S03:E10: Part 33

[NeenerNeener]

If you make it all the way to the end...

This was as big a waste of my time as Season 3 of The Affair. They could have wrapped the whole thing up in half the episodes and had a much tighter show.

[Hero]

I think my favorite part of the episode was when Sally went into the speech of how the births of her children foreshadowed what kind of people they would become. Sissy should win an Emmy for this.

All in all, I really liked the first few episodes of season 3, but a lot  of storylines were condensed that shouldn't have been condensed and a lot of storylines were used that added no context to the story. 

The Ozzy Delveccio character was useless. He absolutely made no sense at all as a character and added nothing to the plot. I figured that he was supposed to be used more if the show went on to 5 season as planned, but they should have killed him off the first episode. 

I hated when they cut off when John went up to Nolan at the end. I think that's a cop-out. I hate when shows do this. 

But, I still think this is a great show. The first season was awesome and even the trailer for the first season was great. 

Edited May 28, 2017 by Suzy123

[Chaos Theory]

The best part was when Sally speech of each of the births of her children foreshadowing the people they would become.  It was very telling of the people they were and the person she was.  Why John tried so hard to be the good child.  

This season was not quite as good as the others but still a very good season. 

[DoubleUTeeEff]

Very satisfying ends for Kevin and Sally. I loved that Kevin was having the time of his life thinking he was free as a bird at the bar (drinking, no less) and then got picked up. Sally talked about how she only thought of the inn and not her family and the inn ended up being worthless. All that time she invested in the wrong thing and ended up with nothing. It's too bad that Nolan won't get a pile of money from the sale of the inn though. Poor O'Bannon is stuck in prison. At least he gets out to pick up trash on the side of the road.

6 hours ago, Suzy123 said:

I hated when they cut off when John went up to Nolan at the end. I think that's a cop-out. I hate when shows do this. 

I guess you get to decide what you think happens. I choose to think John told him the truth. Especially since he kept "wanting to end it" and he didn't get closure when he confessed to the sheriff. Plus, I think Nolan wanted the truth otherwise he wouldn't have shown up at the end; he would have just left.

I'm glad I got to see a bit of Danny in the last two episodes.

[ptuscadero]

Are you freaking kidding me? 

[MarysWetBar]

Yeah I'm kinda there myself right now.  I read that they had the storyline running to 6 seasons, and this shows they weren't able to wrap it up like they wanted to. 

What a shame cus I really liked this show a lot. It wasn't promoted at all. 

All on Netflix. 

Edited May 29, 2017 by MarysWetBar

[chick binewski]

I enjoyed the final two episodes even though a lot of it didn't make sense to me. Eric is in jail for bludgeoning a cop so he gets to pick up trash on the side of the road? John totally knew about an unconfirmed affair between his mom & Roy? John & Roy both knew about some dude getting stabbed and Roy was behind it? And we find this out in the last episode so we can extrapolate that the inn was cursed b/c Robert & Sally built it on blood money? 

I like that the show explored how secrets within families can seem never-ending and every family's got them, but I would have liked to see more solid reveals. Still don't know the purpose of the brunette chick other than to cast more doubt  for John as to who is parents actually were. And Meg's story seemed kind of empty to me. I mean, she was a screw-up herself in a major way; I thought her character's end might have had more of a payoff if she split and was building a new life instead of giving a fake name, fake life details and getting a bunch of ink. The way it was written made it seem like Linda Cardellini didn't want to do season 3.

I didn't really recognize third season Belle but by the finale I was all OF COURSE she left the GPS on.      

Edited May 30, 2017 by chick binewski

[bilgistic]

1 hour ago, chick binewski said:

I didn't really recognize third season Belle but by the finale I was all OF COURSE she left the GPS on.      

The more I think about this, the more it bothers me. I've never committed a crime beyond speeding, but I know from TV that the first thing you do when you go on the lam is ditch your phone and get a burner phone. John, a detective, orchestrated Kevin and Belle's getaway but didn't tell them to get rid of their phones? I don't get that.

I really disliked the very end. I agree it was a copout. I expect an end/resolution to a story. I suppose it was left open enough in case the show is picked up elsewhere. I've read that's a very distant possibility.

[BlackberryJam]

I felt as if Belle left the GPS on purposefully. Although part of her wanted to run away with Kevin, she knew she couldn't live with a man who had bludgeoned another to death. Or maybe I'm giving Belle too much credit. It was just the vibe I got from her conversation with John's wife. They both loved their husband and yet were terrified by what their husbands had become.

[chick binewski]

20 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

The more I think about this, the more it bothers me. I've never committed a crime beyond speeding, but I know from TV that the first thing you do when you go on the lam is ditch your phone and get a burner phone. John, a detective, orchestrated Kevin and Belle's getaway but didn't tell them to get rid of their phones? I don't get that.

I agree - is it a possibility John left that information out purposefully? The show has been vague regarding so many points I'm not sure what to think, but I did initially believe they were illustrating how immediately helpless Kevin was without John to guide him.  

Edited May 30, 2017 by chick binewski

[chick binewski]

On 5/28/2017 at 4:41 PM, Suzy123 said:

The Ozzy Delveccio character was useless. He absolutely made no sense at all as a character and added nothing to the plot. I figured that he was supposed to be used more if the show went on to 5 season as planned, but they should have killed him off the first episode. 

This was incredibly problematic for me. The hands down most irritating character from season 2 does a couple of months in county and comes back with spiritual visions? And essentially gets blown away in broad daylight? I disliked everything concerning that character.

[MaggieG]

So my husband and I spent the entire weekend binging season 3. Here are just some random thoughts:

-Up until episode 9 I had completely forgotten that John had a son. He didn't show up until then in John's dream state and was never discussed by anyone. John and Diana seemed more concerned about what Janey was doing and how she was reacting to their seperation. 

-I agree with the uselessness of Ozzy. What was his endgame? And then he just shoots himself, what?? Was there even a Father Lopez? That whole thing confused me.

-So are we supposed to assume that brunette chick (no idea what her name is) was a Rayburn? She did say that her and Danny didn't date, they were friends, which would make sense if they knew they were half siblings. Not sure what the point of her was either. Guiding Nolan? Also, where was his mother? She completely dissapeared. 

-We also did a "yeah right" at Meg and her new life. So let's say she had some money squared away for herself. Fine. Would that be enough for her new California lifestyle? She was living in a pretty nice house with an amazing view and had a car. Her friends mentioned she was bartending. So she's not making a living practicing law. Also, she's living under a different name. Did she use fake ID's to get her house/car/job? Fake SS number? Her house in FL is still there and has not been sold because Sally was in there cleaning it. John also mentioned her car is still there. This whole thing confused me with how little sense it made.

-Who was the random friend from Boston and his wife? We'd never heard of them before, they added nothing to the plot and then just dissapeared? He never checked up on John after his diving accident? What was the point of them?

-I felt bad for John during the entire course of the series. Why was it always his responsibilty to clean up everyone's else's messes? "John, help me, I don't know what to do" was constantly being said by Meg and Kevin. If he had said fuck it and drove off into the sunset at the end, I would have applauded him. He did try to leave in the beggining but was of course sucked back in by Kevin and his bullshit. Even during his dream state, in the kitchen with Sally and Belle it's them asking for help, Belle begging him to help Kevin and not even listening when he's saying he can't. That was pretty much John's life.

-Kevin, Kevin, Kevin. I probably hated him the most by the end. Constantly screwing up and then calling John for help. Not even feeling bad about killing Marco and and setting up Eric. I clapped my hands with glee when they found him in the Bahamas. Belle was kind of a non entity to me, but I actually liked her when she confronted him about everything and I like the meeting her and Diana had. They realized the Rayburns only care about the Rayburns. But then she lost me when she told Kevin that John had to help him and she didn't care who he screwed over. Granted, Kevin did have a gun to his head and she was trying to talk him down but come on. Since when is Kevin's life more important than John's? Or Diana or his kids?

All in all, I enjoyed the first 2 seasons, this last one, not so much. 

Edited May 30, 2017 by MaggieG
forgot to add something

[Absurda]

Wow, that was really unsatisfying. I don’t mean about cutting out before we see what John said to Nolan. That’s become an (overused) thing now for “serious” shows so we as the audience have to live with it. I am unsatisfied by the lack of real consequences for anyone but Kevin and Eric’s continued 30 years in prison as a cop killer. Eric may have been a ne’er do well doofus with a petty crime background, but he didn’t deserve that.

Chelsea deserved a lot better than she got as well. By the end she was the only one I was rooting for and she ended up getting screwed.

The entire Rayburn clan was so odious I would have liked to see a bit more comeuppance for Sally and John.

I’ll let Meg off the hook since her crimes were more minor and she’s just left all that behind to start over. I will, however, call BS on that house of hers in CA. No way could a bartender be earning enough to rent or buy a place like that. Also, the outside didn’t seem to match up with the inside.

Kevin is just tiresome and pretty much deserved to be taken down for his association with Roy. Everyone told him not to do that and he just wouldn’t listen because he knew so much better. That was the part of this season I liked the most, watching him get arrested in a bar while celebrating.

I’ve hated Sally since the beginning with her willful “head in the sand” attitude and her ending like a wannabe Ma Barker didn’t improve the character for me. There’s some justice in her ending up with worthless property and only one child still free and willing to talk to her. But doesn’t seem like she’s really understood where so much of this was her own fault.

I was rooting for John all the way up until he testified against Eric and flat out perjured himself without any compunction. I don’t know why I draw the line there, but that’s when he lost me.

Edited May 30, 2017 by Absurda
formatting

[Anela]

^^ Same here. Although I felt bad for John when Sally blamed him for everything, too. WTF? Not her husband, who hit their eldest son with a car? Not herself for coaching them all to lie about it. 

This season was mostly a waste of time. Damn. 

On 5/28/2017 at 11:29 PM, ptuscadero said:

Are you freaking kidding me? 

That was my response, too. That's IT? 

I was glad to see Kevin was caught. 

[PsychoDrone]

MaggieG pretty much stated everything my wife and I were saying after we finished watching this season.  John's wife, his kids (especially the son), Danny's son, and Delveccio(sp?) were total non-entities this season.  Once Delveccio got away, he should have stayed gone.  Storyline done.

I came to the conclusion that all the Rayburns suck.  Sally and Dad were involved with Roy in a bad way and the Rayburn shifting morals continued with the children.  The kids first introduction to it was their prompting by Sally to lie about the beating of Danny.  That was the beginning of their downfall.  Sally saying their births was an indicator of the type of people they would become was telling.  Her rant really showed how terrible of a parent she was.  And, she stated as much when talking about how she let Kevin be so weak.

Good show, but this ending was very unsatisfying due to the show not being able to end naturally.  Regardless, show could have ended better. 

[freeser]

41 minutes ago, PsychoDrone said:

Good show, but this ending was very unsatisfying due to the show not being able to end naturally.  Regardless, show could have ended better. 

From what I have read, I understand that they intended the show to last 5 or 6 seasons.  So when they had to end it much quicker, they needed to shorten or leave out some things.  But I feel they made poor choices with what they decided to film, leave in and eliminate.

There were so many things about this 3rd season that didn't make sense.  I know this is just a TV show - yada yada yada - but c'mon writers.  We have stuck with you and the show for 3 seasons now.  It would have been nice to get a lot more closure, explanation and clarity in return for all the hours we have watched.   

Many of you have mentioned the problems already.  This third season had several story lines that were basically meaningless to the overall series. It felt like they were wasting our time with these story lines that went no where.  Plus there was one entire episode (when John almost drowned and went bonkers for the rest of hour)  that was unnecessary as far as adding anything to the show.  I would liked to have known more of the backstory of Sally and Robert.  Wasn't there one bungalow that we all thought was holding some kind of secret?  Why was John's boss so nice to him at the end when he had been after him for years?

Instead of the fantasy scenes with Danny, the introduction of a couple of old friends we had never heard of before, John walking around in a fugue state, etc. I would have liked 10 minutes or so of "2 years from now" - with a glimpse of what became of the Rayburns. 

[Mindthinkr]

I had always thought that Kevin was Roy Gilberts son. So when Roy died that Kevin would have inherited a ton of moola. Or his grandson/godson Rocky. 

I was left dissatisfied with so much of this and played along with the inconsistencies up to a point but overall do not think that it ended with a strong point. At least I had hoped that John would have given Nolan a hug when he went out to the dock in the final scene to meet him.  Finally let the kid feel loved or part of this messed up family. That was the one person that John could have made a positive difference for.  I also thought that Sally was going to lose her marbles. The Inn sale came out of left field for me, but agree with the other posters in regards to the analogy about their births and who the children became. 

I have to assume that Sally's anonymous phone call was from Ozzy. What? No father Lopez? Was that a Fed trying to get info under the guise of clergy ? (that smacks of illegality) Ah well. I'll just have to let it go (like John is going to have to after his chief wouldn't buy into it all being his fault) as I'm given no other choice and don't want to ruminate on it as it'd be a waste of my imagination. 

Edited May 31, 2017 by Mindthinkr
Darn autocorrect

[kittykat]

Well that happened, and by that I mean not much.

Season 3 was a mess with half the episodes going nowhere and packing too much into the other ones.  It was clear that this was supposed to go longer but then they had to start wrapping stuff up.

John tries to make amends and gets a promotion.  Kevin gets his just desserts and Meg is...I guess living it up in the Hollywood hills because apparently she had a million dollars stashed away.

Sally has annoyed me this whole run but Sissy Spacek brought it these episodes particularly the trial and her speech about how her children came in (and how she pretty much admitted that despite everything he did, Danny was her favorite).  The ending of how the land was useless was the perfect metaphor for her life and the Rayburn facade in general.  I also liked Diana's final scene admitting to John how she knew from the beginning that the Rayburns were sad people.  Good series wrap for Jacinda Barrett.

The good was that Ben Mendelssohn showed up for the last couple of eps for the dream/ daze scenes.  

[MrsR]

So that was a mess.

I did enjoy Kyle's performance during episode 9. So rarely does he get to do anything approximating that.

I think the writers had a really good point to make here but some how they didn't drive it home.

 

Meg always had a foot out the door, Kevin was always going to fuck up and go to jail, Chelsea was always going to break under the stress and make a costly mistake, Eric was a criminal and would eventually do time, and Sally would always lose the Inn.

So when Danny came home with his plan to ruin their lives, and John killed him to prevent that, the only life that Danny ruined was JOHN'S. Everyone else ended up where they would eventually end up if Danny has never shown up, except John. 

Oh, and Marco, he really got the pointy end of the stick.

Edited May 31, 2017 by MrsR

[Artsda]

That was not the ending I expected, John and Nolan just out on the pier.

I was surprised Kevin got picked up in Cuba. He doesn't seem worth the expedition process.

[BlackberryJam]

I thought he was in Bimini, not Cuba. He lied about going to Cuba because he knew John would have the Feds listening in.

[knaankos]

55 minutes ago, BlackberryJam said:

I thought he was in Bimini, not Cuba. He lied about going to Cuba because he knew John would have the Feds listening in.

Right, that was the Bahamian flag at that bar he was at. Plus that sent the Feds to go get Nicholas so Kevin didn't have to worry about him anymore. Actually a pretty good plan, Kevin didn't deserve it but it was nice to see John do that for his brother 

[PsychoDrone]

I thought he was in Cuba too.  My wife and I was wondering if Cuba has extradition.  Guess that would have been too obvious considering the last cuban guy would strike at Kevin there.  Kevin being caught was the writers appeasing the audience.  As mentioned previously, no one on the run keeps their cellphones.  "We're leaving everything behind, BUT the cellphones."  The only thing that makes sense is Belle did that on purpose.  She probably figured the feds wouldn't care about her and she could be free of the Rayburn mess.  She would only occasionally have to visit Kevin in prison.

[Bec]

My favorite part of the episode was Sally freaking out over “the water, you can’t stop it from coming” and then John reached over and shut off the faucet. I chuckled.

I suppose Sally learning her inn will be underwater in 10 years doesn’t seem like much comeuppance, but I’m going with “Sally went insane over the shock that her inn is worthless, the men in white coats will be coming for her momentarily”.

I still feel for John because everyone from Kevin to Danny to Sally is always saying everything is John’s fault (even though plenty is their own damn fault) and John just takes this crap from them for years and years. He’s about the only character in this who doesn’t blame somebody else for crap that goes wrong in his life (even when he would be kind of justified), he does blame himself.

Oddly enough, that tendency to blame himself way too much even for things beyond his control is something John has in common with Nolan.

Like Eric said, John’s comeuppance is that he has to live with what he’s done - even though he now wants to make it right, it’s too late. The sheriff doesn’t give a shit anymore. If the sheriff’s department lets John turn himself in now, they’re going to look like fools at best and corrupt at worst - for all this time, none of them knew one of their own was guilty until he confessed? It’d be a whole thing. This would be such a bizarre case, the media would have a field day. Aguirre be like “Hey, whatever man, don’t make this my problem.”

Remember that old guy at the trial who knew he did something wrong by letting the Rayburn family’s abuse case slide? And he’s only confessing to John all these years later because the only good his confession can do now is to serve as a cautionary tale? John has become that guy. Maybe the narration in John’s voice throughout the show has been John telling Nolan the whole story of what happened.

“We’re not bad people, we just did a bad thang...” and y'all know the rest! Hee!

Nolan seems like a bright kid, he might be angry that John killed his father when he finds out, but after hearing the whole story, I think he would be able to see that Danny pushed John past a damn edge. Knowing his family’s past mistakes would help him avoid similar pitfalls, and he would go off and make a good life for himself.

[UGAmp]

Man what a disappointment. The season started off strong, got a little weak around the trial, and then went to absolute hell once the trial was over.  

So Linda Cardellini really didn't want to be in a third season? She was basically absent in the last half of the season. And what was the point of the brown haired girl. Beth? Was she basically a stand-in for Nolan's mom since she disappeared in the third season? She looked just enough like a younger Evangeline Lilly (who is already pretty young) that it distracted me every time she was on the screen. The rest of the time I was wondering what was the point of her character. 

I didn't have an eye on the runtime so I thought that Nolan was definitely going to kill John when he found out he's the reason his dad is dead. He would push John in anger and John falls off the pier, hits his head, knocked unconscious, drowns, whatever and it would be full circle with both Sarah and Danny's deaths in water. I mean I'm glad Kyle Chandler survived but I would have liked a little bit more of a definitive resolution. 

Edited June 1, 2017 by UGAmp

[KaleyFirefly]

I liked the first season, was OK with the second one, and super disappointed with this third (and fortunately last) season. I can't believe the writers wanted to drag this story out for 5 seasons. That would have been way too boring. So they were told to wrap it up, and they must have been pissed about it because they did it in a really lame ass way. 

So many things didn't make any sense. Where did Meg get the money to live in a million dollar house and drive a fancy car? What was ever the point of Ozzy, and who was Father Lopez? A hallucination of Sally's? Did Gilbert really die or did he just disappear again, letting Kevin take the fall?

I had really wanted more characters to get their comeuppance -- Sally perhaps most of all. I was glad Kevin got arrested, but I wanted him to be arrested for Marco's murder so he would go to prison for longer. 

So many completely pointless scenes this season...Sally's speech about her children's births; any scene with Ozzy in it; the mysterious phone call where Sally thought she was talking to Meg; Meg getting a tattoo; John's whole dream sequences in episode 9; Diana kissing John's friend; John's friend showing up out of nowhere then disappearing again; Janey meeting with Nolan...I could go on and on. Way too many scenes that could have been cut and way too many plotlines that were dropped or went nowhere. The only good thing was that Danny showed up for a few scenes, because that actor was the best one on the show (besides Kyle Chandler of course).

Edited June 1, 2017 by KaleyFirefly

[bc1795]

I couldn't quite understand what Sally was going on about John's birth.  Can someone explain the gist of what she was saying?

[Hero]

1 hour ago, bc1795 said:

I couldn't quite understand what Sally was going on about John's birth.  Can someone explain the gist of what she was saying?

I think she was saying that John is the cause of the pain that she and the family went through.His birth hurt her physically and literally. He tore her when he was born, and he tore the family apart because of his actions. When he was born, he left a stain on his mother's gown, but to her, that stain never went away. Sally blames John for everything bad that happened to her family.

[bc1795]

Thanks much Suzy!

[Armchair Critic]

So is Gilbert Kevin's father and was the brunette a Rayburn from an affair of the father's? It's too bad they had to wrap this show up earlier than the creators planned.

[Mindthinkr]

I've always felt that Gilbert was Kevin's father. He was beaming as baby Rocky was getting Christened as tho he was the proud grandfather. They didn't wrap up this story in as good of a way as I had hoped they would or could. Such a shame as it began strong.  

There was something about the brunette (Beth?) that did make her look as tho she was related to Nolan. I'm with you that the possibility of her being related could have come up down the road. 

As Shania Twain said:

"It was fun while it lasted, now I'm past it". 

[Bec]

8 hours ago, Suzy123 said:

Sally blames John for everything bad that happened to her family.

Yep. You can tell John blames himself, too, by how he just silently stands there and lets her hurl all that blame at him. Even Kevin (who also does his share of blaming his own stupid crap on John) was like "you don't have to take this shit from her!"

Anybody else would have been all "how dare you blame me, this is your fault!" at Sally.

[Mindthinkr]

I've always felt that Gilbert was Kevin's father. He was beaming as baby Rocky was getting Christened as tho he was the proud grandfather. They didn't wrap up this story in as good of a way as I had hoped they would or could. Such a shame as it began strong.  

There was something about the brunette (Beth?) that did make her look as tho she was related to Nolan. I'm with you that the possibility of her being related could have come up down the road. 

As Shania Twain said:

"It was fun while it lasted, now I'm past it". 

Edited June 1, 2017 by Mindthinkr
Sorry. The board didn't clear. Didn't mean to double post.

[peggy06]

I dunno. For having to cram in a quick finish, it was better than I expected. No "It was all a dream" nonsense, for one thing. I really can't imagine how they could have carried this story out to 5 seasons anyway. Three was stretching it. If they'd known it was going to be three, no doubt different and perhaps better choices would have been made.

Maybe I had low expectations, because this is the team that developed Damages. Another ambitious and over-elaborate show that started out with a bang and kind of petered out.

[Lemons]

On 5/29/2017 at 11:55 PM, BlackberryJam said:

I felt as if Belle left the GPS on purposefully. Although part of her wanted to run away with Kevin, she knew she couldn't live with a man who had bludgeoned another to death. Or maybe I'm giving Belle too much credit. It was just the vibe I got from her conversation with John's wife. They both loved their husband and yet were terrified by what their husbands had become.

You would think the first thing you do is leave your phone behind. Everyone gets caught that way 

[thuganomics85]

Strange series finale.  You could really tell that the show was intended for more seasons, but they had to rush it after they were informed the third season was the last.  Even then, the ending almost had a feeling of the possibility over it coming back one day (which, I guess would be if Florida brings back those sweet tax incentives again.) 

So, outside of Meg, everyone pretty much gets a crappy ending, I see.  Sally realizes that her inn will be underwater in ten years, so the entire Rayburn "legacy" will likely be forgotten.  John has to continue to live with the guilt of what he did, even after he confessed to Aguirre, because Aguirre didn't believe him (or didn't want to?)  Chelsea is now waitressing and likely won't ever go back into the medical field and O'Bannon is in prison (although I'm surprised a cop killer would be eligible for highway duty).  And then after thinking he got away with everything, Kevin is arrested since Belle left her GPS on (either she did that on purpose or she is possibly just as big of an idiot as Kevin is.)

If was putting money on it, my guess is Kevin listens to "older Danny" and tells Nolan the truth.

Very uneven season between the rush job, unnecessary characters (fucking Ozzy should have just died in the finale of season two), and other characters like Meg just disappearing for long stretches.  But I will still miss this show: especially the setting and the actors.  In particular, Kyle Chandler and Ben Mendelsohn were riveting.  Too bad it didn't work out the way they wanted it to.

[PickleDeeDee]

Now the scene where Sally was mopping up the water in a bungalow a couple of episodes back makes sense, although there were numerous other scenes that didn't serve any purpose.  I also though Kevin was Roy's son.    

I really wish they would have at least given Chelsea O'Bannon a happy ending and not got caught taking drugs ending.  She was the person with the most character of all.  

[laurakaye]

On 5/29/2017 at 0:35 AM, MarysWetBar said:

Yeah I'm kinda there myself right now.  I read that they had the storyline running to 6 seasons, and this shows they weren't able to wrap it up like they wanted to. 

What a shame cus I really liked this show a lot. It wasn't promoted at all. 

All on Netflix. 

I am the only person I know (besides you fine people) who watch this show.  When I mention it, many people haven't heard of it.  They're all binging back seasons of Grey's Anatomy or OITNB, etc.  It's really a shame.  Had this been promoted, maybe it could've run its full course of seasons instead of being cut off at the knees, and the many characters and plots awkwardly squeezed to fit into this last season.  

But for me, I'm going out happy.  It was far from perfect but again, I blame the lack of airtime.  The acting was stellar.  Kyle Chandler frequently made me forget to breathe.  Mendelsohn - I couldn't take my eyes off of him.  Spacek was incredible, etc.  To me, they were a family of believable characters.  Sad that it had to end before its time.

 

On 5/29/2017 at 11:55 PM, BlackberryJam said:

I felt as if Belle left the GPS on purposefully. Although part of her wanted to run away with Kevin, she knew she couldn't live with a man who had bludgeoned another to death. Or maybe I'm giving Belle too much credit. It was just the vibe I got from her conversation with John's wife. They both loved their husband and yet were terrified by what their husbands had become.

True.  There was a short scene in a previous episode where Belle and Diana are discussing their husbands.  They both seemed to know, and it looked as if they were trying to suss out if they both knew.

Diana's speech to John about how his family always had an air of sadness was amazing, as was Belle, trying to get her husband to give her the gun.  Two women, both clearly know that they are in love with a man who is very, very flawed.  And it all comes back to the lies they told as kids.

 

On 5/30/2017 at 8:58 PM, Mindthinkr said:

I had always thought that Kevin was Roy Gilberts son. So when Roy died that Kevin would have inherited a ton of moola. Or his grandson/godson Rocky. 

I think that's true.  I thought the truth kind of came out when Kevin and John were talking at the inn, and John said, "Roy and mom had an affair."  Kevin told John that he was paranoid.  Maybe I read too much into it, but I thought John's expression - raised eyebrows, a sort of "come on,  seriously?" - while looking at Kevin, was John's way of saying that Kevin also knew the truth, but couldn't say it out loud.

I thought the ending for each Rayburn was satisfying.  Sally has lost everything, and deservedly so.  She was in love with a building.  Her kids were spare parts in the "happy perfect family" storyline that she and her equally awful husband presented to the public.  Kevin is heading to prison, something that John - for once - can't fix.  Meg is gone, reclaiming a life of her own, no longer the spare daughter.  John cannot even confess to anyone who believes him and has to live with his lies for the rest of his life.  Nolan, the son of the brother he killed, is now basically the only family he has left.  I was also satisfied with the vague ending.  My take is, John has to confess to someone.  That person is Nolan.  Afterwards, does Nolan leave and never speak to John again?  Or do the two of them forge ahead as members of the same damaged family?

In a way, I'm glad it's over because watching this show was, at times, actually stressful for me.  I credit the actors, especially Kyle and Ben.  I haven't concentrated on a show this intently since Mad Men.  This was one show I could never multi-task while watching, as I tend to do.  The settings, the weather, the humidity - all part of everything.  Facial expressions, quiet words, exchanged looks - all part of a very well-done drama.  There are shows that knock you over the head with telling you how you're going to feel, and tell you to make sure to have Kleenex nearby 'cause you're gonna feel all the feelz...and that's not good television.  Characters that can make you feel exactly what they are feeling, and can make you root for them and hate them at the same time...that's incredible.  Bloodline did that for me.  I'm glad I found it.

Edited June 3, 2017 by laurakaye

[peggy06]

1 hour ago, laurakaye said:

Quote

Yeah I'm kinda there myself right now.  I read that they had the storyline running to 6 seasons, and this shows they weren't able to wrap it up like they wanted to. 

What a shame cus I really liked this show a lot. It wasn't promoted at all. 

All on Netflix. 

I am the only person I know (besides you fine people) who watch this show.  When I mention it, many people haven't heard of it.  They're all binging back seasons of Grey's Anatomy or OITNB, etc.  It's really a shame.  Had this been promoted, maybe it could've run its full course of seasons instead of being cut off at the knees, and the many characters and plots awkwardly squeezed to fit into this last season.  

But for me, I'm going out happy.  It was far from perfect but again, I blame the lack of airtime.  The acting was stellar.  Kyle Chandler frequently made me forget to breathe.  Mendelsohn - I couldn't take my eyes off of him.  Spacek was incredible, etc.  To me, they were a family of believable characters.  Sad that it had to end before its time.

Quote

I felt as if Belle left the GPS on purposefully. Although part of her wanted to run away with Kevin, she knew she couldn't live with a man who had bludgeoned another to death. Or maybe I'm giving Belle too much credit. It was just the vibe I got from her conversation with John's wife. They both loved their husband and yet were terrified by what their husbands had become.

True.  There was a short scene in a previous episode where Belle and Diana are discussing their husbands.  They both seemed to know, and it looked as if they were trying to suss out if they both knew.

Diana's speech to John about how his family always had an air of sadness was amazing, as was Belle, trying to get her husband to give her the gun.  Two women, both clearly know that they are in love with a man who is very, very flawed.  And it all comes back to the lies they told as kids.

Quote

I had always thought that Kevin was Roy Gilberts son. So when Roy died that Kevin would have inherited a ton of moola. Or his grandson/godson Rocky. 

I think that's true.  I thought the truth kind of came out when Kevin and John were talking at the inn, and John said, "Roy and mom had an affair."  Kevin told John that he was paranoid.  Maybe I read too much into it, but I thought John's expression - raised eyebrows, a sort of "come on,  seriously?" - while looking at Kevin, was John's way of saying that Kevin also knew the truth, but couldn't say it out loud.

I thought the ending for each Rayburn was satisfying.  Sally has lost everything, and deservedly so.  She was in love with a building.  Her kids were spare parts in the "happy perfect family" storyline that she and her equally awful husband presented to the public.  Kevin is heading to prison, something that John - for once - can't fix.  Meg is gone, reclaiming a life of her own, no longer the spare daughter.  John cannot even confess to anyone who believes him and has to live with his lies for the rest of his life.  Nolan, the son of the brother he killed, is now basically the only family he has left.  I was also satisfied with the vague ending.  My take is, John has to confess to someone.  That person is Nolan.  Afterwards, does Nolan leave and never speak to John again?  Or do the two of them forge ahead as members of the same damaged family?

In a way, I'm glad it's over because watching this show was, at times, actually stressful for me.  I credit the actors, especially Kyle and Ben.  I haven't concentrated on a show this intently since Mad Men.  This was one show I could never multi-task while watching, as I tend to do.  The settings, the weather, the humidity - all part of everything.  Facial expressions, quiet words, exchanged looks - all part of a very well-done drama.  There are shows that knock you over the head with telling you how you're going to feel, and tell you to make sure to have Kleenex nearby 'cause you're gonna feel all the feelz...and that's not good television.  Characters that can make you feel exactly what they are feeling, and can make you root for them and hate them at the same time...that's incredible.  Bloodline did that for me.  I'm glad I found it.

Great post. I feel the same way about the ending for each of the Rayburns, though Meg got off a little too easy. Then again, maybe not, if she is still having the nightmare. I also know what you mean about the stress. Not so much in this season, but definitely in S1 and 2. I was ready for this to be done.

It does bother me that they raised questions and never came close to answering them. Like, what is the meaning of the nightmare that three of the Rayburn kids have experienced? I don't mind a show that leaves things for the audience to figure out. But for three of them to have it, makes it seem like there should be a factual basis. I was also bothered by the differing stories about Sally and Roy. OK, it could be true that Robert witnessed Roy killing a man, AND Sally had an affair with Roy. It just doesn't seem likely to me. 99% of the time, Sally seemed to hate Roy. Just that time when they were talking about her selling the Inn (though that wasn't stated explicitly), they seemed on friendlier terms. Where did John get it that there had been an affair? Are we supposed to infer that he knew this for fact? AFAIR, the suggestion was never mentioned previously on the show by anyone.

Anyway, I enjoyed this series for the setting (unique in my experience) and some of the acting. So it wasn't wasted.

Edited June 3, 2017 by peggy06

[Armchair Critic]

21 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

the ending almost had a feeling of the possibility over it coming back one day

They never showed Roy's body, maybe they left that open just in case.... ;)

[Auntie Anxiety]

What a disappointment. I wish I had stopped watching after Season 1 because it was so fantastic and I simply couldn't figure out where they'd go from there for a second or third season. I should have known it would go down the crapper. Yeesh!

And don't get me started on the wig that Danny was wearing. Where the hell did they find that? It looked like it was a replica of the wig that Sofia wore in The Golden Girls only tinted brown. Didn't anyone in the production company notice that it was horrible? I'll never understand how they spend so much money on production costs yet find the cheapest looking wig that even a blind person would find distracting.

Edited June 4, 2017 by Auntie Anxiety

[preeya]

So many flaws. Moreso a big disappointment and waste of my time.

[Mama No Life]

On 6/1/2017 at 6:58 PM, Bec said:

Yep. You can tell John blames himself, too, by how he just silently stands there and lets her hurl all that blame at him. Even Kevin (who also does his share of blaming his own stupid crap on John) was like "you don't have to take this shit from her!"

Anybody else would have been all "how dare you blame me, this is your fault!" at Sally.

I felt like that was when John decided his family wasn't worth all his heartache.  He seemed almost relieved to be able to hate his mother.

Or maybe that was just me.

[Mama No Life]

On 5/31/2017 at 0:46 PM, PsychoDrone said:

I thought he was in Cuba too.  My wife and I was wondering if Cuba has extradition.  Guess that would have been too obvious considering the last cuban guy would strike at Kevin there.  Kevin being caught was the writers appeasing the audience.  As mentioned previously, no one on the run keeps their cellphones.  "We're leaving everything behind, BUT the cellphones."  The only thing that makes sense is Belle did that on purpose.  She probably figured the feds wouldn't care about her and she could be free of the Rayburn mess.  She would only occasionally have to visit Kevin in prison.

Well, Kevin didn't keep his, right? When he called John it said No Caller ID and looked like a burner.  I believe Belle did it on purpose.

I still am not sure how helpful John really was. Did he set Kevin up because he wanted all the lies to end? After all, he tried to confess to Aguirre after he thought Kevin had escaped. 

Still don't get the lilies stuff.  Isn't that what Meg had tattooed on her back and what Ozzy was obsessing about at the end?  The lilies all over the Rayburn property?

So why did Sally fuss at John for going out alone to dive when he went with Mike?  Or did she mean without a captain?

I assume that Robert and Roy buried the guy Roy stabbed beneath the bungalow that always had shower problems? 

The affairs I just don't get. I thought Robert had an affair and that's what the fight was about. When did we get the idea Sally had one?  You'd think Kevin would be smarter if he had the Roy/Sally DNA combo platter....

[Clanstarling]

On 5/30/2017 at 11:11 AM, Absurda said:

Chelsea deserved a lot better than she got as well. By the end she was the only one I was rooting for and she ended up getting screwed.

Until she perjured herself, Chelsea was pretty much the only entirely innocent person. Even with the perjury, she was the only one I liked, once Belle was "okay, you're a murderer, guess I'll stay with you."

On 5/30/2017 at 2:20 PM, freeser said:

From what I have read, I understand that they intended the show to last 5 or 6 seasons.  So when they had to end it much quicker, they needed to shorten or leave out some things.  But I feel they made poor choices with what they decided to film, leave in and eliminate.

Yep. It was like putting "Happy Birthday" on a cake, and realizing by the time you get to the "th" that there's not enough room. They left too many things unanswered and dangling. Ozzy should have been entirely eliminated, he was tangental at best to the story. (I think he was the one who was having hallucinations about the priest)

On 5/30/2017 at 6:39 PM, MrsR said:

Meg always had a foot out the door, Kevin was always going to fuck up and go to jail, Chelsea was always going to break under the stress and make a costly mistake, Eric was a criminal and would eventually do time, and Sally would always lose the Inn.

So when Danny came home with his plan to ruin their lives, and John killed him to prevent that, the only life that Danny ruined was JOHN'S. Everyone else ended up where they would eventually end up if Danny has never shown up, except John. 

Oh, and Marco, he really got the pointy end of the stick.

Love this observation.

On 5/31/2017 at 9:46 AM, PsychoDrone said:

As mentioned previously, no one on the run keeps their cellphones.  "We're leaving everything behind, BUT the cellphones."  The only thing that makes sense is Belle did that on purpose.

See, my take is that Belle is pretty much as stupid as Kevin. So it didn't seem at all strange to me.

On 5/31/2017 at 4:50 PM, Bec said:

“We’re not bad people, we just did a bad thang...” and y'all know the rest! Hee!

Hah! I was expecting something more like "We're not bad people....well, okay, maybe we are..."

On 6/3/2017 at 9:38 AM, laurakaye said:

Diana's speech to John about how his family always had an air of sadness was amazing, as was Belle,  think that's true.  I thought the truth kind of came out when Kevin and John were talking at the inn, and John said, "Roy and mom had an affair."  Kevin told John that he was paranoid.  Maybe I read too much into it, but I thought John's expression - raised eyebrows, a sort of "come on,  seriously?" - while looking at Kevin, was John's way of saying that Kevin also knew the truth, but couldn't say it out loud.

I always thought Kevin was Roy's son, but I was unsure after John said that, because if I recall correctly, the phrasing was "Roy and Mom had an affair when you were little."

As much as I loved the acting, the finale disappointed me. But I don't regret watching the show.

[laurakaye]

On 5/31/2017 at 7:50 PM, Bec said:

I still feel for John because everyone from Kevin to Danny to Sally is always saying everything is John’s fault (even though plenty is their own damn fault) and John just takes this crap from them for years and years. He’s about the only character in this who doesn’t blame somebody else for crap that goes wrong in his life (even when he would be kind of justified), he does blame himself.

Oddly enough, that tendency to blame himself way too much even for things beyond his control is something John has in common with Nolan.

Remember that old guy at the trial who knew he did something wrong by letting the Rayburn family’s abuse case slide? And he’s only confessing to John all these years later because the only good his confession can do now is to serve as a cautionary tale? John has become that guy. Maybe the narration in John’s voice throughout the show has been John telling Nolan the whole story of what happened.

“We’re not bad people, we just did a bad thang...” and y'all know the rest! Hee!

I really should've just quoted your entire post and bolded the whole thing.  Great observations, especially the fact that John and Nolan both have the Rayburn "it's all my fault" gene.  I love the idea that John's narration was him telling Nolan the story of the Rayburns.

As for that last tagline...didn't John come very close to saying it at some point during the last episode?  I distinctly recall him saying, "We're not bad people."  I can't remember if it was Nolan he was talking to at the time.  (extra points for "thang."  I love Kyle's accent).

 

On 6/1/2017 at 10:14 AM, Suzy123 said:

I think she was saying that John is the cause of the pain that she and the family went through.His birth hurt her physically and literally. He tore her when he was born, and he tore the family apart because of his actions. When he was born, he left a stain on his mother's gown, but to her, that stain never went away. Sally blames John for everything bad that happened to her family.

I find this interesting.  So Sally's constant demand towards John of "fix this!" wasn't because she thought he was the only family member capable of doing so, it was because she thought that everything bad that happened was John's fault in the first place.  Now I hate Sally even more.  Wow, she was awful.

 

14 hours ago, Mama No Life said:

I assume that Robert and Roy buried the guy Roy stabbed beneath the bungalow that always had shower problems? 

Since we didn't get closure on this particular issue (among others), I am perfectly satisfied with this.

I thought from way back that Nolan was Robert's son.  I remember Nolan telling Sally about some huge fight that Danny and Eve had on Father's Day, and my conclusion was it was because Eve told Danny that he wasn't really Nolan's father.  I guess it would be kind of symmetric to have Nolan and John actually be half-brothers, forging ahead and trying to ditch the Rayburn curse.  Did anyone else think that Nolan was Robert's?

As for Beth...was she the person that Danny was sitting and talking with on his initial bus ride back in season 1?  I can't remember.  I thought she was in his imagination, and that he was talking to Sarah.  If this isn't the same person, then my apologies.  Interesting that some think she is a product of Robert's affairs, but there was no closure on her.  When she was sitting with Danny during the last episode, John looked at her as if he knew who she was but couldn't place her.  Man, so many interesting threads that weren't developed because of time.

Edited June 5, 2017 by laurakaye

[Clanstarling]

5 hours ago, laurakaye said:

Did anyone else think that Nolan was Robert's?

I think I did, but got caught up in other unanswered mysteries this season.

[Mama No Life]

Well, at least it wasn't just us....

39 unanswered questions from Bloodline's finale

[coconutcookie]

I was so hoping the whole family would go to jail and they will, even Meg unless they all manage to cover for her, which I doubt.  But I wanted there to be some dramatic tension along the way between the possibility of them getting off scot-free and partying into the sunset and the diligence of the sheriff, Ozzy Del Vecchio and the O'Bannons in seeing that justice was done.  Unfortunately it ended quickly with lots of story lines that went nowhere.  I hated the dream sequences.  Every time Dead Danny showed up in the last two episodes I wanted to bang my head.  The bit about the sheriff chalking up John's confession to paranoia was silly.  Same with Eric O'Bannon's selfless concern for Nolan at the expense of his own freedom.

I assume the Cubans will send Kevin, Bella and Rocky back to Florida.  Why would they want them?  Once in Florida, Kevin will spill the beans on everyone.  Even if he isn't sent back, he'll tell everything he knows.  They've all committed multiple felonies, even Bella.  Sally unwittingly made sure both boys would no longer have any desire to cover for her, so she'll go to jail, too.  I just wanted to have it all play out slower and watch it all.

The bit about Rayburn House being worthless was just laughable.  I realize the scene where Sally comes in and finds water on the floor was meant to presage the sad news that the place would one day be inundated with water, but it was so stupidly done.  For there to be water coming in under the floor boards, the house would have to look like it was floating.  Everything about the end was a mess and I would never recommend Bloodline to anyone.

Edited June 6, 2017 by coconutcookie
spelling

[BusyOctober]

Like many of you, the ending wasn't satisfactory for me either.  Bloodline was a compelling story and had so many amazing actors involved.  It's too bad more people didn't get the buzz going and make it a hit like OITNB or House of Cards.  Maybe there wasn't enough sex/nudity to keep some viewers interested?  All I know is Kyle Chandler has been my TV boyfriend for years (I don't think he knows, but that's OK).  I will be very disappointed if he doesn't come back on another show PDQ so I can continue my one-way love affair.  Until then, I have Friday Night Lights to re-re-watch.

In addition to all the unanswered questions listed here, one of mine was why was Sally so surprised at hearing her property would be underwater/worthless in 10 years.  Um, duh.  Most of the Keys and mainland Florida (and a lot of coastline communities) are eroding and being reclaimed by the ocean.  Wouldn't a 40+ year resident of the Keys have been clued in to this environmental situation prior to now?  I live in New England and there are several beaches that have lost frontage, and islands that have been "sinking" at exponential rates every year. Like Sally says, the ocean/water takes everything back at  some point.

A friend of mine watched the whole series and had a few questions that left me baffled.  Not because of loose ends or incomplete story telling like some of the questions posed here.  I was baffled because I couldn't understand how my friend's interpretation of some events were so far off base.  Here are just two:

- "Meg took the Sunfish out to escape her family and start a new life.  How long do you think it took her to sail to California on that little boat?"

- "So the dark haired woman John sees with Danny is really Sarah.  John can "see dead people", but I wonder why dead Sarah is hanging out with Chelsea? Can she see ghosts too?"