Taboo season 2 has been confirmed, so what can we expect?

Great news for all the Taboo fanatics out there (myself included) because season two has just been confirmed by the BBC and FX.

It was touch and go for a while, especially when revealed Tom Hardy – the actor fronting the show – handed over around £2m to fund the eight-part project, which reportedly cost £10.4m and only profited £8.4m. In the process Hardy even set up his own production company to make sure the series made it to air.

After the incident-laden finale, the outlook for Taboo and its characters looked less than rosy, but at the same time compelling enough to follow their path to overseas prosperity or untimely, gruesome death.

Read more: Was Taboo’s final pay-off worth the wait?

So what could we see happening over another eight episodes? It got me pondering what its sophomore season should explore and how they should do so.

WILL THEY EVER REACH THE AMERICAS?

Well that appears to be where they’re going – for now at least – in a bid to escape the mayhem they’ve left behind in London. But unlike Game of Thrones’ Cersei who as able to blow the hell out of King’s Landing while watching carnage unfold smugly sipping wine, Delaney and his band of vigilantes were less fortunate, having been forced to flee as enemies of The Crown and (once again) The East India Company.

No doubt we will see plenty of the journey to America -after all it must take many days (or even weeks?) in which all sorts is likely to happen. There’s a chance we may see the entire series set on the boat, yet it’s unlikely and would put a strain on the show’s logistics.

But what about when he reaches the so-called Land of the Free, what then? And specifically will we see the lands of Nootka we’ve heard so much about?

WILL JAMES END UP BOFFING HIS STEP-MOTHER?

I’ll not tip toe around this one because it seems almost inevitable that James and Lorna will get it on. There’s been a simmering chemistry between the pair as their relationship solidified, yet intelligently never took it further. For all we know there might be nothing between them, but the pair have certainly grown fond of one another over the course of time. The next incestuous step doesn’t seem that outrageous, considering he was knocking boots with his half-sis, so why not?

WILL WE LEARN MORE ABOUT HIS TIME IN AFRICA?

While audiences were given snippets into Delaney’s questionable stint in Africa, there’s likely a dark bundle of unpleasant anecdotes to be shared over what other unsavoury misdemeanours he got up to.

What I want to know is what ‘powers’ he possesses and how exactly he learned them. How did he live, survive, and indeed prosper in the harsh African landscape? I want flashbacks to illustrate how his experience shapes the man we see today. Where’d that eye scar come from? I desperately want the stories we’ve heard about him to be true, as well as a long list of other ungodly ones that thus far have remained secret.

Read more: We’re halfway through Taboo, but is it any good?

WILL WE EVER FIND OUT WHAT DELANEY IS REALLY ABOUT?

The whole mystery about what James Delaney actually is remains one of the most intriguing elements the show can hook us with. Is he alive, dead, human or something else? Initially he seemed an oddball loner who’d travelled far and wide across the world, with his life slowly unravelling episodically.

However, as the story unfolds we do learn more about his time in Africa and the kind of things he got up to: mainly unverified teachings of the dark arts, a connection to the afterlife, and notorious indulgence in a spot of cannibalism.

But is any of that true? Throughout the season we’re given this false perception that Delaney is invincible; an immortal, tortured, evil soul that cannot die that morphs into a living, breathing, brooding plague walking the earth.

In truth, all of the above could be chillingly true or a complete fabrication. We’re encouraged to to believe the supernatural nature of the character but it may have all been to create an enigmatic, sinister persona that could turn out to be nothing more than a fearless, lucky human.

Is Delaney a fraudster? Something about his sincerity and dedication indicates there’s more to him than flesh and bone, that’s for certain.

Read more: Is Taboo the first great show of 2017?

IS HALF-SISTER ZILPHA REALLY GONE FOR GOOD?

Seeing Oona Chaplin’s tortured Zilpha jump off of a bridge in the season finale was shocking enough, but the reaction James had when hearing of her demise (via the cold nature of a suicide note) revealed plenty. Not only did we see the most exposed side (bar the literal times he’d waltz around trouser-less) with his heart seemingly broken after reading her sombre words of regret, but an insight into his perceived abilities.

Perhaps the most significant moment of the scene was Delaney’s inability to accept she was gone. Despite claiming that he’d have felt her presence leave the mortal world, the continued implication that he’s in touch with the Land of the Dead tells us she may not be as deceased as we think. After jumping we never see her again, so with James being totally unaware (and distraught) about her death, we may see a shock return in season two.

GEORGE CHICHESTER’S REVENGE?

Oh, and there’s the small matter of whether George Chichester (played brilliantly by Lucian Msamati) will follow him to America after exposing his complicitness in the murder of black slaves aboard the Influence. Chichester is a persistent, compelling character eager to bring those accountable parties to justice. Here’s hoping he becomes the thorn in Delaney’s side.

Whatever the next season has in store, it’ll no doubt step up from its establishing, slow-burning, and very foreboding debut.

Roll on 2018!

Are you pleased Taboo is getting a follow-up season? Where do you see it going? Share your thoughts below…

Mike is a freelance TV, film, music and entertainment writer, with an unhealthy obsession for Game of Thrones. He’s written for BBC Radio 1, BuzzFeed, Shortlist, MTV, GamesRadar+, Total Film, GoThinkBig, Loaded, and regularly scribbles for Yahoo Movies UK, VODzilla, and Metro.

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