I came into season 6 with the vague memory of it being pretty poor compared to the rest of the seasons – a memory I had from watching the whole show over years while it screened on TV. This time around I came into it with the fresh memory of having watched all the episodes over the last year or so, and knowing that it was not always as strong a show as I remember. The upside of this is that the final season is not as bad as I remember – mainly because I remembered the dumbest parts and forgot the rest.
It is still a weaker season though and it certainly is not satisfying as a season, never mind an overall conclusion. There is plenty going on in the season though but it isn't very cohesive. I always found the show to be at its best when it could sustain tensions and have a consistent line of conflict between the characters and that never really happens here. We have old characters come in to help with the narration (which I liked as a device) but we also have old characters showing up in the prison itself. New prisoners come in and generally don't make much impact whether they are fodder for a kill or stay for several episodes. Most annoyingly, major characters are removed at a very fast rate and it is done in a way that doesn't have any meaning. This lack of meaning is annoying considering most of these characters had been so strong over the previous seasons but they are removed like nothing – a manner I could accept if that was the point, but it isn't – it just feels like clearing house in a very uninterested way. The lack of emotional impact is quite numbing. Glynn, Schillinger, Said, Cyril, Keller, Hoyt, Morales, Omar and so on – they all deserved better as characters. The lack of plot reasons or context is also bad – their removals mostly just sort of happen and that's it, but to be honest it is the lack of punch to the viewer that is hardest to accept.
The plots in and around the episodes are all very so-so as well. The tensions between the groups is not well done and mostly the plots seem to hing around devices that don't work. Possession by the Devil, execution of the mentally ill, something about light in the universe and that bloody maze thing which is used as a crutch to show "soul- searching" in place of the writers actually doing stuff with the characters. The season has moments and I guess those viewers that are 6 seasons in will at least enjoy it for ticking the usual Oz boxes of brutality and violence, but it really does feel at times like box- ticking is all we're doing.
Season 6 isn't awful, but it really is the show running on auto-pilot and just filling time with nothing plots and generally killing major characters off in a way that doesn't engage or satisfy. The final "exit all" moment is typical of the season as it makes no sense, seems silly on reflection and generally didn't provide a satisfying full stop. My investment in the place and characters kept me interested and I didn't hate it, but even I have to admit how flawed this final season is. A real shame it went out like this when it should have focused on its core strengths and dropped all the nonsense.
It is still a weaker season though and it certainly is not satisfying as a season, never mind an overall conclusion. There is plenty going on in the season though but it isn't very cohesive. I always found the show to be at its best when it could sustain tensions and have a consistent line of conflict between the characters and that never really happens here. We have old characters come in to help with the narration (which I liked as a device) but we also have old characters showing up in the prison itself. New prisoners come in and generally don't make much impact whether they are fodder for a kill or stay for several episodes. Most annoyingly, major characters are removed at a very fast rate and it is done in a way that doesn't have any meaning. This lack of meaning is annoying considering most of these characters had been so strong over the previous seasons but they are removed like nothing – a manner I could accept if that was the point, but it isn't – it just feels like clearing house in a very uninterested way. The lack of emotional impact is quite numbing. Glynn, Schillinger, Said, Cyril, Keller, Hoyt, Morales, Omar and so on – they all deserved better as characters. The lack of plot reasons or context is also bad – their removals mostly just sort of happen and that's it, but to be honest it is the lack of punch to the viewer that is hardest to accept.
The plots in and around the episodes are all very so-so as well. The tensions between the groups is not well done and mostly the plots seem to hing around devices that don't work. Possession by the Devil, execution of the mentally ill, something about light in the universe and that bloody maze thing which is used as a crutch to show "soul- searching" in place of the writers actually doing stuff with the characters. The season has moments and I guess those viewers that are 6 seasons in will at least enjoy it for ticking the usual Oz boxes of brutality and violence, but it really does feel at times like box- ticking is all we're doing.
Season 6 isn't awful, but it really is the show running on auto-pilot and just filling time with nothing plots and generally killing major characters off in a way that doesn't engage or satisfy. The final "exit all" moment is typical of the season as it makes no sense, seems silly on reflection and generally didn't provide a satisfying full stop. My investment in the place and characters kept me interested and I didn't hate it, but even I have to admit how flawed this final season is. A real shame it went out like this when it should have focused on its core strengths and dropped all the nonsense.