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. 

Rectify continues to be a high-quality, thoughtful drama through Season 3

 Season 3 of Ray McKinnon's Rectify continues building on the strengths of the 1st two seasons of this under-the-radar series (now on Netflix), which follow the central character, Daniel Holden (Aden Young) on his release from prison, where he'd been held for 20 years (half his lifetime) for the rape and murder of a teenage girl. He's clearly innocent of the rape charge (exonerated by DNA evidence); there's still some ambiguity about the murder - but, as a 40-year-old man, he does not seem like a violent criminal. He's philosophical, witty, gentle, tender toward his family members, but at a complete loss as to how to live in a world he knows nothing of - a stranger in a strange land. The series is about his effect, for good and ill, of his return to society in a small but prosperous Georgia suburb, and in particular for how this new presence in their lives has created tension and havoc among the members of his conservative blended family. Season 3, only 6 episodes, develops the plot slowly and meticulously (aided by man long, almost theatrical dialogs a soothing score - though too many "cuts" in many of the dramatic scenes) and it adds a new twist as the local sheriff, at first a hostile character who gradually develops some depth of character, begins investigating the death of a man who was present at the rape/murder 20 years back; this plot element is particularly compelling and unusual because we know from the first episode that the man killed himself (guilt about his false testimony at the trial) and we watch the sheriff, trying to right a wrong, perhaps perpetrating a new and equal wrong. My only quibble w/ season 3 is w/ the final episode that pushes the drama over the edge into melodrama: long scenes of Daniel's farewell to his family (he's "banished" from Georgia for an admission of guilt), a lachrymos dream sequence, and a few other moments drawn out for one two many beats - but aside from these quibbles, it remains a strong series, which we'll watch through the final 4th season,. 

Season 2 continues with the excellence and intelligence of the first season of Rectify

 Season 2 (10 episodes) of the Ray McKinnon series (now on Netflix) Rectify maintains the excellence and intelligence established in season one; this series is developing as one of the strongest character studies among recent miniseries and it's a tense psycho drama as well, with a lot of aspects, all of them developed with care and understatement throughout the first two seasons. On the surface - a series about a man (Daniel Holden, played by Aden Young) who returns to his suburban Georgia family after 20 years imprisoned and freed as a result of DNA samples - but still a possible subject of a retrial. The series carefully develops a range of family tensions and ambitions, surrounding, confusing, and at times overwhelming Daniel, who just doesn't have the wherewithal to cope w/ a world so radically changed as he was locked away for half of his life. The supporting cast is strong throughout, and the series so far has a lot of family drama but not melodrama and seems start to finish credible and true-to-life. Season 2, of course, ends with some cliffhangers regarding Daniel's fate and next step in life, especially as he's created havoc, unwittingly, among all the members of his family (and stepfamily). This series fell under the wire - it debuted 7 years ago on Sundance channel), but it doesn't feel dated at all and is definitely worth more notice than it's received. 

The first season of Rectify is well acted, well written, and much smarter and more engaging than I'd expected

 The Sundance 4-season series (now on Netflix) Rectify (2013-16) is so much better than one would expect from material that could easily have been hackneyed or melodramatic. The basic plot (Season 1) concerns a 40-something man, Daniel Holden (played very well by the laconic Aden Young) who'd been held 20 years in prison for the murder of his girlfriend, a teenage classmate in their small, prosperous Georgia town. Daniel is released based on new DNA evidence and returns home, but he's like a stranger in a strange land - so much has happened at home and in the world and he's missed so much of life's experiences that he's a near-helpless innocent, now in a world viciously hostile to him, in that many in the town believe him to be guilty and free just on a "technicality" that they don't or won't understand. So there are many intense conflicts and rivalries, and the creator, Ray McKinnon, and his team play them out with subtlety and w/ highly intelligent writing. Through several painful flashbacks we see pieces of Daniel's life in prison, and in the present we see, in Season 1, the foundations of a lot of the frightening hostility that Daniel faces and will face - and throughout we can believe in all of the characters, even the haters; nothing's overplayed and randomly abusive. Oddly, the first season ends w/out any major resolution and w/ many open questions - as if McKinnon knew that this would play out only in 2 seasons or more; the first season is like a preview, in some ways. Among many highlight scenes: Daniel's sister telling off the sheriff who won't protect the family from violent harassment; Daniel's account to his hateful stepbrother of "conjugal visits" on death row; Daniel's baptism and its aftermath. Definitely a season to stay w/ for Season 2 and beyond.