The fourth/final season of Cinemax’s Banshee picks up 18 months after the developments of the third—when Sheriff Lucas Hood (Antony Starr) watched his love Siobhan get her neck snapped and looked on helplessly as his friend Job (Hoon Lee) was abducted, and Carrie (Ivana Milicevic) watched her own husband Gordon, the town’s mayor, get murdered.

For the first few months Hood and Carrie tried everything to locate Job, but Hood eventually resigned himself to the fact that his friend had probably been killed. This set him into a deep depression, and he went AWOL from his sheriff duties, living off the grid and squatting in an old hunting cabin belonging to Kai Proctor (Ulrich Thomsen). Meanwhile, Carrie had broken the terms of her parole by associating with known felons and was forced to undergo court-mandated therapy in order to get her kids back. The Banshee police station had been completely re-built after the big blow out, and Brock Lotus (Matt Servitto) became the new Banshee sheriff when Hood took off. And in a particularly unexpected turn of events, Kai Proctor ran unopposed to fill Gordon’s vacant position as mayor.

A serial killer has preying on young women in Banshee, and Brock can’t get the government to take him seriously. However, when the killer’s latest victim, Rebecca Bowman (Lili Simmons), washes ashore, FBI Agent Veronica Dawson (Eliza Dushku) comes to town to help with the case. The GPS on Rebecca’s vehicle places her at Hood’s cabin shortly before she was killed, so he becomes a person of interest in the case, which forces him to re-enter society after living like a hermit for a year and half. Also a suspect is Rebecca’s uncle Kai Proctor, who always had a strange relationship with his niece. Much of this final season plays out like a murder mystery as Brock tries to track down the serial killer, and we see the various events that led to Rebecca’s murder through flashbacks.

Proctor has a mole in the police department, and has been corruptly controlling the DA, getting him to drop charges against obviously-guilty criminals. Carrie decides to take matters into her own hands and becomes a vigilante. She meters out her own justice to these quickly-released criminals, and destroys Proctor’s drug labs and distribution centers. Meanwhile, Proctor also has a business arrangement with the white supremacists. Calvin (Chris Coy) is eager to expand his business and power, but is constantly being shot down by Proctor. As his anger festers, Calvin becomes ticking time bomb ready to explode…and he still doesn’t know that his wife is sleeping with his brother Deputy Kurt Bunker (Tom Pelphrey).

Banshee had never previously done a time jump like this between seasons, so it is a bit jarring at first as the viewer plays catch-up, trying to fill in the events that took place during the time gap. (This jump was likely necessitated by the fact that the production moved from North Carolina to Pennsylvania for the fourth season, and helped to explain why some of the buildings had changed quite a bit.) While the third season was non-stop action, the fourth season of Banshee goes with a more dramatic approach. The first two episodes feel a bit slow as they explore more of the emotional journey the characters went through over the past 18 months. In the third episode, we finally get back to the action-packed moments that make this show so much fun—I particularly enjoyed the amazing single-shot chase scene from this episode. The rest of the season is also a mix of drama and character development, with the action used more sparingly than the previous season. Although there are some fantastic, explosive action sequences in the sixth and eighth/final episodes as well.

Since the writers knew this was going to be the final season, they didn’t hold anything back, and there is this real sense of anything could happen, and no character is truly safe. While I didn’t find this fourth season quite as exciting as the previous one, it does provide interesting and emotional storylines for the characters, and still has some incredible action sequences and superb moments. I especially enjoyed the story arc that follows the Bunker brothers—which leads to some pretty intense confrontations! I thought the writers did a good job of wrapping up the storyies of each of the main characters, giving them closure, or at least indicating what direction each character is headed towards for the next phase of his or her life.

The Blu-ray presentation is top notch. The picture quality is superb, providing a crisp, clear and detailed picture—in the close-ups you can make out the pores on people’s faces! In some of the flashback or dungeon scenes the picture looks more washed out or grainy, but this appears to be as designed. The audio track primarily uses the front and center channels for most dialog and effects, and makes heavy use of the subwoofer to add some rumble to action sequences and suspenseful scenes. The surround channels are used sparingly, but to excellent effect when they are utilized. In a particularly great example, when Burton singlehandedly takes out a room of people in episode seven, you don’t see what’s going on, but you certainly hear every gruesome punch and bone break in 360 degrees as he makes his way around the room.

The Blu-ray includes a nice selection of bonus material, though a little less than what we’ve seen on previous seasons’ releases. There is a 26-minute Banshee Origins web series, 25 minutes of cast/filmmaker interviews, 8 deleted scenes, and 2 audio commentaries. The menu for each episode also provides the ability to watch the recap that originally aired before that episode. The discs come packed in a 3-disc Blu-ray keepcase inside a slipcase.

What’s Included:

Episodes: (6:52:36)

Blu-ray:
• All 8 episodes of the fourth/final season:
  “Something Out of the Bible”, “The Burden of Beauty”, “The Book of Job”, “Bloodletting”, “A Little Late to Grow a Pair”, “Only One Way a Dogfight Ends”, “Truths Other Than the Ones You Tell Yourself”, “Requiem”
• 1080p / Widescreen 1.78:1
• Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1, French DTS Digital Surround 5.1, Spanish DTS Digital Surround 2.0, German DTS Digital Surround 5.1
• Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish, German, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish

Digital Copy (Redemption Deadline 12/31/2021):

• Digital HD Copy Redeemable via iTunes or Google Play
• UltraViolet Digital HD Copy Redeemable via Vudu or Flixster

Extras:

• Banshee Origins (26:09)
  This 8-part prequel web series gives viewers snippets into the lives of the characters before the events of the series/season as various characters have a conversation with Sugar Bates in his bar. Play All or select from
  • “3 Years Ago” (4:05) – Carrie Hopewell
  • “2 Years Ago” (3:10) – Kurt Bunker
  • “2 Years Ago” (3:07) – Kai Proctor
  • “2 Years Ago” (4:15) – Job
  • “20 Months Ago” (3:07) – Brock Lotus
  • “4 Months Ago” (2:52) – Rebecca Bowman
  • “2 Weeks Ago” (3:29) – Clay Burton
  • “Today” (2:03)
• Zoomed In (18:05)
  These featurettes give a glimpse behind-the-scenes of each episode. Each disc has a Play All option for the featurettes pertaining to the episodes contained on that disc. Those interviewed include writer/co-creator Jonathan Tropper, executive producer Greg Yaitanes, co-executive producer Adam Targum, executive producer/director O.C. Madsen and stars Tom Pelphrey (“Kurt Bunker”), Ivana Milicevic (“Carrie Hopewell”), Matt Servitto (“Brock Lotus”), Lili Simmons (“Rebecca Bowman”), Anthony Starr (“Lucas Hood”), Hoon Lee (“Job”), Frankie Faison (“Sugar Bates”), Eddie Cooper (“Fat Au”) and Eliza Dushku (“Agent Veronica Dawson”).
  • Episode 1 – “Rebecca Bowman: Rest in Peace” (2:57)
    The cast and filmmakers talk about the murder mystery at the heart of the season.
  • Episode 2 – “Job Returns” (1:32)
    The cast and filmmakers talk about reveal that Job’s still alive, and his new look.
  • Episode 3 – “The Exchange” (1:57)
    The cast and filmmakers talk about the return of Fat Au, and the reunion with Job.
  • Episode 4 – “Veronica Dawson, FBI” (2:38)
    The cast and filmmakers talk about the character of crack-smoking FBI Agent Veronica Dawson, and casting Eliza Dushku in the role.
  • Episode 5 – “Gothic Sex Club” (2:04)
    The cast and filmmakers talk about casting and filming the body modification sex club scenes.
  • Episode 6 – “Fire Proof” (1:47)
    The cast and filmmakers talk about filming the self-immolation scene.
  • Episode 7 – “The True Lucas Hood” (2:27)
    The cast and filmmakers talk about the scene where Brock finally learns the truth about Hood.
  • Episode 8 – “The Ballad of Lucas and Carrie” (2:42)
    The cast and filmmakers talk about the fates of Lucas and Carrie.
• Deleted Scenes (9:32)
  A collection of 8 deleted scenes which appear on each disc along with the related episodes. Each disc offers a Play All option for the scenes contained on that disc. The first few are really short and don’t add anything, but the scenes get more interesting later on.
  • Episode 1 – Deleted Scene 1 (:22)
    Episode 401 – Sc. 15 Burton and Proctor Prepare To Address Banshee
  • Episode 1 – Deleted Scene 2 (:24)
    Episode 401 – Sc. AAA34 Rebecca Pulls Up To Hood’s Motel Room
  • Episode 4 – Deleted Scene 1 (:51)
    Episode 404 – Sc. A08 Watts is Escorted Out of His Cell
  • Episode 4 – Deleted Scene 2 (2:02)
    Episode 404 – Sc. 16 Maggie Photographs Calvin’s Documents, He Shows Up Unexpectedly
  • Episode 4 – Deleted Scene 3 (2:13)
    Episode 404 – Sc. 17 Brock Fills Dawson In On The Case
  • Episode 4 – Deleted Scene 4 (:25)
    Episode 404 – Sc. 52 Burton Helps Proctor To His Feet
  • Episode 5 – Deleted Scene 1 (2:10)
    Episode 405 – Sc. 25-A26 Brock Preps Himself, Calls Emily, Vicks Offers Support
  • Episode 7 – Deleted Scene (1:03)
    Episode 407 – Sc. A07 Lucas Hears Dawson’s Disturbing Voicemail Message
• Audio Commentaries
  The producers provide entertaining commentary on a pair of episodes. You can tell the participants really enjoyed making the series by the way they convey their excitement in their stories.
  • Episode 6: Only One Way A Dogfight Ends (48:09)
    Creator/executive producer/writer/director Jonathan Tropper and executive producer/writer Adam Targum discuss filming the self-immolation scene, casting and working with Eliza Dushku, Tropper’s directorial debut, seeing the more vulnerable side of Job, the advantages of shooting in Pittsburgh, the original planned ending of the series, and actress Jennifer Landon. They also give lots of movie magic stories, explaining how different shots were done and any special rigging or staging that was used.
  • Episode 8: Requiem (59:34)
    Creator/executive producer/writer/director Jonathan Tropper and executive producer Greg Yaitanes recorded this commentary the Monday after the Friday the series finale aired. They discuss how they knew it was time to end the series, the different tone of the final season, the title sequence, and more. They also point out some of the homages made to the first season. Some of the discussion gets a bit sidetracked at times and doesn’t really relate to what’s happening on screen.
• Cast Retrospectives (7:43)
  • Job’s Best Outfits (2:33)
    The cast and filmmakers talk about their favorite/craziest Job outfits from the series.
  • Favorite Fights (5:10)
    The cast and filmmakers talk about their favorite fight sequences from the series.

Final Thoughts:

While not as exciting as the show’s action-packed third season, the fourth/final season of Banshee still provides a solid conclusion to the series. There are some interesting storylines, emotional character arcs, and amazing action sequences. The Blu-ray presentation is excellent, and the discs contain a nice assortment of bonus material. The Blu-ray also includes both Digital HD and UltraViolet digital copies of the episodes. Longtime fans of the series won’t be disappointed, and so this set comes Highly Recommended.