For many years, I watched everything (or wanted to do it while learning about a popular title) related to the brand I like. It was mainly due to the excess of free time and naive approach, that since I have devoted so much time, I will watch everything to the end. Today I have less of this time and prefer to relax either with mindless gameplay on ps4 or pc (more often it's 1 because of greater convenience) or just lie on the bed and just laze around. Besides, there are too many series, books, games, anime that I want to know, so I don't have time for everything. I'd rather watch what happened than complain like "seasons x, y and z are good, but the rest sucks". The first series on which I changed my beliefs was "House of Cards" - the first 3 seasons were hosted by the same showrunner, but Netflix broke up with him after him (or he quit, it's actually not that important). 4 was still very good and had potential, but it was ruined by getting rid of Kevin Spacey, who was wrongly accused of sexual harassment. 5 I have not seen and according to my friends and reviewers, I lost nothing - the production was chaotic, had errors and was far from the level of its predecessors. When I heard the same in the context of the 4th season of "Banshee", I took it as a signal to end the adventure at 3. It was right, because already this season things were happening that were on the verge of my suspension of disbelief. Yes, it was like that in earlier seasons, but here they went a step further. It did not bother, but it is thanks to the heroes, fast pace of action, generally high level.
I liked the third season very much, it closed most of the threads, the characters went through a certain stage in their lives and if it were not for Job's kidnapping, it could be finished here. Even though I like the queer hacker, I don't want to spoil my positive impressions and I prefer to say that he died then or that the thread was not there at all and everything ended well. I have not changed my opinion about this series from the first text - I still think it is a wonderful work of the action genre, in which there are a lot of well-executed fights, a well-written script, well-thought-out and presented, how characteristic characters. As soon as I finish watching "The Handmaid's Tale" with my girlfriend, we will definitely watch "Warrior" from the producer of "Banshee". The third season has the most over-colored action and exaggerated moments, which makes it a bit too much to the world of unreal fantasy, but luckily they didn't exaggerate that much and if you're not purists when it comes to realism, it shouldn't bother you too much. The heroes make the last jump here - they rob the US army. A gang of armed and trained soldiers led by a charismatic motherfucker. It is a cliché character, but like the others, it is a well thought-out copy (or to use the nice words "strong inspiration") and not some kind of shit from a third league action movie for 40-50-year-olds who sit with a beer in front of the TV and they often complain "fuck, it used to be ...". You can accuse this series of some mistakes in the writing of the script, but when it comes to casting actors and their creations, for me it is the highest league in series. They're real, fleshy, have wonderfully written roles, they are played by good actors and actresses who know how to look like motherfuckers and bitches. Not all of them hold the highest level, a fact, but I can say with a clear conscience that every character from the 1st or 2nd plan is at least at a textbook good level. They have their own characteristics, their behavior and thoughts are consistent and not boring, at least not too much. As for the second season, this is my favorite stage in the story, but I don't remember much about it. More precisely, it merged with 1 and 2, but I remember that I rated it as the best due to the balance between realism and things that are impossible or impossible.
This is where the spoilers begin. I will say whatever it brings to my tongue, so if you don't want to know the key things from the plot, don't read on. I will write about those I want and I can write something more about. I am writing in the order as they appear according to Google, do not follow the order.
Lucas Hood - A typical main character, usually the least interesting character, who is the Achilles' heel of various titles regardless of the type of art. Usually, the side characters, or the more important but noticeably less important than the main characters, are the more intriguing ones. However, I would include Lucas among those "rather better guided". This is because I really liked the performance of a character who wants to do well, but is burdened by past experiences and methods, how he has dealt with them in the past. You can see from his face that an internal battle is taking place inside him, he feels the desire for justice, which usually loses to common sense and the cool, methodical action characteristic of the police. Sometimes they come into symbiosis with each other and it's best to watch it - they drop in with their friends, do everything according to the procedures, the villains start beating them, then they give them back or initiate aggression themselves when they know that they can (e.g. a beaten person cannot go to the police to complain, because if those guys had sucked him for the crimes, jail and fuck off Hood would be nothing compared to what their principal would give them.) I didn't like his plot in prison a bit - they limited it to fighting an albino, which the main character dealt with quite quickly and very brutally in 2 or 3 episodes. But I like his summary from season 3 - he did his job, he dealt with the problems of his closest people and his demons from the past, but when he saw and understood how many innocent people died for it, he started to run away. It was true that it helped the city and its inhabitants a lot, but the fight with Kai, or rather its consequences, overwhelmed his psyche.
Rebecca Bowman - There is not much to say about her other than that I was disappointed. At first I liked the fact that they made her a girl with a very liberal approach to sex, and at the same time not a stupid and ambiguous character, but in season 3 they made her a silly doll who thinks too little with her head and uses her carnal strengths too much . The fact is, it is quite natural and human that after reaching and stabilizing our high position, we often sit on our laurels and start demanding less from ourselves, but it made me a bit nervous. Too often she acted like a foolish and naive 13-year-old, too often solved a case by sticking her ass in the direction of a guy, and too little thought and tried to use them with her combination of cleverness, sex appeal and personal charm. It's a pity, because there was a potential for a nice bitch, and so we got a little empty Barbie with a nice figure as vice boss of the local mafia.
Kai Proctor - My favorite character in this series. A lonely man who has achieved success only thanks to his hard work and the upbringing he has received. I have a lot of comments about Amish and religion, but I can give them one thing - they can teach discipline and work on themselves. If it were not for this, Kai probably would not have built his empire, or at least he would have had more difficulties with it due to a less aggressive and selfish ego and a more liberal approach to life. I like him for his effectiveness, fighting skills, constant work on himself, self-discipline and a sober mind. Yes, he is an explosive person who is prone to various triggers, but is able to overcome his emotions and grab his ego by the throat when someone in such a state presents him with the right arguments. Besides, it is verbal, if it threatens someone, it carries it out. It was clearly visible when the Indians attacked the Amish because they had reasonable suspicions about the origin of the murderer of the girl from their environment - during "tough negotiations" with their participation (it was a casino) or during an action with drugs from season 3, when in an effective way, attacked enemies with his people. And that iconoclastic back tattoo of his that looks amazing!
Siobhan Kelly - Another character that had the potential for a bit more, but was made into a clichéd persona. She knew how to fight, which she showed during the fight with her ex-husband. She also did not have a happy life, she had an interesting romance with Lucas, but for some time the creators had no idea for her and reduced her to the role of a substitute for his former love. I didn't like her reaction to discovering the main character's identity, but it was understandable - she was driven by emotions, she was in love, so despair was quite natural. "Good" happened and I am not accidentally putting it in quotation marks that Littlestone killed her because her role at least contributed to something.
Kurt Bunker - It's fun to watch an ex-neo-Nazi, all tattooed with their characteristic symbols and inscriptions, in a policeman's uniform. Overall, I have little to say about him - I like his actor, he plays his role well, you can see that he is also full of testosterone, but he is working hard not to hurt anyone. It's a pity they brought him in so late and I won't see his fate after the strong season 3 finale in which his former Adolf-worshiping brothers brutally tortured him.
Clay Burton - A mysterious character who hasn't had too many opportunities to prove himself. He stood like a faithful dog that watched his boss and waited for his command. But once he got into action, it was a beautiful sight and a painful experience for his opponents. Clay looks inconspicuous, but technically he's probably the best fighter on the show, and I suspect that if he took a 1v1 fight with any type (except Littleston, this big bastard can't be killed by himself or without a strong weapon), they would have lost. An additional advantage in this case is the fact that the guy has no balls, so kicking him in the groin has much less effect. His fight with the Indian is just a work of art.
Chayton Littlestone - Typical giant, like in action movies and series, but I really liked his fanaticism and the fact that despite being a lot of muscle, he is not a mindless idiot. He beats very well in terms of technique, knows how to use the surroundings, and his death beautifully showed the power of the shotgun.
Nola Longshadow - Since she didn't have too many scenes for herself apart from the action and showing off her big cojones, let me say this - she fought beautifully, looked even better, had great actions and used the traits in which women dominate men (better and fuller perception of reality, greater body flexibility, faster reflexes), just a good bitch.
Sugar Bates - This gentleman won my affection at the beginning and kept it until the end. It looks nice and inconspicuous, and has a too soft heart, but appearances are deceptive. Although the guy is a grandfather, it shows that a professional boxer with extensive experience can be a killing machine regardless of age. In addition, he can play well and keep his mouth locked, which, contrary to appearances, is not so easy, especially when we experience a stressful situation. I liked his relationship with Job very much - the boys like and respect each other (although it may seem otherwise at first), but they still throw nice and apt insults at each other. However, when the matter comes down, they act like professionals and put aside any animosity. Such a typical male friendship.
Job - It will be short about him, because in both texts I mentioned a lot about him. I don't know about you, but at first I dismissed him a bit (I didn't challenge him like the characters from the show, but I had doubts about his fighting skills and character), but then I had to quickly change my mind. The guy has balls like Kai, Sugar, the main character and most of the heroes of "Banshee" and is a master of a sharp retort, as befits an exceptionally talented and extremely intelligent man.
Emmett Yawners - Another character after Bates, which I liked immediately, although he, unlike him, got 5 minutes for himself quite late. A nice hero who was a clunker like the rest of the Banshee policemen, but I always associated it with pleasure. I do not know what words to use here, so do not take it too literally (because the plot is sad, scary and I do not wish anyone a similar situation) - "I liked" how he did what he should with three neo-Nazis who not only beat his wife, but also caused their child to die. He massacred each of them one by one, which unfortunately ended his career, and then he and his partner were shot.
That's it, I generally recommend the series. Also "Warrior" - I will post a review of the 1st season on my blog soon.