Rectify is still a powerful and under-appreciated series, despite some shortcomings in its final season

 It's a shame that the Sundance (now on Netflix) series Rectify was scratched after Season 4; overall it's a highly intelligent and moving socio-drama about a man released from prison after 20 years, half of his lifetime, on death row. Though it's primarily a personal drama focusing on the now severely traumatized man, it's also a family drama, a legal thriller, and, to a lesser extent, a film about the rights of prisoners and  of ex-prisoners trying to make the best of what's left of their lives post-incarceration. Each season develops largely through lengthy and thoughtful dialog among the various characters; it's not a thriller in any sense of the word. I wish Season 4 were as good as the first three, but it does seem that the creator of the series, Ray McKinnon, had to rush into some wrap-ups of some final plot points that he would have preferred to dramatize more at length in a subsequent season that was never to be. Not that it feels rushed - if anything, the pace is glacial - but there is far too much exposition, development and conclusion of plot through talk rather than action, melodrama rather than drama. Still, worth seeing the whole series and by the time you're at Season 4 you'll want to stick w/ the show right to the conclusion despite the quirks and of the final season.