Banshee Season 3 Finale Recap: “We All Pay Eventually”

In the Banshee Season 3 Finale recap, Proctor severs ties with the Black Beards for good and Hood and Gordon head into Camp Genoa to rescue Carrie, Sugar and Job.

By Michael Stets — Staff Writer

For three seasons Banshee has been a trailblazer on cable television. The show that is both spaghetti western and neo-noir with a heavy appetite for violence, has dazzled viewers by never being afraid to push the envelope, while refusing to ever take itself seriously. I mean, how many shows have a master thief assume the identity of a dead sheriff, an Amish criminal kingpin and a Native American Indian female assassin?

While that sounds every bit over the top, and for all intents and purposes it is. Inside the borders of the fictional Amish, Pennsylvania town it all makes sense. And while the action, sex, fight sequences and bloodshed are gratuitous, the show can scale back at anytime and deliver inspiring drama. The depth of these characters from Lucas Hood to Kai Proctor runs deep and the current narrative always has ties to the past. Show creators Jonathan Tropper and David Shickler created something so original with just the show itself, let alone the Banshee Origins shorts that are on the show’s website, which detail the back story of all the characters taking up residence in Banshee.

Executive Producer Greg Yaitanes and Tropper have taken the show on some wild rides. Season 1 remained within the town. For the Season 2 finale the show went to New York City. And for Season 3 they’ve taken Banshee to New Orleans and inside Camp Genoa, the now decommissioned military base where Job, Sugar and Carrie are being held hostage by the newest villain, Colonel Douglas Stowe.

Sheriff Lucas Hood, an anti-hero if there ever was one. The mysterious man with now name has always managed to get out of harms way while casting a dark cloud of impending doom wherever he goes. He may be a wolf in sheep’s clothing as a pseudo Sheriff, but he has morals and cares deeply for those close to him. Unfortunately he hasn’t necessarily been able to keep everyone around him whole. Hood’s actions have indirectly lead to the deaths of Deputy Emmet Yawners and his girlfriend Deputy Siobhan Kelly in consecutive seasons. The latter of the two is still eating away at him and the vision of her death is on a loop in his head.

The underlying theme of deadly repercussions has painted everyone with the same brush throughout the show’s entire run thus far. At any moment their time could be up. Like the Johnny Cash song, The Man Comes Around in Banshee. And there are always consequences. Outside of the law, several other characters have not survived the town. Nola and Alex Longshadow have met their fate, as did Chayton Littlestone and Rabbit. Proctor, the resident big bad, has a keen knack for survival that in many ways mirrors Hood and his heart remains beating for now. For a great story, every protagonist needs an antagonist and these two are seamlessly intertwined.

That takes us to the Season 3 Finale, where Proctor heads out to Philadelphia to exact revenge with Frazier and the Black Beards and Hood heads to Camp Genoa to free his three closest friends.

The origin of Lucas Hood

In last season’s finale we heard Fat Au call Hood “Soldier Boy,” something even Carrie was unfamiliar with. We’ve seen him in hand-to-hand combat, noticed his survival skills and threshold for pain, but what exactly was his origin?

“We All Pay Eventually” opens with a flashback scene with Hood in a holding cell. Newsroom’s David Harbour plays Dalton, a man attempting to recruit the rebellious and insubordinate soldier to an elite military outfit that is top secret and classified. He pushes Hood’s buttons and deprives him of food and water until he confesses to killing his abusive and alcoholic father. Hood agrees to join the unit. A perfect example of one of the strongest areas in the show. It’s the third season and we are still learning things about the main character.

Staying with that theme, Colonel Stowe’s personal hacker is geeking out while talking to a very disinterested and annoyed Job. Leo starts reading off highlights of Job’s hacking career like a sports fan recounts game winning plays of his favorite player. One of those highlights, a big one, was Job hacking into the NSA database in 1994 to wipe the identity of 40 covert operatives, which put him on the CIA’s radar for good, according to Leo. Since they still don’t know Hood’s identity, Leo is convinced Hood only needed to wipe away one of the 40 identities, but got rid of them all. There you go, Hood is the bad ass we assumed he was and Job contributed to why we still don’t know his true identity. Will we ever?

“You’re the golden ticket Job, and I am going to cash you in.”–Leo tells Job

The Sword and Philadelphia

Proctor survived the clutches of the Black Beards, and now he needs to sort out the mess that his niece Rebecca made regarding the MDMA business distribution. Proctor has one play left, and that is to stand firm with Hector Morales and the Salvadorans, who he originally tried to cut out, but Rebecca went behind his back. The Black Beards want him dead, so he forms an alliance with Morales and they set out to take out Frazier and the Black Beards for good. Proctor offers a custom-made sword to Morales as an olive branch in addition to promising him future business and a free shipment. Together, Proctor, Clay, Rebecca and Morales shoot, slice and dice the entire Black Beards crew at their warehouse. Proctor lets Morales delivers the fatal blow to Frazier.

“Woooooo this is a good sword!”–Hector Morales says after lopping off the arm of a Black Beard

Trouble with the Brothers of the Brotherhood

Kurt Bunker may be a Banshee Deputy, but his past life as a member of the Aryan Brotherhood does not sit well with him. He hates who he was, hates what he did, and wants the brotherhood to cease to exist. The problem is he is one man and in over his head. Brock had to stop him from choking one of them out in front of the Miles Diner and had a heart-to-heart talk with him at the Cadi.

“If you are going to wear that cop uniform, you can’t wear mine.”–Calvin says to Kurt before burring his tattoos with a torch.

Kurt visited his brother Calvin, who is the leader of the brotherhood and informed him he was going to take the whole thing down. This, obviously, did not get a good reaction from his brother and Calvin threatened him.

Calvin stayed true to his word. While he was sleeping, several of the Neo-Nazis broke into Kurt’s house and held him down on his bed while his brother began to burn his tattoos off with a torch, telling him he can’t wear his uniform if he wears the one of a cop. This storyline should pick up a bit in Season 4. Kurt’s character has been a welcome addition to Banshee. Tortured souls tend to fit in nicely there.

The reckoning at Camp Genoa

Locked up inside of Camp Genoa, Job and Carrie start arguing with one another until Sugar sets them straight and says they need to stick together. They know Hood is going to come for them, but Job is skeptical Hood can pull if off with all the mercenaries and fire power that awaits him. Right as rain, Hood arrives to speak with Stowe and informs the arrogant Colonel he has his money, but he won’t return it until he has proof his friends are alive. Stowe obliges.

“We’re gonna die, we’re gonna die. Have some fucking dignity for fuck’s sake.”–Sugar yells at Job and Carrie

Hood returns to the base in his pickup truck and as he approaches the gate, Gordon hops up from under a blanket in the bed and begins firing. The two head into the base and Gordon provides cover before heading to high ground with his rifle. Gordon was a marksman while in the service and he starts taking some of the mercenaries out from a roof of one of the buildings. Hood rolls a grenade at the pickup and boom! There goes the classic Ford.

Carrie, Sugar and Job manage to break free from their zip tie restraints and when one of the guards comes in as all hell breaks loose outside, the ex-boxer lands a right cross that knocks him out. Carrie and Job look on in astonishment. When they head outside, Stowe’s main cronie tangles with Job in a fantastic fight scene. Job uses his belt to get the upper hand in a back and forth battle, before slicing the assailant’s throat. Once again, Marcus Young’s choreography and stunt coordination are outstanding.

Hood remained pinned down by one of the mercenaries who had higher ground. I found this part of the story a bit puzzling. It seemed that Stowe and Hood were destined for a head-on collision. Hood being stuck could’ve also been a metaphor for certain things being beyond his control, but not seeing Hood in a kick-ass fight sequence was a bit disappointing. Gordon, who saved Hood’s life at one point, finally takes out the sniper to free him up, but realizes he has taken a bullet and is severely wounded.

While that’s going on, Carrie meets up with Stowe and those two go at it. Carrie’s fight scenes have always been great and this one did not disappoint either. After gaining the upper hand, Stowe quickly gets it back and heads outside with a gun to Carrie’s head. Hood, with flash backs of watching Siobhan die, can’t afford to lose his ex-lover and is ready to take the shot at Stowe. But, Gordon appears and fires a shot that hits the Colonel’s hand, knocking the gun free and blowing off all Stowe’s fingers. Carrie turns and takes her knife and rips Stowe’s torso in half, killing him.

“I never stopped loving you.”–Gordon tells Carrie

Gordon falls to the floor and Carrie realizes he has been shot. Gordon tells her he never stopped loving her before dying in her arms. While being distracted with that, Leo comes out of nowhere and shoots Job in the shoulder using a gun with a silencer and throws him over his shoulder, gets into a chopper that leaves the base. Hood tries to stop him, but he cannot and looks on helplessly as the helicopter takes off with his friend. This seemed a bit out of place. But, kidnapping the man who can find where everyone is without his friends having the same expertise to find him, adds an intriguing story line for next season.

The Aftermath

At the Cadi, Brock confronts Hood when he shows up about getting a phone call at from the State Police about Camp Genoa and the death of Gordon. He asks Hood to tell him about it, but Hood refuses. Brock insists and says they need to get the story straight since the Criminal Investigation Division is on the way. But Hood tells the Deputy they will be talking to him instead and places his badge and a letter of resignation on the desk. As Hood walks out, Brock says he isn’t giving back the badge like the last time.

“I just hung up with the State Police, Jesus Christ Hood, Gordon Hopewell is dead. What the hell happened out there? They said Camp Genoa looks like a war zone.”–Brock tells Hood

Hood shows up at The Forge trying to soak in all that just transpired and the fact that his friend, Job, who wasn’t speaking to him, got taken and he doesn’t know how to get him back. Sugar tries to ask questions, but Hood takes out his frustrations on him, yells at him that he doesn’t have the answers and leaves the bar.

As he walks out, Hood spots Proctor on the steps leading up to his apartment. The two engage in a conversation. Now, these two don’t share the screen enough, but when Antony Star and Ulrich Thomsen get a scene together, their chemistry is phenomenal. Hood and Proctor are the two pivotal characters that make the Banshee engine run. They may try to kill each other at times, but they recognize their roles and accept each other’s presence, skill set and ability.

Proctor reminds Hood that he left him there to die, and calls him “Sheriff” likely he usually does. Hood informs him he is not longer Sheriff and sarcastically asks Proctor if he wants an apology. Proctor admits that he would have done the same exact thing. He pauses for a moment and then tells Hood that being Sheriff never suited him. Hood agrees and Proctor cracks a sly smile.

“You know, being the Sheriff never really suited you.”–Proctor tells Hood

Final Thoughts

Many questions come to mind already as we begin the countdown to Season 4, which will only be an eight-episode run by the way. Could Hood and Proctor actually work with one another? I think that is highly unlikely, but perhaps a truce will be reached between them. And if they aren’t against one another, the town will need more villains.

The Longshadows, Rabbit, Chayton and Colonel Stowe are all goners. There will assuredly be at least one new character to shake up the town. Also, let’s not forget Calvin Bunker (Chris Coy), the brother of Kurt and the head of the Aryan Brotherhood could emerge as one of the bigger players come Season 4. Not to mention, Leo, still has Job and maybe there are more mercenaries?

If Hood isn’t the Sheriff of Banshee what will he do? It is kind of hard to imagine Hood not being the Sheriff, because it gives him cover to be involved in heists among other criminal activity. And with Gordon killed off, it leaves it open for the two of them to reunite with one another. If the trauma and baggage isn’t too much for them to over come.

We also have to factor in the death of Gordon and the need for a new mayor. That could also change things within the town. By the way, Rus Blackwell was outstanding all season. From fight scenes to drunken stupors or family drama, Blackwell was on point and really showcased his acting chops. He wasn’t the flashiest, but he played an important role in the show and his presence will be missed.

Lastly, there’s Brock. Matt Servito has always been great on this show and in Season 3 we got to see him kick ass, bang his ex-wife and stand his ground with Hood. Will he end up getting the gig he always wanted and take over as the Sheriff of Banshee? We shall find out. There you go #Fanshees. Those are a few possible story arcs to chew on while anticipating Season 4. Yaitanes and Tropper will certainly surprise and entertain us with some new twists and turns as they have for the last three years.

Keep it locked to NerdcoreMovement.com for Season 4 casting news and updates.