Love/Hate [** Spoilers **]

Nonoperational

I loved season 2 aswell.

BuilderPlumber

Seasons 2 and 3 are both excellent as are seasons 1 and 4. Great show.

Pretty.Odd.

season 2 was brilliant, didn't think season 3 would be as good but it was amazing! Hopefully 4 can follow the same trend!

BuilderPlumber

Pretty.Odd. wrote: »

season 2 was brilliant, didn't think season 3 would be as good but it was amazing! Hopefully 4 can follow the same trend!

And each season managed to have a different angle.

Season 1 focused on a loose cannon (i.e. Hughie) within the gang and efforts of the others to contain him as well as Darren's attempts to get out of crime all the while he getting deeper and deeper into it. This set the scene then for series 2. Nidge, John Boy, and Darren were the mainstays.

Season 2 focused initially on the themes from the last episode of season 1. That is, healing internal wounds within the gang - that is, Darren and John Boy. Moving from there, the character Fran was introduced as first a partner to the gang and then a rival. Ultimately, the issue of internal division arose with the killing of John Boy. The side story of Luke's obsession with Mary was also very interesting.

Season 3 concentrated on the rise of Nidge, his alliance with Fran and his (forgive the pun!) love/hate relations with the CIRA. The gangland v IRA issue was introduced fully in this series. The rape scene, Dano's alcoholism and the different attitudes even within in the IRA set up things for season 4.

Season 4 continues the Nidge/Fran alliance and the CIRA story. Also, a more prominent role for the cops. The first 2 episodes introduced things nicely and it is the first season without Darren (alive in the present at least: we do see from episode one a brief showing of his dead body and we may see a flashback or two later). The next 4 episodes, especially the last two, will see all sorts of twists and turns but I'll breath a sigh of relief if Nidge and Fran are both alive by the end of episode 6!

hooch-85

Just watched Between the Canals, great performance by Coonan, not surprised he got the Fran role

leggo

Series 1 wasn't the best, my first impression was 'The Wire meets Fair City', but the brilliant writing and portrayal of Hughie kept me involved and gave the show credibility.

We really saw what the show could do by the time series 2 rolled around, as Aiden Gillen thrived as John Boy battled with his sanity. They also began to bring in interesting peripheral characters, but not beat us over the head with them, which was vital if the show was to have a future with the likes of Gillen and Robert Sheehan always likely to move onto bigger things sooner rather than later.

Series 3 was a masterpiece from start to finish, with the opening episode in particular being one of the finest episodes of television I've ever seen (not Irish television, all of television). Nidge had been flexing his muscles as TVL grew into the role and it was absolutely the right decision to make him the show's lead. What amazed me most was how they shifted the roles of major characters to suit the plot's need and nobody minded: Nidge went from comic relief to unhinged with Fran going the opposite direction.

I've still a lot of hope for series 4. My big worry was how it'd handle the hype and expectation that came after such a masterful season, but Stuart Carolan seems to have a very clear vision of the story he wants to tell so seems unburdened by its growing stature. That's an impressive feat for a writer, so many can easily give into the wims of fans and lose their own ideals at a cost to a show. They've simply got down to business this time around, not as spectacularly as series 3 but cleverly not trying to be either, making both episodes thus far matter and setting up for a potentially thrilling climax that could give the show legs in the long-term too. There's a lot of ways this could go now, both next week and year, by moving the goalposts slightly and introducing the Garda element.

Lucy and Harry

Lizzie should be killed for what she did to ''my'' Darren.

raven136

Killing off John Boy was a poor decison I thought

Aiden Gillan was/is a really good actor and his John Boy was a terrific tv charachter

Dave147

raven136 wrote: »

Killing off John Boy was a poor decison I thought

Aiden Gillan was/is a really good actor and his John Boy was a terrific tv charachter

That was because Aiden Gillen had other commitments including Game of Thrones, he wasn't killed off because they wanted him gone at all, although Tom Vaughan Lawlor has done a great job.

hooch-85

raven136 wrote: »

Killing off John Boy was a poor decison I thought

Aiden Gillan was/is a really good actor and his John Boy was a terrific tv charachter

Don't think they had much choice as Gillen had other commitments with Game of Thrones and other projects.

I think killing him off was the opposite, a brave move by the writers and the other characters have grown immeasurably since.

raven136

Dave147 wrote: »

That was because Aiden Gillen had other commitments including Game of Thrones, he wasn't killed off because they wanted him gone at all, although Tom Vaughan Lawlor has done a great job.

Pity he had other stuff going on because Carolan himself seems to regret it:

"I didn't know it was ever going to keep going like this. In some way I think I'm a half-wit for killing off Aiden Gillen," he said.

Nidge or the evoultion of him has been great but i personally founf John Boy the more relaistic lunatic/coked up paranoid gang leader

Festy

:eek: :pac:

SimonTemplar

If there is to be a fifth season, Nidge will survive the current one. As someone said it is his show now. It would be like The Sopranos continuing without Tony.

FloatingVoter

John Boy was certainly realistic as a boss in the 90s when the guys running stuff could actually keep straight and think internationally.
Nowadays its every half a brain with access to artillery who's Genghis Khan for a week - take a bow, Nidge.
The difference between JB and Nidge is ambition and getting it. Gillen wanted everything bigger and now. Nidge is in the deep end paddling furiously - his poxy dentist connection only exists because of an incident in the brothel. John Boy would have seeked that connection out.
Thats sums up how Dublin gangland has gone from big players to lowlifes with bigger guns pretty fast.

Right, thats my Paul Williams / Robert De Niro moment done.

Jumboman

FloatingVoter wrote: »

John Boy was certainly realistic as a boss in the 90s when the guys running stuff could actually keep straight and think internationally.
Nowadays its every half a brain with access to artillery who's Genghis Khan for a week - take a bow, Nidge.
The difference between JB and Nidge is ambition and getting it. Gillen wanted everything bigger and now. Nidge is in the deep end paddling furiously - his poxy dentist connection only exists because of an incident in the brothel. John Boy would have seeked that connection out.
Thats sums up how Dublin gangland has gone from big players to lowlifes with bigger guns pretty fast.

Right, thats my Paul Williams / Robert De Niro moment done.

Are you saying the old gangsters were not lowlifes ?

Nidgeweasel

Hi, first post. Been shipped off to the Uk for a month or so with work. Obviously means I'm going to be missing the rest of series 4.

Any ideas for watching or streaming links for Sunday's episode?

seamus

raven136 wrote: »

Aiden Gillan was/is a really good actor and his John Boy was a terrific tv charachter

Gillen can be...uneven. I find his portrayal of Littlefinger to be really wooden where I would expect him to be a slick and suave character. But I accept that could be a conflict of expectations between what I think he's like and what Gillen thinks he should like.
But his accent is atrocious. If you can't do accents, just stick with your Irish one. Liam Neeson's being doing it for years.

Nidgeweasel wrote: »

Any ideas for watching or streaming links for Sunday's episode?

You might just have to wait a few hours and catch it on RTE player

Nidgeweasel

seamus wrote: »

You might just have to wait a few hours and catch it on RTE player

Wasn't aware it was available outside the island of Ireland.

FloatingVoter

Jumboman wrote: »

Are you saying the old gangsters were not lowlifes ?

No, as was obvious from my comments I believe any gangster pre-2005 deserves a Nobel Peace Prize and a little fairy cake with a light on top.

seamus

Nidgeweasel wrote: »

Wasn't aware it was available outside the island of Ireland.

It's...eh...not. But there are ways and means. Which can't be discussed

Nidgeweasel

seamus wrote: »

It's...eh...not. But there are ways and means. Which can't be discussed

RTE have been alerted and are tracking you down as we speak.

BuilderPlumber

SimonTemplar wrote: »

If there is to be a fifth season, Nidge will survive the current one. As someone said it is his show now. It would be like The Sopranos continuing without Tony.

There is a series 5 for sure. But I hope it has Nidge and Fran.

deise08

Ha my head is mashed. TVL talking as himself dressed in nidge attire ha ha its like ivor and damo only better

wirelessdude01

Have a feeling series 5 is going to be all about Nige going to trial.

power pants

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

Have a feeling series 5 is going to be all about Nige going to trial.

hope your feeling is wrong, that sounds boring

wirelessdude01

power pants wrote: »

hope your feeling is wrong, that sounds boring

I also think that series 5 will be the last.

power pants

probably, any more and it will end up being fair city

lufties

power pants wrote: »

hope your feeling is wrong, that sounds boring

i think the Gardai storyline needed to happen, but I thought the acting from the older lad(Terry I think) was very amateur, that 'Gav' lad is annoying also

lufties

seamus wrote: »

It's...eh...not. But there are ways and means. Which can't be discussed

I'd love to know what them ways and means are, Please PM me if you can, oh and if you are talking about something that starts with v and ends with n dont bother, it doesn't work for L/H so i hear.

Stooped

Apparently an American version of Love/Hate has been confirmed.

I'll bet it won't last a season