The first job of a reviewer is honesty. So I will be honest.
Used to be one of my faves. Seasons 1-3 were great. Season 4 seemed to lack energy.
At the top of Season 5 when once again Mike's "secret" became the main arc, I started to get a bit bored but stuck it out.
When I realized that the last half dozen episodes of the season were about the "trial" I was transfixed.
However going into this Season finale I was started to feel like the writers were actually over-writing. Too many cliff hangers, too many coincidences, too many old characters suddenly being recycled like in a Walmart sale.
This episode almost had me. Until the very end, where we learn that Mike got a NOT GUILTY verdict but took the deal anyway...
In the writing biz, that is considered viewer manipulation. Of course all writing in all movies is a form of viewer manipulation but most often it is consensual. That is, viewers WANT to be entertained.
But they don't want their heads messed with, which is what happened here. To be honest I gave up on the series after this episode but kept in touch with friends who continued well into Season 6.
Based on what I was told, this episode marked a "transition" for a show which was leaking ratings, and Season 6 was the reboot.
Good for the show. But they will proceed without this viewer.
Bottom line, up to this point in the series, I trusted the writers to entertain me without making me feel manipulated.
That trust no longer exists.
Used to be one of my faves. Seasons 1-3 were great. Season 4 seemed to lack energy.
At the top of Season 5 when once again Mike's "secret" became the main arc, I started to get a bit bored but stuck it out.
When I realized that the last half dozen episodes of the season were about the "trial" I was transfixed.
However going into this Season finale I was started to feel like the writers were actually over-writing. Too many cliff hangers, too many coincidences, too many old characters suddenly being recycled like in a Walmart sale.
This episode almost had me. Until the very end, where we learn that Mike got a NOT GUILTY verdict but took the deal anyway...
In the writing biz, that is considered viewer manipulation. Of course all writing in all movies is a form of viewer manipulation but most often it is consensual. That is, viewers WANT to be entertained.
But they don't want their heads messed with, which is what happened here. To be honest I gave up on the series after this episode but kept in touch with friends who continued well into Season 6.
Based on what I was told, this episode marked a "transition" for a show which was leaking ratings, and Season 6 was the reboot.
Good for the show. But they will proceed without this viewer.
Bottom line, up to this point in the series, I trusted the writers to entertain me without making me feel manipulated.
That trust no longer exists.