Well
that was a gut punch of a finale. I’ve got
mixed feelings on the last episode. On the one hand it was great drama, and
very intense. On the other there where numerous plot holes, and what I would
call lazy storytelling. Overall this
season has been hit and miss for me. It seemed every other episode was good or
bad. The even seemed to be bad, and the odds good. Kind of a reverse Star Trek
theory. This being the finale and an even episode I had my worries. Overall the
last episode was about on par for the entire season. It was ok, not epic, but
not completely unwatchable.
The
first thing to get out of the way was the wasted 15 minutes at the start of the
episode. Did we really need to see Ani and Ray getting to know each other on
that intimate of a level? My first question is why wait this long? If they were
going to build them up as a couple they should have had them hook up way
earlier in the show. I understand why they did it, and it plays into the lazy
storytelling. They needed them to be this close so when Ray called to say
goodbye Ani would beg him to make it. This ruined Ani’s character for me. She’s
a tough cop who has been through hell, she didn’t need Ray. I get that she
would be sad, but they hooked up once, and had some deep pillow talk. We are
supposed to believe they are deeply in love now? Build them up as a couple from
a few episodes before and the final phone call would have had some meaning.
Then
we jump to Frank and his wife. Another five to ten minutes of wasted time, or
time that could have been cut to make the finale only an hour. I get a parting
scene for the two of them, but it didn’t need to last that long. I’m guessing
the white suit is a reference to a movie, not sure what one though. I know
Frank was dropping a few paraphrased lines from Casablanca, or they seemed
paraphrased from Casablanca. He didn’t have a line tonight that made me sit
back and take notice. It could have been in there, but it didn’t stand out as
they have the past eight weeks.
After
the pointless 15 minutes we finale start the show. They jump in and find the
brother and sister who killed Caspere and are blackmailing the police chief and
lieutenant. Bad storytelling rearing its head again. The girl who parents were
killed started hooking, and magically gets invited to the parties where Caspere
attends. She is then able to piece together and find all the information to
blackmail the others with the help of her brother. Wouldn’t it have been better
for them to have had a plan to avenge their parents? Instead of them just stumbling
upon Caspere and the information. Shouldn’t surprise me though, all the
information obtained wasn’t earned, it was all just found. It’s the biggest problem this season. Besides
Woodrow and Frank there was no actual police work done. It was all character
drama. Which is fine, but I think we should at least somewhat care about the
crime the show is supposed to be solving.
The
next sequence was well done. The scene in the train station was tense and
extremely well shot. We find out a bit more information, some of which sets of
the gunfight. I think the chief said the girl in the jewelry shop was Caspere
daughter, which adds incest to the show. No real reason for this, other than to
send the brother of the girl over the edge to attack the chief. I think they
could have found something else besides the incest card. Other than adding incest into the mix the
scene worked great and kept me invested in the episode.
Next
big scene was at the cabin in the woods. Great shootout which allowed Frank and
Ray to get some payback. Ani went to go investigate the Doctor who provided the
girls, but he was already dead. I missed the part where they said she was going
to check on him. I had to rewind a couple of times to see whose body she found.
The shootout in the woods was well done, and you started to think our main
characters where going to make it out of the jam. Until I saw we had another 20
minutes to go.
Frank
gets taken out by the Mexicans. Which I get, he didn’t plan for them. How did
they find him though? He wasn’t in his car, and he was on his way out of town. Did
the guys he paid for the passport and guns tip them off? It’s the only thing I
can figure which makes sense, but they just pissed away an extra 500k. Maybe we
just aren’t supposed to question. They found him and took him out. End of
story. His death scene could have been sped up just a tick. I liked him
walking trying not to give up, but they could have cut a couple of the shots
out. The last few weeks Vince Vaughn did a good job with the character. He
pulled off what I hoped he would the entire season He proved he can do drama.
Ray’s
finale was great. Collin Farrell has been spectacular the entire season, and he
didn’t disappoint in the end. The whole sequence from the time he left Frank
was fantastic. I knew he was going to check on his kid, and it would be the end
of him. It was perfect for the character. His love for his son and his first wife took him on a dark road. Fitting for it to end with them being the focus. Farrell did a great job of showing his fear,
and then ultimately his acceptance of his fate during the chase and shootout. He at least took a couple of the others with
him in the end. I personally would have liked his last message to have been
uploaded to his son. They didn’t need to show us it didn’t make it. I figured
it wouldn’t from when he got out of his car. They only reason to show it again
was to see it did make it. It was a low emotional sucker punch, but it worked. They
did make up for it a tiny bit by showing Ray was the actual father.
Not
sure what to think about the overall ending. It was nice to see Ani surviving
with Frank’s wife. Not sure about the baby though, was it really needed? I
guess they had so much talk about babies and adoption they had to throw one
in. I’m glad they went back to Ani and they showed her strong. It bugs me they
had her so needy and dependent on Ray at the end. They didn’t earn the
dependency they had for each other through the course of the show.
Overall
this season is just ok. It had some good moments and some real head scratchers.
The plot was extremely dense, and was a determinant to the show. Farrell’s
acting was top notch and his character is one of the only reason I tuned in
week to week. I’m wouldn’t recommend
season two to someone who hadn’t started yet.
If they liked Farrell as an actor would be the only reason to watch.
With so many excellent shows on TV it just isn’t a must see. First season was appointment
television. Second season was just average at best.
What did you all think? I know the show is polarizing, some
loving or hating it. Will you watch a season three if there is one? I’ll tune
in, but I won’t be nearly as excited for the third as I was for the second and
first.
My Rating: On Par with the overall season. Average
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