Warning: Fullfor Banshee: Season 3 follow...

In case you were wondering, since I didn't do season reviews of the previous two Banshee seasons, where this year's run of episodes stands in comparison, I'd say this was the best. I don't know what I'd score the previous seasons, but Season 3 was my favorite. Followed by the first, then the second. Though the second still holds one of my favorite episodes, "The Truth About Unicorns."

Banshee EP on the Events in the Season 3 Finale

Geno Segers as Chayton Littlestone.

Ivana Miličević as Carrie and Antony Starr as Hood.

Banshee in Season 3, without the shadow of Rabbit looming (worked great for the first year, not as great for the second), felt like a true ensemble this year. And with Hood and Carrie, for all intents and purposes, being shuffled aside as a potential couple (that thread snipped back to "The Truth About Unicorns" actually), both of them were free to explore other avenues and stories.It's TV, so we can guess that Banshee's full arc might have something to do with Hood, Carrie and Deva becoming a family after Hood finally faces off, for the final time, against Proctor. But even if we're able to get ahead of the show a little bit in that regard, everything being done to get us there is awesome. Siobhan and Gordon's deaths maybe have been necessary this season, in the grand scheme of things, but that doesn't mean they weren't expertly handled so that they epically resonated.I wasn't crazy about the way the Chayton story unfolded after the wonderfully intense siege episode, "Tribal," but Banshee's a busy town and multiple plates are always spinning. Enough to somewhat forgive the fact that Chayton didn't die in that underground MMA ring. At the hands of Hood. Granted, on paper, Hood can't beat Chayton one-on-one. I know that. But ways could've been conjured. At least we got to see, pretty much, the French Quarter's "greatest hits" during that foot chase. Bourbon Street, cemeteries, Marti Gras floats, etc.That being said, Chayton was a heavy, imposing force. A tremendous foil on a show filled with very unique adversarial gauntlets. I love the way this series gives us a true rogues' gallery of evil-doers and makes them feel totally natural to the small town tapestry. Whether it's a fanatical Native American hulk, a crooked Colonel suffering from PTSD, or a crime boss so morbidly obese that he can only travel via 18-wheeler.Banshee's now a true, well-oiled mechanism. While old arcs are coming to an end, new ones are always beginning. There's always overlap. We lost Geno Segers' Chayton and Langley Kirkwood's Stowe this year, but Davis Harbour's Dalton and Chris Coy's Calvin Bunker have already stepped in to pick up the madman slack in Season 4. And the heroes work the same way. Siobhan and Gordon fell, but Kurt and Billy are now in the fray. It's a revolving door, but the transitions feel seamless.While caring for his dying mother, Proctor became very vulnerable this year. His fate was very much in the hands of others - be it Hood trying to arrest him (or kill him, whatever) an attempt to deal with "unfinished business" or Rebecca almost getting him killed because she dangerously undermined his authority. There were times when Proctor felt like he was in a holding pattern, but it all paid off nicely in the finale when - in a bit of shared thematics - both he and Hood went on (separate) violent raids against forces containing greater numbers. Proctor's raid being one designed to reclaim both his territory and his fearsome namesake.The season-long story of the military base heist was a great anchor for everything. It gave Hood something to constantly return to while keeping Carrie, Job, and Sugar in the mix. It even afforded the group the opportunity to develop chinks in their collective armor when Hood flubbed his part of the robbery due to post-Siobhan guilt/trauma. And while Stowe seemed like a bit of a fool for the majority of the season, he instantly elevated himself during the moment he took on all four of them in the back of the getaway van.Of course, there's no talking bout Banshee without bringing up some of the impressively insane action pieces. Grenade attacks on military bases. Episode-long assaults on police stations. Everything is dialed up to eleven, but it now all feels grounded within the show's pulp-y bubble. It was definitely a road to get us here, but Season 3 has reaped the benefits of the first two years. Even Carrie and Gordon kicking a bunch of teenagers asses in an empty swimming pool was rad. And if there's ever been a more chaotic, cringe-worthy fight on TV than the one between Nola and Burton, I'll be gobsmacked.