One of the best Western miniseries I’d watched this year is Netflix’s Godless (2017). Set in 1884, it follows Roy Good (Jack O’Connell) an outlaw who’s running away with his mentor’s money and ending up in La Belle, a town in New Mexico run by women after their men were killed in a mining accident.
His mentor Frank Griffin (Jeff Daniels) follows his tracks along with thirty men of his bandit and wreak havoc in every town they pass (especially those who harboured Roy Good en route). In La Belle, Roy is rescued by a widow called Alice Fletcher (Michelle Dockery) who stays in a ranch with her son and her Native American mother-in-law. When sheriff Bill McNue (Scoot McNairy) hears about Frank’s quest to find Roy, he decides to detain Roy for his own safety before going out to look for Frank and his bandit, leaving the town and his children in the care of his sister Mary (Merritt Weaver). However, Alice manages to set Roy free to help her break her horses, after witnessing his talent earlier.
Frank finally manages to reach La Belle, expecting to find a town full of women in frenzy but what they meet instead takes them by surprise. There are seven episodes in this series and each is almost an hour long. Nevertheless, there is no minute of boredom as the episodes move smoothly from one scene to the other. Although this series is action-packed (especially the last episode) yet it focuses on people, their complicated relationships and what motivate, drive, and unite them all: love in its broad spectrum. The characters are well written and brilliantly executed by all actors that you can’t help but empathise with each of them, especially Frank.
Despite being the villain, Frank oozes with love and wisdom of the ancients at times and with blind spite and vengeance at others. His erratic behaviour and unpredictability are what keep the viewers at the edge of their seats. Moreover, writer and director Frank Scott uses flashback technique for a better understanding of characters and their motives. Also, he covers life aspects of that era like daily tasks and the perspective of different races sharing the same land and their interaction with each other. As well as interesting historical facts about African American Buffalo Soldiers, yellow journalism in the character of Mr Grigg and the exploiting of natural resources in the form of Quicksilver mining company.
There are some funny moments like when the only school in town is destroyed by fire and the teacher is dead; the citizens decide to turn an old brothel into a school and its educated worker into a teacher. The scenes — especially that of nature — were shot masterfully and the viewer is briskly transported to green meadows, vast mountains and gushing rivers. The set decoration and costumes were original yet the only visible mistake was the fire scene in the final episode, where visual flames were used and were obvious.
Besides, although the town was run by women there was not much focus on the sudden gender role shift as they become the sole breadwinners for their families or their financial means. Instead, the ladies seemed more focused on attracting male company to their town than on managing daily errands. In 2018, Godless was nominated for many drama awards and won three Emmys for Best Supporting Actor (Jeff Daniels), Best Supporting Actress (Merritt Weaver) and Best Outstanding Original Main Theme Music (Carlos Rafael Rivera). Godless takes you on an exciting journey to the Old West, where love and companionship are its only survival tools. Highly recommended.
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