Waco as a miniseries is competently made and filled with tension. The show follows the ATF/FBI standoff with the Branch Dividians that led to the deaths of the majority of the cult members and years of investigations and inquiries into the actions of the ATF. Taking its sources from two books, A Place Called Waco by David Thibodeau & Leon Whiteson and Stalling for Time: My Life as an FBI Hostage Negotiator by Gary Noesner, the series gives us a holistic view at the event from both sides of the engagement. Gary Noesner is played very well by Michael Shannon and conveys his desperation to deescalate the tensions while fighting against both Koresh's ego and the HRT team's desire to use aggressive actions to bring about a decisive end. It's a really good performance and only serves to reinforce what a fantastic actor Shannon is. Taylor Kitsch is equally good as Branch Dividians leader David Koresh and brings out the charisma of the man and from the performance you can understand why his followers would be drawn to him.
Unfortunately there's a massive drawback to this series that keeps it from achieving greatness. The show deservedly calls out the overly aggressive tactics of the HRT team during the standoff as well as the oversight that gave them carte blanche to use these tactics, but the show is uncritical about not just David Koresh, but also Randy Weaver as Ruby Ridge is used as a sort of prologue leading up to the Waco standoff. Throughout the series we hear Weaver and Koresh use the phrase "we weren't bothering anyone, why couldn't you leave us alone?" and frames these men as victims despite knowledge of their actions that make them anything but. The show does address Koresh's ploygymany to both women and minors, but the show tries to excuse this by citing Texas las allowing 14 year olds to marry with parental consent. The way the show stumbles over itself trying to paint Weaver and Koresh as "victims" is not only disgusting, but damages the integrity of an otherwise well done series.
Despite the series inexcusably sympathetic approach to Koresh and Weaver, I do still recommend the miniseries as it features good acting and genuine tension. However I feel that before one sees it they should have knowledge and context of the events discussed.
