Having finished the third season of this show I now feel even more foolish for having spent so many years not watching it, because it really does go out without ever having dipped in quality for longer than one scene and it is a shame that it only got these three seasons. The narrative arch in this season is similar in theme to previous seasons since it continues to be about power struggles and politicking in this small town. While season 2 was strong, season 3 benefits from having less of a general threat (annexation into existing territories) and much more of a very human, very specific one set up on the balcony across from the Gem. Hearst is a great character and, like all the others in this show, he is not simplistic and he is not the boogie-man that some shows would have created. From early scenes where the tension is in the words through the season as words turn into acts, he is a great driving force and the tension between him and Al is fantastic. On a very basic level it makes for a season plot that is tense and engaging, full of sudden, shocking violence and plot twists that make it very hard not to watch all 12 episodes in one sitting!
However this is not 24, this is a show with more going on than that and it continues to satisfy at a character level. The constant murk of morality is always in play and in particular it is very satisfying to see "bad" characters becoming "good" in the eyes of the viewer despite them having not moved one inch morally – it is only the perspective of the viewer that is made to change. One such example is the wonderful (but understated) irony of Al's horror over the death of Ellsworth, and his sincerity in comforting Garret – this despite the fact of course that he himself was responsible for the death of her previous husband. Similarly it is satisfying to see Bullock moving into the role of the rash and emotional where he had previously tried to style himself as the morally upright and unflappable and there is a lot of these changes as elements come together out of need while others side with Hearst (to varying degrees of success).
These threads fit closely with the Hearst thread but there is just as much of quality happening around the edges, all of which come together to produce a sense of community with vested interests but also their own lives and interests. Calamity Jane, Joanie, Trixie, Farnum, the school house, the theatre group – all of these emotionally engage and dovetail into other events well while also standing on their own; I cannot think of one scene where I was impatient for it to finish so I could get back to a different thread – a feeling one will occasionally get with ensemble shows.
As previous seasons, the writing is tremendous. The plotting works well but the dialogue is great – near Shakespearean in the way the words have such colour and beauty to them. I started making notes of some examples while I was watching for purpose of dropping them in here, but there were just too many examples, the campaign slogan "Farnham: Christ knows he's earned it" is my favourite I think but like I said there are so many examples of darkly comic, meaningful, funny, rude or telling lines in here it would be pointless to start. The cast take this and run with it and are roundly good. There is no point in listing names because it will go on forever but suffice to say McShane remains tremendous, everyone else is nearly as good and the addition of McRaney is a strong piece of casting as he manages to convey menace and spite but without ever hamming it up or becoming a pantomime villain.
The end of the third season is both brilliant and disappointing. As the end of the total show, it is disappointing as there is a clear narrative in front of us that we'll never get. However as an ending to the season it is a fantastic downbeat anti-climax. The viewer (like the characters) wants Hearst dead, wants the town to win in a great shootout where "good" (as we see it) conquers "evil"; but when was it ever like this? In the end everyone is practical and stomachs it for their best interests – in the words of Al, the viewer wants "to be told something pretty" but the gritty realism of the situation is what we get, and it is a fitting and very strong end of the season – just not of the show.
Season 3 is excellent in nearly every regard and it barely has a moment that doesn't work in terms of what that moment is trying to do. It is a tragedy that there isn't a 4th season, but that doesn't really affect how strong this season it. Tremendous television - start to finish.
However this is not 24, this is a show with more going on than that and it continues to satisfy at a character level. The constant murk of morality is always in play and in particular it is very satisfying to see "bad" characters becoming "good" in the eyes of the viewer despite them having not moved one inch morally – it is only the perspective of the viewer that is made to change. One such example is the wonderful (but understated) irony of Al's horror over the death of Ellsworth, and his sincerity in comforting Garret – this despite the fact of course that he himself was responsible for the death of her previous husband. Similarly it is satisfying to see Bullock moving into the role of the rash and emotional where he had previously tried to style himself as the morally upright and unflappable and there is a lot of these changes as elements come together out of need while others side with Hearst (to varying degrees of success).
These threads fit closely with the Hearst thread but there is just as much of quality happening around the edges, all of which come together to produce a sense of community with vested interests but also their own lives and interests. Calamity Jane, Joanie, Trixie, Farnum, the school house, the theatre group – all of these emotionally engage and dovetail into other events well while also standing on their own; I cannot think of one scene where I was impatient for it to finish so I could get back to a different thread – a feeling one will occasionally get with ensemble shows.
As previous seasons, the writing is tremendous. The plotting works well but the dialogue is great – near Shakespearean in the way the words have such colour and beauty to them. I started making notes of some examples while I was watching for purpose of dropping them in here, but there were just too many examples, the campaign slogan "Farnham: Christ knows he's earned it" is my favourite I think but like I said there are so many examples of darkly comic, meaningful, funny, rude or telling lines in here it would be pointless to start. The cast take this and run with it and are roundly good. There is no point in listing names because it will go on forever but suffice to say McShane remains tremendous, everyone else is nearly as good and the addition of McRaney is a strong piece of casting as he manages to convey menace and spite but without ever hamming it up or becoming a pantomime villain.
The end of the third season is both brilliant and disappointing. As the end of the total show, it is disappointing as there is a clear narrative in front of us that we'll never get. However as an ending to the season it is a fantastic downbeat anti-climax. The viewer (like the characters) wants Hearst dead, wants the town to win in a great shootout where "good" (as we see it) conquers "evil"; but when was it ever like this? In the end everyone is practical and stomachs it for their best interests – in the words of Al, the viewer wants "to be told something pretty" but the gritty realism of the situation is what we get, and it is a fitting and very strong end of the season – just not of the show.
Season 3 is excellent in nearly every regard and it barely has a moment that doesn't work in terms of what that moment is trying to do. It is a tragedy that there isn't a 4th season, but that doesn't really affect how strong this season it. Tremendous television - start to finish.