DMZ (HBO Max Miniseries)

That was bleak. The ending had some hope, but that was rough.

I think what gets me is how unintentionally relevant it feels with the stuff going on in Ukraine. I think the producers figured the premise would resonate in a country where partisanship seems to be tearing us apart. Instead it reminds me of horrific footage on the every night on the news, and it's not a cautionary tale, but an actual real thing that is happening. It's really spooky.

Not happy with that first episode but it was very well-made. 3 1/2 stars.

That was really good.

Nora Dunn, man. That takes me back. She was fearlessly crapping on Andrew Dice Clay before fearlessly crapping on Andrew Dice Clay was cool. Awesome. And she was fired from SNL from it because Lorne Michaels is a gutless, sniveling coward and always has been. Eff that guy.

I think Hoon Lee plays the hell out of Wilson. One of the best performances I've seen that specific actor give.

The scene with Odie and the preacher and the helmet reminds us that it's the small victories and moments of connection that matter the most. That was my favorite scene.

I can't get a solid read on Christian / Skel. Is he a remorseless sociopath or not? I can't tell yet. Which is weird for me. I usually have a better bead on stuff like that.

Much stronger than the first episode. 4 stars.

I don't want to spend too much time on this review because I believe the final episode will put things into clearer focus for me. I'll note three things here before I watch and review that one.

1. The preacher's art museum is REALLY cool and a grace note in a moment we needed one.

2. I love that Skel believes Alma betrayed him. And from the way he puts it, she actually did.

3. After the end, I stopped asking the question about whether or not Skel can be redeemed. It is my firm opinion that even if he COULD be, he shouldn't be. I do not ever want to see a happy ending for that specific character now, whether Alma wants it on not. It's not in the narrative's best interest.

We'll see how things shake out from here. 3 1/2 stars.

I don't often get to say this, so I'm going to cherish saying it: That was the right ending.

After such a bleak opening, it is refreshing the hopeful place the miniseries left us off on. I personally don't think Skel deserves redemption. The better answer is that we are unaware of whether or not it truly happens, and have to accept him accepting his mother's love, and her sacrifice to stay behind to take care of the people while he and his girlfriend leave for good. That's the RIGHT ending.

And considering the horrible, violent premise of the series, that last episode could have been a bloodbath (including the potential death of poor Odie). The fact that it ended in democracy and freedom instead is the hopeful tonic I needed for the world as it exists today.

Frankly, Christian's girlfriend forgiving him struck me as a bit unrealistic, but I had to check my beliefs there. Nobody in this world's hands are actually clean. It's very possible that specific kind of thing is something people have had to make peace with from their loved ones over and over again before this.

Speaking of violence, I appreciated the fight between Parco and Skel at the end. This was based on a comic book? I was impressed because there wasn't a single part of it where the producers tried to make things look "Cool!" and "Awesome!". It looked painful, and like it hurt, and the actors really showed real vulnerability and a startling lack of Hollywood vanity by allowing us to see them in that degraded of a state. Most shows try to make the violence enjoyable to watch. The fact that it's so ugly and uncomfortable to watch instead is utterly refreshing to me.

Perfect ending for Odie. I loved it.

I liked the final vote totals. Felt realistic. It was technically a landslide for Z, but the indefensibly evil and violent Parco still got PLENTY of votes. That's how it works in real life landslides too.

Maybe this show doesn't deserve as high a praise as I'm giving it. It's only four episodes long after all, barely more than two movies, and lots of movies have the right ending. I think what makes me feel this deserves the praise is because, miniseries or not, it was still sort of structured like a regular TV show. There was still a status quo that held throughout all four episodes until the end. And the fact that's its structured as a TV show, instead of one long movie makes the perfect ending impressive to me. Maybe I'm giving it too much credit. But it felt like a perfect TV ending rather than a perfect movie ending. Perfect TV endings are quite rare, so it feeling like that is about the highest praise I can give it.

I am very pleased. It was a little bit rough going, but it totally ended right. I am very glad I spent the last four hours watching this. 5 stars.