ginninny9591

Oof. I was enjoying Seasons 1 and 2 of this show as a pretty good, (very) loosely historical, gritty mob vs. Mob gangster saga. Forest Whitaker, Vincent D'Onofrio, Ginacarlo Esposito, and Nigel Thatch do admirable jobs in their roles. Rafi Gavron was also really good as Ernie Nunzi. Initially, the dialogue feels authentic and the characters are believable. Toward the end of Season 2, the believability of the Bumpy Johnson character, as well as many others, really begins to tank.

In Season 3, things fall apart. Characters who lent gravitas to the show disappear (jailed, killed, or just not written in anymore); a main character is suddenly portrayed by a different actor who just doesn't work. The writing becomes totally cheesy. The dialogue is inauthentic, unbelievable, and even laughable. Side characters and plots are given more air time and it becomes unclear which story is the main one. The actors themselves don't seem to believe their lines and even those who embodied their characters very well in the first two seasons (Erik LaRay Harvey as Del Chance, Elvis Nolasco as Nat Pettigrew, Ilfenesh Hadera as Mayme Johnson) lose their conviction and can't give convincing peformances. The whole show takes a nosedive and becomes farcical. I would have given it a 7 or 8 rating for the first two seasons but with Season 3 it's a stretch to give it a 6. Now, instead of looking forward to Season 4, I'm thinking I'll give it a pass. What a loss.

I see that a lot of reviewers complained about the use of modern music (hip hop, rap) but I saw it as a way to illustrate how the drug trade, turf wars, violence, and racial hatred carry on to this day. There is period music featured in many scenes inside the clubs and in historical footage, which works to convey that 60s feel.

I gave this show a very high rating after watching season 1, but season 2 has ruined it. The story is extremely slow-moving, so slow that I've lost the plot (if there is one any more). It's also extremely depressing. I get that it was a rough era and place to live through, but ugly things happen to the main characters time after time to the point where it's ridiculous and grinds the story to a halt. Why? What's the point of all of the depressing, repetitive ugliness? It's certainly not moving the story along. I'm not eager to see the next episodes or even the end of this season, because by this time there have been so many story-stopping setbacks, complete with abusive sex scenes and unnecessarily graphic violence, that I just don't care anymore. If you loved season 1, like I did, season 2 will be a big disappointment. (P. S. I'm on episode 5 and doubt that I'll continue watching anymore of this plodding sh** show.).

Addendum: Good God, I cannot believe this show has an 8.3 rating! What is wrong with people? Clearly, devolution is accelerating.