I have to be clear here: Season 2 was so bad that I, someone who hates leaving things uncompleted, dropped it only a few episodes in. It was bad.
So you might at this point be asking yourself: "Wait, did you just skip the entire second season and watch the third without any context whatsoever?"
Sure did.
Might seem weird but honestly it wasn't that bad. Sure, there were a couple of things that were confusing and a character here and there I didn't know, but overall I barely felt like I missed out on anything.
So what even prompted me to do this anyway? Kinda strange jumping back into what was a dumpster fire just a moment ago, right?
Much like I'm doing now for your sake, I had a good chat with someone online who insisted to me that season three, despite the second's failings, was actually good. I had a little extra time one day so I figured "Ah why not? Let's see what he was going on about," and lo and behold I was pleasantly surprised.
So what happened with the story, anyway? Why did things go so off-the-rails in season 2, and how did the third manage to pull things together?
To answer the second question first: The mangaka realized they needed to slow down.
Might sound a little odd for a series with such an intense initial plot, but that itself is -exactly- why the show needed to slow down.
Shield Hero's story starts by immediately cranking up the intensity level to 11; the stakes are high and the storytelling barely ever taps on the brakes. That works for a certain amount of time, but if you start at 11 and keep trying to escalate things, eventually either:
1) You go completely absurd and next thing you know your characters are literally throwing galaxies at each other,
or
2) Your story fizzles out because you run out of stakes to increase; matters of life and death begin to feel everyday, the intensity feels increasingly forced and the characters' continued shock feels less and less believable.
For violence, persecution and war to feel terrible, they need to be contrasted with love, acceptance and peace - lest we simply become fully numb to them.
This is the lesson that season 3 finally learns. The Shield Hero, at least officially, is accepted within his kingdom. He has his own lands and his people love him. The focus of the third season is on building up and thriving, rather than destruction and survival. The author certainly deserves credit for recognizing that they needed to adapt their format to the changing circumstances - perhaps a little late, but better late than not at all.
Aside from giving us a chance to recover from the nonstop intensity up to this point, this less intense pace also gives time for things to grow - for us to get to know the characters around us and see them develop at a more natural pace and in ways they couldn't when under constant threat. In a way it's a refreshing change of pace for the series.
Now while I've described this in a way that makes the third season sound almost overly relaxed, that is really only when you contrast it to the plot up to this point. By all accounts this season of Shield Hero still has plenty of action and drama to keep you engaged. Just more of a 7 or 8 with some time to build up things so that we're invested enough in the characters and their place in the world to feel like there's really something we -care- about seeing our heroes defend the next time things get cranked to 11.
So, if you're like me and you found yourself somewhat attached to the characters and story from the first season but were totally turned off by the second, I say give it another chance and you'll probably be pleasantly surprised.
