Godless

3 episodes in and I am loving this series. Pleasantly surprised by the smart, thoughtful writing, excellent acting and stunning cinematography.

I'm not a Western fan usually. Very few are actually well written anymore. Plus in general, they usually don't confront the facts of the past and cling to the false romanticizing of the period. This confronts all of that, subtly. The newspaper guy exaggerating and romanticizing the outlaws. The cowboys committing crimes and blaming the Native tribes. The Army too lazy to help homesteaders, under orders. The best part of this whole series is how it confronts the past while being very well written, fantastically directed, and with an amazing cast.

There were a couple scenes that I would've written differently, particularly the ending, but the ending works and probably truer than what I would've wanted. But you can see from the other comments the ending threw some of us.

I'm pretty stingy with 10, and I just couldn't dock it more than a half a point, 9.5 at worst. So 10. First episode seems all over the place but the second will have you binge watching the whole thing.

best show of 2018 for me

Not quite the "feminist Western" which Netflix seemed to promote it as, but that's fine because it didn't need to be. _Godless_ is a lush and rich Western miniseries which somehow feels fresh while still embodying many tropes of the genre. We have a tired sheriff with an overeager deputy, a band of outlaws seeking revenge and a mysterious stranger on the run. All this happens in and around a town populated almost entirely by (badass) women.

It's to the shows credit that it makes each of these clichés feel unique and interesting. The sheriff is losing his eyesight and is regarded as a coward by the women he's charged with protecting, while simultaneously struggling with feelings of resentment to his own little daughter. The evil outlaw (played superbly by Jeff Daniels) is actually a man capable of incredible compassion and acts of love alongside his brutality. And Whitey, the overeager deputy, turns out to be one of the most enjoyable and unpredictable characters in the whole thing.

But it's the girls of La Belle who do manage to steal a good portion of the show. Maggie is tough as nails and doesn't back down an inch when confronted with male posturing, as well as being engaged in a very natural relationship with Callie. Meanwhile, Alice lives her life exactly on her own terms as she raises her son along with her (awesome) Native American mother-in-law.

_Godless_ is not an action-fest, although when things go down it's extremely satisfying. This is more of a measured story which lets things breathe. The cinematography is absolutely glorious and my jaw dropped at the staging of several scenes. I found it to the show's benefit that we spent so much time just taking things in as my attachment to the characters grew more and more. To give a specific example there's an episode in which a lot of time is spent with horses, and while it doesn't further the plot significantly, it pays off down the line and only allowed me to enjoy the experience all the more.

The cast are uniformly excellent, and it's easy to forget that three of the main characters are Brits. The writing is also of a high quality, and while this is not in the same league as the poetry and magnificence of _Deadwood_, it's very much going for a different vibe and doing its own thing. This feels more like an epic Western whereas the HBO show had a tighter focus on the comings and goings of the town it was set in.

That's not to say the show is perfect. I'm definitely not the first to notice, but there are a number of plot threads which are introduced but go absolutely nowhere. We meet characters like John Doe who have a mystery set up and then no more is given to us. We don't really get any huge revelations into Bill's past with his wife or situation, and what the Indian and his dog were all about. The (fantastic) German character Martha is only introduced at the very end. And we don't even get a proper explanation as to why Roy [spoiler]betrayed Frank in the first place.[/spoiler] It definitely feels to me like there is plenty of room for a continuation, but this appears to be a one-off.

But I absolutely loved _Godless_. It manages to be incredibly satisfying despite its flaws, is one of the best looking shows you can watch right now and when it kicks off the thrills are absolutely glorious.

The Brits* conquer the west! Such a good limited series. My only expectation, as I began watching this series, was that it was a western and a friend had recommended it. All the movie posters were iconic silhouettes of the genre. But, my expectations (delight and appreciation) raised exponentially as the casting revealed itself, beginning with Sam Waterston (as the Marshal), then Michelle Dockery* (Alice), Tantoo Cardinal (Iyavl), Jack O'Connell* (Roy), Thomas Brodie-Sangster* (Whitey), Jeff Daniels (Frank) and finally Kim Coates sealed the deal. All the acting felt very authentic and appropriate and the imported* talent did well to speak American (although, I'm told, the Americans speaking Norwegian? Not so good). The storytelling was well executed, the production values high, the direction was solid (except [spoiler] someone forgot to do a body count in the last episode - of the 30 men at least 50 of them were shot dead) [/spoiler]. I give this series an appreciative 9 (superb) out of 10. [Western] (In case you didn't catch it the * behind a name indicated British actors.)

This was phenomenal. There was such great care taken in the attention to detail that it made so many scenes really stand out for how well fleshed out they were. The acting was superb! There were so many wonderful performances, there were too many to list, but Michelle Dockery and Merritt Weaver were exceptional. I'm not a big fan of the western genre, but this was so far above and beyond a simple western tale. This is one of the best mini-series I can ever recall having watched.

If you're a fan of Western genre, please do yourself a favor and watch this limited series. This is one of the best western TV shows I've watched, you'll be rewarded for watching this.

_Godless_ is a Western series that is better than I initially thought it would be. The series is full of intense gun battles and action scenes that will have keep you engaged. The story is well-written and expertly crafted, with each episode building upon the last to create a truly immersive experience. The characters are complex and multi-dimensional, with each actor delivering a standout performance. The cinematography is excellent, capturing the style and brutality of the Old West.

It's rare to find a show whose creators are confident enough to allow it to go at a pace that is so subtle. The acting in the show is superb. The writing is incredible. The story is just wonderful. It was recommended to me by somebody and I can't believe I hadn't heard of it. My recommendation for this show is to indulge yourself and enjoy it because it's absolutely superb.

An excellent show. I don't usually watch westerns, however, this was worth the watch. I must say this was a bit on the slow side. They could of used more time on the end of the series. These folks lives, left you wanting more, especially at the end. Worth binge-watching.