In these dark times, prefacing a movie review and drawing parallel with the current state of the world is almost a cliché. But there is something about watching the Byrdes get caught between a rock and a hard place in the midst of a world hunkering down in a quarantine that makes it ever so satisfying. Seeing them get away by the skin of their teeth feels cathartically purgative. We detest them, pity them, but yet we want them to escape their dire predicament, just like we hope to see the light at the end of a long, dark tunnel.
This season is more of the same cockamamie schemes to launder money through the newly acquired Missouri Belle casino, but Marty and Wendy are no longer on the same page. Under the watchful eyes of the FBI, Marty wants to keep it on the down low, but Wendy has plans to make the businesses go legitimate by investing in another casino and hotel. Their marriage is rocky and they are seeing a marriage specialist. Their laundry baskets of dirty linen are long past their wash-by dates, but reconciliation is far from their agenda as they seek to undermine each other which turns out to be one of the most morbidly hilarious running gags ever.
Into the criminally dysfunctional family comes bipolar Ben, Wendy’s brother. The guy is a ticking time bomb, a wild card and a loose cannon, all rolled into one. Him falling in love with Ruth Langmore, an important partner of the Byrdes’ operation, doesn’t do the Byrdes any favours. Elsewhere, lawyer Helen Pierce features strongly in this season, right up until the last shot of the season (pun intended) and Darlene Snell has some big plans of her own.
The Byrdes have been on survival mode since the get-go, and this season finds them being pro-actively thinking of ways to safeguard their future. This comes as a refreshing turn, instead of seeing them react to the waves of imminent life-ending danger. Wendy continues to step out from under Marty’s shadow and step up to the plate. Her character arc is the best this season, culminating in a grief-stricken prolonged sequence. I thought she was grieving over the death of a loved one, but the start of the next episode suggests she may be weeping for herself. The Byrdes have always prided themselves with not crossing certain lines, but this season they crossed many lines like Macbeth killing King Duncan. There can be no sweet returns after this.
If there are weak spots, one of them is definitely Ben who is the very definition of a plot mover, but I have to say he is a fine actor. The scenes of him switching through emotions on the spectrum was impressive and definitely a calling card for future roles. Things are also sluggish at the midpoint and only hit a frenzy with the last few episodes which were also busy setting up new developments for the next season.
That said, the final scene is devilishly delicious. Between the devil and the deep blue sea, the Byrdes are right smack where they deserve to be. The noose is around their necks and this time they are all in.
Written by Daniel Chiam
BookMyShow Singapore 
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