Making Process But Missing the Mark

Episode five of the crime thriller series Duster provides some tense action and answers, while few, to one of the story’s lingering plot lines. However, even machine guns and one million in cash aren’t enough to bring the show home. 

Sorry to say, the show’s writing and production value fail to live up to the quality from the same network that brought us The Sopranos and Game of Thrones.

Flash Over Substance

This is what happens when you force your audience to invest several hours of watch time before explaining the plot or providing action. By the time it happens, those who are still watching find it difficult to care. The payoff loses its worth. 

The show Duster does a poor job of providing a payoff.

Everything that has happened on this show up until now has been done better many times before in other shows. You have cheesy lines that aren’t cheesy enough to be charming. You have car chase scenes that look too slow to inspire a rush. 

The series is full of characters that initially look promising but lack any sort of depth beyond clichéd tropes. Even the violence is unsure of itself as Duster tries to have it both ways with terrible gun audio effects that sound like BB guns while also showing a man’s head crushed at a bowling alley.

I feel sorry for the actors who are trying their best with the uninspiring dialogue they’ve been given. You want to believe it in their eyes, but the lines they say take you out of the story. This is a show that falls to suck you into its universe and relish every moment, every scene with anticipation. I just don’t care about this show.

Duster episode 6 review

Spoiler Alert

This paragraph will contain a major spoiler that was revealed in a remarkably unremarkable line. Ready? Okay, Duster episode five confirms that Luna is Jim Ellis’ daughter.

He admits it to Nina during a shootout, asking her not to tell her that he is her real dad if Jim doesn’t make out alive. Great, now we know, but why would Nina care? She’s never met Luna and isn’t aware of the drama beyond the fact that she’s part of Jim’s family.

On the same note, we don’t even know why this is such a secret as up until now, it was led to believe that Luna was the daughter of Jim’s dead brother. 

Again, one answer raises more questions, forcing us to wait and find out. 

Two Episodes Left in Season One

Given how much story needs to be told with only two episodes left, I’m assuming season one will end with a cliffhanger for the next season. At the moment, I doubt the show has the momentum to carry it through another season of content. 

It’s not exciting or engaging enough, nor have I seen a lot of press surrounding the show other than similar reading headlines referring to the show as a “throwback car chase” series.

Even that’s only partly true because the car action is weaker than a vegan diet.