Like the previous volume, instead of being individual episodes like how the show originally aired, this is a collection of movies that resulted from several episodes being edited together. Basically, these are the VHS releases put on DVDs. That isn't entirely bad; I just would have preferred to see the show in its original format, that's all. Where Volume One followed Indy in his pre-war time following his dad around the world on various lecture tours, this one is Sean Patrick Flanery's portrayal of the archeologist to be as he learns about the dogs of war and meets historical figures like Robert Graves, The Red Baron and Col. T.E. Lawrence. He will travel to almost every major location of the war like Arabia, Russia and Paris.
While the first volume seemed to try to cram as many historical figures as possible into each episode, the movies found here seem to focus more on the many types of hardships and suffering being involved in a war can bring. In "Demons and Deceptions," Indy is taken off of the front lines by an old friend of his father and falls in love with a woman who, as it turns out, just might be a German spy. When the government who is trailing her realizes that our hero isn't in fact from Belgium and is using a fake name, they begin to suspect him.
Indy will be thrown in the trenches and have to lead his troop into enemy territories or even delve into espionage and try to help out the Emperor of Hapsburg. It seems like Indy's progression through WWI gives him a taste of just about every aspect of military life, and whiles this series not only acts as a great teaching element concerning The Great War, it also gives some insight into the later Jones' mind and his particular beliefs and Jack of All Tradesishness (is that even a word??).
It should also be noted that while there are a ton of documentaries in The War Years, there is nowhere near the amount that was found on The Young Years, but I think that is because, while Indy is involved in more historical moments, he doesn't meet as many historical figures. Consequently, while the last volume's disc count nearly doubled the number of episodes found in that collection, here they seemed to have combined the feature discs with their respective special feature disc, giving just one extra disc that contains a lecture on the war and an interactive timeline.
If you got the first volume, or your interested in teaching historical events and characters in a way that should interest youngsters, or you are one of those people who either remember the series growing up or can't get enough of that archeologist, then The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Volume Two - The War Years is a good purchase.
