Lantern

I find this show fascinating and satisfying to watch, and this third season continues on what has made it that way from the start. On the very base level, the linkage to the Breaking Bad stories is coming on very well, with clever shading and constructing of the situations and characters. On this level the show does its job and there is a certain pleasure in that. If that was all there was though, it would be a much lesser beast. With greater focus, the show fills in around these isolated dots and connecting points, and puts lots of character, and smaller moments in there. The narrative is really something I marvel it; here we have a show that has back-to-back scenes which involve drug dealers making potential fatal moves within their organization, then in the same breath we have a scene involving a broken fraternal relationship, or the smoozing of old women for their business.

The marvel is that it all works as well as it does. On top of this challenge, the show does have a slow pace; there is really no ratcheting up of the tense or stakes as the story continues but rather it continues doing what it has been doing thus far, letting everything play out. This slow pace and sense of breathing room pays off in the characters. There are plenty of small moments which add character and detail to each person within the show – it takes patience at times, but it generally pays off because we understand the characters better, and are engaged with them even when we maybe don't like or support them. This patience is asked for, but is helped by the style of delivery. For example Mike has many long sequences of minimal but important plot movement – scenes where we watch him working or waiting (or both), trying to figure something out; done badly these scenes would be awful, but in the way they are delivered here it works well.

This high standard of delivery continues across all the other aspects of the production. The writing is great, and the cast respond well to it, with strong and consistent performances across the board. Odenkirk brings so much to his character, and makes the most of such a complex character. He is well supported by Banks (more and more off on his own threads), although the two performances could not be more different in nature. McKean is very good throughout – could have been one-note, but there is a lot there. Seehorn is solid but perhaps not as well served by the writing. Mando's Nacho has a lot more to work with in this season, and does well with it – while Margolis, and Esposito are as reliable as you expect.

As a total package it is a stylish but well-filled drama, which does ask patience as it takes the path it wants, but it is consistently engaging and rewarding as it does it.