Not a perfect season, this has some startup issues. The first couple of episodes are a mess, so much so that the third episode feels like a soft reboot where each episode takes its time to build up the characters instead. Moreover, the first half of the season occasionally struggles to find a cinematic look, some scenes look like your average 90s cable tv show. However, most issues smooth themselves out over the course of the season. Visually the show finds its footing, the acting improves and the storytelling gets a lot stronger. It’s hard not to fall in love with these characters, they’re very well realized and don’t feel like Scorsese archetypes because of the contemporary setting. Gandolfini’s performance is one for the books, he does a great job at humanizing a flawed, modern gangster. The other actors are also very good despite some overacting during the earlier parts of the show (again, it took a little while to break out of the confinements of 90s television). The music is fantastic, very of its time (lots of psychedelic, alternative dance and electronic music) but it’s all stuff that’s aged well. The overarching narrative remains a little in the background during this season, but the overall story they came up with makes a lot of sense for these characters and plants the seeds for upcoming seasons. I quite like the commentary regarding the taboo of mental healthcare that’s woven throughout, can’t wait to see where it goes.
Review by JordyVIP 8BlockedParent2023-06-17T13:49:54Z
Not a perfect season, this has some startup issues. The first couple of episodes are a mess, so much so that the third episode feels like a soft reboot where each episode takes its time to build up the characters instead. Moreover, the first half of the season occasionally struggles to find a cinematic look, some scenes look like your average 90s cable tv show. However, most issues smooth themselves out over the course of the season. Visually the show finds its footing, the acting improves and the storytelling gets a lot stronger. It’s hard not to fall in love with these characters, they’re very well realized and don’t feel like Scorsese archetypes because of the contemporary setting. Gandolfini’s performance is one for the books, he does a great job at humanizing a flawed, modern gangster. The other actors are also very good despite some overacting during the earlier parts of the show (again, it took a little while to break out of the confinements of 90s television). The music is fantastic, very of its time (lots of psychedelic, alternative dance and electronic music) but it’s all stuff that’s aged well. The overarching narrative remains a little in the background during this season, but the overall story they came up with makes a lot of sense for these characters and plants the seeds for upcoming seasons. I quite like the commentary regarding the taboo of mental healthcare that’s woven throughout, can’t wait to see where it goes.
7/10