Rectify (TV Series) Unhinged (2014) User Reviews

Terrific end of a great season

[851222 · 10/10 · 15 January 2017]

Greetings from Lithuania.

"Unhinged" terrifically ended great season 2 of "Rectify". Everything worked here on a highest note, creating one of the best if not the best episode of the entire first two seasons yet. It ended on so many cliffhangers, plausible ones that i can not wait to watch the rest of the series now.

Writing was simply perfect, as well directing. Acting was great as well as the always great musical score of this show - music plays such an important part of this show, it creates this haunting feeling terrifically.

Overall, "Unhinged" was a high point of this great series so far. Can't recommend it higher.

S2: Rewarding but at times it is almost deliberately glacial

[bob the moo · 23 May 2017]

I almost wish that Rectify was not as well considered and highly rated as it is, because in some ways the hype make it a harder show to be patient with. I try to put such things out of my mind while watching, but I confess during the first half of this season, that I did struggle with the thoughts of the 99% ratings on Metacritic etc and connecting them to what I was watching. I do not mean to suggest that the show is not good (it is very good), but in this season it seemed to be almost deliberate in seeing how slowly it could move and how little it could get away with showing in any given episode. This glacial pace makes it hard to stay patient, because it is so consistent in asking you to stay with the small looks, the minor affectations of characters, and other things that hint at unspoken motivations and feelings. I am surprised more people do not say this, because even liking the show, there were moments where the pace was too slow.

Part of this is the season running longer than the first, at ten episodes. I'm not suggested it is related, but I do note that the third season is back on six episodes again. The second half of this season does pick up a bit, as things come to the surface, and the crime element starts to have movement. To a point a lot of the various threads engaging does come down to how much time it put into the small things, so there is that – and it is this that makes me continue to trust the show that it is right to ask me to go with it. I doubt it will ever erupt into major action and revelations, but in the meantime it is subtle in its content – mostly in a rewarding way, but certainly not in a wholly accessible way.

Putting the gushing critics out of my mind for the minute, this season does produce a good bed of characterization, and has a strong second half. It asks a lot of patience but mostly rewards it with interesting characters and interactions, even if parts of this season feel like they are stretching it as slow as possible. I hope the next season can be much more in the vein of the latter episodes here – they do not give up this base of character, but they also have more to engage with on the surface as well as in the bed.