“We got a lot of history, you and me. Maybe that’s all it should be: history.”
Before Banshee‘s truly brilliant third season comes to a close, it takes a quick breather–relatively speaking, of course–with “Even God Doesn’t Know What to Make of You”. It’s an episode that focuses on aftermaths and consequences, on relationships and endings and new beginnings, and it clearly highlights the positions that all our characters find themselves in. It’s not the best episode of the show, but it’s an hour filled with wonderful human moments, moments that remind us, before the inevitable explosion next week, how well-written and well-acted these characters are.
A big story this week is the contrast set up between the Job-Hood flashbacks and the Job-Hood scenes in the present; we have a new relationship being forged contrasting with a relationship coming to an end, and aside from that Job wig in the flashbacks, it’s also interesting to see how the two met and how Hood became the man he is today. That man, of course, is one who doesn’t really have a purpose now that Chayton’s face doesn’t exist; Siobhan’s dead, revenge has been served, and Hood’s even losing someone who has been with him for a long, long time. The show’s giving us scenes from the past in order to flesh out the present, but at the same time, it’s attempting to convey just how difficult it is to go back to the past, to rewrite history as a fountain of regret lies beneath you.
That’s the idea behind the Carrie-Gordon scene early on, which isn’t very long, but is pretty important for both of the characters. The latter shows up with divorce papers, but they both decide that maybe they should wait a bit; it’s a nice moment for two people whose relationship has crashed and burned multiple times over the course of the season, but it’s all going to become more complicated next week when Gordon probably will find out about the Carrie-Stowe past. And aside from setting up a wonderful cliffhanger, Stowe and his men kidnapping Carrie, Job, and Sugar highlights the notion of consequences. Like Chayton did with Hood this season, our Banshee team has underestimated Stowe’s cunning and intelligence and determination, and they’re paying for it.
Finally, we get to Kai Proctor, who finds himself tied up and beaten by Frazier and the Black Beards. The opening scene is an excellent showcase for the show’s directing and its visual creativity, and it creates a sense of foreboding that plays out through the remainder of the episode. Proctor’s relationship with Frazier is yet another one that underscores the idea of consequences, of the past coming back to bite you, and Kai evidently has enough of this BS because he decides to do some biting of his own. It’s a well done set of scenes by Ulrich Thompson, and he’s especially great at the end when he burns his mom’s handkerchief–along with Frazier’s men–and ends his relationship with Emily. As he walks away from a raging fire behind him, we realize that this is the Kai Proctor we know and love. It’s a significant change, and it’s just in time for what should be a thrilling, brutal, and bloody ending. Finale, here we come.
GRADE: B
OTHER THOUGHTS:
– “To me belongeth vengeance, and recompense; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.” -Deuteronomy 32:25 & Kai Proctor
-Bunker’s storyline is just getting going, and the theme of redemption plays a huge role here and in the show at large. It’ll be interesting to see what the show has in store for him moving forward, although I don’t know how much time for him there will be in the finale.
-At the beginning of the season, I was hoping Deva would get some good stories throughout the season. That hasn’t been the case. I’m not very taken with whatever’s going on with her, to be honest.
-Predictions for next week? Share below.
Photo credit: Banshee, Cinemax
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