What Happened At The End Of Dear White People Season 2

Is your radio dialed and tuned into the right station? Good. Because before we dive into a brand new season of Dear White People we’ve got to look back at what happened on season 2 of the Netflix show which not only heightened the drama across the board for just about every character on the show but also introduced us to a brand new riddle and a secret society. Considering everything that happened in the span of only 10 episodes, you're going to want to be sure to watch season 3 very closely.

While the series revolves around Samantha White (Logan Browning), she’s not the only student we’re following at the fictional Winchester University. Each episode is deeply rooted in whatever’s happening in Sam’s life, whether good or bad, and the unseen narrator pops in and out to take us through her other classmates' struggles in their academic and personal lives. And for the students here, it’s a lot.

Before we really dive into season 2, you’ve got to remember that at the end of season 1 Reggie (Marque Richardson) was held at gunpoint by campus police, and it’s a moment that carries through everything that happens next. He’s having a tough time dealing with the incident, including flashbacks to the night it happened. To make matters worse, Dean Fairbanks (Obba Babatundé) isn’t being much of a support system, so Reggie turns elsewhere, like to drugs and sex. Eventually, this leads him to come across Gabe (John Patrick Amedori) — who is also Sam’s ex — and the two start collaborating together for a documentary about racism. Also, Reggie finds himself in an intense will-they-won’t-they courtship with Joelle (Ashley Blaine Featherson), who is trying to come into her own in season 2 after a recently failed relationship.

Reggie’s not the only one dealing with tough issues right now, as Coco (Antoinette Robertson) learns she’s pregnant. The entire episode where this takes place (Episode 4) is honestly a must-watch because it deals with pregnancy and abortion head-on as Coco grapples with whether to keep the baby or not, even imagining a future where she does. It’s beautiful and heartbreaking, but in the end, Coco decides to put herself first and has an abortion. She's a powerful woman who knows what she wants, and Coco is well on her way to greatness.

And, because this is Dear White People, there’s still more heavy stuff piling on. The Alt-Right has invaded Winchester and set up a Twitter account that is constantly going head-to-head with Sam. After a little digging (dear, sweet, precious) Lionel (DeRon Horton) realizes that his former flame Silvio (D.J. Blickenstaff) is behind the Twitter account and calls him out on it. This also lights a flame under Lionel to revamp the shuttered school newspaper as an independent blog, so there are no Powers That Be around to stop him. He later becomes involved with Wesley (Rudy Martinez) and while it seems that the two hit it off, Wesley isn't too keen on the idea of monogamy, which is a bummer for Lionel.

Now is also a great time to mention that Lionel keeps finding himself caught up on the mysterious Order of X which is... well, a mysterious campus organization and Lionel’s not sure what they’re up to or why they’re trying to recruit him. But he’s identified a few locations they’ve noted around campus, and he believes he’s onto something.

But what about Sam? Well, if you’re only going to watch two episodes of Dear White People to catch up, make them Episode 4 and 8. The latter works as a bottle episode with just Sam and Gabe sitting down and talking about life, racism, and everything in between for Gabe’s documentary. It’s a powerful episode as the two go back and forth on different issues, and it ends on a sad note: Sam’s father has died. Before these two have any more time to talk and reconcile, Sam heads home — with Coco and Janelle in tow.

It’s the first time we’ve really stepped away from campus for an extended period of time, and while it might just be a small detour, it turns out Sam’s father actually knew something about Order of X. He’s got notes about it hidden away in his books which is what Sam needs to draw a giant X on an iPad so she and Lionel can get to the bottom of what’s going on with the mysterious organization. This leads them to Giancarlo Esposito, who emerges as the shadows no longer just playing the all-knowing and all-seeing narrator.

That might not be the only big change for season 3, as after Sam has a confrontation with Rikki Carter (Tessa Thompson), an alt-right Tomi Lahren type-character, she decides that her “Dear White People” radio show is done.

Also, elsewhere at Winchester Troy decides he’s going to become a standup comedian (let the kid dream!) and Sorbet the dog keeps going missing. That poor pup!