I started season 3 without knowing whether or not it would be the final one or not and, unlike many other shows, I do have to confess that it didn't upset me too much if it had been drawn to a close within this season. It isn't that I don't like the show (I do) it is just that the nature of the stories and the manner of the telling means that the show doesn't ever grip by use of narrative, so with each end of season I am rarely hungry to get the next one and with each new one it takes me a minute to get back into the rhythm of it.
As it turned out, this season is not to be the last and HBO have decided to fund a reduced run of episodes to allow it to properly come to a close in a fourth season. Within this third though we have the same approach as before as the various characters each have their own stories and situations that follow their own threads while also connecting with others in different ways. The effect is that some are weaker and some stronger but as a whole they mostly engage, but often it is down to whether or not you like the characters or not. So, for example, I continue to not care too much about Davies, who strikes me as selfish and prone to unjustified strops; this is fine if the show does something with that but instead we just get to see him act up all the time without any meaning or consequence – this puts me off the character and his sections tend to be the weakest for me. On the other hand many of the other characters I do really like – flaws and all and as such the majority of the stories work. They all come together in a sense of community moving forward and the show remains the connection to real NO politics to make this more important.
In the background the music remains important but, as with needing to like the characters, the viewer really needs to like the music with a least a bit of the passion of the makers, or else there will be 15 minutes or so each episode where you're left cold. To me I love the music as it adds color to the characters and the stories by capturing a sense of place; the only exception for me yet again remains to be Davies as any musical numbers he is involved with just grate on me. Outside of him though I enjoyed the full cast of actors and musicians and this season continues to produce performances which are convincing because the cast seem at ease in their characters, so there is less a sense of them performing.
Treme remains an acquired taste in this third season and I'll be the first to admit that I like it more than I love it. The plots are limited and the nature of the telling means it doesn't drive forward as it could, but it is colorful and lively and pretty true to its characters in terms of plotting. It helps to love the music as well of course. The next season will be its final I guess and, although I have enjoyed it, the end is probably coming at the right sort of time.
