From the beginning, Season 4 of Cinemax's Banshee was never about the serial killer hunt and its eventual showdown. That's small potatoes on a show that has shot, relived, reborn and slapped a coat of paint on every action scene known to man. The final season has been about these characters evolving. The characters that fans have grown to love and writers have craved to crawl inside and examine. This show is going to inspire a ton of other shows when it wraps up its run next week on May 20th. Knock-offs and reprints. Writers and actors trying to reinvent a love song that can only be written once. There's one hour left folks. What happens? Who dies? That's an article for next Saturday morning. Now, let's recap "Truths other than the ones you tell yourself".
"I'm Not Lucas Hood"
Fans knew. Brock Lotus did not. Until now. When Lucas(Antony Starr) and Brock(Matt Servitto) go looking for Veronica Dawson(Eliza Dushku), they are knocked out and handcuffed to a couple pipes. In Banshee land, this is known as a shrink's office with two chairs and no notebook.
For four seasons, Brock has watched a guy work outside the boundaries of the law and create his own brand of justice while thinking he was staring at some kind of lawman. Lucas is the farthest thing from the law. Brock can spot nonsense from a mile away, but he couldn't put his finger on Lucas' secret. The rage was there. The monster was there. The innocence was there. Be careful what you wish for, Lotus.
Starr and Servitto are marvelous here. A pure actors showcase. They don't overplay it. There isn't too much emotion. Starr finally unleashes a phrase that fans got a tease of in previews but didn't know where to place it. After watching the trailers about 50 times(my average), I could tell he was going to confess to Brock. Who else didn't know his secret but wanted to know bad enough and actually earned it? Nobody. It's a wonderful quiet moment in the middle of an episode that at times felt like the beginning of a door being shut but also wasn't rushing anything.
This was a much needed moment. Brock and Lucas had the tense face-off in the basement of the Cadi in "Tribal" but this was taken to another level. While Brock was mad at Lucas for the slow boil betrayal, there was a weight that fell off his shoulders. A weight that hit the ground and led to other revelations. Lucas actually liked being sheriff. It gave his misguided soul a purpose.
Here's a guy who had a bad father and treated the world like the springboard for everything he wanted to say to his father yet couldn't. He joined the Army, went into special forces, and then became a thief. He's never been one guy for too long. Finally, he was Lucas Hood and liked it. Someone like Siobhan Kelly sure did help the image. When she was killed, it all crumbled.
Brock is mad that he may never get to be the sheriff he always wanted to be. The proud no nonsense taking lawman that he envisioned years ago and even sacrificed his marriage in getting to.
A quiet moment between two men who never truly liked each other but respected each other. The way the camera did a close up on the men's eyes was expert.
Afterwards, they break out, knock out the bad Satanists bad guys and save Veronica. Like I said, it was never about the serial killer mystery. That was another blocker thrown up in front of these characters to get them to realize their true natures. Hat tip to Jonathan Tropper for lining all this up. You can't wipe brilliant away no matter how many years pass sir.
Job Revenge
There's many kinds of revenge. The cold variety. Bullet to the head. Knife to the heart. Exploding car. Slow gas leak in the kitchen. One can pick from many kinds of responses. Hoon Lee's Job decides to gift Leo, the man who kidnapped him and sent him into confinement for 20 months, the gift of legend status. Job gives Leo his identity. In other words, Leo is now wanted by every known security agency and task force. If there is a building with authority inside it, they are after Leo. Instead of killing the man who stole 20 months of his life, Job sticks a big juicy steak on his back and kicks him in the butt telling him to run on.
I'll never get tired of watching Hoon Lee rattle off some good old witty Job dialogue. I'll miss it. Here's another actor who has never played a role quite like this and has turned something that probably seemed cool and fun on the page into something grand and everlasting.
Proctor and Bunker Exchange Blows
Calvin Bunker killed a bunch of Proctor's men so Burton(Matty Rauch) kills a room full of Bunker muscle in a cool OC Madsen styled one shot camera circle. You can bring 20 men but they better be ready to die if they stare down Burton. Next week, the big shipment pickup is either ready or not and the Mexican cartel is coming to collect. Something tells me guest star Nestor Serrano is going to catch a bullet. With these kind of deadly people, it's a matter of who is willing to sacrifice everything to stand in the end.
Parting Whiskey Soaked Shots:
Who else saw Carrie shrink(DOAKES FROM DEXTER!) going off the record not just to let her vent but also to potentially help her finish her vigilante justice towards Proctor? What a guy. Can we please get more close-ups of the beautiful and mysterious Ivana Milicevic? She could haunt a page of dialog with a single stare. Such a talent. Talking about finishing what Gordon started, it felt like her storyline came full circle.
Looks like Kurt Bunker is signing up for a battle royal brother bash fest with Calvin. He's hiding the man's wife away in a house and scheduling a duel. There was some worries before the season that the Bunker Brother madness would get shortchanged in the show's big wrap-up and I am happy to put a silencer to those fears. The simmering rage between these two will get its fair share of blood. Most likely, there will be some long painful Tom Pelphrey teary eyed stares involved and I'll lose myself a bit.
How about Chris Coy's Calvin finally losing his mind in the office? It was a dream in episode 1 but a reality in episode 8 of this season. Well played, Coy. Every actor can't walk that creepy sad rage monster line.
Rest in peace, Ana Ayora. The price for not bagging and tagging Carrie was a throat slice from Burton.
How awesome was it to hear Sugar tell Job after a confusing computer code was read, "I have no idea what you just said but I sure missed hearing you say it"? Great writing.
Veronica may have gotten saved from the heart dispatching Satan lover but she may never get saved from herself. She is slapping a wooden slap of table that was almost her deathbed with a stick before lighting up again. The girl has issues and they may never be tamed. Watch out Lucas.
Next week teases all kinds of things. Carrie and Job going after Proctor. Lucas FINALLY facing off against Burton. Sugar questioning where Lucas goes from here. All kinds of emotions. All kinds of memories.
Banshee is easily the best show I've ever watched and it's ending in one week. The reason that is so sad is due to the fact of how brilliant it is and how much more I want out of it. The goal for every creator is to bring something to viewers that is so good that when you are finally done, they want more. Tropper and company have done just that. Banshee is a gem.
Predictions-My guess is Lucas dies after saving the day because I am not sure what peace the man can find while his heart is still beating. Brock will finally get to be the sheriff he wanted to be. Proctor and Burton will perish after leaving a dent. Carrie will take her kids and move away far from Banshee. Veronica may follow Lucas down the rabbit hole. Kurt Bunker will remain in Banshee as Brock's deputy. He will not kill Calvin but arrest him and put him in jail for the drug runs he did for Proctor. Brothers can't kill each other.
That's all I got. For now. I am sure there will be more Banshee doses throughout the week as the countdown to the final Banshee cranks up.
As Lucas once said, "I don't know what's coming....but it's coming."
