Cheta'm Season 2 Review β Why do Good Things Have to End?
Still Worth Watching, But Not Without Its Flaws
Read Chetaβm Season 1 recap HERE.
Now that Chetaβm has completed its run with its season 2 finale, the big question for new entrants to this world or those who have had to sit through the unquenchable, weekly opinions on Twitter from fans of the show is: Is Chetaβm worth watching? Thereβs an easy answer: YES.
Thereβs no need to go on a merry-go-round about it, simply because Chetaβm is a fantastic watch.
Across its two seasons, Chetaβm delivers 130 episodes, and even with the sheer length of its runtime (about 65 hours in total), it manages to remain one of the most captivating long-form serials Nollywood has given us in recent memory.
What makes Chetaβm work is the richness of its world, from the love story between Adanna and Nnanna, to the politics of two rival towns βAjaani and Mgberiβ to the spiritual undertones of destiny, curses, and prophecy. Itβs ambitious, detailed, and emotionally resonant.
But now that the final episode has aired, I find myself reflecting not only on what made the show great, but also on the areas where it stumbled.
Be warned: SPOILERS INCOMING!
When It Peaked⦠and When It Slowed
For me, Chetaβm peaked at the start of Season 2, specifically with the shocking massacre of the Mgberi council of chiefs by King Jideofor. That episode (and all the other ones closely surrounding the arcβs build-up and immediate aftermath) was a technical and emotional high point. The cinematography, the pacing, and the unexpectedness of it all are simply brilliant television.
But that moment, as powerful as it was, created a ripple effect the show never quite recovered from. With the massacre came the loss of over a dozen characters who were integral to multiple subplots, especially those connecting Mgberi and Ajaani. An instant narrowing of this vast world weβve come to love. And what had once felt like a richly woven spread of intersecting stories began to unravel. The core tension, the "will they, wonβt they" reconciliation between the two towns, disappeared, and the narrative thinned.
What followed was a slower, less gripping stretch. The stakes were still high, but the momentum dipped. The pacing suffered. What used to be a show I couldnβt wait to watch weekly began to feel like a chore. At some point, Iβd find myself weeks behind β not for lack of time, but simply because I wasnβt as compelled to tune in as I once was.
Few What-Ifs
Would Chetaβm have been better off with a shorter episode count? Perhaps.
Should the massacre have come much later in the season, or even been reimagined entirely? Probably.
Another possible misstep was the lack of fresh characters after such a major clear-out. Characters like Akuada and Azubuike were dealt with early in the season, and their exits, along with the massacre, thinned out the cast significantly. The show could have benefited from injecting new energy, fresh faces with new objectives, or even repurposing existing secondary characters to take on greater, more compelling narrative weight.
Because even though Chetaβm was built on the romance between Adanna and Nnanna, its appeal was never just about them. It was about the community. The clan politics. The family tensions. The spiritual undertones. That lived-in world. And once the show started shedding those layers, the cracks began to show, and only widened as the episodes went on.
Still, a Big Win for Nollywood
Despite its flaws on the road to conclusion, Chetaβm remains one of my favourite Nollywood series of all time. The scale of it, the effort poured into world-building, the performances, and the heart at its centre β itβs a win. And the ending, while delayed, gave us a satisfying resolution: justice was served, destinies fulfilled, and love was finally reunited.
James Omokwe and the entire creative team (including but not limited to Ifeanyi Barbara Chidi and Abdul Tijani-Ahmed) deserve their flowers. Chetaβm may have taken a detour or two, but it brought something bold and refreshing to the table, and for that, itβll remain a standout in Nollywoodβs evolving television history.
Now that Chetaβm has ended, what shall we be watching next?