I keep seeing people say Deadwood got canceled too soon but honestly it ran its course

Everyone always talks about how HBO did Deadwood dirty by canceling it after season 3, but I think the show was already falling apart by then. The whole Alma/freemason plot got so tangled up that even my crew who watched it together got confused during the last 4 episodes. David Milch clearly had no idea where to take the story after Hearst left town, and that rushed finale felt like they just gave up. Am I the only one who thinks the movie they made later was actually better than what a season 4 would have looked like?

2 comments

2 Comments

lucasking3d ago

Oh man, that Alma/freemason thing drove me up a wall too. I remember sitting there with my buddy trying to figure out what was even happening, and we just gave up halfway through and started looking up old West trivia on our phones instead. The movie did feel more focused, like they finally knew what they wanted to say after sitting on it for years. But honestly, that whole show had a weird curse where every season started strong and then just kind of wandered off into the woods. Your mileage may vary though, some folks swear by the tangled plots.

anderson.jason3d ago

It's like how every potluck I go to starts with people excited about their dishes, then by the end everyone's just picking at store-bought cookies. The show had that same energy, big plans that fizzled out into whatever was left in the pantry.