Banshee - S4E8 - Requiem

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Previously on Banshee, “Truths Other Than the Ones You Tell Yourself”

By all accounts, Banshee should have been a ridiculous show. And it was. Ridiculously good. It never got the credit it deserved for serving up some of the best (if sometimes outlandish) action on TV. Every season, Banshee outdid itself in constructing elaborate, heart-pounding fights, car chases, and shoot-outs. Its final season was no exception. In just eight episodes we got decapitation, a rabid dog mauling the face of a hillbilly meth manufacturer, and an amazing one-shot foot chase.

It wasn’t perfect. Introducing new threats in a final season is rough, especially when the original cast of characters are as beloved as Hood, Job, Sugar, Carrie, Brock, Rebecca, and even Proctor - and especially when the final season sees a cut in episodes. We wanted as much time as possible with those characters to tie up loose ends. The skinheads, cartel, and serial-killing devil worshippers were sometimes a distraction. While we did have to sit through those resolutions in “Requiem,” the time we spent saying goodbye to the people we care about was time well spent.

Carrie 

Taking her therapist’s advice to get all the killing and vengeance out of her system, Carrie hits one of Proctor’s drug transports right while he’s trying to impress the cartel. She makes it very clear that Proctor’s expanding drug business is not welcome in Banshee. With some help from Job and Brock with a rocket launcher, the cartel gets the message loud and clear.

With that taken care of, Carrie can now focus on raising Max (who comes home in a day) and having a daughter in college. I’m assuming this was an act of Job because there’s no way Deva got into college on her own.

Brock

Brock finally accepts that in order to keep the peace in a town like Banshee, every now and again you need to “take the badge off and get bloody.” He does just that in helping Carrie deal with the cartel, and later when he covers up Kurt’s murder of his brother, Calvin. He also doesn’t turn in Hood for being a fraud. Yay, Brock!

Proctor

Kai Proctor has no time to recover from Carrie’s ambush before he’s hit again - literally - by Hood, who has figured out (thanks to Veronica) that Declan did not murder Rebecca. Hood mistakenly believes it’s Proctor before realizing it was actually Burton. The two fight in a dried out riverbed while Proctor lies with a broken leg. Hood almost succumbs to death, even welcomes it as he thinks of those he’s lost during his time in Banshee (Emmett and Siobhan), before remembering his promise to be there for Deva. He delivers more head butts than humanly possible before dropping Burton’s battered body on top of Proctor.

He’s Kai’s problem now.

Burton was worried that Rebecca would be Proctor’s undoing, so he murdered her and made it look like the work of the serial killer since he had access to the confidential details of the prior crimes thanks to his role as the mayor’s aide. He apologizes. Proctor forgives. Then Proctor snaps his neck.

At home, it’s not long before the cartel shows up, and Proctor goes out gangster-style, in a hail of bullets, taking as many with him as he can.

Hood

Hood is headed for New York, as is Job, though they’ll take separate routes to get there. Job leaves Sugar with a bag of cash as a thank you for spending his savings to get him back. These two don’t do mushy or sentimental so it’s fitting that Job tosses out a final “suck my tit” before sauntering out of the bar.

Sugar reminds Hood that he never found the redemption he was looking for locked up in jail or hiding away in that cabin. Maybe it’s time he goes about the business of living life among others to find the peace he seeks.

Hood is certainly willing to try, and after a tearful goodbye to Carrie, he rides his motorcycle out of Banshee for good.

Final Thoughts

• I am so happy Rebecca’s murder wasn’t a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Burton, who always looked like he murdered young women in his spare time, killing her made the most sense. He never liked her or her influence on Proctor. I’m not sure he cared for Proctor’s political ambitions, but he was always going to do what he thought best for his boss. Rebecca’s attempt to break out on her own caused nothing but problems for Proctor, and Burton’s sole purpose in life was eliminating Proctor’s problems.
• I did not care about the skinheads one bit, but I liked Kurt. It was satisfying to see him finally kill Calvin, but also sad to see how much it hurt him to do so.
• I like how Hood asked Carrie to come to New York with him five seconds after she told him her son was coming home the next day. I guess he had to try. A closed mouth don’t get fed.
• We never learned Hood’s real name. I like the theory that it’s Cary, and so when he says his final, “Goodbye, Ana,” and she replies, “It’s Carrie,” there’s a deeper meaning there.

We need a Banshee movie in about two years, please.