MovieChat Forums > Hell on Wheels (2011) Discussion > Every Show Goes To Hell In S3

Every Show Goes To Hell In S3

posted 8 years ago by annlevtex
9 replies | jump to latest

I am still enjoying this show immensely, but it's suffering from S3 syndrome.

Louise? Sassy Eastern Girl Lois Lane Journalist Syndrome. Second-rate Lily Bell replacement. Nothing against the actress or even the character, but it's the tropiest of tropes. She's telling me everything about the building of the railroad by Confederate refugees, former slaves, Irish immigrants, etc....the moral ambiguity....the brutality..........that I already know by watching the damned show. She's Boston Herald Kate from that one season of "Ray Donovan," Genevieve from "The Knick," etc.

Oh, and Ruth? God, I wish she'd gone with Joseph. No one on this show messed up so badly. It's not even her fault. It just makes me so sad. Glad she didn't marry Sean though. He's a weasel.

It's a great show. I guess it isn't called "Hell On Wheels" for nothing.

[–] OnlyRocknRoll 8 years ago

I don't count the episodes as others do, but I know when I lost interest. That was when Lily Bell was murdered, the Swede comes back into the show, and he and Cullen drag those unnecessary Mormons into the story. It all went down hill from there. I didn't even watch the final two seasons. It's interesting to see what other viewers think. My hat's off to everyone who was able to stick it through to the end.

But, as many well know, writers and directors have ruined many a show. This was one of them.

_______________________________________
ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED??!!

Maximus Decimus Meridius

[–] annlevtex 8 years ago

Yes, it happens all the time. Sometimes it's just a matter of losing interest, or the novelty wearing off. It's not always on the writers. If the show has a long run, it might lose focus in the middle and then really pull it together in the end. That was the case with "Mad Men," for me, in part because they had kept all of the original core characters and we got to see their stories end on a satisfactory (if not always happy) note.

Here, we lost Lily and Joseph at the end of S2 when it felt like their stories weren't finished or had much more to offer the show in the future. At least that's how I felt. I plan to stick it through anyway, knowing that I probably won't enjoy the rest of it as much as I did the first two seasons. The Swede is a great character but he's become cartoonishly evil. I've decided that's he's an incarnation of Loki or something, the Norse God of Mischief (in this case, evil) who takes many forms. So I just call him Loki.

The buddy/frenemy comedy dynamic between Elam and Cullem is fun to watch but I've seen it before. It sort of reminds we of Titus and Vorenus in "Rome."

[–] Sophitia36 8 years ago

I agree with you all... I still finished the series because I really LOVE Anson Mount as Cullen. He's wonderful.

But to me, the series died in season 2, with Lily. And then they proceeded to act as if she'd never even existed, which pissed me off even more... And they lost far too many of their iconic characters (the reverend, Lily, Joseph, Ruth, Elam... Seriously, ALL of these people?)

[–] standrkm 8 years ago

it started off as something very different and very entertaining, by the time it ended it was like a mercy kill, it went downhill after Lily was gone and the Swede become the terminator

"how's a fella go about gettin' a holt of the police?" -Karl

[–] bishop-69757 8 years ago

S4 is when it went to hell for me. S3 not as good as the first two but still above average

[–] ayf_1983 8 years ago

Not every show. X Files, for example, only took off for me during their Season 3.

[–] annlevtex 8 years ago

Well, after reading some of the replies to this post, I don't regret having stopped watching. It seems my worst fears were realized anyway. Good riddance.

[–] assumedkilla 8 years ago

Game of Thrones, Fringe, BSG, Lost, etc had great third seasons. I like this show, but it was always a B-level show to me, it was pretty good with a few great moments, not a great or phenomenal show itself like the top tier of TV such as Mr. Robot, Breaking Bad, and others. Hell on Wheels was and always was on the same level as Sons of Anarchy or Justified to me. It's an interesting revenge/gunslinger story with more groups (Irish, freedmen, natives, Mormons, Chinese, etc) than any other show and it was cool to see them interact.

I never saved anything for the swim back.

[–] annlevtex 8 years ago

Game of Thrones has been a consistently good to great show. Season Three might have been my least favorite season oddly, but it was still good. By "every show" I guess I mean "your average show" and not the Grade A ones.

I think some shows have strong starts and people think "oh, this is a great show." Then they go off the rails, so to speak, and never regain their footing. In retrospect you realize it was never a great show to begin with. It had a great season or two, but wasn't a great show. That's the pattern for me anyway.