No doubt that this show is one of the best ones I've seen in years, not for the story itself since it's not so probable to happen in real life for dirtier the legal world can be, but yes for the way that it's told and mainly for the performances. Glenn Close, what can we tell about her? For sure she's ALWAYS mesmerizing and particularly in this show she's frightening terrific. I also agree to think that it's a waste of talent see an actress like her having to work in a TV show, but at the same time a thank god for being able to watch a show like this one casting an actress like her. Rose Byrne is great and a lot convincing, I already knew her for some previous works and she's really talented. Ted Danson worked perfectly as the pathetic Mr. Frobisher and was great to see Tate Donovan working in something interesting again instead of wasting his time in TV shows like The O.C. And the same can be said about the other guest appearances thru the seasons.
During the 5th episode of 1st season, Patty Hewes says to Ellen Parsons to trust no one. The show is ALL about this sentence because everything here is a secret, no one is reliable and nothing is what it seems. All the elements for a good crime/thriller show are there. Some clichés exist but they are important for the entertaining. 1st season was a smash delivering all the greatest things that a TV show like this one should have and its finale was something that really did the audience expect the 2nd season enthusiastically. After more than an year of waiting, 2nd season finally had its premiere and it was awesome the new and undefined plot that was presented, but as new episodes were coming things were more confusing than being just an interesting puzzle to a point that audience was not being an active part anymore, trying to discover together with the characters what really happened, but became a passive one being deceived all the time, losing what made 1st season so special. 3rd season was the same thing, maybe the worst one. A bunch of great actors and actresses underused within a weak plot development full of red herrings and horrible conclusions, failing a lot when trying to exceed the 1st season tricky interesting qualities. Both 2nd and 3rd seasons finale were something kinda strange, giving absurd explanations for things that could be far better if explained in a simpler way. Maybe that's why 4th season was far better and a back to form. The formula using flashbacks and flash-forwards was the same, but a simpler main plot was presented and developed without unnecessary obstacles during 10 episodes. Characters in a exact number performed brilliantly by an amazing cast. Hope 5th season (and last one) to keep the tone achieved during 4th season, and maybe a great court fight to give it a great ending.
So, even thinking that 2nd and 3rd seasons failed a lot in a bunch of aspects, I still give the show 9 stars most for its first season and, of course, the performances that, I repeat, are more than just performances, are outstanding performances.
