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

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 2.1: 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 1.1: Top Notch Saltwater and Characters

We were supposed to go up to Cape Cod later this week, but that's on hold, because of you know what.  Fortunately, the first episode of Hightown has just been put up on Starz.   Very fortunately.  This is best debut of a series on network or cable I've seen in I don't know when.  My wife feels the same way.

The story - the murder of a witness in an upcoming drug trial - is something we've a lot of before.  The set of characters, headed by Monica Raymund (Chicago Fire) as Jackie Quiñones a fish cop and James Badge Dale (The Black Donnellys and much more) as Detective Ray Abruzzo a "statie" from drugs assigned to homicide, most assuredly is not.   Jackie is more than a bit of a druggie herself, and Ray is willing to let a prostitute unzip his fly and more to put her at ease so he can get the drop on her to truthfully answer his questions.  And the back-up characters including police, druggies, and fishermen of all persuasions are no slouches, either.

They're all tied together by a Cape Cod environment so vivid and real you can easily smell the fishy saltwater.   Not to mention taste the seafood as the characters walk by all kinds of eateries in Provincetown.   There's something truly magical about P-town in real life, and Hightown conveys this to a tee and the tee-shirts.  I recall a couple of years ago, my wife and I drove our son and his wife from our cottage in Brewster to Provincetown where they were a catching a fast boat to Boston.  The boat was delayed.  It soon became freezing, and all I had on were shorts and a thin tee-shirt with holes in it.  I stepped into a shop.   They had all kinds of expensive sweatshirts.  But I picked up one that for some reason was on steep sale, and for just a few bucks bought the warmest, most comfortable sweatshirt I ever had in my life.  That's the kind of place Provincetown is.

I don't know if Hightown will be the best cop show I've ever seen in my life - it has lots of very steep competition, ranging from The Wire to Dragnet - but it's off to a very promising start, and I'll be back here with more after I see the next episode in two weeks.