I will admit from the start that I agree with the other reviewer that the whole Ferg/Prisoner thing was off the tracks. It is really stupid to have to deliver a prisoner in such a slipshod manner. Why Ferg got to live is also a problem. The reason I enjoyed this, however, had to do with the whole "Walt has had enough" thing. He is being manipulated by the big guys, including that stereotypical southern lawyer. When we have a character like Walt Longmire, who has run his own show, it's time he decided which way to go. The scene in the Boston bar is really quite good. I know i've been suckered, but I can't help myself. I want to see what happens. By the way, if dramas were totally realistic, there would be no television left.
4 Reviews
Dropping the ball
lister5028 June 2021
Warning: Spoilers
I understand the writers wanting to up the ante of drama and fresh storyline, but this episode honestly seems to drop the ball on multiple fronts. Firstly the FBI transporting a high-stakes prisoner by road, with one deputy beggars belief, but then only one agent turns up in Abrasoka and starts accusing the Ferg of teaching a bribe to let the prisoner escape. The real icing was the inconsistency of Walt by letting the agent browbeat his most reliable and consistent deputy without so much as a sideways glance. Suffice it so say, this really spoilt the episode and was a jarring knock to Walt's unshakeable moral compass and character.
The bad writing is piling up
peterwcohen-300-9472002 December 2017
Warning: Spoilers
This fine show is starting to sink under the weight of unbelievably bad writing in misguided attempts to up the drama stakes.
First, the lawsuit. Why do all the characters say "civil suit" when referring this matter, when the common term used in everyday conversation is "lawsuit." It may seem nit-picky, but these kinds of oddities are majorly distracting. As for the "depositions" we see portrayed, they are insanely unrealistic, and Walt and Vic lose their cool under such slight pressure, it makes you want to pull your hair out. Never would happen that way in the real world. Most importantly, with Barlow dead, who on Earth is the plaintiff in this lawsuit? I know that Barlow's wife was hidden under a black veil at Branch's funeral, and otherwise entirely missing from scenes at Barlow's house and any other reference, but surely if she exists, she is the plaintiff. Right? Why is she an unnamed ghost? The lawsuit subplot is a TV police procedural cliché, and is poorly misused in Longmire. Even the lawyer is a hapless schmuck.
Second, the ambush of Ferg transporting that prisoner. Let's see what happens: FBI calls for a prisoner they want. Longmire tells Ferg to take him. Ferg takes him pretty soon thereafter. Ferg is ambushed by a massive, professionally planned operation. There ensues arguments between Walt and the cardboard FBI guy about the whole affair. Then, much later in a conversation at the casino, as an afterthought, Walt brings up the issue of where the leak came from about the prisoner being transported. Now let's get back to reality. The fact that there was a leak would have been the FIRST thing anyone would be talking about. Watching all the previous scenes with that FBI agent where no one, not Walt, not Ferg, mentions that there is a leak, was excruciating.
There are countless instances of flawed writing like this in this season. What happens? Do they bring in high school kids write in the details after the first few seasons.
First, the lawsuit. Why do all the characters say "civil suit" when referring this matter, when the common term used in everyday conversation is "lawsuit." It may seem nit-picky, but these kinds of oddities are majorly distracting. As for the "depositions" we see portrayed, they are insanely unrealistic, and Walt and Vic lose their cool under such slight pressure, it makes you want to pull your hair out. Never would happen that way in the real world. Most importantly, with Barlow dead, who on Earth is the plaintiff in this lawsuit? I know that Barlow's wife was hidden under a black veil at Branch's funeral, and otherwise entirely missing from scenes at Barlow's house and any other reference, but surely if she exists, she is the plaintiff. Right? Why is she an unnamed ghost? The lawsuit subplot is a TV police procedural cliché, and is poorly misused in Longmire. Even the lawyer is a hapless schmuck.
Second, the ambush of Ferg transporting that prisoner. Let's see what happens: FBI calls for a prisoner they want. Longmire tells Ferg to take him. Ferg takes him pretty soon thereafter. Ferg is ambushed by a massive, professionally planned operation. There ensues arguments between Walt and the cardboard FBI guy about the whole affair. Then, much later in a conversation at the casino, as an afterthought, Walt brings up the issue of where the leak came from about the prisoner being transported. Now let's get back to reality. The fact that there was a leak would have been the FIRST thing anyone would be talking about. Watching all the previous scenes with that FBI agent where no one, not Walt, not Ferg, mentions that there is a leak, was excruciating.
There are countless instances of flawed writing like this in this season. What happens? Do they bring in high school kids write in the details after the first few seasons.
Suspending disbelief is starting to get difficult
acg_imdb9 February 2020
Warning: Spoilers
I was reluctant to label this as a spoiler discussion, as the main event took place in the previous episode, but the fallout from the ambush incident was about as implausible as the attack itself.
It simply defies credulity that a law enforcement officer transporting a prisoner in a high-performance pursuit vehicle would let himself get boxed in between a slow-moving truck and an SUV on a wide, flat road in broad daylight with plenty of escape opportunities in practically any direction, even simply across the desert. No weapons were drawn until long after all vehicles had come to a stop. There was plenty of room for Ferg to either make a U-turn or simply drive around the truck and escape at a speed higher than either of the attackers would be able to achieve. The truck's movements made it plainly obvious what was about to happen even before that.
The producers' efforts to avoid damaging what was certainly an expensive squad car took us right out of the story. Any attackers springing an ambush will first ram or otherwise disable the target car, especially in a case where the victim can easily outrun them if given half a chance. These are questions that even Walt and the FBI should have been wondering about.
It simply defies credulity that a law enforcement officer transporting a prisoner in a high-performance pursuit vehicle would let himself get boxed in between a slow-moving truck and an SUV on a wide, flat road in broad daylight with plenty of escape opportunities in practically any direction, even simply across the desert. No weapons were drawn until long after all vehicles had come to a stop. There was plenty of room for Ferg to either make a U-turn or simply drive around the truck and escape at a speed higher than either of the attackers would be able to achieve. The truck's movements made it plainly obvious what was about to happen even before that.
The producers' efforts to avoid damaging what was certainly an expensive squad car took us right out of the story. Any attackers springing an ambush will first ram or otherwise disable the target car, especially in a case where the victim can easily outrun them if given half a chance. These are questions that even Walt and the FBI should have been wondering about.
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