Firstly I have seen the first two episodes of season 3. Episode 2 broadcast on Sky on Dec 13, it is Dec 15 and IMDB won't let me review episode 2 even though it has been broadcast already
I wanted to wait til episode 2 because episode 1 of season 3 was literally cringeworthy awful. Sorry to bear the bad news but Episode 2 is just as bad.
So I am halfway through season 3 (Sky announced season 3 will be last season and only four episodes in total as opposed to 10 episodes) and the writers are telegraphing that is is moving toward a contrived end.
With Stanley Tucci and Ken Stott gone, this just leaves Michael Dormer and Dennis Quaid to carry the entire thing (Michael Gambon, the other good talent is back but essentially a bit part). Dormer's character has gone into total surrealism and Quaid is phoning in his part. It is shocking how bad the result is.
I also don't see the point in wrapping this up in a bow with external factors (I don't want to spoil with specifics). The landscape is stark, foreboding and unforgiving enough, and the average human has dark secrets and impulses enough. Everyone drinking continuously while armed, and living on a frozen island combined with the impulses of the human heart and mind is a much more interesting source of the problems, and frankly the terror, than where they are going.
Lastly the voting on this showed 30 out of the first 34 votes to be between 10-8 stars and a viewer rating of "8.9". Come on on, LOL. That is total upshilling, fake vote BS. this episode is a legit 1 to 4 stars and no more than that given how much of a sell out it is from what were two great prior seasons.