Rectify Season 3 Review

Rectify (2013-)
Season 3 - 6 Episodes (2015)

Rectify Season 3

Watch Rectify on Netflix
Created by: Ray McKinnon
Starring:   Aden Young, J.D. Evermore, Abigail Spencer, Sean Bridgers
Rating: TV-14 

Plot: 
Daniel Holden re-enters the world after serving nineteen years on death row.
Season three picks up after Daniel has agreed to a plea deal that prevents jail time, but restricts him from living in his home state of Georgia. The sheriff uncovers new clues surrounding the crime for which Daniel was convicted.

Verdict
Rectify is a small show in that it doesn't rely on big action set pieces, car chases, or shoot outs. The focus is on Daniel as he copes with his life and interacts with his family. It's a character drama, and Aden Young does a great job capturing someone lost in the world, but trying to find peace. He's just awkward enough that you hope he didn't commit the crime, but you don't know. Daniel has an off putting sense of humor to other characters, but it's also charming.
This season lacks some of the great character moments and emotionally impacting scenes we've seen in previous seasons, instead leaning heavily on a new murder investigation with ties to Daniel's crime. It's just a bit below season two, but I'm looking forward to season four.
Watch it.

Review

This show has always excelled at characterization. Daniel's family and step family are each nuanced and complicated. You'll feel even for the characters you don't really like.
Season two felt a bit like a soap opera at times, but this season moves towards a crime show.

 

Daniel never proclaims innocence or guilt. He just wants everything to stop. At this point does he even know what happened? He's quick to volunteer that memories change. They're faulty.
His sister feels betrayed that he took a plea deal and admitted guilt if he's really innocent. She fought for so many years to free him, and this is a gut kick. Did she fight in vain?

I missed the flashbacks to Daniel's time in prison. They always helped to ground him and remind us that our normal, is obscenely strange to him. The scenes served as a stark reminder of his past. Maybe it's an acknowledgement that he's leaving that life behind, but not much time has passed in the three seasons of this show.

 

Daniel wants to stay out of jail. The plea deal ensures that. Part of the deal is that he can't live in the state of Georgia, which means he legally can't enter his hometown. He's forced to live with his sister temporarily who only tolerates the idea because his step-father kicked Daniel out of his mom's house due to the assault on his step brother.

Daniel creates a divide in the family and step-family. The step family feels like they are forced to the second tier and that everyone has to cater to Daniel. This is due solely to Daniel's mom.

The driving force this season is Sheriff Daggett investigating the death of George Melton whose body was found last season. The sheriff begins to doubt this crime is Daniel's. It seems like it might be Trey. Daniel traveled to Florida to meet Trey and George last season, but never saw George.

Daniel has a difficult time adjusting to the rules of his probation. I'd think he'd be used to rules after prison, but it could stem from the illusion of freedom. While he's not in prison, probation is a reminder that he's not as free as he thinks. Will he ever find peace and anonymity? He felt that briefly in season two before the illusion evaporated.

A glimpse of how things used to be.

Episode six is the strongest episode, dropping big revelations about what happened nineteen years ago. This is the culmination of this season, but it also has a moving scene with Daniel at the beach. It's part of a road trip as he embarks to Tennessee as part of his probation.

I expect season four will pick up with the aftermath of the arrests made in episode six. If Daniel is still in Tennessee,which he should be, it change the family dynamic quite a bit which was always a big focus of the show. Shifting to Daniel in a new area trying to start a life could be very good.