johnkuhnlein-66053

I think we might all have missed the point. I think that S4 was a parody of S1. There is no way the writers could have been serious.. The plot is patently absurd and risible that it could only be satire. They took all the faux existential ennui of S1 plus the Gothic themes and took them to the ridiculous extreme. What if the world is literally dark--except all those scenes where the sun is up, oops--that would be something, right? The problem is that the satire is not broad enough to signal the viewer that it is all a con. If, by contrast, the writers were serious, they produced the worst television show in recent memory.

I understand the lure of the show. It takes a lot of the usual strip club tropes and turns them upside down. It features a virtually 100% African-American cast. So, in a lot of ways the show is groundbreaking. But, it's also a bit of a mess. The writers make very basic story telling mistakes. For example, the entire premise of season one, about why Hailey was on the run, is washed away in just a single scene. Characters appear and disappear for no particular reason. The writers seem to struggle with maintaining a through line on the narrative. We take all manner of detours that lead nowhere. There are countless scenes that go on and on and really add nothing to the narrative. This show should have been at least 1/4 shorter than it is. It is evident that the creators of this show know True Blood. This show is so much an homage to Tru Blood that it's almost a copy. But, true blood had many more things going for it, including the supernatural. Also, the Laffayette character in True Blood is very obviously the basis for Uncle Clifford in this show. Keep in mind, too, that the music is HORRIBLE, crude amateurish rap. The argot of the show is corny and forced. After hearing "stacks" and "scrilla" too often, it sounds like parody. P Valley is worth watching. But as an attempt at a narrative art form, it falls dreadfully short.

This is a well written, well directed, well-acted show. But, oh so very dark and ugly in its themes. It really is rather bleak. The writers forgot to include any likeable characters. You will want to take a shower after spending two seasons with these depressing and rather horrible people. I really don't see why this had to be so depressing. They did not need to mke a sitcom. But nor did it need to a trip into the dark underbelly of the human soul. A little comic relief would have got a long way. As it is, you are left with no one to root for. That does not make for good story telling. The best character in the show currently is Vinnie Green. But even there, the writers have him mixed up in a horrible mess of a personal life.