Deadwood (season 1)

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⭐ 7.5/10

(Originally written by Joseph)

A real grimy drama set in an American frontier camp in the old west. I have every reason to love this show; the writing is top notch, there are DOZENS of complex characters with plenty of depth, there is a super likeable protagonist, and a super despicable villain )though one you understand). It's also (kinda) a Western! It checks off nearly every box for me...


Except one! What on earth do good shows have against plot!! I am honestly so sick of this trend. Give me a reason to watch this show for goodness sake. Give the super likeable villain a conflict to overcome, or something he wants! Make him cross paths with the villain! It's so frustrating to me to have all these great characters in a really compelling world, but see nothing of intrigue happen to them. Every episode is basically just a day-in-the-life, and the finale could have very well been the first episode and you would have never known because nothing happens and there is little growth within the characters. I get the artistic achievement this show rises to, but I don't get why artistic achievements have to be above having plot.


Aside from that significant complaint, again I really love everything here. Shoutout to Wormtongue for having one of the best characters out there. The priest was great, the sidekick was great. My only (somewhat connected) other complaint is that we spend waaaaay too much time with the villain, a guy who is truly a great character but not one I want to spend 30 minutes per episode with. I bet future seasons are better, but unfortunately this show didn't compel me to renew Crave another month (can I review Crave? Cuz it's a zero). So yeah, not really recommended unless you like shows where nothing happens.

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