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  • #16
    Re: Boss

    Yeah, I'm not "feeling" this season. My problem is they took the first season to such extremes that it's hard to keep that momentum and maintain any continued sense of reality about the whole milieu.

    I wish they had more faith in the behind-the-scenes drama of the corruption, the power plays, the upcoming election, and Kane's dilemma to drive the series instead of artificially creating calamity. Sure, a little sex and violence gives the series its Starz edginess, but with Ezra Stone's murder, they went down a path from which they are not returning. It's not Boardwalk Empire, it's not the Sopranos, but it's as if the show is striving for a similar notoriety as they pile on:

    SPOILERS


    ***********************************


    An attempted "assassination", race riots, and all of it occurring in the span of four episodes.


    ***********************************

    Maybe that would work in Sin City, the TV show, but it's a bit much for me. I'm from Chicago and I found the first season to be plausible enough to watch all of the episodes, but they're losing me.
    #writinginaStarbucks #re-thinkingmyexistence #notanotherweaklogline #thinkingwhatwouldWilldo

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    • #17
      Re: Boss

      Dissatisfied, too. Spoilers:

      ***
      First of all, I don't understand why they didn't do anything with Sam Miller, the journalist. At the end of the first season I had the feeling that the guy would be a key character digging up details that could potentially bring Kane down in season two. But absolutely NOTHING of the sort ever happened. It would have been a nice connection between the two seasons, but as it is, they almost entirely abandoned that story line. Also, Sam Miller may be the only likeable character in the series aside from the (female and male) nurses. Why not give him more screen time?

      Secondly, I think it was a stupid decision to send the main character off into some medical facility where he has nothing to do and just let the story continue without him. How could that happen?

      Thirdly, where did that kid, who is Kane's new assistant, come from? Was there any reference to him in the first season? If so, I missed it, as he just appeared out of the blue as far as I can tell. One would expect that there would be a plausible reason for him being there, but nope, we're approaching the end of the season and the character is as faceless as at the beginning. (To make matters worse, I don't like the guy's acting.)

      As for the imaginations, I agree that there was too much of that during the first half of the season. It would have been more interesting to have situations where these hallucinations would cause immediate problems, but, again: NOTHING.

      I don't mind violence, nudity and sex in films and TV shows, but they must serve a purpose with regard to the overall story.

      Seriously, how could they ruin this show so quickly? The scripts must have been read by a dozen people, including the main actors and producers. I can't imagine that everybody was just happy with the material. Maybe it looked good on paper?

      ***
      Jesus, if this guy owned a funeral parlor nobody would die!

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      • #18
        Re: Boss

        Originally posted by dodo1 View Post
        Seriously, how could they ruin this show so quickly? The scripts must have been read by a dozen people, including the main actors and producers. I can't imagine that everybody was just happy with the material. Maybe it looked good on paper?
        Maybe this is why the show ended up on Starz. I'm giving anonymous suits a lot of credit here, but perhaps other networks didn't see the potential past season one.

        Because I'm just not sure where you're supposed to take this show. The first season was fascinating because it was sharp and different, but everyone in it is an assh*le. The threat of the protagonist going crazy is a good one, but it's not fun to actually watch him go crazy. Instead, it's kind of aggravating. He hasn't had one legitimate relationship with any other character on the show, so it's like there are no stakes to anything he does. Who cares who he pisses off or if he succeeds or fails.

        At first the world they created seemed so full. But once you've been there awhile and get over the novelty, you realize it's empty. A cool backdrop with nothing going on in the foreground.

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        • #19
          Re: Boss

          SPOILERS

          It honestly sounds like you guys are watching a different show entirely. I just finished season two tonight and frankly, if there's richer, more impressive writing anywhere on TV, I haven't found it. I enjoy Boardwalk, love Mad Men, but the only show I wait on all week is Boss. Those shows do sometimes manage to blow me away a few times each season, but Boss pulls it off consistently, every episode.

          Safinia has said he and Grammer set out to do something Shakespearean, and this I think they have achieved. The dialogue is rich and hearty, almost alien at times. The plots are logical yet surprising. Every action of every character reverberates and builds throughout the season, and in this case carry over from the events of the first. Kane is a despicable dictator, but what makes him human and relatable is that his illness has finally forced him to face his own mortality. The hallucinations and flashbacks he experienced during his Alternalive treatment started to bring this out more clearly, and they sewed that button up in the S2 finale last night. What could be more universal than the prospect of your own death closing in on you? It's both tragic and beautiful. Kane is the most powerful being in his universe, yet he cannot escape this fundamental powerlessness over his own death, and this causes him to clamp down even harder on all those around him to cling to what power he does have.

          The finale also delivered on Sam Miller's arc. He rolled the dice with his own ethics, and he lost big time. Just when the audience is rooting for him most strongly, Kane takes him down in flames. Incredible.

          Meredith is probably my favourite character at this point. She showed again just how ruthless she could be, and again was forced to capitulate to her husband. But her stepping in mid-season was amazing, and the scene between her and McGantry on the rooftop was pure fireworks. The final moments of the season were riveting.

          Whoever said Ian's character is a weak addition is clearly not paying close attention. It's been plainly hinted since episode 4 what his role could be, and it's pure Shakespeare. Going in the direction of incest had real potential for failure, but it became evident in the finale that if a third season comes to pass, they've got plenty of fuel. As for the other new character, Mona, at first I thought she wasn't contributing much, but her function became clear over time as well. She's an outward manifestation of Kane's weakening judgement. She's the workplace equivalent of him trying to force a family dinner.

          And Kitty! She really came full circle this season, and I loved how they wove her arc together with Miller's. That brought out so much from each of them, but especially her. Sending her to the Walsh camp was sheer brilliance, especially for how it managed to pay off the S1 Zajac tryst. She's such a great character so full of self-loathing and yet, apart from Ian, probably the most capable and ambitious character on the show after Kane (and perhaps Meredith).

          I also love the Emma character, even if the actress's US accent isn't perfect. (It actually works well in my view; it makes her sound a bit erudite and spoiled, obviously higher class than her street friends.) She's probably the most sympathetic one on the show, and if she can get her act together she could turn out to be more formidable than either of her parents. It would be something if she turned out to be her father's daughter, so to speak. I wish there had been more of the plot with her grandfather, but that too could be something coming if we get an S3.

          Gotta mention Darius too. He got dropped off a steep cliff at the end there, and it will be interesting to see where he lands.

          Lastly, all the minor characters are so well cast and well woven into the main arcs, it's a marvelous achievement. Ross, Driscoll, Walsh, Maggie, McGantry, Doyle, Claire, Kav, Jackie, the shooter whose name we never knew until the finale. I don't know where they find these people, but they just fit perfectly into their small roles and chew up every scene they appear in. Can't say enough good stuff about them.

          I'm beyond stoked for a third season. Ratings aside, just the writing and expertise in paying off what they set up should earn this show another order. I can't imagine the network investment is very large anyway.

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