Reviews

I watched the After Show. I was hoping to get an understanding as to why the three -- (Tasha, Tariq and Sachs) most undeserving and disliked characters survived to have their own spin off show?? I observed a lot of love, emotions and even confusion among the writer, director and actors. I hope I'm wrong, but it seemed as though Tasha survived because Courtney empathized with the way Tasha was treated throughout. Courtney and the writers portrayed Tasha to be selfish and naive and disloyal to her man...before Ghost was unfaithful to her. Tasha slept with, and manipulated men for her own purposes. She used her friends. She had no moral compus and could not support her son when he needed her most. The viewers never really related to Tasha's story and never developed a sense of support for Tasha. The same for Tariq. From feedback I've read, viewers did not like the Tariq character, and could not root for him to win. IMO, the audience never developed the love and emotion that the cast and staff had for these two characters. I was not surprised that Tariq shot Ghost. I wish that Kanan was not brought back -- IMO, that was ridiculous. In addition, Sachs got his job back. Why? He was another unlikable character. I would have preferred a more thoughtful, realistic, and creative ending.

On the other hand, as terrible as Ghost and Tommy were, the audience wanted to see them win. Sort of like the Dexter series. Dexter was renewed 8 times because fans developed an affection for a serial killer.

Councilman Tate worked very hard to get Ghost out of his way. He makes arrangements to give evidence to the FBI. He pays Dre $100,000 to kill Ghost. He tells Tasha that Ghost is going to betray Tariq and urges her to stop Ghost in some way. He hires the Father/Son assassination team to kill Ghost...Tommy and Ghost should have been the winners. Ghost struggles for six seasons to win...The love between these two brothers has certainly been tested and it should've counted for something at the end....why couldn't they win? Put Tariq in reform school or jail for shooting his father and for his other crimes...or, nail Tasha or Sachs for their crimes. Tate is a great actor, but he's a minor character and a late comer. This was not his show!! I don't know how this series will finally end, but as it stands now, I'm not satisfied. Everyone's ending is sad (including Tommy's) ... So far, the only winner is Tate!?! Dissappointed!

I've read almost all of the books (I did not read The Fiery Cross). In my opinion, the writers did a great job of adapting the books to TV. New story lines have been introduced that will prolong the life of the series. Favorite characters have survived and their circumstances suggest very interesting situations. Im looking forward to seeing more of Jocasta and Murtagh. In the books Jocasta had an affair with her slave, Ulysses. Murtagh died at Colladen. John Grey is a favorite and I look forward to his story and his son, William. A lot of this episode was close to the book. Ian has been traded. Roger returns to Brianna. Brianna gets to confront Bonnet. Roger gets to inflict pain on Jamie as payback. The stone Claire found actually saves them in the book. In this story, the stone almost gets them killed. The writers kept some things, abandoned some things, and added others. Most importantly, they tied up all loose ends. I'm looking forward to the new season.

First I must say this was a great episode. However, Brianna spoiled it for me. Just as in the books, Brianna shows herself to be a disrespectful brat. If Brianna does not like what you have to say, you'd better duck cause she's gonna start swinging. She has every right to be angry, but she does not have the right to slap and punch her family...people who love her and put her best interests first. If Brianna was not such a child , she would have been able to understand HER role in this mess...and Lizzie's mistake because Lizzie did not have the right information. And when did Claire start keeping secrets from Jaimie?....Oh yes. When her bratty daughter arrived. It's hard to like the character 'Brianna' in the series. She was not likeable in the books either. Unfortunately, Brianna's personality does not improve. Claire and Frank spoiled her rotten.

The episode was very well done. Considering the wordy books they had to glean the story from. I was delighted to see the reunions between Jamie, Claire and Bree. Bree has an annoying way of not telling the whole story. Her decisions to withhold info causes a lot of bad decisions to be made. She broke up with Roger because he made a decision to keep info from her...and she possesses that same arrogance. Its almost like telling a lie when she allows someone to draw their own conclusion from the scant info she shares. Bree makes the decision as to what is in the best interest of all. She causes a lot of pain and suffering...especially for Roger. And (in the books) Bree causes a rift between Claire and Jaimie by not being forthcoming.

I didn't like Briana in the books and I feel the same about her character in the series. In the books she continues to get more unreasonable and disrespectful. Brianna becomes the typical "millennial" of the 18th century. Poor Roger. On the other hand, I love the way the story is progressing. Important scenes are included that will mean a lot later on....even though the sequences do not follow the books.