I know this is a television series, with good writing and very fine acting, particularly Michael Shannon, Giovanni Ribisi, and all of the actors playing the Waco defendants and I'm certain it's somewhat one sided, given the source material seemed to based mainly on David Thibodeaux's book. I also enjoyed the original Taylor Kitsch series which preceded this one and that it was based on Gary Noesner's book as well. The convictions were a farce in terms of holding these few responsible for the actions of church leadership and Koresh's other devout followers. I don't agree with the philosophy of Branch Dravidians or even organized religion in general but in this country they are free to believe and practice what they want. His marriages to multiple women and children and their arms collection were criminal and Koresh and his followers should have been held accountable under applicable US laws. The Waco defendant's judge should have been impeached, outvoted, disbarred or his appointment revoked and his rulings and sentences should have been turned over on appeal. The division within the FBI, and against the ATF, and their choices of what to share when presenting plans for a resolution of this case to the Attorney General's Office are perfect examples of how in a few years the bureaucratic jealousy/mistrust between our other 'intelligence' agencies will lead to the almost assuredly preventable attacks on Tuesday 9/11. The government is seldom held to account and current partisan politics and a pathological inability to compromise combined with apathetic voters seem to endorse the continued travesty our our justice system.
2 Reviews
Series went out with a whimper
michiganave_p4 June 2023
The trial scenes were okay, even though it is not nearly what happened in real life with the sentencing of the remaining church members, but at least it wrapped up that storyline.
The really bad attempt at storytelling was how Oklahoma City unfolded, and specifically the bombing itself, where the series ended at that awful visual effects package of the bombing. Seriously, that must be the worst VFX of the year by 2022-23 standards. It's like they spent a few hundred dollars on it and had a kid work on it from his basement. It was that cheap and just plain awful of a visual effect.
As for the story leading up to the OKC bombing, there was really no lead up beyond the Elohim City storyline. Nothing about the Nichols, the process of prepping the bomb, or any of the blunders made by McVey which is how he got caught in the first place.
Just a poor attempt overall at a series.
The really bad attempt at storytelling was how Oklahoma City unfolded, and specifically the bombing itself, where the series ended at that awful visual effects package of the bombing. Seriously, that must be the worst VFX of the year by 2022-23 standards. It's like they spent a few hundred dollars on it and had a kid work on it from his basement. It was that cheap and just plain awful of a visual effect.
As for the story leading up to the OKC bombing, there was really no lead up beyond the Elohim City storyline. Nothing about the Nichols, the process of prepping the bomb, or any of the blunders made by McVey which is how he got caught in the first place.
Just a poor attempt overall at a series.
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