Hightown Season 3: A Satisfying Wrap-Up that Calls Out for More

Hightown ended its third and final season on Friday.  I thought the season and series finale was the best episode of the season, and the season in turn was the best of the three seasons.

First, as someone who spends several months or more a year on Cape Cod with my family, I'll admit that I was very likely to like the series.  But it exceeded all my expectations, beginning with the theme song, "Vacation," the 1980's Textones's rendition of the 1980's Go-Go's song.  It's plain and simply my favorite punk rock song, and most of the time the only punk rock I really like.

But let's get to the storyline of the final season.

[Spoilers ahead ... ]

In a phrase, the final episode of the final season wrapped everything up in a way that left a path wide open for a fourth season or a movie somewhere down the line.

I was glad to see Frankie killed.  I was glad to see Jackie finally get in a sobre groove -- but I didn't like her siding with Alan against Ray.  Hey, maybe that's just me, but I love the relationship Ray and Renee have, and I approve of him doing whatever is needed to protect her.

I'm also glad Osito is surviving and is thriving.  Atkins Estimond did a great job in the role, and this is a good time to mention that the acting across the board was outstanding.  Just think about the difference between Monica Raymund in Chicago Fire and what she did as Jackie in Hightown, where she delivered an Emmy-worthy performance.  James Badge Dale as Ray was memorable, as was Riley Voelkel as Renee.  Garret Dillahunt has been memorable on the screen for many years, and came through again as Shane in Hightown.

Let's talk about Hightown picking up the story some time in the future.  As I said, there's more than enough room for that.  Ray now being in Osito's pocket is more than enough for a season right there.  It's the price he had to pay for protecting Renee., and it's a ticket for a future in the series. Jackie as a clean cop is a good story, made all the more powerful that she turned on Ray.  In a new season or movie, I'd expect her to revisit that wrong decision.

Big thanks to everyone for putting together this unique and uniquely satisfying series, which I look forward to seeing some more of, someday.

See also Hightown 2.1: Switching Ups and Downs ... Hightown 2.2: Some of My Favorite Things ... Hightown 2.3: Dinners and Almost Dinners ... Hightown 2.4: Approaching Midseason Predictions ... Hightown 2.5: Bullets and Love ... Hightown 2.6: True Love and Deception ... Hightown 2.7: Getting Down to Business ... Hightown 2.8: The Devil His Due and Therapy for the Soul ... Hightown 2.9: Heroes and More Seasons ... Hightown 2.10: Brilliant End-Up, Looking for 3

And see also Hightown 1.1: Top-Notch Saltwater and Characters ... Hightown 1.2: Sludge and Sun ... Hightown 1.3: Dirty Laundry ... Hightown 1.4: Banging on the Hood ... Hightown 1.5-6: Turning Point and the Real True ... Hightown 1.7: Two Things ... Hightown 1.8: Up and Down and Up

Inside Man: Never Seen Anything Like It -- You Should Too

So, I just binged Inside Man on Netflix.  It's easy to binge, only four episodes.  But, more important, it's a verging on insane, fast ride of a murder story -- actually more than one murder story -- and it touches on all kinds of life and death issues, and the meaning of parental love, and even has some lethal comedy throw in.  I've never seen anything like.  You should, too.  It's that good, and memorable in all kinds of ways.

The two main murder stories are a vicar (Harry, played by David Tennant) and his son and wife in England, and a convicted murderer (Jefferson, played by Stanley Tucci) on death row with just a few weeks left to go in the United States.   Their two stories basically have nothing to do with each other, but they're made to connect in the narrative.

Jefferson is the slightly more unusual and compelling character -- a condemned man who's working his last days as a brilliant criminologist -- but Harry is riveting, too, as a vicar who gets deeper and deeper into the hell of impossible choices as he tries keep his family out of harm's way.

Janice (well played by Dolly Wells, whom I don't recall seeing before -- it goes without saying that Tennant and Tucci play their roles to the hilt) is the victim in the U.K. part of the story, and somehow manages to combine being highly intelligent and dislikeable even though she did nothing to deserve her poor treatment.  The lesser characters are impressive, too.   The vicar's son Ben (played by Louis Oliver, son of Steven Moffat, who wrote Inside Man) gave a pivotal performance, and it was good to see Atkins Estimond (from Hightown) back in intellectual action as Jefferson's neighbor on death row.  Also worthy of honorable mention are Lyndsey Marshal as Mary the vicar's wife, and Lydia West as Beth, a reporter who spends time on both sides of the Atlantic in this transatlantic tale.

Hey, no real spoilers in this review -- if you've read this, trust me, you'll be shocked when you're not on the edge of your seat, in every episode.  Speaking of reviews, the few I've just read offered not enough praise for this rollercoaster of a limited series.  As often happens, I disagree with these myopic critics.  Stephen Moffat and Paul McGuigan (he directed) have offered a story I won't soon forget.  

Hightown Season 2 Finale: Brilliant End-Up, Looking for 3

You know, I've been noticing over the years that the penultimate, aka next to last, episode in a television season is often better than the finale.  Last week's episode of Hightown was superb, powerful, hard to surpass.  And I've just seen the finale.  And, you know what?  It's even better than last week's episode.  There may be a pattern of finales not being as good as the penultimates, but in Hightown Season 2, this ain't it.

So ... where to start.  My wife who watched the whole season said right away that Charmayne should've been given more of an armed escort on her trip to Boston.  I had a feeling that she wouldn't get there as soon as I saw her in the car with Jackie and Leslie.  It's not because they are women.  It's because Charmayne needed more coverage, given her importance.  And as soon as Leslie told Charmayne the car wasn't stopping for anything, I had feeling she would escape.

Jackie is brilliant in her instincts, but unseasoned.  Her emotions, including empathy, are always close to the surface.  So her response to Leslie was predictable -- as was Leslie turning on her the day after.

On to Frankie and Osito.  It was good to see what happened to Frankie in prison.  He deserved it.  But is he dead?  I'll once again cite one of my principles in reviewing: if you don't see someone's head cut off or riddled with bullets there's always a chance that the recipient survived.  We'll just have to wait for Season 3, and at this point, Hightown has yet to be renewed.  I think Starz would be crazy not to renew this superb series, which got better and better, from Season 1 to 2, and as Season 2 progressed.

In a third season, we'd get to see Osito in charge.  I've been saying through both seasons that Atkins Estimond's character is one of the most memorable in this series, in which there are many.  Monica Raymond as Jackie was also outstanding, a lot more vivid than she was in Chicago Fire.  James Badge Dale as Ray and Riley Voelkel as Renee were also especially excellent.

Speaking of which -- I'm glad to see them together.  But, given that Renee's shooting of Jorge was accidental, I'm wondering why she can't just tell Ray exactly what happened?  I guess that reluctance, and several other things, shows there's still not 100% trust just between them.

Dohn Norwood as Alan also deserves a shout-out for that incandescent scene in which he lets Ray know exactly how he feels about that "lateral" move to "bodies" aka homicide.  That call from Boston will give him some strong material to get his spot back in Season 3.

So bring it on, and I'll be back here with weekly reviews.

See also Hightown 2.1: Switching Ups and Downs ... Hightown 2.2: Some of My Favorite Things ... Hightown 2.3: Dinners and Almost Dinners ... Hightown 2.4: Approaching Midseason Predictions ... Hightown 2.5: Bullets and Love ... Hightown 2.6: True Love and Deception ... Hightown 2.7: Getting Down to Business ... Hightown 2.8: The Devil His Due and Therapy for the Soul ... Hightown 2.9: Heroes and More Seasons

And see also Hightown 1.1: Top-Notch Saltwater and Characters ... Hightown 1.2: Sludge and Sun ... Hightown 1.3: Dirty Laundry ... Hightown 1.4: Banging on the Hood ... Hightown 1.5-6: Turning Point and the Real True ... Hightown 1.7: Two Things ... Hightown 1.8: Up and Down and Up

Hightown 2.8: The Devil His Due and Therapy for the Soul

Well, having just seen Hightown 2.8 on Starz, I've got to give the devil his due.

[Spoilers ahead ... ]

Frankie realizes the police are watching everything he does.  More than that, he realizes something is very wrong, that Jorge being dead -- which he's come to realize -- is just the tip of the iceberg of the destruction he's facing.  So ... he "changes things up".  He cancels Charmayne's i.e., his shipment of drugs due to arrive at Hyannis Airport.   And the result?

• Jackie's plan is foiled.
• Leslie is not going to work with Jackie again (Leslie doesn't appreciate her time being wasted).
• Charmaine is scared to death.
• Renee still has feelings for Ray, but she's going to be even more compliant to Frankie, in all respects.

Now Frankie (played just right by Amaury Nolasco) couldn't have known that some of this would happen -- he didn't even know for a fact that the police were going to interdict his drugs and nab him at the airport -- but his shrewd instinct paid off.  One thing we can count on for sure: Frankie's not going to be taken down easily.

About the only person not really affected by Frankie's move is Osito, who had the best story so far in his arc this season.  Despite his ferocity, he's a sensitive guy.  Atkins Estimond delivers the perfect performance in his conversation with Janelle.  She's not only a physical therapist.  For Osito, she's a therapist for the soul.

See you back here with more about the Cape next week.

See also Hightown 2.1: Switching Ups and Downs ... Hightown 2.2: Some of My Favorite Things ... Hightown 2.3: Dinners and Almost Dinners ... Hightown 2.4: Approaching Midseason Predictions ... Hightown 2.5: Bullets and Love ... Hightown 2.6: True Love and Deception ... Hightown 2.7: Getting Down to Business

And see also Hightown 1.1: Top-Notch Saltwater and Characters ... Hightown 1.2: Sludge and Sun ... Hightown 1.3: Dirty Laundry ... Hightown 1.4: Banging on the Hood ... Hightown 1.5-6: Turning Point and the Real True ... Hightown 1.7: Two Things ... Hightown 1.8: Up and Down and Up

Hightown 2.1: Switching Ups and Downs

Last year, Hightown was especially welcome, because, with the lockdown where we live, Hightown was the most we saw of the Cape.  This year, we were back on the Cape a whole bunch of times, and Hightown is off to such a good start it's looking to be more welcome than ever.

Jackie is back and before the episode is over she's working full time for the real police.  Ray remains out of the police, bartending, because some cop from his past testified against Ray at the hearing that could have put him back on the force.  Frankie's out of prison, and Renee may be pregnant (not a hundred percent clear if Frankie is the father -- could be Ray, maybe?)

The most interesting new character is Jorge, Frankie's cousin, played by Luis Guzman (great to see him again).   Osito (Atkins Estimond) is in prison, and always interesting.  And here's the nub of the plot: three kids on Nauset Beach die of an overdose.  The "Great White" drug they took was laced with something that killed them.

By the way, I don't get why these drugs are so often laced with something that kills their consumers.  Don't the people who sell drugs want to keep their sources of money alive?  As the characters in Hightown realize, it's clearly bad for business when the people who buy drugs die.

But it makes for excellent drama.  It's good to see Monica Raymund and James Badge Dale back in their primary roles, and their screen personas in effect switching places.   Jackie's up and Ray is down.  But one of the charms of Hightown is that neither character is ever down and out.  Welcome back Hightown -- see you again next week.

See also Hightown 1.1: Top-Notch Saltwater and Characters ... Hightown 1.2: Sludge and Sun ... Hightown 1.3: Dirty Laundry ... Hightown 1.4: Banging on the Hood ... Hightown 1.5-6: Turning Point and the Real True ... Hightown 1.7: Two Things ... Hightown 1.8: Up and Down and Up

Hightown 1.7: Two Things

Well, there were more than two noteworthy things in tonight's next-to-last episode of the season - 1.7 - of Hightown.

But the phrase was in the best line of the episode, which had lots of good lines, as it always does.  The dialogue is one of the most enjoyable things in this fine series.   And my favorite line tonight was what the dancer says to Renee: "Men are only good for two things - money and dick".

Now that we got that out of the way, here's one of the important things in the story: Ray and Renee souring, and poor Ray is barely aware.  I'm sorry to see this, but it's almost inevitable given Ray's devotion to finding Sherry's killer(s), and how that conflicts with just loving Renee, which he also wants to do.  How can he get out of this?   Maybe if both Frankie and Osito are killed or in custody.  But I don't think that's likely to happen.

But speaking of Osito, what indeed did happen with him and Junior, after that great scene when he tells Junior to law low in Miami, and he Osito might even go to the DR for a while?  Osito looked just a tiny bit bothered when Junior said he was going to get something to eat before getting on the bus.  Did Osito think, as I did, that Junior might not get on the bus and instead call and even go see the mother of his child?

Tough to say.  But I also don't get why Junior was dead from drugs in that room (assuming he really is dead, and can't be revived).  Did he intentionally take a little of the bad dose intended for Krista?  If so, why?  Why was that preferable to going down to Miami?  Or, did Junior accidentally overdose?  Or did Osito do that to him?

Still tough to say.  I will say that I more than half expected Osito's killing of Kizzle rather than Junior.  Does that make it less likely that Osito would then kill Junior?  Yes and no.  He has motives for both - less likely to kill someone he just saved, more likely if he concluded that the man he saved was unreliable, and could lead to Osito's own death,   As I've saying for a while, Osito, played just right by Atkins Estimond, is really the pivotal character in this series.

See what I mean?  A lot more than two things.  And I'll see you here in two weeks with my review of the season finale.

See also Hightown 1.1: Top-Notch Saltwater and Characters ... Hightown 1.2: Sludge and Sun ... Hightown 1.3: Dirty Laundry ... Hightown 1.4: Banging on the Hood ... Hightown 1.5-6: Turning Point and the Real True

Hightown 1.3: Dirty Laundy

Another standout episode of Hightown - 1.3 - in which dirty laundry figures prominently.  Not the Don Henley song (which is also excellent), but Krista's suitcase, filled with it, which Jackie and a reluctant Junior retrieve.

This first leads to Jackie telling Junior not to call them "panties" - she prefers "underwear" (my wife agrees with Jackie, I'm with Junior) - and then to a silver lining discovered by Jackie in the suitcase, a list that leads her to some connection Krista has, or business she was doing, in Wareham, just off-Cape.

We pass by Wareham - that is, my wife and I - every time we drive up to the Cape, and never knew it could play a role in Jackie getting to the bottom of Sherry Henry's murder.   And, actually, so far, at this point, she's making better progress than Ray, who is progressing only with sleeping with Frankie's wife Renee, and only because Frankie asked her aka ordered her to do.  The only hope for Ray, if this keeps going this way, is that Renee falls in love with him and tells him what's really going on.  That's possible, but not very likely, because Renee has to be very afraid of Frankie, not to mention Renee needing above all else to protect her little boy.

It's a suitably tense, frightening situation that never lets up, and is always on the verge of getting much worse when Osito is on the scene.   There's something about him that's genuinely unsettling, which means that Atkins Estimond who plays the role, and I've never seen him before, deserves a lot of credit for a fine performance.  If he keeps this up, he could enter the pantheon of memorable villains.

As I said after seeing the debut episode, Hightown is way at the top of new cop shows, and thus aptly named, and I'm looking forward to more.

See also Hightown 1.1: Top-Notch Saltwater and Characters ... Hightown 1.2: Sludge and Sun