Netflix had been bugging me for a while to watch "Longmire" (with its recommendation algorithm).
I went ahead & binge-watched the show, but only after I found out Katee Sackhoff was starring in the series. If Netflix's preview screen had shown a more prominent picture of Katee instead of Walt, I'd watched it sooner.
I've been a big fan of Sackhoff since "Battlestar Galactica" (one of the best Sci-fi shows of all-time). But enough about that, I don't want to sound like Harvey Weinstein or FoxNews' Roger Ailes right now. Although I'm sure younger women feel the same way about Deputy Branch & middle-aged women feel the same way about Sheriff Walt. & for all I know, some women probably feel the same way about Deputy Ferg: & besides, I'm just talking about watching TV characters anyways.
Of course, even if the show's cast was the best-looking in the world, it wouldn't matter if the story wasn't compelling. & "Longmire" sure as heck has an interesting storyline. Starting with the mystery of Walt's murdered wife in the early seasons. As well the dynamics between off-res Native Americans & Whites living together in a small community. Not to mention the institutionalized socio-economic & racial problems within the reservation.
Reading some fan reviews, I was surprised to find out that so many people hated Vic. Not me, of course, the troubled personal & professional history of deputy Victoria Moretti (Sackhoff) is what makes her flawed personality interesting & humanizes her character. In addition, she's been through a lot: stalkers, intimidation from his fellow deputy (Branch), kidnapping & torture, failed marriage, her complicated attraction to older authority figures like Walt, etc.
And as far as sexual innuendo & cat-calling, Vic is often the target of it, but it's from the perps or secondary characters in the show, never from her boss or coworkers (except for the couple episodes where she was intimidated by an out-of-it Branch). So, in all seriousness, & taking into account current news events, even being a man I can see how it'd create a toxic workplace environment for a female officer if the harassment was emanating from her boss or fellow deputies.
& then there's of course Lou Diamond Phillips (as Henry Standing Bear), a great actor who also brings fond memories of my childhood watching "La bamba" & constantly playing the soundtrack. I was under the impression Diamond Phillips was Latino but according to Wikipedia, he's a mix between White, Native American, Asian -- So the show checks the mark for diversity in its casting for sure.
The "Hector" vigilante story-line (which got going once the show moved to Netflix) started slow. However, the story got better as the fourth season went on, when it dealt with the complicated (to say the least) aftermath resulting from the rape of a young Native-American woman by white oil-field workers.
The rape story arc also provided an interesting jumping point for Cady Longmire whose participation in the show grew from early seasons as the long-suffering girlfriend of Branch & daughter of Walt, into that of the statuesque lawyer for Native Americans in need of legal representation in the reservation (although at the potential moral risk of working for dubious-intentions "Nighthorse": one of Walt's nemesis from the early seasons).
The fifth season provides Walt with a new girlfriend, not Lizzie unfortunately, but psychiatrist Donna who seems uninterested (at one point her iPhone ID for Walt was just "Cowboy"). Speaking of that, Vic's jealousy of the Donna/Walt relationship is surprising to me this late in the show: does it mean Vic will end up having a romantic relationship with Walt?
An attempted murder on Walt, & Donna's kidnapping formed the basis for the fourth season's cliffhanger which led into the fifth season.
The show doesn't shy away from depressing topics like some U.S. veterans dealing with addiction and the scars of war. & Donna being a doctor who deals with these troubled veterans proves to be central to the question of who committed the crime: a troubled and traumatized female soldier was found to be responsible for Walt's attempted murder as well as for Donna's kidnapping.
Deputy Branch's near-death experience during an earlier season (the result of the murder attempt by David Ridges) made the"Hector" vigilante story an ongoing narrative, culminating in Henry taking over the "Hector" role (after the original was indeed killed by Ridges). As a result, Henry set himself on a collision course with Walt which culminated in a bar fight between the two men at the "Red Pony".
Complicating the situation, Baggett's civil suit (Walt being blamed for Barlow's suicide-by-cop) & Nighthorse's involvement in Henry & Cady's life has made Walt paranoid to the point of pushing friends & his own daughter away.
& to top it all off, Walt has become a liability for Mayor Sawyer Crane due to the mayor's upcoming re-election bid which conveniently has an"anti-corruption" theme.
But Walt's instinct might have been correct depending on what happens during the final sixth season. If season five's ending sequence is any indication, Cady's drug-induced visions during a tribal ritual provided some clues (if you take the visions literally): Nighthorse might have been scheming with Baggett to take over Walt's property (& open a golf resort), Henry most likely will end up dead at the hands of Malachi (hope not), Cady's killing of a white man in the reservation to protect a Native-American young woman might have unforeseen consequences...
Season six starts in a few days so we'll soon find out what happens next.
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