This is a great series, with a huge BUT. The character arc of Eli McCullough is too extreme. In the final two episodes, McCullough decides to take Garcia's land through deceit, has a near-death experience, and a change of heart. But when backed into a corner by his middle son Phinea's actions, he immediately embraces the path that causes his youngest (and favorite) son Pete to reject him and ride to warn the Garcia family, and then leads to the murder and execution of the entire Garcia family and their hands.
The extreme swings of character are so great that it ruins the otherwise compelling story-telling. The writers could have made this turn in McCullough's soul much more believable over several episodes, which would have better sustained the series. As it is, with McCullough's decision to embrace the "dark side" and this wrenching conclusion to the first season, I'm left wondering, "What's left that's worth watching?"
The extreme swings of character are so great that it ruins the otherwise compelling story-telling. The writers could have made this turn in McCullough's soul much more believable over several episodes, which would have better sustained the series. As it is, with McCullough's decision to embrace the "dark side" and this wrenching conclusion to the first season, I'm left wondering, "What's left that's worth watching?"
