Episode Title: “Homecoming”
Writer: Jonathan Tropper
Director: Greg Yaitanes
Previously on “Banshee:”
Considering it’s the penultimate episode of “Banshee’s” second season, by now we shouldn’t be surprised that everyone is asking Sheriff Lucas Hood (Antony Starr), “Who are you?” What is surprising is that no one’s pressing harder when Hood doesn’t answer.
Maybe it’s a little too soon to come down on D.A. Gordon Hopewell (Rus Blackwell) and Deputies Brock Lotus (Matt Servitto) and Siobhan Kelly (Trieste Kelly Dunn), as we’ve still got the finale to go. But in “Homecoming,” Sheriff Hood leaves town looking for justice the only way you can get it sometimes, as he puts it, “with your own two hands.” And to hell with everyone else.
Carrie (Ivana Milicevic) and Hood leaving town to rescue Job (Hoon Lee), who is a sitting duck in a New York City hospital bed after a failed attempt to kill Rabbit (Ben Cross) makes sense. Both need Rabbit dead if they’re to get on with their lives, either real or fake, and both are probably acting more on emotion than reason. Should Carrie come back to Gordon, it’s unlikely they’ll be able to fix their broken family. Before leaving him in the middle of the night to go to New York, Carrie drops the bombshell on Gordon that Hood is Deva’s father. She promises to explain everything when she gets back from killing her father. I don’t think even Dr. Phil can fix this one.
Things are a mess, as they should be right before a season finale. But unfortunately this particular mess is a little too unbelievable at times. The scene where Carrie runs around the halls of the hospital where Job is recovering, waving a gun with no one around except a couple of her father’s priest assassins comes to mind. Sure it’s the middle of the night, but this is supposed to be New York City, not Banshee. The shoot out at the nurses’ station makes the sequence feel a little more legit, at least.
Whether or not Hood, Carrie and Job succeed in killing Rabbit, there’s a new threat on the horizon in the form of the NYPD captain (Reg E. Cathey) who put Hood away fifteen years earlier. Interestingly, he explains to Rabbit’s not-so-holy priest brother (Julian Sands), that Hood refused to give Rabbit up. Of course years later, he learns the diamonds were fake and the whole thing was a set up.
Both the fake sheriff and the real captain want Rabbit. Now it’s a question of who will get him first. The captain spots Hood in the chaos at the hospital after the shoot out but isn’t able to catch him. Meanwhile, with the men he sent to kill Job dead, Rabbit knows Carrie and Hood are in town. With both the police (acting on behalf of the M.I.A. Agent Racine, whose remains may never be found) and his daughter on the hunt, Rabbit knows he’s in trouble. And if he should die, the idea of meeting his maker isn’t very comforting to the vicious gangster who’s fully aware of his many sins.
There’s more to “Homecoming” than Rabbit hunting. A few observations on this episode’s other developments:
• What’s up with Sugar (Frankie Faison) visiting his “family,” Kai Proctor (Ulrich Thomsen) in jail? Kai wants nothing to do with him but what does Sugar want from Kai?
• After giving up Juliet, Rebecca (Lili Simmons) decides to save her from Burton (Matthew Rauch) and his garrote. Burton doesn’t trust her, but Rebecca “doesn’t give a shit.”
• Rebecca also seems tempted by Alex Longshadow’s (Anthony Ruivivar) offer to join his team and yet tells her uncle about his cooperation with the police. Hope she makes it out of the finale alive.
• Still no update on the whereabouts of Nola Longshadow (Odette Annable) or Chayton Littlestone (Geno Segers), who promised to get revenge on Hood. The finale would be a great time for these two to resurface.
• Kai’s mother tells her son that his crimes are hers, as well, but will she feel the same way when she learns exactly what those crimes are?
• Looks like Emmett (Demetrius Grosse) didn’t head down to Florida, just yet.
“Homecoming” doesn’t pack the same satisfying punch other episodes have this season but it definitely sets the scene for a walloping season finale. With the answers to all their problems in New York, we have to wonder if Hood and his friends will return to Banshee should they succeed in killing Rabbit. Then again, they’ve all got someone back in the small Pennsylvania town hoping to see them again. Carrie’s got her children, if not Gordon. Hood’s got Siobhan and the Proctor situation to finish dealing with. And Job’s got Sugar. Don’t think these two are ready to say “goodbye”, just yet.
