YMMV / Banshee

• Broken Base: The fourth season. Some see it as a disappointment and letdown due to its Darker and Edgier tone and lack of action compared to previous seasons. On the other hand, there are others who liked the more slower, introspective pace. Even between the two bases, it's generally agreed that the series finale was a great end to the show.
• Complete Monster: Banshee, PA, is inhabited by many unsavory characters, with these the worst.
  • The unnamed albino prisoner was hired to torment the man who would become known as "Lucas Hood", first by viciously beating the latter, then attempting to make Hood his Sex Slave for the remainder of his 15-year prison sentence. Dreaded by fellow inmates, "the Albino" has at least one forced partner, whom he brags was a straight man coerced into a relationship with him to assert dominance and is implied to have an entire unwilling harem. Enraged when Hood maims his boyfriend's face, making him less "pretty", the Albino angrily tries to orally rape Hood before cutting his throat.
  • Season 4: Declan Bode is a sadistic Serial Killer who has killed numerous women in Banshee. He would bring these women to his home where would cut them while they are still alive and they would painfully die from their wounds. He also leads a satanic cult, manipulating many people to join his cause; He also molested his female followers since they were children and persuades one to immolate herself in the Banshee sheriff's department. Kidnapping FBI agent Veronica Dawson, Sheriff Brock Lotus, and "Lucas Hood", Bode would leave the latter two at the mercy of his followers while he proceeds to make Dawson his next victim.
• Crosses the Line Twice:
  • Brantley's gruesome death in "A Fixer of Sorts" via being thrown under the wheels of his own portable semi-trailer office. So gross, yet so Bloody Hilarious.
  • In "Truths Other Than the Ones You Tell Yourself", Calvin revealing to his boss that he's a Neo-Nazi and then beating the shit out of him in the bathroom while calling him a 'stupid gook motherfucker"? Disturbing. Right after that, casually walking through his office without a shirt and covered in blood, showing off his tattoos to his shocked colleagues while relaxing elevator music plays in the background? Disturbingly hilarious.
• Cult Classic: The show is almost completely obscure and not well-known by the mainstream, but is absolutely beloved by its small fanbase for its excellent and pulpy writing and tone, interesting characters, and kick-ass action, which is considered some of the best ever in a television show.
• Ensemble Dark Horse:
  • Nola Longshadow, popular for being an itinerant Native American assassin and the smarter Longshadow sibling. Plus, she's incredibly sexy.
  • Clay Burton, Kai Proctor's bookworm-looking bodyguard who's a complete badass, especially when his glasses come off. Imagine a mix between Gustavo Fring and Agent 47. Unsurprisingly, many consider him their favorite supporting character on the show.
  • Kurt Bunker, before being upgraded to the main cast in season 4, was a recurring character in season 3 who was beloved for his Heel–Face Turn from a Neo-Nazi to a Banshee deputy sheriff, and his interesting and complex personality, backed up by an amazing performance by Tom Pelphrey.
• Fanfic Fuel: The possibilities of what direction the remainder of the show might have taken if Nola had defeated Burton given his role in the remainder of the show is interesting, to say the least.
• Fanon Discontinuity: There are fans who think that the show had wrapped up everything it needed to (not counting stuff that never did get satisfactory conclusions) in either the second season finale or the third.Of course, those who think this of season 2 might also consider disregarding the scenes where Neo-Nazis murder the Yawners’ and Rebecca helps Proctor escape prosecution.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: There's something really funny about Antony Starr's portrayal of Lucas Hood being the exact opposite of his later role as Homelander/John from The Boys (2019). One can't help but think that Butcher and Lucas could've been good friends.
• Magnificent Bastard:
  • Job is a computer hacking genius who uses his skills to orchestrate many bank robberies. When an old friend of Job gets released from prison, he tells him about the town Banshee and gives him the identity "Lucas Hood" so he could start a new life. Job would also find himself going to Banshee where he organized many robberies and rescues there, one of which was a highly secured Marine Base leading to Job's capture. After bring rescue from his captors 20 months later, Job would track down the man who got him captured and ruin his life by making him culpable to all his crimes while Job leaves Banshee with all the money he stolen to start his own new life.
  • Kai Proctor is a wealthy business man and criminal kingpin that rules the titular town from the shadows. Enduring a feud with rival crime lord Alex Longshadow, Proctor would gain the upper hand first by blowing up one of Alex's hotel killing the mayor along the way, having "Lucas Hood" decimate Alex's forces after previously saving his life once, and has his niece Rebecca kill Alex. Facing another opponent from Philadelphia drug dealer Frazier, he would escape Frazier's captivity before returning to kill Frazier. He would eventually become Mayor of Banshee and become allies with the Aryan Brotherhood and the Cartel while finding ways to deter any problems within both criminal organizations. When his luck with the Cartel runs out due to one of their drug shipments being destroyed under Proctor's supervision, Proctor faces them alone with a Thompson Submachine gun to kill as many Cartel hitmen as he can.
• Narm: Chayton’s death was an entirely serious scene that became hilarious after he takes a shotgun blast in the face. The CGI of his half-blown head is so ridiculously bad one can’t help but laugh.
  • Some of Colonel Stowe's scenes that were meant to show his tenuous grip on his sanity, like eating a steak completely naked and his breakdown when he learns Hood and Gordon are storming his base, can come off too over-the-top to take seriously, even by the show's standards.
• Narm Charm: The show basically makes it its life mission to be so over the top insane that everything curls back in on itself and becomes compelling again. This has won it both a fairly sizable pocket of critical support and the best audience figures for any of Cinemax's original series to date.
• Seasonal Rot: While the action, acting, and writing remain constant, a recurring criticism of the show is that each season drifts further away from the initial premise of Lucas being a criminal posing as a cop and the Acceptable Breaks from Reality (Proctor becoming mayor in the final season after his previous criminal activities were so widely known, a few particularly unrealistic Major Injury Underreaction scenes, etc.) become more strained. this is especially true of the fourth season, as it’s Darker and Edgier tone and lowered production values soured a lot of fans.
• Signature Scene
  • Season 1:
    • Lucas Hood getting out of prison after 15 years.
    • Hood riding into town on his motorcycle for the first time.
    • The gruesome barfight where the real Lucas Hood is killed, which perfectly sets the tone for the rest of the series.
    • Lucas Hood taking down the rapist MMA fighter, the scene where most fans were sold on the series.
    • Lucas Hood killing the Giant Mook albino prisoner.
    • The completely ridiculous fight between Anna and Olek, which lasts almost the whole episode.
    • The climactic gunfight at the metalworks, with special mention going to accidental bazooka kill courtesy of Brock.
  • Season 2:
    • Hood fighting his way through the casino.
    • Proctor and Burton dumping blood and guts into Alex Longshadow's hot tub.
    • Chayton vs. Hood.
    • Hood vs. The Amish teacher, and then the latter's torture at the hands of Proctor.
    • Jason Hood being garroted by Burton in the middle of sex with Rebecca.
    • Emmett revenge on the Skinheads who assaulted his wife.
    • The church shootout, followed by Rabbit's suicide.
    • Emmett's heartbreaking death.
  • Season 3:
    • Hood, Siobhan, and Brock's revenge on the Neo-Nazi who killed Emmett.
    • Burton vs. Nola, for two Ensemble Dark Horses battling it out and for its amazing choreography, which has been compared to the Raid films.
    • Hood throwing Brantley under the wheels of the Fat Bastard's own semi-truck office.
    • Siobhan confronting Hood when she discovers his real identity.
    • Chayton's assault on the CADI, especially his killing of Siobhan and Hood's heartbroken reaction.
    • The gang's robbery on Camp Genoa.
    • Hood killing Chayton via Boom, Headshot!, also their fight in the hotel room beforehand.
    • Hood and Gordon storming Camp Genoa together to save Carrie/Ana, Sugar, and Job, especially Gordon's death and Job's capture.
  • Season 4:
    • Brock finding Hood in the cabin after two years.
    • Job's torture.
    • Brock blowing up Proctor's drug truck with an RPG.
    • Hood vs. Burton, followed by Proctor killing the latter for Rebecca's death.
    • Kurt vs. Calvin.
    • Proctor's last stand against the Mexican cartel.
    • Hood finally leaving Banshee on the bike he rode in on, which is considered by many to be a perfect ending to the series.
• Spiritual Successor: This Is The Police 2 shares the general premise of a small town sherrif office being taken over by an Anti-Hero criminal disguising his real identity, pulling strings to achieve his own goals and regularly using underhand means.
• Squick:
  • Kat Moody and Lucas Hood hooking up is a little squicky given that he recently killed her husband.
  • The Albino taking his pants off for Lucas to give him oral sex. Then Lucas cuts off his penis. The cherry on top is we see the dismembered penis on the floor for a brief second.
  • Depending on how you feel about incest, the relationship between Kai and Rebecca Proctor may veer into this territory for you, particularly in season two.
    • Season three brings it definitely into this territory. At the very least they sleep naked in the same bed.
  • Proctor dumping cow guts and blood into Alex's jacuzzi. While he's in it.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Nola Longshadow is a Noble Demon Dark Action Girl who can kick serious ass, has some chemistry with Hood, and eventually develops a vendetta against Small-Town Tyrant Proctor. However, she only appears in less than 1/3rd of the episodes, never for more than half the episodes in a season, and only has minor roles in several of her appearances.