Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Rogue Season 3 Part 2

 

+++Warning, this contains the major spoiler from the first half of the third season, but no major giveaways from the second half +++

The third season of Rogue was split in two, with the first 10 episodes transitioning from Grace's storyline, resulting in her death, to Ethan's storyline set in Chicago. The second half of the season, which aired in the spring of 2016, picks up with Ethan trying to track down a woman named Mia (played by Twilight's Ashley Greene), who ends up being an ex-NSA contractor who has downloaded a bunch of secret material to a flash drive, a-la Edward Snowden, and who happens to be a badass. She ends up getting entangled in a storyline with Ethan that involves Marty Stein (the corrupt lawyer played by Richard Schiff), the DEA, the Chicago gangs, and the Russian mob. It packs a lot into 10 episodes, and honestly at times, how the show is trying to blend all the storylines into one, makes it hard to follow. On the plus side, Greene is a great addition to the cast, and her character is always playing on the edge between good and bad, and it is not until the final couple of episodes that you really figure out where she stands.

This blu-ray release is another two-disc German import. The audio defaults to a German overdubbed track, but you can play an English audio track. There are three short behind-the-scenes featurettes (totaling less than 10 minutes) mainly focusing on Green's character and Cole Hauser's character. Those are in English, and then there are some trailers in German. Also note, that you will need a Region-2 or Region-Free blu-ray player to play this set. Players sold commercially in the US and Canada will not play this set.

Overall, the show is good, but it has strayed significantly from the original storyline from season 1. There is a lot of swearing and some nudity (mainly from Greene), but, it was toned down from what was in season 1. So, if that turns you off to a show, then you should skip this. And, if you were a huge fan of Thandie Newton, and only watched because of her, there is really no reason to pick this up. The season does end on a cliffhanger, and given that the shortened 10-episode 4th season aired in 2017, it is becoming less likely that will ever show up on DVD or Blu-Ray, either in the States or as an import. So, for now, as far as physical discs, this may end up being the de-facto end to the series. And, since it is very hard to find the series streaming since AT&T NOW removed it if you did not watch season 4 when it aired, it may be a while (or never) before you get a chance to see it. With those caveats in mind, it is worth picking up when it is listed for a reasonable price.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Rogue Season 3 Part 1

 

Rouge was a series produced on DirecTV's audience network that ran for four seasons. It started out with a storyline in which Thandie Newton's character (Grace Travis) was undercover with a mob boss in San Francisco while also trying to find out who killed her young son. That storyline was mostly resolved in the first season, and the second season of the show found her character going after a group of former military members (led by Cole Houser's character, Ethan Kelly) who killed a group of Americans in Pakistan and made off with a bunch of money meant to bribe tribal leaders.

The third season was split into two parts, each consisting of 10 episodes. The first 10 episodes aired during the summer of 2015. In the first part of the third season, the show shifted to Chicago, with Newton's character in a supporting role and Hauser's character in the lead. In it, Ethan gets involved in a fight between the DOJ, DEA, a shady Chicago lawyer (played wonderfully by Richard Schiff), and a feuding pair of Chicago gangs. The first half of the season saw Grace's storyline wrapped up in a rather underwhelming (in my opinion) way. That is really what knocks it down a star for me, but otherwise, the season was fine.

The show is notoriously hard to find both to stream or via physical discs (especially seasons three and four). The show did stream on DirecTV now for a while, then just disappeared. It has streamed on Amazon, but I do not believe it is included free with a Prime membership. In the United States, only the first two seasons of the show are available on DVD. The first three seasons are available on Blu-Ray in Germany, with the third being split into two separate releases, and the fourth season has not (to my knowledge) been released at all in any country on either DVD or Blu-Ray. This set will not play on a US/Region-1 Blu-Ray player. You will need either a Region-2 player or a region-free player to watch it. The audio defaults to playing a dubbed over-German track, but you can switch audio channels to have it play in English. For extras, there is about a half-hour's worth of behind-the-scenes and making-of featurettes (on the final disc) that you can play one by one or all at once, as well as a bunch of trailers that play in German only. The discs also have a true "play all" mode that will allow you to pick up where you left off, even in the middle of an episode.

I cannot say that everyone will like this season, especially those who loved the first season of the show. That said, it is well-written and acted, even if it is much different in this season than how it started out. There is a lot of violence and swearing, as well as some nudity (although not as much nudity as in prior seasons). So, if any of those things turn you off to a show, it is best to avoid it. Given that the season really does reset the show, it is helpful, but not essential that you see the first two seasons. The second season is more important to be up to speed on what is going on in season three than the first season though. If you can find the discs at a reasonable price (you will pay more because they are imports) it is definitely worth checking out.

DVD/TV Series Review: Rogue - Season 2

 

Season two of Rouge aired during the summer of 2014 and involves a totally new serial storyline, this time involving military contractors led by a man named Ethan Kelly, played by Cole Hauser, Grace (Thandie Newton) is a part of an FBI operation investigating Kelly and his crew, Alec Newman as Ray Williams, Brendan Fletcher as Brian "Spud" Cacelle, and Clayne Crawford as Danny 'Cheat' Chetowski, for stealing a bunch of money went they were deployed overseas. The members of the FBI task force include Andrea Roth as Leni Kastner (Grace's handler), and Rupert Evans as Elliot Howe, the head of the task force.

Like season one, season two has a lot of twists and turns, and things get revealed in small bits throughout the season. Also, like the first season, this one is short, just ten episodes. The Lazlo storyline from season one is mostly resolved, but Joshua Sasse who plays Jimmy's son, Alec Laszlo does make a couple of appearances during the season. Because this is a serial arc, all of the episodes build on each other and you really have to watch from the first episode all the way through. There is some violence, sex, and nudity as there was in the first season, but I think all of them are tamed down a bit.

For those who get the DVD set, there are a handful of making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes. They cover things like the season two cast, set tours, and the like. Nothing extensive, but they are there for those who like watching them.

Overall, the season is very good. I like that it moved on from the first season's storylines (for the most part). We still get some of Grace's home life and see how the events of the first season have further affected that. The season ends on a big cliffhanger going into season three that will definitely have another storyline shift for the show going into season three. So, if you like more adult crime dramas (this is definitely not family-friendly) this is a good one to check out. You do not need to watch the first season to understand everything that is going on this season, but it does help to get Grace's backstory.

DVD/TV Series Review: Rogue (2014) - Season 01

 

Rouge is a crime drama starring Thandie Newton as Grace Travis, a detective working undercover to bring down a mobster in Oakland California named Jimmy Lazlo (played by Marton Csokas). She is also dealing with the murder of her young son, who was gunned down (seemingly) as a bystander in a drive-by shooting. Grace believes there may be more to it, and is unraveling as she splits her time trying to solve the murder and be an undercover agent, all while trying to keep what remains of her family together.

The show has several intertwined storylines that cross over each other at some point. It is definitely not a procedural crime drama that has a case-of-the-week that needs to be solved. You basically have to watch from the start to really know what is going on. It is also a very adult drama with a lot of violence, swearing, and nudity, much more than you even see on regular basic cable stations since it aired on the Audience Network which had a more limited reach. So, it leaves little to the imagination. For those who get the DVD set, there are a couple of extras, a behind-the-scenes featurette, and a series of webisodes. If you do get the DVDs, just be aware, the show ran for a total of four seasons. The first two seasons are readily available. The third season (which is split into two parts) are available as imports on blu ray and DVD, but they are hard to find and expensive, and the fourth season has (to my knowledge) not been released at all. So, if you get the show on physical media, it will be an incomplete collection. Otherwise, the show is very good and definitely worth the time to watch if you like gritty, more adult crime dramas.