Having finished this now, I liked it as much as the previous two seasons, and completely reinventing the show was a good move. Rather than judging Season 3 by its own merits, I have the feeling the internet has it in for Sam Levinson after a couple of creative missteps (neither of which I've seen). But this is one of the better TV seasons I've seen in recent years.
Rue's death by fentanyl overdose makes complete sense, considering the death of Angus Cloud and how drugs have changed in America ("Why kill the customer?"). Killing her off an hour before the end was audacious, but also felt entirely in keeping with the show's new direction. Her death was as much a murder as it was a (understandable and possibly minor) relapse, so I don't believe the series betrays her character. The final hour functions as an epilogue, a revenge drama that embraces its genre and shouldn't be taken too literally. It's as much a cinematic fantasy as it is a conclusion to the show. Making Colman Domingo the lead in the last hour makes sense. Zendaya, Jacob Elordi, and Sydney Sweeney always get mentioned as having become the show's breakout stars, but his career has taken off just as much.
The entire season was as gripping and suspenseful as a crime show should be, and on top, it was often very funny. Zendaya is outstanding, the way she keeps playing down the fact that, with every attempt to get herself out of the hole she's in, she only gets herself in deeper, is quietly devastating. Sydney Sweeney is great too. I get the feeling she's an actor who needs a good director, and then she's capable of great work. The only time I thought she was outright terrible was in The Housemaid, but then Paul Feig is one of the worst directors working today. The big surprise of the core cast here is Alexa Demie, whose unflappable self-assurance makes you believe that she may just have what it takes to succeed, even if she is selling her soul to the devil. Jacob Elordi takes a step back. Basically, he gets his comeuppance, which is satisfying at first until it isn't, and you end up actually feeling sorry for him.
Hunter Schafer, on the other hand, is poorly served by an extraneous plotline that doesn't really advance her character. Her reunion with Rue feels contrived, and she makes choices that don't make much sense. The light has gone out in her eyes and her "Sunday Afternoon with Penises" presentation is the worst scene in the show and the revelation of Rue's portrait is the second worst. It may have been better if they hadn't brought her back. Some of the supporting cast really get to shine. while Sharon Stone is wasted in a nothing role, an unblinking Martha Kelly and a commanding Akinnuoye-Agbaje are both excellent as rival crime bosses with very different styles. The standout among the new cast members is Darrell Britt-Gibson as Bishop,
who remains a closed book until his last scene.
My main reservation concerns the subplot about
Rue finding God and idealising that Christian family. This struck me as odd, especially given the social and political realities of contemporary America. The show presents the family as almost wholly virtuous, yet never really engages with the possibility that people with those values might clash sharply with Rue's identity and way of life. Consequently, the final scene with Ali visiting them left a sour taste in my mouth. It felt overly sentimental and insufficiently critical of the worldview that the show was asking us to embrace.
