Warrior Class Recap

Here are a few takeaways from last night’s episode of Banshee, where punches were thrown, strong women made an appearance and legendary entrances were made.

*NO ONE on television plays inner rage and dialogue less emotion better than Antony Starr.   There were certain moments in this hour of television that struck me as special work from the New Zealand actor.  The moment where Carrie says thanks for visiting her in jail during his 30 day stretch even though she never came to see him in his 15 year hike.  A long stretch that has left our hero with a decent amount of post traumatic stress since he gets a little short on air supply during his visits there.  I love the flashbacks to the moment this show kicked off, the first image of Hood with that “let me out of here look on his face”.   Great work from Starr this episode.  The women carry a lot of weight on this show but Starr is the soul of the show.

*A little Law and Order action opens up this week in Banshee.   The death of an Indian girl sets the war with the Amish on fire and this will only get worse.  Casualties hit the Indian tribe first when Proctor goes Al Capone on a couple invading dummies.  The assault includes two testicle smashes, a handoff to Burton and a smile from the silent henchman.  Banshee doesn’t forget about well placed tongue in cheek humor and I can’t wait to see more Matty Rauch this season.

*Greetings Chayton Littlestone.  I had a chance to talk to Geno Segers, the actor who brings this very big man to life, on Twitter this week.  I asked him how excited we should be for the clash between his Chayton and Lucas and his response was pretty much to the punch.

“TWO TONS, bout ta BUST, can’t WAIT a min MORE, bring IT on, waste no MORE time kinda excited. #Feelme?”-Segers

When asked about the hazard coming to Hood and what we can expect from his baddie his season, Segers said the guy isn’t going anywhere.

“He’ll be fine, without him there is no chayton. That said he still proves to be a real issue for the Banshee PoPo.”-Segers

His entrance topped the arrival of the Albino last season and that’s no offense to Joe Gatt.   When Hood and the deputies descended upon the Kinaho reservation for a little chat, we all knew nothing little would be happening.   Watching the reckless Rocky Balboa like Hood strut into action, I remember a line from FX’s Justified.  Lucas Hood is the kind of guy who would touch a stove even if you told him it was hot.  That is who he is and he isn’t changing for a big man named Chayton.

The fight was epic.  The rest of the Deputies going against the rest of the house occupants while Chayton seemed to have his way with Hood.  Segers reminds me of Tiny Lister, because both men are huge and have the most terrifying voice to go with the broken bone treatment.  This is why Banshee rocks the most out of their fight scenes. Every clash is treated like a knockdown all out bashing session but we never forget what is going on.  The camera doesn’t move quicker than our minds can react.   Chayton tossing Lucas threw a room that really lacked solid carpentry was awesome and we didn’t forget their place.

I have been told Hood takes too much of a beating on this show and it wouldn’t be realistic and that is where I pick up a brick and smash it over their head.  THIS IS A TV SHOW.  Make Believe!  It isn’t supposed to be realistic and makes no real claims to be.   I can buy Lucas taking this beating from Chayton because for once he isn’t having a knife plunged in the side of his stomach.  He’s tough and eventually, with the help of Siobhan, gets Chayton in a sleep hold and the big guy goes night night.

*The new District Attorney is sharp and blunt but why do I have a feeling she will be sleeping with Hood soon?   An unbias soul doesn’t promise a complete dish of justice in this town.

*One thing leads to another on this show as well.  Rebecca once again found herself in the middle of a forest alone, basically screaming “come assault me”.   All this ends with Lucas getting a shovel to the head and finding himself in the comfort of his lovely deputy, Siobhan.

For die hard fans of Ana/Lucas, this may have seemed like a disappointment but there was a part of me cheering for these two.  Obviously the sex scene is shown in conjunction with Carrie failing to get a hold of Gordon, who is busy downing drugs and getting a lap dance.  What I see here is a potential future where Carrie stays Carrie and fixes her second family and Lucas finds a new home with Siobhan….but this is Banshee and happy endings aren’t coming any time soon.   This little relationship between Lucas and Siobhan that started with the night of her birthday and her house getting burned down, continued with a hot kiss last week and culminated in a sleep over last night won’t end well.

The true greatness of Banshee is the amount of directions the story could go each week.   So many juicy characters and that includes the arrival of Hood’s son, Jason.  He isn’t the most loving son in the world and wants a Job fresh start before he forgets his dads name now belongs to a criminal playing sheriff.  With Sugar giving him the proper address and a deal seemingly being cut, something tells me this won’t end well either.

And that’s okay.  Part of a television show’s job is to wet our lips, piss us off by placing characters in danger and staying true to their roots all at the same time.  This isn’t Law and Order: SVU where the plot and story will conveniently run together smooth inside an hour’s time.  On Banshee, things just get hotter and more hazardous every week.  Without that setup, the show loses a little bit of luster and appeal.

That’s all for this week.  Next week, we see more investigation into the murder and the Amish family playing more of a role this season.   Chayton making his way out of the police car and flipping it over in the process.   Lucas looking mad as hell as usual while Rebecca seduces Jason and Carrie potentially coming back into her family’s life.   Bright and shiny coupled with the darkness Gordon mentioned in episode 11.   Get ready for more blood.

Thanks for reading and tell me your thoughts on Banshee Episode #13 in the comments section below.

-D.Buffa