In the end, I think I came fully around to Taboo. The last two episodes in particular were really good as there was plenty of payoff.

Tom Hardy is the draw to the show and he anchored it down in every scene he’s in,  the dude is intense. One of my favorite scenes is when Chichester goes to Delaney’s house to get information on the slave ship. Delaney is really sporadic, slinking low in his chair and he otherwise looks like a mess. He offers to leave and come back later but Delaney tells him to stay because, as we know having watched him for 7 episodes, that he’s always like this and there will never be a better time for them to talk. Hardy can play a maniac like very few others can. He makes it look believable and manages to keep from going overboard.

The show offers more than just a great main character. Strange makes for a great foil (as Jonathan Price often does) and Atticus had a great look to him. I didn’t like Lorna Bow when she was first introduced but she really grew on me and she has one of the best arcs on the show. Suprisingly, Delaney’s sister Zilpha, didn’t. Her story ends with episodes to go and she floats into the rest like an afterthought. I thought the title of the show mainly referred to her and Delaney but by the end, it didn’t seem like that at all. Oh and on another downside, I have to mention Prince Regent. Not the actor or the character, but the terrible makeup. Every scene he’s in is distracting because he looks so off. A terrible fat suit and prosthetic face makeup that doesn’t look anatomically correct. In the last episode, there is a close up of his face that really puts it over the edge. The makeup is so thick that despite the clean edges around his nose, under his eyes and above his cheekbones, you can clearly see where the prosthetic begins. He talks and his cheeks don’t move at all let alone move like flesh (especially weird looking because it’s supposed to be chubby cheeks). It’s clearly a mound of what I’m pretty sure is foam latex.

So what was the show about? I’m not sure. Clearly Delaney, but that’s awfully simple and I feel like missed something. Saying Delaney is damaged is an understatement so it’s hard to navigate his motivation and traumas (that are often visually represented as hyper-edited dreams/hallucinations. He was underestimated by everyone in every capacity and each step of trying to take him down by Strange and the rest of the East India Company. Through extensive build up (most of the show really) he proves to be incredibly smart, extremely wealthy and can take a beating that would make Superman want to take a day off. There was closure with the major plot points, though. A satisfying battle at the end brought every major player into the road and dealt with. Delaney got most of what he wanted and overall I liked the end.

Now, will there be a second season? The end was written as an opening for more and as a pretty complete conclusion if the show didn’t get picked up for more. I have yet to see anything about a season 2, but I feel invested and interested enough in Delaney to check out more.

Edit 3/10/17: Second season is confirmed.