S01.E10: This Piece of My Soul

[formerlyfreedom]

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Kingstown Prison descends into total chaos. Mike desperately works to help stop a riot that will have serious consequences for all involved.

Season finale dropping Sunday, January 9, 2022.

[mledawn]

Easily the best episode of the season for me - I had chills at times.

The cell phone scenes with Mike and his mother were so well acted. I question the role of momma McLusky but those scenes were fantastic. She didn't see the bigger picture of trying to stop info from getting into the prison but Mike was on that right away.

"I'm an advocate for inmates. Someone's already informed on them, if they're in there, so I don't see a conflict?" Love Sassy Mike.

"Those assholes serve fucking warrants for wire fraud. They've never been shot at a day in their lives - I got shot at YESTERDAY" Robert is so good. He loves his job, and he's good at it. I just didn't understand why they wouldn't bring Ian and Kyle back out the way they went in? Kyle in particular was a liability.

How was Ed not dead before being strung up, honestly. The inmates hated him the most.

The rumour is that season two is a go, so we shall see. Obviously with Milo sneaking out there will be more to mine with that storyline, plus those two cops know Mike was involved in the shooting.

[wlk68]

49 minutes ago, mledawn said:

Easily the best episode of the season for me - I had chills at times.

The cell phone scenes with Mike and his mother were so well acted. I question the role of momma McLusky but those scenes were fantastic. She didn't see the bigger picture of trying to stop info from getting into the prison but Mike was on that right away.

"I'm an advocate for inmates. Someone's already informed on them, if they're in there, so I don't see a conflict?" Love Sassy Mike.

"Those assholes serve fucking warrants for wire fraud. They've never been shot at a day in their lives - I got shot at YESTERDAY" Robert is so good. He loves his job, and he's good at it. I just didn't understand why they wouldn't bring Ian and Kyle back out the way they went in? Kyle in particular was a liability.

How was Ed not dead before being strung up, honestly. The inmates hated him the most.

The rumour is that season two is a go, so we shall see. Obviously with Milo sneaking out there will be more to mine with that storyline, plus those two cops know Mike was involved in the shooting.

I love Robert as well. He is easily one of my favorite characters. Agree they should've had a couple of guys take Kyle and Ian out rather than drag them with them, deeper into the prison. Really glad that Kyle made it out. If he hadn't, I'm sure Momma McCluskey would've blamed Mike. I'm assuming we'll see him dealing with PTSD next season. Happy to hear there will be a next season. 

Sorry to see the end of Ed. I like the actor playing him.  

[dwmarch]

That ended about the way I'd expect a real prison siege to end. The inmates made unreasonable demands, did something stupid and got themselves massacred with the quickness.

I'm not sure about Milo sneaking out in a guard's uniform. On one hand, he was established as the guy who pays attention and knows stuff about the prison. On the other hand, some prisoners would have no idea who he was and would have intercepted him on his way out.

Robert was the MVP here for sure. And as an added bonus, when he rescues you from a bad situation he gives you an opportunity to "get back on the horse" by watching his team massacre some bad guys! Now that's full service hostage rescue right there.

[Chaos Theory]

I am not sure the demands were unreasonable.  They wanted better food and to be treated as human beings.  I mean if the guards are serving even the worst murderer shit and destroying the letters he sends home to his family that is crossing a line.   There is a difference between housing convicted felons and torturing them.   Add to that the police and guards asked them for a favor and didn’t live up to their end of the bargain.   I thought the finale was really well done because you saw all this coming.   The death by a thousand cuts that the guards perpetrated on the inmates.   And yes there is a difference between taking someone’s freedom and their manhood or humanhood.  

I also liked the ending.  Which might signal what this show is actually about.  Once pieces  of your soul have been chipped away by the choices you made or the choices others have made for you can if ever get them back?   

Edited January 9, 2022 by Chaos Theory

[Moviesnob]

I enjoyed the entire series. The tension was great in the last two episodes. I enjoyed the hug at the end b/w the mom and her boys. I hope they utilize Dianna West better next season - as more than a mouthpiece of how horrible everything is.

The last scene was a bit underwhelming for me. I did keep waiting for that bear to come back and I really wasn't sure if Mike would come back to a dead Iris. I'm looking forward to another season of those two (hopefully) helping each other heal while dealing w/ Milo.

I kept waiting for that disgruntled prison guard to pop back up and I am sad with how they dealt with him. I get he was basically committing suicide but I guess I got really attached to whatever they were gonna do with him to just have him go out like that.

[dwmarch]

4 hours ago, Moviesnob said:

I kept waiting for that disgruntled prison guard to pop back up and I am sad with how they dealt with him. I get he was basically committing suicide but I guess I got really attached to whatever they were gonna do with him to just have him go out like that.

There is a knife twist to his ending that I did not realize until later and the show actually set it up with another character. Remember how mom got dragged in to interrogate that young lady who claimed the prison guard raped her? The outcome of that story determines whether or not the guard's family gets survivor benefits. Same with this guard. He clearly pulled a blue-on-blue here and since there were multiple witnesses to it, he's screwing his family out of his benefits, leaving his angry widow to fend for herself and look after their disabled son. That is some next-level revenge right there.

[Moviesnob]

7 minutes ago, dwmarch said:

There is a knife twist to his ending that I did not realize until later and the show actually set it up with another character. Remember how mom got dragged in to interrogate that young lady who claimed the prison guard raped her? The outcome of that story determines whether or not the guard's family gets survivor benefits. Same with this guard. He clearly pulled a blue-on-blue here and since there were multiple witnesses to it, he's screwing his family out of his benefits, leaving his angry widow to fend for herself and look after their disabled son. That is some next-level revenge right there.

Ugh, I didn't even think about that. That is definitely one thing I enjoy about Sheridan's writing - how much he puts on the audience to connect. Leaves you with a lot to think about.

 

Can ya'll help me out with why Milo sent Mike to the bus full of victims? I know Mike said Milo didn't mean for him to find that, and so did Milo's lawyer (the lawyer said he was supposed to find bonds or something, I think), but Milo had wanted the police to follow Mike out there and get whatever he found. Why did he want that?

[Chaos Theory]

12 hours ago, Moviesnob said:

Ugh, I didn't even think about that. That is definitely one thing I enjoy about Sheridan's writing - how much he puts on the audience to connect. Leaves you with a lot to think about.

 

Can ya'll help me out with why Milo sent Mike to the bus full of victims? I know Mike said Milo didn't mean for him to find that, and so did Milo's lawyer (the lawyer said he was supposed to find bonds or something, I think), but Milo had wanted the police to follow Mike out there and get whatever he found. Why did he want that?

I think that’s a lie.  Milo wanted Mike to find the bodies because the police find the bodies.  We don’t know if Milo is the killer yet or someone else and that is a huge mystery but it is what brought Mike’s  brother to the prison to investigate.  Did Milo know the riot was coming and he situated himself in the right place at the right time or was he just using the murders in the bus to put the police on the defensive.  We still don’t know.   But in a town that plays checkers Milo plays chess.  But the so does Mike.  

[mledawn]

17 hours ago, Moviesnob said:

Can ya'll help me out with why Milo sent Mike to the bus full of victims? I know Mike said Milo didn't mean for him to find that, and so did Milo's lawyer (the lawyer said he was supposed to find bonds or something, I think), but Milo had wanted the police to follow Mike out there and get whatever he found. Why did he want that?

Weren’t the bodies the victims of the killer who was executed - the guy who hadn’t admitted to killing that DA/ADA’s little girl? Why Milo would be interested in that, I am not sure.

Now, anyone who has watched an episode of The Detectorists will tell you - that was some serious miracle stuff to find ONLY THAT on a piece of property where no specific details or coordinates are given. No rusted out soup cans or anything - just right to a massive bus.

There are so many open stories, I hope there really is a second season that circles back on them (and that it is well-written). No small task...

[Ottis]

Uh, yay, I guess? After watching the least necessary prison riot in the history of television? What was the point of all that, aside from gratuitous violence?

- It wasn't a commentary on the prison system. The show never portrayed a reasonable protagonist who could make the point that conditions were unfair for average people caught in the system, much less people who admit murder and other crimes. And the show never portrayed it as truly awful (crowded and violent, sure, which most people include in the definition of "prison").

- It wasn't a commentary on Mike "losing his soul," because we haven't seen him do things to lose it. At worst, he bent the rules and brokered deals to try to prevent violence, at least in his mind. Even when he shot the guys who abused Iris, the show provided him with a moral motivation (that simultaneously cut off any thought that he was above the other people who broke the rules when it was convenient). The prison riot didn't happen because Mike took steps to cause it. Aside from the one deal he did, that he didn't want to do, to kill the dude who burned down the trailer, Mike didn't do much of anything and was holed up with Iris. He made alliances with people like Bunny to try to help, and he certainly didn't enrich himself much in doing so. He may have been misguided, but he didn't seem particularly compromised or evil. So trying to "rebuild his soul" didn't clearly apply.

- It wasn't a redemption story, or much of a revenge story. The prison guard who was a hard ass was killed, so he got his just desserts, I guess? Seemed liked overkill. I have no idea why they had the tower guard do what he did, and then get killed.

- It wasn't a hero story. Mike didn't save the day. No one did. A lot of people died.

It was a couple of hours of pointless prison violence. No idea why the show went that way. I thought when Mike returned to the cabin, Iris was going to eventually reveal a dead attacker. But nope. Milos escaped, but he could have escaped without the riot (and in a more interesting way). Is it somehow a Mike vs. Milos chess game, and everyone else is a pawn? Maybe? But the fact that isn't clear underscores poor storytelling. And that could also have been shown in much more interesting ways.

Renner has been great. The writing has not. I hope they find a direction.

 

Edited January 14, 2022 by Ottis

[raven]

On 1/9/2022 at 11:26 AM, mledawn said:

"I'm an advocate for inmates. Someone's already informed on them, if they're in there, so I don't see a conflict?" Love Sassy Mike.

"Those assholes serve fucking warrants for wire fraud. They've never been shot at a day in their lives - I got shot at YESTERDAY" Robert is so good. He loves his job, and he's good at it.

LOL, yep, good lines, both!  I also really appreciate Robert's matter of fact, get the job done attitude.

The brotherly and family hugs were good.  Kyle owes his life to Ian as well as Robert's team.

On 1/9/2022 at 12:22 PM, wlk68 said:

Sorry to see the end of Ed. I like the actor playing him.  

Yeah, the actor was good.  Ed made some (not all) good points but was a dick, overall. 

Milo's escape - I'm not a fan of the "otherworldly" bad guy in these types of shows that are supposed to be realistic.  Aidan Gillen can play this type of character in his sleep but eh - if he's supposed to be the ultimate foil for Mike, I'd rather he not have been in prison to begin with.   WRT to the 26 bodies - he obviously knows more than the police and I think has more to do with committing those crimes than the guy who was executed.  

S2 should be Mike saying "I told you so".