Close friend of mine, of Asian descent, manages a very large townhouse condo group. One of the rules is that the units are for Single Family Use only, no renting to strangers. One owner (Caucasian!) was caught, having converted his basement at some expense into a private apartment, and seemingly renting to a male tenant, also of Asian descent. When my friend confronted the owner, the latter told a touching tale about how years ago, his parents had adopted an unfortunate Asian baby from overseas and the baby was raised as if it were his own brother. So he said, the tenant was really "family"....
When I asked my fiend how he reacted to that excuse he said that, in this specific case, he had later found the advert for the rental unit in a local paper, and that settled the matter legally. However, my friend added something odd I never forgot. He said to me, with a sly smile, that " purely on a existential basis, the idea that there are people out there constantly looking to help out Asians much less fortunate than they are ... THAT notion did have a certain appeal!"
So, back to the review, if you check my review of the series and individual episodes, you will see LONGMIRE is one of my all-time faves. And, to riff off my friend's wry observation, the idea that there are producers out there like Netflix, constantly looking to rescue shows that were witlessly and mindlessly cancelled before their time, THAT notion continues to hold an appeal for me too!
Nonetheless -- and I have been writing reviews for some time, long before the arrival of IMDb and the net -- one cannot help but note, especially if you compare seasons 4 and 5 to seasons 1 and 2, that slowly but surely budget considerations are eroding the resources available to the series. And this is starting to show up in front of the camera. A lot of scenes are one on one, and plots that use to play out quickly seem to be dragging by. You can almost hear the "yelp" as each penny is individually being pinched.
Personally, I loved this episode because I am already a fan, and spending time with Walt and the gang is simply my idea of fun. But friends to whom I had recommended the series -- "newbies" if you like -- are telling me they just don't get the attraction. And there's the rub. "Producers of last Resort" like Netflix are wonderful and amazing.
But unless production standards are maintained, problems will develop over time.
Highly recommended to existing fans. Count your blessings and don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
Newbies, suggest you start at the beginning and work your way to the recent seasons.
