Best episode
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BirdmanT7 — 9 years ago(September 05, 2016 05:20 PM)
Individually I think that is one of my favorites too but there's a lot of mixed opinions about this episode
Personally I don't really care about other people's opinions as to what is good or bad in Banshee. Not everyone will like the same thing, the opinions on "Banshee" here on IMBD are all so vastly different on why they liked this show. Banshee on the surface is a very macho and a testosterone fantasy about a ex-con. This is not the kind of show I would have considered of any depth but what surprised me was its presentation and how the premise was almost a disguise to what maybe either Alan Ball, Tropper and Yaitanes writing and direction of this series really took to it to new heights; that was very unexpected and it was the reason I continued watching it. Underneath all the sex and violence there was a human story to all these characters, from Hood to Proctor.
When you watch how a scene and how the editing takes you with jump cuts into the person's inner thoughts from past is how most of us think about life. Also the show had a very dark look to it, I can see why the comic book was born after the show because the shots are almost very much like set up in that format. I like that episode (The truth about the Unicorns) is mostly because of what some of the themes of the show about lost dreams were incorporated in it, also the ending what Sugar tells Hood in the last scene in the bar was probably the most compelling dialogue of the entire show. Mostly because what Sugar tells him is very much universal of people who have troubled past and unsettled issues that makes the broken inside. Hood on the surface was a very tough and seemed detached at times but deep inside he was not and he was more emotionally vulnerable than Carrie. I think some time in the future this show, like most classic shows, will become a full motion picture because it's truly a work of art and a masterpiece in its own right as a underground show; it broke grounds on many levels. -
gplusr — 9 years ago(September 06, 2016 12:12 PM)
I couldn't have put it any better, that dialog still give me goosebumps, simply because it applies not only to Hood but basically to anyone who's watching, Banshee goes from action, sex, violence as smoothly as it goes to romance and life lessons, easily one of the best shows I 've ever seen and probably my favorite, with Hood being the character I've identified myself the most on television, probably next to Raylan Givens and Dexter Morgan.
The only show that can possibly be more underrated than Banshee is Rectify. -
JumboShrimp787 — 9 years ago(September 06, 2016 01:11 PM)
Great post.
I really did not have exceptionally high expectations for Banshee, after catching a random episode of Strike Back.
But right from the Pilot, I knew Banshee was something else, something very original, with superb writing, directing, acting, casting, editing, and like you said, cinematography. -
mgreen9715 — 9 years ago(September 07, 2016 01:45 PM)
Personally I don't really care about other people's opinions as to what is good or bad in Banshee. Not everyone will like the same thing, the opinions on "Banshee" here on IMBD are all so vastly different on why they liked this show. Banshee on the surface is a very macho and a testosterone fantasy about a ex-con. This is not the kind of show I would have considered of any depth but what surprised me was its presentation and how the premise was almost a disguise to what maybe either Alan Ball, Tropper and Yaitanes writing and direction of this series really took to it to new heights; that was very unexpected and it was the reason I continued watching it. Underneath all the sex and violence there was a human story to all these characters, from Hood to Proctor.
When you watch how a scene and how the editing takes you with jump cuts into the person's inner thoughts from past is how most of us think about life. Also the show had a very dark look to it, I can see why the comic book was born after the show because the shots are almost very much like set up in that format. I like that episode (The truth about the Unicorns) is mostly because of what some of the themes of the show about lost dreams were incorporated in it, also the ending what Sugar tells Hood in the last scene in the bar was probably the most compelling dialogue of the entire show. Mostly because what Sugar tells him is very much universal of people who have troubled past and unsettled issues that makes the broken inside. Hood on the surface was a very tough and seemed detached at times but deep inside he was not and he was more emotionally vulnerable than Carrie. I think some time in the future this show, like most classic shows, will become a full motion picture because it's truly a work of art and a masterpiece in its own right as a underground show; it broke grounds on many levels.
Amazing post and well thought out! Wish there were more people like you around here.
To answer: Tribal to the last episode of S3. I loved the episodes where Siobhan's death clearly hit Hood harder than mostly anything else in his life. -
BirdmanT7 — 9 years ago(September 08, 2016 12:13 AM)
Amazing post and well thought out! Wish there were more people like you around here.
To answer: Tribal to the last episode of S3. I loved the episodes where Siobhan's death clearly hit Hood harder than mostly anything else in his life.
Thank you for your kinds words and complement.
I agree Siobhan's death was probably the most hurtful loss to Hood; if you recall that other episode in season 4, where Hood and Agent Dawson were about to have sex and how that scene started as one thing when suddenly Hood had a flashback of Siobhan?!. That was so out of the box and so unexpected and again so "Banshee", to make a sex scene and turn into an emotional scene where I was truly blown at how subtle and yet it had such an impact on me watching that scene. To see Hood really brake down like that; it broke ground to kill the cliche "tough guys don't cry" crap that we have been for fed for years. It was such a human reaction to a loss by what triggered the memory, when Hood paused for a moment and said "it's nothing", then it just came to surface. It also tied into what I mentioned before that Hood internally was very emotional guy; he just buried things that came to resurface later, like we all do at times.
Overall if someone was to ask what was Banshee was really about?..I would say it was about dealing with Loss, almost all the characters in this show dealt with some loss or another. Loss is a huge part of life and how we move forward. Hood's loss of Carrie was something he could not let go and mostly because she was the only person who really knew him, yet Carrie had moved on, even though Hood held on to this fantasy, as someone who is emotional that he could still be with her; that was again where it reversed the cliche of sexes. Proctor dealt with the loss of connection with his culture, his defiance was to his father and yet he really deeply felt the loss of the real love he had from the people he left. Rabbit also had a sense of loss of Carrie/Ana and he turned that into hate and revenge. Carrie lost the trust of Gordon and her children, it was something she held so high to even turn Hood to Rabbit.
I still go back and watch some of the episodes and just feel sad that this show is over, I feel cheated because of the BS story of Budget where this show could have got picked up by other Cable companies like showtime or HBO. I know I am not alone on this and people like us will continue to come to these boards and connect and discuss this show. I have said this several times that "Banshee" was an anomaly, shows like this don't just happen by luck, it's a serendipity of minds that think alike with a vision for something that is unique. -
chipe — 9 years ago(September 07, 2016 04:31 PM)
I liked:
The best scene of the entire series, in my opinion, is in season 1, episode 9,Always the Cowboy when Carrie digs up secret tin gun box in their yard in front of Gordon, and Rabbit makes his appearance at the Hopewell home and reveals who he is and other facts about Carries lies. Much is sad, much is funny, scary. Rabbit snatches Gordons gun out of his hand, and says to Gordon, Is this anyway to greet your father-in-law? He also admonishes Gordon: Your son is missing for 5 hours and you are terrified; my daughter was missing for 15 years. He finds out what happened to Olek. Well acted (especially Ben Cross as Rabbit) and written. -
larosat — 9 years ago(September 09, 2016 05:03 AM)
I'm going to be the odd man out, stick to my guns and state the much praised Unicorn episode is the absolute worst in the series; despite stiff competition in the last season. The cornfield scene was amazingly done but the other 45 minutes or so were insufferably terminal. And I suspect had we had more episodes along a similar vein the show would not have lasted 4 seasons.
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chipe — 9 years ago(September 11, 2016 02:07 AM)
I agree with you 100% larosat. I just looked at the comments I made when Unicorn was being shown, Wow, so much time "wasted". Here is what I had posted numerous times on the message board at the time:
The only thing good for me was the great photography. I just knew that those who liked the episode would insult the naysayers as Neanderthals into sex and violence. NOT SO! I hated the episode because of the (1) lack of the other characters, and (2) mainly because it didn't show us anything new. We were told many times that they were star-crossed lovers. We knew that; we believed it. We didn't need a boring one-note episode to remind us.
I don't mind change of pace. It's just that a 10-episode season is short enough. Now it is a 9-episode season! What a waste! (Except they eliminated Racine as a possible nemesis/threat one who knew Hood's secret.)Wow, an hour of my life stolen. I was going to start a thread like this, but might just as well add to this one. Not just the worst Banshee episode yet, but the only awful and meaningless one in the series. And to think the season is over after 5 more episodes! What a waste, and I wonder how many more will be bad like this one. If the series started with an episode like this, it would have been canceled pronto!
It's like the producers and directors went back to film school and couldn't decide how to film each scene, so they filmed it several different ways and kept all the versions intercut in!
Let me add that we really learned nothing new in the episode. We knew that Carrie and Lucas were in love and planned to get married, until he got thrown in prison for 15 years. It was clear, and we believed it. We didn't need this episode.
(Cinemax must like that actress who played the assassin here Lyne Renee. She played Rebecca, the Mossad agent, in two seasons of Strike Back. She died there too, but that shouldn't stop them from having her reappear in Banshee! Lucas shouldn't have killed her, he could have bedded her like Damien did in Strike Back, nice sexy scenes too. Another waste for the episode. [
] )
Speaking of the assassin, it shows what silly lengths the directors will go to just for their story purposes. The assassin could have killed Lucas and Ana in so many easy ways, yet she shoots from a distance in her chic camouflage outfit.
As one reviewer said, they sure wasted FBI agent Racine, who looked like an interesting character and plot element. As it worked out, his presence had no effect at all on the story, and what little he did do could have been easily handled by some other character.What was the breakthrough? We knew they were once star-crossed lovers. After she double-crossed him, and he rescued Deva at the school, she had good-bye sex with him throughout the night. In the morning she made it clear to him and Gordon that she loved Gordon and wanted to stay with him.
Everyone of the fans of the Unicorn ep thinks the naysayers miss their daily dose of sex and violence. No. They miss the other characters, and mainly THEY MISS SOMETHING NEW!Brainstorm: all the girl assassin had to do was bump into Lucas in town, seduce him and kill him while he is sleeping. What could be easier?
I like the series for the action, story and characters, not philosophy. And you need big doses of "suspension of disbelief." You have to ignore certain things to enjoy the show. I figured Lucas was the good guy hero, and that was enough for me.
Now to comment on your post, it wasn't just SELFISH, it was STUPID for Lucas to enter Banshee as Sheriff the way he did in the first place. Here he is hiding from this master cruel crime boss, who hates Lucas (and perhaps Carrie too). So Lucas becomes a Sheriff, which turns out to be high public profile. And if it doesn't attract Rabbit, it is sure to be discovered by old business/family matters cropping up from real Hood's old job. So if I can sit through that, I can assume in my mind anything to make the character's motivation's palatable.
He's the hero, and all hero's do their bloody job and have a tinge of regret. Welcome to their world, as Brock might say. So I really didn't learn anything form the episode. We knew from prior episodes that Carrie, after spending the night sexually with Lucas, wanted to keep her family together. We knew this had to disappoint Lucas. We knew that he had to realize that Dava (sp?) was a problem for them. We could assume all along that he had to watch over his troubled daughter. Lucas was intelligent; he had to know that his presence in Banshee would/did cause Carrie trouble with Rabbit and her family. No mystery here.
So, again, what NEW did we get from the episode?The above posts are correct, but could have been more plain spoken.
Carrie running to hug Lucas when she sees him waiting by his truck when she was released from prison was NOT REAL. We know this because in the very next scene we see Carrie -
larosat — 9 years ago(September 12, 2016 07:01 AM)
As you said nothing new. Hood and Carrie will always have feelings for each other. Ad nauseum. Racine is disposed after being underutilized and the assassin tries to take them out while their holed up in a house instead of out in the open?? I can't remember whether it was that season or the following one when the editing appeared to have been executed by someone having constant seizures.
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gplusr — 9 years ago(September 12, 2016 08:59 AM)
The constant seizures started on this season but got repeated a lot on the next one, there was scene with Hood on Season 2 that was like that, but on Season 3 I guess Chayton, Stowe and any other character going through any kind of stress had a shaking camera after them.
Sometimes this type of scene works, but sometimes it really is just annoying. -
LisaSA_555 — 9 years ago(September 20, 2016 02:21 AM)
Chipe and larosat, I may post a longer reply later, but I just want to say this for now.
I respect your views, but Unicorns is right up there for me as well. I don't think it gave us nothing new - it gave us greater insight into Hood's motivations and state of mind (from some of the posts on this board throughout the show, some viewers didn't and still don't get it); his relationship with his father; his heartbreaking sense of loss of not only his first love, Carrie, but the opportunity to raise Deva (the Unicorn reference, among others); Racine's background with Rabbit and HIS motivations.
As Birdman says above, that conversation with Sugar at the end; before that the dream literally going up in smoke; the cornfieldEverything combined just makes this episode a thing of beauty.
But maybe it would appeal more to those of us who were more emotionally invested in the show? Who maybe are a bit more emotional by nature? I don't know, just a thought.
It's easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled. -
larosat — 9 years ago(September 26, 2016 09:37 AM)
I've always been invested in the show. To what degree emotionally I don't know but this ep was just a chore. And one of my favorite shows now is Bloodline; an incredibly slow burn show so it wasn't the lack of action. Maybe it was the direction or pacing but it just wasn't for me.
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mgreen9715 — 9 years ago(December 20, 2016 06:28 PM)
I couldn't stand The Truth About Unicorns either. Mostly because I hated the relationship between Hood and Carrie/Ana but also I didn't really like the character of Carrie period. Luckily the 2nd half of the series got rid of that included his relationship w/ Siobhan and more of him being Sherrif and his character development with the OTHER characters in Banshee (Brock, Sugar, Proctor, etc)
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gergelyszabo — 9 years ago(September 13, 2016 02:01 PM)
Loved the last one, but the most memorable for me is certainly the one with the albino.
// gergely-szabo.com -
viper187666 — 9 years ago(October 13, 2016 09:31 AM)
Best episode is 1.3 when he got in the ring with the UFC beep Burton vs Nola was a good fight, but Hood vs Sanchez was unique. He took the guy apart in a way you never see anywhere else, then stole his watch with half the town watching. It was just awesome.