Finished last night.
8.9/10
Sad note here before the review. I was away on business and flipped on the TV and saw the Penguin was on, little did I know the 5 minutes I watched was probably the most important scene in the show, and I have to admit it probably dented the overall impact of it . The scene (spoiler warning) takes place in the last episode beside the river....yea I know , of all the 5 minutes to see, that was the only 5 I had seen. That was 3 months back , and this week I was snowed in on a trip and got to watch it properly.
Review: overall well shot , great score , and absolutely incredible performances from Colin and Cristin and that's what really elevated this beyond a mere TV show. I was glad to see Cristin character make it so maybe we can see her again.
There were some serious dead weight issues after the first 5 episodes, (which felt like the went by in a flash.) After the Maroni arc was introduced it felt a bit like they were padding and steching it out. Similar to the Gotham show, they felt the need to take the double crosses to triple crosses and further ....after a point we as the audience get it, they are all trying to outsmart each other....reaching for new heights in that area feels like the stretch it is.
I loved the nods to previous iterations (Burgess Bank), the top hat, the mention of Selena and Magpie. I do feel however that somewhere that big black Batman should have been mentioned besides the last moments. He pretty much put on motion everything we saw here, and it feels a big too intentional to leave all mention of him out.
In the end the story of Oz was familiar and welcome. Small time hood rises to the tops of the crime families and uses that to promote himself to politics. That's the basic Oz arc we usually see and I am glad they stuck with that , as it's the characters core. Screwing around with it too much robs the character of its history.
I do appreciate the extra care given to show OZ as a true sociopath. Nothing mattered but what he wanted and he would do or say anything to get it....even lie to himself. It's a ratcheted up basic characteristic that Colin NaILED. The need to give that guy multiple awards and any money he wants to further his ideas.
It will get a rewatch, and I am eager to see what little details I missed.
Also glad the allowed the show to be mature as the material is disturbing and should not be watered down for the sake of a wider audience.
