So, I finally got around to Mr. Mercedes Season 3. It’s been sitting there, you know, on my mental to-do list, after wrapping up the first two seasons. Life gets busy, stuff happens, but I knew I had to circle back to it. I’m one of those people, if I start a story, I gotta see how it ends, or at least how this chapter closes.
I remember setting aside a weekend, more or less. Told myself, “Alright, this is it. No more putting it off.” Got my usual setup ready – comfy spot on the couch, dimmed the lights a bit. Didn’t go overboard with snacks this time, just wanted to focus, you know? Sometimes you just need to immerse yourself in a story without too many distractions.
Diving in, the vibe was definitely different. With Brady Hartsfield’s storyline having its conclusion, I was really curious where they’d take things. It’s always a bit of a gamble when a show shifts focus like that after such a strong antagonist. The first few episodes, I was just settling in, trying to get a feel for the new direction. It wasn’t a “grab you by the throat from minute one” kind of start for me, more of a slow burn, setting up the new pieces on the board.
I watched it pretty steadily. Not a crazy all-night binge, but a few episodes each evening. I like to let things sink in a bit, digest what happened. Some parts, I’ll be honest, felt a little stretched. You know how it is with some shows, they have a certain number of episodes to fill, and sometimes the pacing can get a bit uneven. But then, just when I’d start to think that, something would pull me right back in. A plot twist, a character doing something unexpected, that sort of thing.
Lou Linklatter’s journey this season was… a lot. She really went through it. There were times I was completely with her, feeling her anger and frustration, and other times I was just shaking my head, like, “Oh, Lou, what are you doing now?” It’s that kind of complex character stuff that keeps me hooked, even if it’s frustrating. Bill Hodges, well, he’s Bill Hodges. Still the same gruff, determined guy, trying to do right in a world that’s often pretty messed up. I appreciated seeing his character continue to navigate the fallout from everything.
The whole Morris Bellamy storyline, the unpublished Rothstein manuscripts – that was an interesting core for the season. It felt a bit more like a classic crime drama in some ways, which wasn’t a bad thing. It’s different from the cat-and-mouse with Brady, for sure, but it had its own kind of tension.
By the time I got to the last episode, I was pretty invested in seeing how it would all resolve. And it did resolve. It felt… complete, for this particular arc. It wasn’t an earth-shattering, mind-blowing finale for me, but it was solid. It tied things up in a way that felt earned for the story they were telling this season. You sit back, the credits roll, and you think, “Okay, yeah. That was a journey.”
So, was it worth the time? I’d say so. If you’ve watched the first two seasons, you pretty much have to watch this one to see how they continued the broader world of these characters. It’s a different beast than the Hartsfield era, no doubt, but it stands on its own as a compelling crime story. It didn’t change my life, but it was a good way to spend those evenings, getting lost in that dark, gritty world again. And sometimes, that’s all you need from a show.
