What I’m Watching: Longmire (Season Premiere)

Longmire: Season 4, Episode 1 “Down by the River” (B)

I was dismayed when A & E cancelled this series and very relieved to hear Netflix picked him up, and I still think that I am probably the youngest person who watches this show. I didn’t realize it was coming back so soon until just a few weeks ago, and I’m glad that it’s back. My concern with it was that it would be transformed into something different, since most shows translated to Netflix have become less filtered and edgier, and this one was just fine how it was. Fortunately, not much has changed, though this opening installment is a bit of a bad example since things were very different given that it operated in a post-crisis state as Walt was obsessed with figuring out just what happened to Branch and the rest of the ensemble wasn’t doing too well either. I suppose it makes sense that Branch couldn’t continue on in the state that he was, and his death should only strengthen the other characters. Barlow was devastated when learning the news and then promptly blamed Branch’s death on his job and working for Walt, hardly a kind thing to do. Nighthorse, on the other hand, didn’t stand for Walt’s harassment and outright showed up to threaten him, a sign that maybe Henry’s close supervision wasn’t such a bad idea after all. Malachi taking possession of the Red Pony was an unfortunate development, but he doesn’t seem quite as vengeful and more just ready to supervise Henry. Vic rushing in to Walt’s house to delete the embarrassing message she left on his machine was interesting, and I’m curious to see if that goes anywhere once things have calmed down. I’m sure it will be a tumultuous season, and I’m eager to see it return to form once Branch’s death is more of a memory than a current event.