IR TV Review: LAWMEN - BASS REEVES - PART IV [Paramount+]
The implementation of the greater good doesn't come without its effects. As Bass Reeves as a person has evolved, circumstances (or at least perspectives) are not as cut and dry as one might think. His work as a marshall is fully comprehensive as he brought in many of his suspects and killed very few. However Part IV speaks to the fact of whether he can question certain elements. There will always be a random factor. Bringing on Crow as his posse man shows a belief in the human spirit but even Crow has issues having been on the other side of the law. He holds Bass to a very high standard. The issue within this structure is no one can be completely good all the time. In this episode, we see Bass participate in chicanery and disguises to capture a suspect but how much does that take from him as a person? The effective aspect that David Oyelowo brings (beyond completely disappearing into the role) is the fact that he can show Bass slowly moving over the line, start to cross it to get what he needs done but then retreats backwards once he realizes what has happened and what he has done.
The line becomes what has been bothering him since he put on the badge...is his own race being persecuted for their race completely or of their own personal choices or both? It is usually both but that is a hard line to walk in that time. We see Bass begin to lose his cool at certain points. What is right? What is wrong? What is for the common good? Meanwhile, his wife and daughter move on with their lives but in providing for them, he seems like he is starting to lose why he did it in the first place (and perhaps them in extension). He should be watching a bit over them as well in that the freedom he enjoys is because of his love for them. Oyelowo starts to bring in a sense of claustrophobia that impedes the character's sense of conscience in a way. This is not a bad thing, just a state of being. The question becomes in the next episodes is if he can find a balance or if it will take a tragedy from his own personal perspective to right the ship. B
By Tim Wassberg
