Banshee: Super violent but addictive TV

Banshee is not your average skop, skiet and donner series. It’s certainly not an average show on any count.

The four-season stream debuted just over a decade ago, delivering binge-watching at its finest. Be warned: every episode brims with violence, nudity, and sex in equal measure. Definitely not for kids.

Come to think of it, Banshee is what Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme movies could have been. Loads of punch-ups, stabbings and shootings. Where the kung-fu pair’s film lacked a strong narrative… this series has it all. Fantastic performances, intrigue, plots and sub-plots with a strong arm of character development.

Banshee takes viewers to the Pennsylvania Amish country. This is where secrets, lies, and raw violence are as every day as evening prayers. The story centres on an enigmatic ex-convict, Lucas Hood, played by Anthony Starr. Hood’s freshly released from prison after a 15-year stint for stealing $15 million in diamonds. He nicked these from a Ukrainian mob boss, Rabbit. Haunted by betrayal and pursued relentlessly by the gangster, he finds refuge in the fictional town of Banshee. It’s where the love of his life settled with a new husband and kids. Incidentally, she also turned out to be Rabbit’s estranged daughter.

Violently entertaining

But his sanctuary is far from peaceful. From the get-go a twist of fate leaves the town’s new sheriff, Lucas Hood, dead upon arrival, and Starr’s character seizes the opportunity: he assumes Hood’s identity. Now living as the town Sheriff, he walks a fine line between dispensing his own brand of justice while indulging in crime alongside his wily hacker ally Joe and bar-owning accomplice, ex-con Sugar.

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In between, with Anastasia, Rabbit’s daughter now living as Carrie with her family, the motley crew stumble and steals through valleys and peaks of violence, crime and law enforcement. In between all that, a storm brewing with local crime lord Kai Proctor. On top of that, tensions between the local Indian tribe, Proctor, Hood and his crew mount in every episode.

Banshee is a chaotic milkshake of devious motive and gruesome, brutal violence. The show doesn’t cater to the faint-hearted, with moments where both the fighting scenes and the sex feel gratuitous. However, it later justifies these sensibilities as the episodes flip between linear and non-linear storytelling. It makes for gripping viewing.

Season one is action to the letter. Love making to orgasmic levels. The plot lines and character development are on point. Annoyingly, though, the second season introduces a few too many interludes and reflective moments. The director could have completely cut or shortened these scenes, as they sometimes make viewers feel like they were added to stretch episodes by a few minutes when the storyline ran dry.

On balance, the show is great

But, because on balance, the rest of the show is so good, these momentary lapses of pensive thought and musical reflections, whether driving or getting naked for no reason, can be forgiven. There’s a bigger picture here, and towards the end of the second season, the interludes are used to take the story forward, at least.

As an action hero, New Zealand-born actor Starr does well with a performance that is both wooden, violent, gentle and engaging. His co-cast includes the gorgeous Lili Simmons, Bosnian-born actress Ivana Milicevic plays Anastacia — aka Carrie, and the dry and calculated brutality of Proctor is brilliantly brought to life by Ulrich Thompson. Actor Geno Segers gives audiences a sustained chill as Chaton Littlestone, an America-Indian gangster whose very appearance wakens fear and, well, death blows. Overall, the ensemble cast supports every moment in the series perfectly.

Overall, Banshee is a wonderful holiday binge. At least there are four seasons of it. It’s extreme violence, extreme nudity and sex, and an interleaved plot-set that is as riveting throughout as it is from the get-go.

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