Bloodline Season 3

Bloodline season three had potential. We left off last time with John on the run, heading north to who knows where, while Kevin had just killed Marco after failing to convince him to back off his investigation. The Rayburn family was falling apart and it didn't look like there was anything that anyone could do to stop it- and with season three being the final season, this show would go out with a bang, right? Well... not so much.

The acting is superb and the locations are phenomenal but the story this time was so muddled, so out there, that I just couldn't buy in. Even though like a train wreck I kept watching.

The problem is that none of the characters are likable. Not anymore. John was always the good son and the fixer, but it doesn't take long to see that he's really not very nice in this one. You can make an argument that he lost control in season one when he killed Danny, and it's only natural that he and his siblings would try to cover it up, but in season three he frames Eric O'Bannon for Marco's murder and plants evidence on him. And then lies through his teeth about it at trial. I liked John in season one and felt for him in season two, but here I just wanted him to get busted.

Kevin is another one. Kind of a bumbling guy, he means well but can't stop drinking, he was always kind of hapless until he bashed Marco's head in last season. A crime of passion, no doubt. But even when Roy Gilbert helps him by covering it up he can't stay out of trouble. Roy draws him ever deeper into a morass of drug running and before long Kevin is being investigated, drawn into a sting meant to take down Roy. It's a little unrealistic just how dumb Kevin is in this show- I mean he has no clue when Roy is totally manipulating him- and his wife Belle seemed like a decent sort until she realizes what he did and just goes along with it. Does anyone have a conscience on this show?

Meg for some reason is missing for half the season- she, alone of the kids, says enough and leaves, to live her life free of the Rayburn mess. Can't blame her frankly, but she deserved a better story here. With John and Kevin off the rails, they could have used Meg to be a voice of reason, but she just doesn't have enough story time. And if there was ever any doubt about Sally this season solved that! Sally is revealed as a manipulator who also lies under oath, primarily to protect her daughter, but she may be the worst of the bunch.

How does Kevin go from a good guy who is flawed to someone who basically all but celebrates when Eric goes to prison, meaning he's free (until his drug exploits doom him)? I mean Kevin didn't even struggle with the aftermath of framing Eric, so it was hard to relate to him also. And speaking of Eric, we knew he was a petty criminal and kind of a bad guy, but in season three he almost looks like a saint. And what they do to him is truly awful. The guy takes a plea and goes to prison for thirty years for a crime he didn't commit. It's pretty bad when Eric O'Bannon is the most sympathetic character on the show. Same for his sister Chelsea, who gets harassed by police and loses her job partly because she stole some pills but also because everyone blacklists her due to her brother.

Ozzy the slightly crazy guy who caused trouble with all his nosing around- his story went nowhere and then the shocking end of him made it pointless. He was a waste of screen time because he did nothing. Janey is having sex and Diana wants John to do something- he says he'll talk to her and nothing further is done. Beth from Miami shows up and has a few scenes but is not very pivotal- if she had not been there it wouldn't really have mattered. I had a hard time remembering her character and they did nothing to remind the viewer. There's just so much here that didn't make sense or was a wasted opportunity. Is Bloodline worth watching? Season one is, season two you can take or leave. This season though was mostly disappointing.