No. 83 Waco : The Aftermath (TV) (2023) 95/100

 

We’re nearly up to date with this offering which came five years after the original Waco miniseries, which I have previously reviewed. This one is a bit leaner at five episodes compared to the predecessor’s six, and is less satisfying too.

 

The series takes up the story straight after the end of the Waco siege and we get various threads that show us the origins of the Branch Davidians as well as the fall out in the FBI and the consequences of their actions, which the series suggests gave rise to more Patriot style militias who were distrustful of the government.

 

There are three main threads with the origins of the cult getting the most attention initially with a courtroom drama then playing out along with Shannon’s character trying to work out what the promised ‘Payback’ will take the form of – spoiler – it’s the Oklahoma City bombing.

 

We see the cult in its early days in 1981, with Koresh joining under his original name of Vernon. The cult is led by J Smith-Cameron who you’ll know from ‘Succession’. She’s not great in this mainly because they have stuck her in a fat suit. Koresh worms his way into her affections before taking over the group himself.

 

In the present day, the trail of five Waco survivors is getting under way with the excellent Giovanni Ribisi taking the role of the lead defence lawyer. The cultists seem to be on a loser but Ribisi does a good job of discrediting the FBI with their claims of who shot first and a s*icide plan being in place being debunked. Alas Gale Boetticher is the judge and he knows who’s paying his wages.

 

We also see Shannon’s lead negotiator character work an informant who lets him know that a reprisal attack is on the cards. His boss isn’t for believing the story and meanwhile Timothy McVeigh is at the garden supply store, and we know that doesn’t end well.

 

The series wraps up in episode five with the trail outcome and the fateful bombing attack – what could have been done differently and what have we learned? The closing captions suggest not a lot.

 

I enjoyed this series but not as much as the first. I think the issue was that it lacked an over all cohesive storyline. It was mainly just the documentation of things happening as we spiralled towards an inevitable climax. The strongest component was the trial with some good courtroom scenes hampered only by an immovable judge. The facts laid out suggest the Davidians got a raw deal and the FBI seemed keener to escape any blame rather than examine their own shortcomings.

 

The cast was mostly good including a re-cast Koresh, who appeared as a younger model. The likeness was good and once the glasses and mullet were in place you couldn’t tell the difference. Shea Whigham and John Leguizamo both reprised their roles but had very little to do as did Gary Cole as a DeLorean driving informant.

 

Shannon was largely a bystander but got some good scenes in the last two episode when he was called to the witness stand and then gave an oration at a Davidian memorial. I’m not sure if these events really happened but he was good value as the well meaning, but hamstrung FBI man.

 

Overall, this was a decent coda to the first series but I’m not sure if there was enough material to fill five episodes. The first series had a more definable plot and character arcs, this one was more like a documentary telling us how things panned out, which is fair enough. Definitely one for your Waco completist, but for the rest you’ll get better entertainment elsewhere.

 

When is Shannon-On? - 01.05 

Outcome? Still in a job hunting the bad guys 

TV Series 3/5

Shannon Stars 3.5/5