Did you catch the format change? It went from CinemaScope aspect ratio to full screen HDTV for the action sequences!
Thank God. I thought I was losing it. While I was watching, I was caught up in the story, but also had a moment where I thought I was either seeing a change or imagining it. Great episode and I agree with all the points made so far.
Likewise on appreciating that they’re letting the needs of the story decide the length of the episodes. This was a more complex story, so it got the time to tell it.
Cobb was a likeable character and well played by Olyphant. I like that he was a bit puffed up when they meet, as you would be if a known gunslinging killer shows up in town asking questions. It may not have been intentional, but I like how Cobb looked a little silly wearing the armor particularly since he didn’t have all of it.
It was nice to see Peli again and I really liked how they didn’t pad any of that portion with unnecessary retelling of their meeting from last year. They wouldn’t do that in real life, so it worked that they didn’t do it here. He goes to see someone who he knows is honest, she’s happy to see them again, helps him as much as she can, and he’s off to tend to business while leaving his ship somewhere safe. To me, that was a perfect way to handle a revisit like that.
I agree with the other points too about the cinematography. Really well done and more than holds its own with the films. As someone mentioned earlier, this was like a one-hour film. As it was last year, the franchise is in excellent hands.
I waited until after dinner to watch it so that the day’s stresses would be over and I could relax and raise a glass to the return of the show. It was even better than I expected. I’ll watch it again tomorrow.