Taking a book set in the 20's that was turned into a movie set in the 40's and then  TV series set in the 80's did create a problem in terms of tone and sense of place.

About halfway through the second season, and I forgot just how good the show gets after it moves on from trying to make Lane/Field the central couple. Michael was a great addition to the cast and provided a more nuanced antagonist than Titus ever was. Field was more interesting in his role as state senator, and Eudora finally had a little bit more purpose with the barrio storyline. The Sanchez family was good, too, even with some of the of-the-time writing for them. Gina Gallego and Fernando Allende were major finds for the show.

Constance really comes into her own in season two, and this is the version of the character people should know/remember. She was never an Alexis or Angela or JR. She’s really more of an Abby, but I think the fundamental difference is that while Abby would choose money every time, Constance would choose love (superficial or otherwise). She grew up rich, so she never needed to scheme to get money. She never really felt love, though, and so she kept chasing it. She held on to Field for so long because he was the one who was supposed to love her, and losing him meant losing the pretense. She and Julio were truly fcking HOT together.

There are still some things needing fixing. Elmo Tyson serves no real purpose and should have been replaced by another female character. Maybe one who was already established in the Flamingo Road circle and had a real history of animosity with Constance. Maybe a daughter for Elmo just to keep him around in a supporting role? I also thought we had more Lane/Sam in the second season, but they’ve been backburnered for the most part. Sam is Lane’s only saving grace for me, and her only reason for staying in town, so I wish we would have more of them together to solidify that or that they would have just written her out.