If you’ve spent any time on Stan or AMC+ lately, you know that Travis Fimmel has a way of making "grumpy detective" feel like a brand-new invention. He's back. The Black Snow TV series season 2 didn't just drop; it basically took over the Australian crime drama conversation the second those jagged Glass House Mountains appeared on screen. Honestly, the first season set a high bar with the South Sea Islander community’s history in Ashford, but this new chapter, subtitled "Jack of Clubs," pushes into territory that feels way more personal. It’s gritty.
James Cormack is still a mess.
We find him suspended at the start of the season for being, well, a bit too James Cormack. He’s seeing a shrink, living in a cluttered Brisbane flat, and dealing with the literal ghost of his father, Tommy (played with a menacing booziness by Nicholas Hope). The plot basically splits into two jagged halves. On one side, you have the professional nightmare: the 2003 disappearance of Zoe Jacobs. On the other, the wound that won't heal: Cormack's hunt for his own brother, Ritchie, who vanished back in 1994.
The Mystery of Zoe Jacobs and the 2003 Time Capsule
Most crime shows give you a body in the first ten minutes. This one gives you a backpack.
Zoe Jacobs, played by Jana McKinnon, is the heart of the 2003 timeline. She didn't just "go missing." She vanished from her own 21st birthday party. The show does this cool thing where it doesn't just treat the past as a series of sepia-toned flashbacks. It feels lived-in. You’ve got the Iraq War protests in the background, Nokia brick phones, and Kings of Leon tracks that’ll make anyone who lived through the early 2000s feel ancient.
Zoe was a radio DJ at a community station, a political science student, and a girl desperate to get out of Moorevale. When her backpack is found behind a shelf at the old station—without her phone or the 20 grand she’d just inherited—the "she just ran away" theory starts to look real thin.
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Why the New Partner Changes Everything
Cormack isn't working alone this time, and the dynamic is totally different from season one. Enter Samara "Sam" Kahlil. In the present day (2024), she’s a cop played by Megan Smart. But in 2003? She was Zoe’s best friend.
The guilt is heavy.
Sam was the one asleep on the job when the case first landed, literally "phoning her life in" until that backpack showed up. Having a partner who is also a grieving survivor makes the investigation feel claustrophobic. They aren't just looking for clues; they're picking at scabs. Cormack actually says that in one episode. He likes picking at scabs. It’s a weirdly honest mission statement for a guy who seems to only feel alive when he’s knee-deep in someone else's tragedy.
The Cormack Family Trauma: Ritchie is Alive?
While the Zoe Jacobs case is the "A" plot, the search for Ritchie Cormack is what keeps Travis Fimmel’s character from spiraling into a total caricature. Tommy Cormack drops a bombshell early on: Ritchie is alive. Or he was. He’s being hunted by "the mob"—a vague but terrifying threat that forces James to look at his own childhood through a cracked lens.
Did James have something to do with his brother’s disappearance?
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The show plays with the idea of James as an unreliable narrator. We know his father went to prison for killing his mother. We know Ritchie escaped out a window that same night. But the version of events James has carried for decades is starting to crumble. It’s a bold move for the series to let the lead character’s personal mystery run parallel to the cold case, even if some fans on Reddit complained that the Ritchie stuff took too much focus away from Zoe in the finale.
Locations That Look Like a Fever Dream
You can’t talk about the Black Snow TV series season 2 without mentioning the Glass House Mountains. Filming wrapped around November 2024, and the production used eleven different properties across Maleny, Caloundra, and the mountains themselves.
The peaks are iconic.
They look like teeth jumping out of the ground. Director Sian Davies and cinematographer Eric Murray Lui use the landscape to make Moorevale feel isolated. It’s beautiful but also the kind of place where a car could go into a lake and stay hidden for twenty years. If you’ve ever hiked Wild Horse Mountain, seeing it framed as a site of potential tragedy in the show is definitely a trip.
Cast Breakdown: New and Returning Faces
- Travis Fimmel as James Cormack: Still quirky, still wearing those boots, but more vulnerable.
- Jana McKinnon as Zoe Jacobs: The "victim" who feels like a fully realized person.
- Megan Smart as Sam Kahlil: The cop with a personal stake.
- Victoria Haralabidou as Nadja: Zoe’s mother, who refuses to believe her daughter is dead.
- Dan Spielman as Leo: Zoe’s wealthy, cynical father.
- Kat Stewart as Julie: A local woman who seems to be protecting way more than just her reputation.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Ending
There’s been a lot of chatter about the finale. Travis Fimmel actually directed the final episode himself, making his directorial debut. Some viewers felt the resolution of Zoe’s fate felt rushed compared to the slow-burn build-up of the first five episodes.
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The "Jack of Clubs" moniker isn't just a cool title; it’s a clue about the power dynamics in Moorevale. The show dives into the impact of residential developments and local politics—how the rich characters like Julie and the Senator use the town as a playground while the lower-class residents like Cody's family get crushed.
Is there going to be a season 3?
The way the finale left things with Ritchie suggests the story isn't over. James is no longer a cop by the end of the season. He’s basically a private investigator now, which opens up a whole new vibe for the future. If we do get more, it’ll likely lean even harder into the Cormack family's dark history.
Actionable Insights for Fans:
- Watch the details: Look at the background of the 2003 scenes. The production designers hid several "Jack of Clubs" references in the set dressing long before the reveal.
- Check the soundtrack: The music supervisor nailed the 2003 vibe. If you liked the Basement Jaxx or Magic Dirt needle drops, there are curated playlists on Spotify that capture the "Moorevale 2003" sound.
- Location scouting: If you're in Queensland, the Wild Horse Mountain Scenic Lookout is the most recognizable spot from the series that's open to the public for that "Black Snow" photo op.
The Black Snow TV series season 2 is a masterclass in regional noir. It proves that you don't need a massive city to tell a massive story. You just need a detective with a lot of baggage and a mountain range that looks like it's keeping secrets.