The following trailer outshines the ability of your not-so-humble reviewer to convey both the spirit and the tone of this series that expertly sets a strongly Shakespearean story in New Orleans. The influence of a lesser scribe is in the form of "Honor" having strong overtones of the early classic novels of John Grisham. The following trailer conveys the concept and the intensity of the program in roughly two minutes.
Cranston stars as judge/widower/highly-symbolic marathoner Michael Desiato. His portrayal of this family man, officer of the court, and friend to virtually all perfectly showcases the range of Cranston, whose better-known characters include hilariously hapless sitcom dad Hal on "Malcom in the Middle" and very complex and conflicted parent Walter White on "Breaking Bad." The common thread as to these three very different roles is that any son (or daughter) could only hope to have as loving and dedicated a parent as the Cranston character if he or she is the victim (or cause) of a series of unfortunate circumstances.
The fortunate son in this case is the aptly named Adam Desiato. The original sin of this teenager with a license to drive is a fatal hit-and-eventually run of peer/motorcyclist Rocco Baxter. The rest of this story is that this accident occurs immediately in the wake of an unnerving encounter while Adam is honoring the memory of his mother on the first anniversary of her being the victim of random violence.
On arriving home, the instinctive behavior of Adam includes a spot-on scene straight out of "Macbeth" before fessing up to dad (aka King Hal). Michael keeps a surprisingly cool head and offers his son strong support while requiring that he does the right thing.
The game changer is an eleventh hour realization that Rocco is the son of crime boss Jimmy Baxter and his Lady MacBeth style spouse Gina. The portrayal of Gina by Hope Davis makes it a crime if she does not win an Emmy for that role.
Realizing that Adam confessing ensures that the boy literally or figuratively will end with a pair of cement Nikes prompts Michael to concoct a hasty plan to conceal the guilt of his offspring. The manner in which this plan unravels with massive collateral damage is the epitome of the butterfly effect.
The epic trauma-and-drama fully amps up when typical lower-class black teen Kofi Jones becomes the fall guy merely for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. The manner in which the Baxters bring a weapon of mass destruction to a knife fight soon puts Michael in a very tough spot as both a father and a judge.
The lengths to the courtship of Adam's father is endangered once again proves that our lead wants to ensure that his son, who constantly is his own worst enemy, has a future that is bright that he has to wear shades. The idea is not so much that a youthful indiscretion should no ruin a promising career than it is that the punishment would not fit the crime.
Of course, all this leads to a season-finale climax that reflects the principle of such an episode serving equally well as the end of a season and of a series. The worlds dramatically collide in a manner that delivers what can be considered justice of Biblical proportions. This conclusion further proves that fools these mortals be. Whether we get a "Part II" remains to be seen.
The special features consist of deleted scenes, many of which should not have ended up on the editing room floor.
