Rectify (TV Series) All I'm Sayin' (2016) User Reviews

Superb acting from one the all time great shows

[JenniferLeeThomsonAuthor · 10/10 · 16 December 2016]

Watching the final episode of this amazing show will bring tears to your eyes and some joy to your heart. Tears because it's ending, but joy because it ends on such an upbeat note.

I'll miss Daniel Holden, his sister Amantha, his gutsy mum and his step-brother Teddy and all of the other wonderful characters that have made this one of the all time great TV shows.

Aden Young has been mesmerizing in the lead role and I'll miss all his Danielisms. Why he hasn't won Emmys and Golden Globes for his fantastic performance I will never know. The same goes for the actresses who play his sister and mum.

It's been a privilege to watch such a remarkable show where even something as simple as offering to scrub someone's back or asking them to dance is loaded with meaning.

I just hope that just like some of the other great shows like Breaking Bad and The Wire that more people discover Rectify in the years to come. It fully deserves to be a cult hit.

With the show at an end, I'm off to watch it again right from the start.

Life Goes On

[851222 · 10/10 · 12 February 2017]

Greetings from Lithuania.

"All I'm Sayin'", the last episode of "Rectify" has perfectly closed the story. Its all here - great acting, superb writing, directing and one of the kind score. While the definite resolution of the story was still in the air, one think is clear - life goes and will go on no matter what. Even in the darkest places you have to see and try to go further and its hard to imagine a more dark place then the central character of this story was.

Overall, the last episode of "Rectify" will definitely win you over if you have enjoyed this high quality drama so far. The very last scene was so beautiful, so hopeful and so haunting that it will be hard to ever forget it as well as the whole show overall. Its All I'm Sayin.

Have you ever imagined being somewhere else?

[deadleeserious · 10/10 · 16 April 2023]

Rectify is a show that took time to win me over. It's first season was an odd beginning, with a heavy focus on the 'peculiar' behaviour of Daniel and as a whole, the show hadn't found its feet yet. Starting with the very first episode of season 2, the show found a stronger, more consistent tone, delivering beautiful moments of life affirming melancholy.

Although the show's premise is pitched around a crime, ultimately Rectify has most in common with Six Feet Under. Both shows are about family, relationships, connections and struggle, and both deliver final sequences that are beautiful, sad and yet hopeful, as we see characters move on with their lives.

This final episode does have a few shortcomings, mainly that I feel some characters didn't quite have a complete arc, such as Amantha and Tawney, but where the series succeeds the most is in its beautiful redemption for Teddy, the series dark horse, and the healing journey for Daniel.

Best of all, the series is able to leave us on a happy note, without being excessively sentimental. This is a realistic, slice of life take on the family drama. The case of Hannah Dean is only resolved in part, and like many cases do, it goes on for decades and does not have a neatly wrapped bow. Teddy has learned valuable lessons and has tempered his anger, but he does not 'get the girl.' Daniel likewise, does not get the fairytale ending he hoped for. He is not saved, but in a way, he saves himself. He attains the smaller victories - a raise, friendship, special memoires shared with Curwin.

Our final scene is cleverly set up earlier in the episode. Curwin asks Daniel if he ever imagines being elsewhere, and encourages Daniel to use his imagination. In the final scene, Daniel does this to envision his dream life, but the reality is that he has to accept and be grateful for the things he has.

In a way, Daniel ends the series happy, despite all the tragedy in his life, and that makes this ending one of the stand out I have seen. Rectify is a very under viewed, underrated series, and I hope that in time, the series will be appreciated for the quality it truly has.

S4: Slow, subdued, testing, and rewarding all the way to the end (suggestive SPOILERS)

[bob the moo · 13 August 2017]

The fourth and final season of Rectify closes out in the way same as it was delivered – with a slow, steady pace that can be testing, but at the same time is rewarding in terms of characters and space. I did go into this season hoping for closure, hoping for the (comparatively) plot driven third season, to continue into developments and revelations. In a way, it does, but not to the point where those looking for everything to be neatly resolved (or even close) will be happy. I don't mean that to sound condescending, since I had that hope. The show knows better though, and it keeps its feet grounded and goes as far as makes sense in the time – but also does give good closure, albeit on its own terms.

The season does have plenty of story, but it is the smaller interactions and moments that continue to make up the majority of the running time, and to provide the core strength to the show. As things come to the surface, it does have moments that seem a little soapy if you take them in isolation; however the bigger picture buys it these moments, since it is not overwrought or baseless but rather set in strong character development and time spent there. So much is left open and unresolved, but I didn't mind since I felt the characters were all left in good places – or at least had found a sort of peace with where they were. The final, silent, scene to close it all out is representative of the whole – which is that it could seem corny taken on its own, but there is a lot of road, development, and base behind it, all of which makes it a great moment in terms of what it means for the characters.

Rectify closes out as a series that I continue to really appreciate and admire, more than I love it and want to gush about it to everyone I meet. As I have watched I have tended to take that as meaning the show is not as strong as I would have liked, but I think with time what it means is that it knows itself, trusts itself, and is patient with what it is doing. A strong final season, but one that is consistent with the pace, patience, and focus of the show as a whole.

Of course I'll spill spoilers. This episode has already aired.

[yadaboy · 7/10 · 15 December 2016]

I love this episode, but I hate it as a finale! Mr. McKinnon leads us to water, but doesn't let us drink. He purposely leaves us without resolution - as is his right. But it is also his failure. This has been an amazing show, and I've applauded every episode until this last one. Faithful viewers deserve more. Yes, I see McKinnon's vision. It worked until the finale. I'm so disappointed.

Wow - IMDb says I don't have enough lines of text for them to accept the above as a review. So much for succinct prose. Sigh. (Yes, I'm padding.)

Rectify is a brilliant series - acting, direction, dialogue. But I expected more from the finale. And I didn't get it.

So, IMDb, is that enough lines?