For starters, Rose (Lynda Boyd) and Malachy (Sean McGinley), Jake's dad, finally tie the knot, while Tinny (Marthe Bernard), Jake's niece, decides she wants to go to school in London and turns to some pretty seedy ways to earn that money. Fortunately, Uncle Jake is there to straighten her out, but surprisingly, his assistant Des (Mark O'Brien) is actually the one to save the day for Tinny, who is his not-so-secret crush. We also see plenty more of Christian (Jonathan Goad), Jake's older brother, as his past troubles catch up with him once again. On the upside, once the dust settles, he and Jake find themselves partners, having purchased the bar below Doyle & Doyle Investigations' new office.
Jake's love life is certainly just as spicy as it always was, with ex-wife Nikki (Rachel Wilson) now engaged to their divorce lawyer and trying to set Jake up with a friend. Meanwhile, Jake has eyes for the lovely new RNC lawyer in town, Allison (Michelle Nolden) and the two end up spending quite a lot of time together, despite the constant and undeniable attraction Jake has for Sgt. Leslie Bennett (Krystin Pellerin). Bennett, herself, has a new man this season, the great mayor of Newfoundland, Mayor William Cadigan Clarke (Rick Roberts). He's handsome, stable, successful and seems a perfect fit for Leslie, but is he all that he appears? We also discover some backstory on Des that is sweet and endearing, and eventually leads to Des moving in with the rest of the Doyle clan.
In between cases that involve everything from kidnapping to diamond heists, stalkers, political corruption, thieves and murderers, the Doyles will have to deal with the return of Rose's ex-husband, Martin Poole (Nicholas Campbell), and nothing is ever the way he says it is. He brings the prospect of a huge money case, but instead, the Doyles get themselves into something much more sinister. Fortunately, Martin's not as bad as he seems and things work out well in the end. We also see the return of annoying author Garrison Steele (Victor Barber) as he insists on following Jake around for his new book. Let's just say that Jake is even more aggravated this time around, and while they end up solving a murder, Jake gets more than his share of beatings because of Steele and his big, fat mouth. The season finale brings the return of Doyle's former police partner Kevin Crocker (Paul Gross), a man on the run for the last decade after Doyle turned him in for murder. He has revenge on his mind and he aims to make Jake Doyle pay, even if he has to put the family in harm's way to do it. If there's one thing Crocker should have figured out long ago, it's "Don't mess with Jake's family!"
The only special features are three short featurettes on explosions used in the show, a car crash scene, and stunt safety, specifically punching Jake Doyle. There is also commentary on several episodes by cast and crew, although it was more just guys talking about various things during the episode, rather than anything technical. If you are a true fan, you may enjoy it, but I wasn't too crazy about it.
Republic of Doyle, Season 2 brings us more mysteries for the Doyles to solve and more mishaps and romance for Jake. It's not a ground-breaking show, by any stretch, but it's light-hearted dramedy and the characters are endearing. I love the backdrop of colorful Newfoundland and the Irish music interspersed in the show, except the theme song, which I hate. "OH YEAH!!!" I really hate it. Regardless, you can fast-forward through the song and just enjoy the antics of the family Doyle. The show keeps getting better and I am anxious to see what happens next season as big changes are on the horizon for Jake and Leslie, both good and bad.
