The BBC's compelling crime drama Luther returns to American shores by pulling a half-Netflix, if you will. You can binge, but only after four days: BBC America will air the four-part miniseries (also know as Season Three) on consecutive nights. It's a nice schedule for rabid viewers, particularly as the show's stakes have never been higher. On the flip side, Luther is not without its flaws. There are those who have said the show can be unnecessarily and cartoonishly violent (criticism I've lobbed at shows like Sons of Anarchy and Boardwalk Empire) while wanting to remain serious. But while the third season certainly doesn't shy away from these moments, it also retains, as it always has, a good sense of what fans want to see when all is said and done. Hit the jump for more on the show's potentially polarizing final season. Luther is not high art, but it tricks us into thinking it is because of Idris Elba. He has made John Luther a heroic character -- his despair, his swagger, his unflinching desire to do the right thing by any means, not to mention that gray coat that matches both the color and texture of his perma-stubble. But does the show live up to the bar he's set? NPR's Terry Gross once said on her show Fresh Air that she found Luther a terrifying watch. She's not wrong. The show has always traded in villains who are ruled by chaos and evil. It gives the impression that on any day, any person could be brained via hammer by a maniac. While that might ...
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