User Reviews

The second chapter switches focus from Elizabeth Harvey (Debbi Morgan) to younger sister Cynthia (Bever-Leigh Banfield), who now has a young man courting her, Will Palmer (Stan Shaw), working the lumber yard of Bob Campbell (Harry Morgan) in 1896 Henning. The eternally soused Campbell routinely fires his foreman, enabling the ambitious Will to take over the position of running the business, encouraged to ask Tom Harvey (Georg Stanford Brown) for his daughter's hand in marriage. As Campbell lies in state, too drunk to even move, Will practically takes over to prop up the failing lumber yard, even to the extent of being late for his own wedding. With a baby on the way, as well as the bank's approval of a loan, Will earns the right to become manager and owner of the lumber yard. The final scene features the birth of Bertha George Palmer, mother of Alex Haley, christened under the moon by grandfather Tom in the African tradition handed down by Kunta Kinte. Irene Cara plays Bertha in the next chapter.

As mentioned earlier, Roots 2 is better than the first one, and is even more truthful and mostly actually happened. Stan Shaw is fantastic picking up where George Standford ages, and is an underrated actor (The Boys in Company C). A perfect blend of melodrama and dramatic history that keeps you wanting to see what happens next.