Banshee Recap: “A Mixture of Madness” – Season 1 Finale
Original Air Date (Cinemax): Friday March 15, 2013
Season 1 Episode 10
by Julianne Snow:
The beginning of the season one finale of Banshee titled ‘A Mixture of Madness’ opens as Lucas comes under heavy fire at Cadi. Taking cover behind a car, Lucas returns sporadic fire as three of Rabbit’s henchmen advance on him with machine guns. Once Lucas’ clip is emptied, he anticipates the worst. Thinking it’s the end for him, he’s surprised to see Proctor come around the car, gun in hand. Proctor, in a casually flippant manner says “Guess you owe me one”.
When Agent Xavier arrives at Cadi in the morning to piece together what went down, he’s struck by how disengaged Lucas is over the shooting. Rather than explain his actions or the situation and how it relates to the kidnapping of Max, Lucas gives his badge to Brock. He calls Rabbit to arrange a deal: he’ll trade his life for Carrie and her family’s lives.
The perspective shifts to Proctor at home talking with Rebecca about wanting a drink. She declines the offer and goes upstairs to her bedroom as Proctor makes his way down into his wine cellar. After selecting a bottle of wine, Proctor is attacked from behind by Jeffrey Thompson, his former bodyguard and gambling addict. Proctor is knocked out, but Burton turns up just in time to save him. As they struggle, Burton is wounded but manages to get Thompson to identify who hired him. Rebecca saves the day after hearing the commotion from the cellar and knocks Thompson out. Later that day, Alex Longshadow receives a gift as he dines with his sister Nola (Odette Annable) who is unsure if she will stay in Banshee for any length of time. When she sees that Alex has been left the severed head of Thompson, she decides that maybe it’s time for her to stick around for a while.
Job and Sugar are sequestered in Sugar’s bar pouring over Satellite maps of Banshee trying to determine where Rabbit is holding Max when Carrie joins them. They have trouble reaching Lucas and when Gordon shows up to let Carrie know that Max has been returned, she rushes out to see him. When Max tells his mother that the Sheriff freed him, she knows that Lucas traded his own life for his. As Rabbit tortures Lucas at an abandoned metalwork factory, Job tracks Lucas’ location via his cell phone. As Job and Sugar prep for the rescue mission, Gordon tells Carrie she needs to put her family first, but she goes with them anyway. En route, they are stopped by the deputies who see they are armed to the teeth. Knowing that Lucas would come after any of them, Brock, Emmett, and Siobhan are convinced to join the rescue.
At the metalworks, Carrie takes out the first two guards with ruthless efficiency. The rest of the group gets pinned down in a firefight with Rabbit’s men, and both Sugar and Brock are wounded as Carrie makes her way alone around the back. Just as the team is running out of ammo, Carrie reappears and takes out the rest of the men singlehandedly.
Hearing the gunfire, Rabbit ramps up his torture of Lucas by driving a knife into his stomach. When Carrie bursts into the room, she looks Rabbit in the eye and says “Goodbye daddy,” before she shoots him twice in the chest.
In the aftermath, Lucas, Sugar and Brock are recuperating from their injuries in the local hospital. At the metalworks, it’s discovered that Rabbit got away. While they didn’t find his body, they expect that he died somewhere nearby and initiate a search for his body. Gordon, who is still reeling from all of the lies his wife told him, decides to take the kids and leave, allowing Carrie time to recuperate alone. Proctor and Rebecca are standing outside the unfinished casino hotel and he asks her if she would like to send Alex a message. He hands her his cellphone and tells her to dial a number. Once she does, the unfinished building is demolished by explosions as the Mayor of Banshee sits on a window ledge contemplating the town’s issues.
In true Banshee luck, the Moody brothers discover a dead body in the woods while they’re out hunting one morning. The understaffed Banshee sheriff’s department is called in and they unearth more bodies at the burial site. Agent Xavier, who has been keeping a tight leash on everyone, tells Yawners a special investigator is being assigned to ferret out the truth of what went down at the metalworks. As they examine the dead body, who has a hole in its hand, they are unaware they have discovered the body of the real Lucas Hood!
As this was the season finale, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. Some of the loose ends tied up very nicely but the writing team has definitely left it open for a second season which I have heard is going to happen. Banshee truly is a small town with big secrets and I admit that it sucked me in with the first episode. I look forward to what the second season will bring; perhaps we’ll even learn the real name of man who assumed Lucas Hood’s identity…
If you want to delve more into Banshee and all of the interactive aspects of the show, there are a few resources that you may want to check out. I recently viewed this video on YouTube that connected some of the dots where the open credits are concerned. Have you ever wondered if the combination – 42 15 68 – meant at the beginning? This video will clue you in and I have to say that its attention to these kinds of details that make me fall more and more in love with shows.
You can also check out this site that will give you background on each of the main characters and insight into who they are and why they make the choices they do (http://welcometobanshee.com/)
DarkMedia contributor Julianne Snow was first lulled into the horror genre by her parents during an ill-advised viewing of Alien when she was only 4 years old. Since that date, it’s been a given that Julianne will watch and read anything that is horror related. Her short fiction has appeared in anthologies from Sirens Call Publications and Open Casket Press, as well as The Sirens Call and various other websites showcasing short fiction. She is the author of the Days with the Undead series, which can be found on her website dayswiththeundead.com. Her first novel, Days with the Undead: Book One was published in early 2012 and is based on her popular web serial. Find her on Twitter @CdnZmbiRytr.
Looking forward to the second season already!
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