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[| Praxis |]

Just finished it and really enjoyed the series overall. Not much else to add other than I thought the acting was great from everyone and I liked the ending. I really didn't need a big flashy TV ending, it was fine the way it was. My wife was especially happy with the last shot.

 

[Rumblebones]

25 minutes in and I had to pause.

What the fuck is this shit? Chandra doing mule work now? This show has been downhill since the pilot but come on. It went from a somewhat disappointing show to downright stupid.

 

[zewone]

25 minutes in and I had to pause.

What the fuck is this shit? Chandra doing mule work now? This show has been downhill since the pilot but come on. It went from a somewhat disappointing show to downright stupid.

Yep.

Dumbest writing of the series goes to this unbelievable scenario.

 

[KingKong]

if you were on the jury that had to be the worst trial ever, on one hand you've got a mush mouthed woman who can't make it through her closing statement and on the other a guy that looks like he's dying of scurvy

 

[| Praxis |]

25 minutes in and I had to pause.

What the fuck is this shit? Chandra doing mule work now? This show has been downhill since the pilot but come on. It went from a somewhat disappointing show to downright stupid.

Yeah, that was dumb. I bet it has happened though, or at least I wouldn't be surprised.

It was a totally unnecessary scene though. Should have just left it out.

 

[gun_haver]

I enjoyed it overall. Couldn't care less if it is exactly realistic - how would I know, anyway?

The negatives for me were more over-familiarity with the subject matter and the way it was handle. Everything in the prison felt like it could have been in different shows and movies I have seen. Andrea's character was also too familiar as a 'this girl's totally gonna get murdered' archetype. Would have been interesting if we delved deeper into her character and saw that she was actually different than she first appeared too, like Naz.

But I enjoyed the characters overall, even if the plot seemed a bit too cliched at various points. I thought it ended strong. I liked Naz and Stone's final conversation in the diner. 'Fuck em all' is always a message I can appreciate.

 

[Rumblebones]

OK. Just finished and I'm really disappointed by the ending, and really just how the show progressed from those great first few episodes. Show started going downhill for me with Naz's shenanigans in prison so in retrospect I feel like I should have seen it coming and adjusted my expectations even lower than I had, but, oh well.

John Turturro was amazing in this so I got that enjoyment out of it.

 

[TunaMarshmallow]

There are certainly issues with the writing. They cover an absolutely enormous amount of ground and cover a ridiculous range of characters in eight episodes, so there winds up being some clunky exposition, some timeline oddities, and way too much unmotivated or unexplained behavior (especially concerning Naz and Chandra).

Despite all that, I thought the show was excellent. Really great characters, really enjoyable and gripping narrative, and it's super nice to look at. I think it's one of the best shows of the year.

 

[Mix Master]

Maybe i'm spoiled from peaky blinders, but most premium shows should be 6 episodes. this went on longer than it should.

 

[Forearm Star]

25 minutes in and I had to pause.

What the fuck is this shit? Chandra doing mule work now? This show has been downhill since the pilot but come on. It went from a somewhat disappointing show to downright stupid.

Agreed in the Chandra mule stuff.. Didn't see the point in all that.

 

[Net_Wrecker]

Ehh, so in the end the show is a bit forgettable with some good performances. Whatever. You win some, you lose some. People are being extra dramatic because It's Not TV, It's HBO™, but HBO's had its share of mediocrity just like every network. In my mind every forgettable show they put out is the ghost of David MIlch's dead shows exacting their revenge. (insert horse joke here, yeah I know)

At least we got Vice Principals this year. Bring on Westworld and David Simon's 70s porn series.

 

[lamaroo]

Ehh, so in the end the show is a bit forgettable with some good performances. Whatever. You win some, you lose some. People are being extra dramatic because It's Not TV, It's HBO™, but HBO's had its share of mediocrity just like every network. In my mind every forgettable show they put out is the ghost of David MIlch's dead shows exacting their revenge. (insert horse joke here, yeah I know)

At least we got Vice Principals this year. Bring on Westworld and David Simon's porn show.

My disappointment stems from the fantastic pilot. If I wasn't so invested in the show due to the hype(that I created myself admittedly), I could let some of the dumb shit slide.

On to Show Me A Hero I guess, seems like that one delivered based on the posts in this thread. I'm not sure why I let it slide this long considering Oscar freaking Isaac is in it.

Gotta watch Vice Principles too, couldn't stay up late enough to watch it.

 

[Souless_PJ]

Agreed in the Chandra mule stuff.. Didn't see the point in all that.

She needed him to appear level on the stand so smuggled in Methadone. She could see he was suffering from withdrawal when they panned down to his hands shaking.

 

[Rival]

I really liked the show but it started off way stronger than it finished.

 

[fauxtrot]

I need a list of worthwhile HBO miniseries/movies that I missed over the last... 20 years or so. Gonna watch Show Me A Hero next and recently watched All The Way, which was excellent. I've seen most of the tv shows but completely slept on the other stuff.

 

[taybul]

Yeah, that was dumb. I bet it has happened though, or at least I wouldn't be surprised.

It was a totally unnecessary scene though. Should have just left it out.

Agreed in the Chandra mule stuff.. Didn't see the point in all that.

She wanted to put him on the stand and he was clearly in withdrawal. Only way to make him presentable was to give him his kick.

 

[Malleymal]

the finale was actually decent minus the lawyer bringing drugs inside her fun place. That part actually had me upset. Like what is in that prison air that makes people do the dumbest of sh*t.

I think I am left feeling empty because the first episode was probably one of the best first episodes of series that I have seen in a while. they just couldn't keep that original magic, which is understandable.

I need a list of worthwhile HBO miniseries/movies that I missed over the last... 20 years or so. Gonna watch Show Me A Hero next and recently watched All The Way, which was excellent. I've seen most of the tv shows but completely slept on the other stuff.

I just watched Jinx. amazing tv

 

[JABEE]

I re-watched the scene in the Wire with

Spoiler

Omar on the stand.

The writing for the courtroom scenes were similar. Less focus on realism, more on entertaining and moving things along. Like a condensed, snappy version of events.

 

[FantasticMrFoxdie]

I'm satisfied.

I really enjoyed the finale. They brought it home well

Uhhh so law gaf is that what happens when a jury is deadlocked like that? they can just let the defendant free?!? lol

 

[jond76]

This was good actors in a goofy show. Like the DA is going to be wielding a blood caked knife with no gloves on... Haha

Naz was just a scumbag waiting to bloom, I guess. Who the fuck gets a neck tat while still on trail? I had no sympathy for his plight because he was an idiot, despite how smart he was supposed to be.

Chandra the drug mule. Hahaha.

I liked Tuturro. It was like he was the only person who acted like he had half a brain.

 

[Jonm1010]

It was solid.

Though not exactly the direction I thought it would go and at times bordered on the absurd.

I honestly thought this would be a bit deeper then a typical courtroom drama. More layered. More Wire and less Law and Order. Given that this was a passion project for Gandolfini and then seemingly the people associated with this. I figured this would be more then what it was. Though it times it clearly was teetering on it.

I kinda thought it may have been building up to something more complex and deep. Like about how the justice system is not really about bringing out the truth, it is about people in their roles trying to do what is in their best interest. Which extends to the prison system.

And yeah, they sort of do dance around that but Nas's whole conclusion sort of takes a turn into just being about a guy that in spite of himself and error after error, gets to walk free and the whole justice system aspect gets taken off the hook. And Chandra just felt really under-developed and just left hanging. Ending with a story that is more superficial then I expected.

 

[Arkeband]

Riz Ahmed was just on Colbert and neither Colbert, Pedro Pascal, or myself knew Riz was British. Shocking to hear his real accent, especially since I only know him from The night of and Nightcrawer.

 

[Mogwai]

This show takes itself waaaay too serious. I ended up giving it a 6/10 on IMDb.

Not bad, just boring.

 

[Red_Man]

Got around to watching the finale and it's legitimately one of the most disappointing finales, downfalls I've ever seen in a show. So many indefensible, WTF? - moments, and just straight up trash television. I'm pissed because of how well the show started.

 

[Einchy]

This show takes itself waaaay too serious.

This is a really weird complaint.

 

[Sloane]

I kinda of liked the finale or at least the "resolution" of the case and I think the show is probably worth watching but, yeah, in the end the pilot promised a lot more than what was actually delivered. The weird thing is that the characters felt so alive and thought-out in the beginning and they actually almost all turned out to be paper-thin, serving the plot instead of themselves. Overall, it wasn't bad in my book but it could have been so much more.

 

[SlimySnake]

Loved the show despite its underwhelming ending.

My biggest problem was the fucking soundtrack that plays every time they are in Jackson heights. I've lived there and while it's a Pakistani/indian neighborhood they don't have prayer calls or Indian movie songs blasting in the background. For a show that goes to great lengths to describe that he's a Paki not an Arab it's such a stereotypical portrayal of Jackson heights that it kinda took away from the show.

But i guess that's what white people feel like when they go to Jackson heights. The Bollywood songs mixed with the azaan just starts playing in their head.

 

[Corpekata]

Really liked the show aside from the Chandra and Nas stuff, especially the muling. I kind of wonder if they put that in so you don't feel too bad about the way Stone just fucks her career since we know she had done something way worse that could have resulted in her imprisonment.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

But that had the David Simon Emmy repellent going for it.

Generation Kill was recognized by the Emmys!

I blew through the last four episodes of the show this weekend. Overall, an enjoyable series that was solid but not spectacular. It was ultimately a little disappointing given the high bar set by the premiere, but I don't feel like I wasted my time watching it. The performances and production values were very good across the board. I'm down for more if they decide to make them.

Those are pretty much my thoughts. The pilot was great, and even though the rest of the season didn't live up to it (to say the least), it was still pretty solid overall.

 

[UrbanRats]

Really liked the show aside from the Chandra and Nas stuff, especially the muling. I kind of wonder if they put that in so you don't feel too bad about the way Stone just fucks her career since we know she had done something way worse that could have resulted in her imprisonment.

Her muling to me felt just as rushed as Nas' development in prison, it's worse because in the end she didn't have a real wrap up to her arc, i feel like.
It felt left hanging, but not in a good "fill up the blanks yourself" sort of way.

 

[duckroll]

Finally finished it. Well, at least the finale was better than last week's episode. I don't really feel it needed to be 90 minutes long. They could have trimmed a lot and it would have been better for it. The entire mule job made no sense. There's no way a professional lawyer would risk that, and it really had no place in the story other than to create more false tension. In the end it was the kiss that did her in, not anything else, and we already have enough scenes to establish that Naz has a drug issue now.

I'm satisfied with the conclusion overall. It's just disappointing that while getting there, the show took a number of stumbles.

 

[Spaced33]

Was hoping that the finale would somehow be good enough to turn the ship around, but I'm dumb for thinking that. SO disappointed with the show. They had a good concept and shit their pants with the execution. Nas wasn't a believable character at all, his extreme reactions made no sense. Neither was Chandra....wtf with that storyline. Turturro did a great job and was the only highlight of the show for me. Maybe next time HBO...

 

[therapist]

meh the ending was dissapointing , not bad , just not great.

and the fact she brought him drugs ... wtf was that , seemed so off

 

[Nakazato]

The ending was mad disappointing the series was really good up till then.

 

[MeshuggahMan]

Might have been covered but how does a supposedly great detective who had some hesitations on Nas doing the crime not look all those things he looked at in the finale? The street cameras, phone numbers, etc. All seems like stuff he should have taken into account during that scene a while back when he was recounting all of nas' whereabouts of the night.

 

[Dr. Benton Quest]

Might have been covered but how does a supposedly great detective who had some hesitations on Nas doing the crime not look all those things he looked at in the finale? The street cameras, phone numbers, etc. All seems like stuff he should have taken into account during that scene a while back when he was recounting all of nas' whereabouts of the night.

They kind of explain this with Box being close to retirement and just wanting to be done. His conscience gets him in the end though.

Show was mediocre. 6/10. They did a really poor job giving a sense of time scale. Nas was in prison for a long time. Possibly almost year. Murder trials take forever. The show made it seem like he was in there for four weeks and turned into a hardened convict.

I still don't understand why Stone's eczema disappeared and reappeared. Mega convenient it comes back the day before the trial.

 

[KeRaSh]

I really enjoyed the finale. Great acting all around. One thing I didn't quite understand was Chandra's question to the step father about the changed locks. Was that a trick question that backfired? She sounded like she got him at the end but he didn't play into her cards, right? Did I miss something?

 

[Dr. Benton Quest]

I really enjoyed the finale. Great acting all around. One thing I didn't quite understand was Chandra's question to the step father about the changed locks. Was that a trick question that backfired? She sounded like she got him at the end but he didn't play into her cards, right? Did I miss something?

If she didn't change the locks then he could still come and go as he pleased. He had lived there before.

 

[MeshuggahMan]

They kind of explain this with Box being close to retirement and just wanting to be done. His conscience gets him in the end though.

Show was mediocre. 6/10. They did a really poor job giving a sense of time scale. Nas was in prison for a long time. Possibly almost year. Murder trials take forever. The show made it seem like he was in there for four weeks and turned into a hardened convict.

I still don't understand why Stone's eczema disappeared and reappeared. Mega convenient it comes back the day before the trial.

That's what I kind of thought. Just seemed like a huge major thing to not look at. I guess that's the point of the show though.

 

[The Jackdog]

i think the show had a bit of an identity crisis.

between trying to show the realities of the legal system and being a procedural, and trying to show the harsh realities of trying to survive in prison, and trying to tell a personal story about a few characters, i think it lost its way a few times.

it tried to say a whole lot but came across to me as kind of toothless. i really really enjoyed it though.

i liked the ending, something about stone sitting in his chair, getting the phone call, and going back to his day to day routine. and chandra getting fired and then gone, and even nas just sitting by the river...i thought that was a really interesting couple of choices. showing that after all thats happened these people have to still get back to reality. the stone scene that ended it in particular. all this has happened, hes been through a lot, but...its back to being just another day. another case. another nas.

 

[TheRagnCajun]

Everything about Chandra didn't make sense. Her falling in love, smuggling drugs, wanting to put Naz on the stand. It felt contrived. It felt like a way to bring some suspense back into the story after they had a relatively successful defense case. Like how in virtually every fighting/boxing/football flick the protagonist has to be losing at the beginning so they can make a triumphant comeback later. But putting Naz on the stand stood to gain nothing especially after his transformation in jail, and especially after she learned he was an addict.

The reveal of the real killer was also unsatisfying. I hate it when it ends up being a completely tangential character with no screentime and no clues. They just waited till the last episode to revisit this character and provided all kinds of evidence. I know not every crime drama is a whodunit, but I feel cheated. The only reason the ending is a surprise is because they didn't give the viewer the opportunity to see more of this character and see some of the evidence that was there all along.

Jack Stone was the best written and acted character on the show. Loved him.

 

[KeRaSh]

If she didn't change the locks then he could still come and go as he pleased. He had lived there before.

But Chandra then said: "She didn't." Implying that she didn't change the locks after he said that he wouldn't know if she changed them or not since he hasn't been there since he left. That could mean he either legit didn't try getting in with his key or that he way lying. Either way no information came out of that question and her comment "she didn't" doesn't make any sense especially since we and the jury already knew that the back door had a broken lock anyways.

 

[cLOUDo]

no comment in the real plothole of the finale
how "Omar" send the video to Stone, He knows him and knows where he lives?

i have to admit, it was kinda hilarious that after all chandra did for Naz, he just sold her
xD

 

[KeRaSh]

no comment in the real plothole of the finale
how "Omar" send the video to Stone, He knows him and knows where he lives?

i have to admit, it was kinda hilarious that after all chandra did for Naz, he just sold her
xD

But that scene showed us that he still cared about getting out of prison. Not sure if that was intentional but before that it seemed like he stopped caring about the outcome of the trial.

 

[GRIP]

no comment in the real plothole of the finale
how "Omar" send the video to Stone, He knows him and knows where he lives?

i have to admit, it was kinda hilarious that after all chandra did for Naz, he just sold her
xD

How is that a plot hole? Why would you think a guy as well connected as Freddy would have a hard time finding out where Stone lives?

 

[taybul]

With all the focus and flashbacks to the incident, I can't help but feel shafted not knowing exactly what went down.

Also when Box was going over the video of

Spoiler

Ray.......

at 4am, was that outside her apartment? If so, why did they decide to stop there?

 

[UrbanRats]

But Chandra then said: "She didn't." Implying that she didn't change the locks after he said that he wouldn't know if she changed them or not since he hasn't been there since he left. That could mean he either legit didn't try getting in with his key or that he way lying. Either way no information came out of that question and her comment "she didn't" doesn't make any sense especially since we and the jury already knew that the back door had a broken lock anyways.

Yeah it was structured as a "gotcha!" moment, but it really wasn't.
I guess it was just to show that he could've just gone in? What it would tell me, is that she didn't fear him, at most.

 

[Shanlei91]

I still don't understand why Stone's eczema disappeared and reappeared. Mega convenient it comes back the day before the trial.

The cat heals all.

 

[Straight Edge]

I still don't understand why Stone's eczema disappeared and reappeared. Mega convenient it comes back the day before the trial.

It's triggered by the stress of having to deliver the closing arguments.

 

[SlimySnake]

The cat heals all.

yep. it was pretty obvious that as soon as he got the cat his feet got better. his rashes were due to stress and loneliness as evidenced by his massive outbreak when he's preparing for his closing remarks. he got nervous, stressed and boom.