DJariya

By djariya at 2011-12-11

Synopsis:



Episode 9 of 9

Promo

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RIP Luck. Potential unrealized.

Shannon Nutt

Watching this show the past few weeks has been bittersweet. After an awful start, it was really shaping into one of HBO's better shows.

Red Dog

No kidding. I think I might just leave this last episode sitting in the DVR and hold out watching it as long as I can.

Shannon Nutt

Sheesh...no comments? Am I the only one who watched? Were you all off watching Mad Men?

DJariya

Just finished it. Very satisfying finale. I think after a slow start, the season finished up really strong. The final race sequence was really well directed. Honestly, I can't see how they could have done this show with stock footage as PETA suggested.

Some thoughts:

* Unfortunately, Ace's revenge plot against Mike ended incomplete. I actually thought that was brewing into a really compelling arc. The whole sequence in the restaurant was great. Gus was a badass.

* A little surprised that they managed to find Israel's body parts.

* Really enjoyed the storylines with the degenerates. There really wasn't an arc there, it was more character-driven and I felt satisfied how it ended up.

* Sucks that Escalante and Jo lost their baby. I had a feeling it was heading down that path.


Oh well, the 9 episodes ended up being a pretty satisfying experience. For anyone who still has these sitting on their DVR, I say finish it up. I think it was a pretty good 9 hour movie.

flashburn

God dammit, why couldn't people watch this show? I'm so disappointed we don't get to see where the story for all these characters goes. I really, really enjoyed it.

DJariya

I'm disappointed too, especially before the cancellation was announced Michael Gambon (Mike) was promoted to series regular for season 2. I think an Ace vs. Mike arc for season 2 would have been really compelling.

Chaza

I loved this show, but at least the finale was pretty conclusive. The four gamblers were my favorite characters.

mortalplague

I never started this one and after the cancellation news i figure i shouldn't start. Is it worth it to watch this series?

Geofferson

^ If you like Mann, Milch, Hoffman, horce racing or great storytelling, then yes.

DJariya

Did you not read my comment? Yes, absolutely.

Astrofan

So no more horses would die?

JeffTheAlpaca

Sucks it is over. Wanted to see more Turo Escalanate.



Too late to shop the series to another network and too risky to pick up with the controversy.

Saul Goodman

Rest of the interview is well worth reading.

vulture.com/2012/03/michael-mann-david-milch-interview-luck-horses-cancellation.html

flashburn

It'd be worth it.

mphtrilogy

sniff... really enjoyed this series.... sorry to see it go...
well worth the 9 hours and plays like a mini-series...

MikahC

It isn't worth the horses dying for me, but I really liked the show. The slow motion shots of the racing horses was just majestic. What incredible animals. And these are not even real top of the line horses. I can only imagine what it'd be like to see a, say, Secretariat up close and personal. It's a shame the production experienced such bad luck.

bdshort

Really good finale, which makes it sadder that this ended up being the only season. I'd love to see where things were going to go next.

Red Dog

Gotta love Gus and gotta love those degenerates.

And Fuck PETA and the carbon blobs who couldn't watch this. And screw HBO for scheduling this against the Super Bowl, Academy Awards, Grammy Awards, etc.

Once Eastbound ends, the only HBO show left that I watch is Boardwalk Empire.

islandclaws

I like 4 of those things and I still thought it was terrible.

blairwitchfan

Why don't you like great storytelling?

jrsl76

That's what I was wondering. With them canceling it mid shoots of a season 2, was it even worth viewing as it would be annoying to have lots of loose strings.

Oh, and considering the low ratings, I really get the feeling that HBO used the horse deaths as an out for them to not have to produce more episodes. What do you guys think?

DJariya

Yes, I said it in my comment earlier in this thread. For the most part in the 9 episodes everything has some sense of closure. There is one storyline involving Dustin Hoffman and Michael Gambon's characters that is sort of incomplete, but the arc itself was only in the early stages of development.

bdshort

They wrapped most things up but left enough stuff open for a new season. I noticed they were still calling it the Season Finale even though it aired after the cancellation announcement was made. I was wondering if they had changed their minds, but apparently not.

DJariya

All the promotional materials, commercials were edited and sent out to air before the cancellation announcement. Usually the commercials for shows like this are cut by a different production company.

That happened a year ago with the FX show Lights Out. The show was cancelled about 2 weeks before the finale, but all the promos were cut and airing as season finale.