DeaconSlim2.0
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I'm not really sure. I think it would have been better if the killer had been identified at the beginning of the finale, then chased and caught at the very end or escaped in some way that implicated a partner of sorts that we didn't expect.
Either way, the only reason a lot of people continued watching was to find the identity of the killer, since the rest of the season sucked so hard outside of roughly 4 episodes. I don't understand how they throw that curveball at the very end when they didn't do shit for about 8 episodes in the middle. People should rightfully be pissed off.
I actually have far more of a problem with the people behind the show's resolution than the actual resolution itself. They used info that was present at the very beginning of the investigation as the final nail? They pull up to a gas station and the guy immediately says "yeah, I know the sedan, the guy, and the girl screaming." Ahmed's wife not recognizing the guy who beat her husband and who was also the father of the famous dead daughter who her husband taught? And finally, the laughably obvious "Linden's getting on the plane, here she goes, oh shit it's a phone call with evidence that will make her stay"?
How dumb do they think their viewers are?
You make some great points...
But I think this show was always going to be doomed with the "damned if we do, damned if we don't" mentality....
Had they closed out all of the stories and nailed the killer, people would have their resolution, but then would have focused on the meandering plot and slow pace and all of the red herrings when it should have been "simple" to get from the murder to the abduction of the killer (revisionist history when you know whodunit).
I personally can't envision a finale that would have fulfilled the viewers' desire for resolution and brought those same viewers back for Season 2. If this story was concluded definitively in the S1 finale, people would be hesitant to come back for Season 2 knowing they'd be getting more of the same meandering and misdirection until the ultimate "ah-ha" in the finale that seemed like it should have been obvious from the beginning.
I think the way they did it was the only way to hook the maximum amount of viewers for the second season....there they could iron out rough spots in casting and storytelling and then be more confident in and have a better idea of what/who to expect to return for a 3rd season, if they made it that far.
But they definitely could have done a better job making the story flow into a second season....making EVERYTHING happen in the last 2 minutes was lazy, and just put off all the real storytelling until next season.
They had WAYYY too much filler in the finale.....Stan (best actor on the show) pulling up to the house, walking to the backyard, looking at the swings and then changing scenes was just idiotic.....the Belko/Aunt Terry scene was completely unnecessary....and there was another scene that just made me cringe that they threw that in there but I can't remember now.
Had they cut out some fluff and resolved this arc more in one season, or ended it after one season, way more people would be satisfied....but trying to stretch out a single murder arc over 2 seasons is going to bite them in the ass.
They started with around 2.7million viewers, got down to about 1.7million a few weeks ago and finished at 2.3million for the finale....the way they ended things, I'd be surprised if they hit 1million for next season's premiere.
And when are they planning on bringing this back?....I know Breaking Bad starts next month...13 episodes should end it around early October....and I'm assuming The Walking Dead will be after that....and rumors are that Mad Men will be back in January (at the earliest)....do they really wanna bring this back next March?
Is there any way they bring this back sooner to try to minimize the loss of viewers after the finale was so poorly rated?