Told Sandy Their Plan
Hanna risks her life once again to try and save Clara, and just as she has made it to The Meadows, infiltrated the program, and gotten Clara aside to inform her of her plan to get them out, Clara lets her down.
Instead of talking to Hanna honestly, Clara puts her trust in Sandy, someone who is known to be unreliable with information.
Did The Right Thing: Hanna Is All She Had
Hanna knows Clara’s weaknesses, and she doesn’t see them as weaknesses. She is patient and understanding with Clara because she understands what it’s like to feel alone in the world, and the confusion and panic that comes along with that.
She can’t leave Clara alone if there’s a tiny chance her efforts might help her, because she’s all Clara has.
Should Have Given Up: Clara Lied To Her
Clara is continuously dishonest with Hanna without trying to be straightforward. She doesn’t give Hanna the opportunity to prove that she can listen and sympathize with Clara’s desires, and chooses to lie to her instead.
She behaves as though she understands Hanna’s concern for her safety, but sneaks off to escape and find her mother. She later acts as though she is going to escape The Meadows with Hanna, but instead plots behind her back.
Did The Right Thing: She Was In Shock
Clara was pulled from a strict, controlled life, living in complete isolation from any semblance of the outside world of nature and normal humans, and then immediately submerged into a high-intensity battle against the people who created her and whisked away into the forest with Hanna.
It makes sense that Hanna is patient with Clara and her seemingly unreliable ways–she’s just trying to learn how to be a person.
Should Have Given Up: Clara Made Her Decision For Her
Hannah’s devotion to Clara is admirable, but there are times when one might think that Clara is simply a lost cause, as many of the other girls turned out to be–so far, anyway.
Clara time and time again let Hanna down by squandering the efforts Hanna puts into her, but more than this Clara betrays Hannah and causes her to have to stay in The Meadows when she could have gotten out with Marissa.
Did The Right Thing: Clara Never Had Bad Intentions
Even when Clara went behind Hanna’s back and told the people running The Meadows about their plan to escape, she was never doing so out of spite or cruelty.
Clara is a character who regularly finds herself at a crossroads of choices, and the decisions she must make are huge. When she does make a choice, it’s always the one she thinks will lead to the most good for her and for Hanna, even if she’s wrong.
Should Have Given Up: Clara Almost Went Through With Her Mission
Clara might think she’s doing her best, but her best often isn’t good enough.
She ends up pulling through and joining forces with Hannah, but due to the number of times she has let her down viewers are hesitant to trust her by the end of the season, especially considering that she was on the verge of committing her assassination and only changed her mind by a thing margin.
Did The Right Thing: She Saw Clara’s Potential
Hanna could always see the person that Clara was trying to be. She herself had to go through the difficult times of adjusting to the outside world, and all of the complications and mistakes that come with that, as seen in season one.
But with season two Hanna has very much grown into herself, and she wants the same opportunity for Clara. Her refusal to give up on Clara contrasts with how expendable the girls are treated by Utrax, and is a statement to being more humane than that.
