One of the things I want to do is discuss a few of my favorite TV shows here, and Cinemax's Banshee is hands down my favorite. I am a fanatical fan, collectively we are known as Fanshees. Some might argue that my love of this show would make my opinions too biased towards favoritism, I would argue that instead, my anticipation of the show's greatness makes me more critical than the non-connected watcher as I have a higher expectation level.
If you have not yet watched this episode, this post has many spoilers - be forewarned!
First, a few basics...
Banshee is a Cinemax production, meaning that if you don't like sex, violence, profanity and all the realism that accompanies it, don't bother watching. The target audience is adults who want escapism and freedom from the constraints of network shows. That's not saying the skin and blood is the draw to the show, the richness of the characters and great plot lines are. It is a noir adult comic book that comes to life on the screen.
Mixing this outstanding job of writing/acting/casting/special effects/editing/et al with the phenomenal social media presence the cast and crew have with their fans, makes Banshee combined with Twitter one of the most unique viewing experiences that one can have. I watch a lot of TV and spend a lot of time on social media, and I can honestly say that no other show even comes close to the live tweeting sessions of Banshee that leaves everyone involved exhausted at the end of the night. Multiple factors contribute to this social media success... Banshee showrunner Greg Yaitanes is noted to be a highly tech savvy guy, he is an angel investor in Twitter and uses technology in the shows production to high extents, e.g. using Google map views for scouting. The cast, who coincidentally seem to have zero problems getting twitter verified, are all on board with live tweeting and actually conversing with the Fanshees. The social buzz this creates is amazing, considering that as a cable show the audience size is smaller than most unsuccessful network shows, and yet still manages to trend in Twitterland every week.
Second, what happened prior to Season 3...
Banshee revolves around an unnamed thief (Antony Starr) and his girlfriend Anna (Ivanna Milicevic) who attempted to screw their crime boss Rabbit (Ben Cross) who happens to be Anna's dad, out of a rich score of diamonds they are buglarizing. The thief is caught and sent to 15 years in jail, but not before allowing Anna to escape with the haul, and a new identity provided by noted hacker Job (Hoon Lee).
Flash forward to the end of the thief's jail term, he contacts Job and finds where Anna is now living, a small town called Banshee, in Pennsylvania. The thief, while in a bar owned by Sugar Bates (Frankie Faison) kills several hoodlums who murder Lucas Hood (Griff Furst), sheriff to be of Banshee, a man unknown to any locals. The thief then decides to assume the identity of Lucas Hood and become sheriff himself.
The thief, now known as Lucas Hood spends the next two seasons either getting himself in shit or getting himself in bed with most everyone he meets, including the ex-Amish local crime lord Kai Proctor (Ulrich Thomsen), his niece Rebecca (Lili Simmons), and henchman Clay Burton (Matty Rauch); the local Native American tribe, most notable among them Chayton Littlestone (Geno Segers), Alex Longshadow (Anthony Ruivivar), and Nola Longshadow (Odette Annable); his deputies Brock Lotus (Matt Servitto), Siobhan Kelly (Trieste Kelly-Dunn), and Emmett Yawners (Demetrius Grosse); and his ex-girl Anna, now known as Carrie, her husband Gordon Hopewell (Rus Blackwell), and daughter Deva (Ryann Shane). All the time hunted by Rabbit, at the end of season 2, Rabbit is defeated and dead, and a sense of normality begins to return to Banshee.
That's the short version of seasons 1 and 2, needless to say there is a lot more plot than the summary I have space or scope for.
Third, the meat of the story, Season 3, Episode 1...
(Pardon me for about an hour while I re-enjoy watching the show)
Okay, back again ;-)
We start the episode out in true Banshee fashion, with a bang, literally. Hood, Brock, and Siobhan are chasing one of Emmett's killers through a deserted area. Catching up to him. He does the wrong thing...he tells them that they will never be able to pin Emmett's death on him. Surprise...Brock Lotus grows a pair and fires first, followed quickly by a determined looking Siobhan, then finally by Hood with a shotgun. Justice, served up Banshee style. People have said that they think this will affect Brock the most, but I seriously doubt this. You could see the distaste for the skinhead in his eyes and wrinkled up nose.
Jump to this seasons first intro, combination 5-13-69. We'll see if the numerology gets solved this season by a fan, I have my doubts. Savvy Fanshees know to watch the intros closely as they change every episode and give clues as to the characters development.
Next we have a blurred scene of Carrie banging someone. I'm thinking gotta be Gordon, especially when I see the Marine Corps tattoos, but no, it's the new guy, Langley Kirkwood, playing Colonel Douglass Stowe, one of this seasons antagonists. Carrie seems to have a thing for Marines, if I were 20 years younger, I'd post my old boot camp photo all over her timeline. As I am old and married, I only posted it once. ;-) And of course, we intermix scenes of Carrie and Col. Stowe, with scenes of Hood and Siobhan, in true Banshee editing fashion. I love how plot lines are intermingled in this show. Noteworthy here, both Antony Starr and Trieste Kelly-Dunn have their clothes somewhat on, a shift in direction from last season.
On the subject of Siobhan and Hood, it appears that Siobhan is trying to take ownership of him, telling him he ought to find a new place... we shall see how that goes, either it will cause tension, or next few episodes will have a scene with Hood in an apron doing dishes. ;-) This leads to a later awkward scene at Miles Diner, where Carrie is waitressing while Hood and Siobhan are breakfasting. One thing that hasn't been made clear in the story is just how much Siobhan knows about Hood and Carrie's past.
Sugar Bates, waxing philosophically about how quiet things are in Banshee. Yea, we all know how long that will last. ;-)
Then Burton is knocking on Kai's door. Upon entering, he actually speaks a few lines, probably more than we've heard from him in ages. His delivery of lines is so smooth and dead in character that I feel he is the most underutilized person on the show, and really hope he gets more dialog in upcoming episodes. Of course, it's Banshee, so out from the covers pops a perky Rebecca. They go down to the basement to speak with a prisoner that was obviously being tortured by Burton overnight. Kai extracts the information he wants, and in an extreme act of cruelty, Rebecca gives the already tortured fellow a few last seconds of sexy before she too exits. Burton takes off his glasses, and we all know what that means.
Back at the Cadi, Banshee Sheriff Dept headquarters, where they have a new deputy. Dep. Billy Raven, played by Chaske Spencer is on the job. Interesting name choice... the Raven is the Native American God of tricksters, and we have to wonder just how long it will take Dep. Raven to find that the joke is on him. Brock seems to be more of a serious fellow this season, maybe something to do with the beard.
Shift to a park bench where Kai is sitting with his Mother, played by Jennifer Griffin. Ulrich Thomsen should earn an Oscar for the expression of guilt in his eyes when his Mother asks how her granddaughter Rebecca is. I don't think many actors could pull that look off.
Later, in the night around a fire in the woods where a number of Kinaho toughs are discussing change. Then from above, Chayton booms out his disagreement with his Godlike voice. That voice is so good that James Earl Jones wants to talk like Geno Segers. Geno doesn't need to act to make a living, he could rent out his voice for eulogies and political campaign speeches and make plenty of money. His character is one serious ass kicker and worth watching the show for that alone.
Back to Matt Sevitto as Brock... The man truly lives up to the Banshee traditions of banging the women like a manimal, great to see more people getting some. For those of you that love the backstory, be sure to visit http://welcometobanshee.com to watch the Origins series of shorts.
Good to see Ryann Shane and the newly married Chelsea Cardwell-Lentz back in action as Deva Hopewell (Hood's daughter) and her bestie Beaty. Not so good to see Hood giving parental advice on how to better burglarize a place. I guess when your Dad is a thief pretending to be a sheriff, your Mom is out banging Marines, and your Step-Dad is a few steps past the need for a 12 step program, you have some issues. Russ Blackwell plays the part of a man close to rock bottom well, we hope his character Gordon gets some help.
Onward to building up story lines for the rest of the season... Chayton informs a very terrified Rebecca that the Kinaho gangs will be coming for her and Kai, brazenly robs an armed military convoy with a bow and arrow, and in the ensueing investigation by Banshee Sheriff Hood, we get to what I believe to be the meat of Season 3, lots and lots of cash at Marine Corps Camp Geona. You can see the dollar signs in Hood's eyes while he is talking with Col. Stowe. This is one place that I felt a let down. As a former Marine, these guys didn't have a realistic look/feel of Marines. Chesty Puller would shit little blue bricks if he saw them. Probably I'm a bit more picky here than a civilian would be. Likewise, I was disappointed in the later grenade throwing scenes, I've tossed a few and know how heavy they are.
Have to give a shoutout here to Sheena Zadeh, wife of showrunner Greg Yaitanes who appears behind the counter of Miles Diner. Nice dig on Duck Dynasty lol.
So we end with everything in our universe back in proper alignment. All the pieces are in place for one hellova ass kicker season, and I for one can't wait until next Friday.
In conclusion, make sure to treat yourself to one of the best shows on TV next Friday night on whatever chanel carries Cinemax in your locality. Go to http://welcometobanshee.com and check out the extra content. Get your ass on twitter and join us for an experience you just won't have with any other show.
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