Graceless III: The Day They Chose to Die

Originally intended as the last of three 3-episode “seasons” of Graceless, this wraps up the tale of the near-omnipotent sisters who nonetheless find themselves victims of their past mistakes and the complexities of the real world. Despite presenting a clear conclusion to their story, a fourth season did eventually follow a few years later. It's also worth noting that the “adult listeners” advisory for the series as a whole is here perhaps more due to the pervasive theme of death that is key to all three episodes, than it is to anything specific in terms of language, sex, or graphic horror.

The Edge - The sisters find themselves at a clifftop English hotel in the late 1940s, where it soon becomes clear that something very strange is going on. In fact, it's possibly just a bit too odd, with a feeling that events are piling on top of one another just to drive things along. There's a good reason for that in the end, albeit one that's been done in at least one other franchise in the relatively recent past. But the sense of unreality doesn't quite work, failing to provide enough of a solid grounding, and despite some decent character development as the sisters struggle to come to terms with the events of the previous season, it's an unusually weak episode by the series' usual standards. 3.5 stars.

The Battle - Here, fortunately, we are on much stronger ground, as the sisters' quest leads them to the Battle of Maldon in 991, and to a library in the far future. Much of the story is told in flashback, partly narrated by Zara, but also with excerpts of the Saxon poem about the battle, which itself is a key feature of the plot. It's an atmospheric story, weaving together the horrors of war and the mindset of the time, but the main focus is on the sisters' attempts to prevent the oncoming tragedy, a desperate struggle to do the right thing when it's not at all obvious, in the long term, that there really is one. 4.5 stars.

Consequences - The story comes to an end as the sisters return to the setting of season 2 episode The Flood and are re-united with Marek, something that, according to historical records, will happen only on the day that they die. Since they can only die when they deliberately choose to do so, much of the mystery comes from wondering what might cause them to make this choice. Consequences in general have been something of a theme in Graceless, although the ones on show here weren't really all that predictable in advance. It's a good final story, including guest turns for characters from the The Flood, whose own plight provides a strong sub-plot. The send-off is satisfying, and makes sense in view of what has come before. 5 stars.

Which makes an average of 4.3 stars.