Warning: Major spoilers for The Bondsman below!I had a good time with Prime Video’sThe Bondsman, but why is the demon-hunting side of the series so disappointing?The BondsmancastKevin Bacon as the titular character, a well-meaning but dimwitted bounty hunter who is murdered but brought back to hunt demons.The Bondsmansounds an awful lot likeBrimstone,the cult 1990s show about a demon-hunting detective, but it’s a way lighter show. If anything,Bacon’s latest horror comedy leans closer toTremorsorThe Evil Deadwith its heightened characters and gory mayhem.
The Bondsman’sreviewshave been mostly positive, and overall, I had a good time with it. The show moves fast, it has a great supporting cast (including the icon that is Beth Grant) and I appreciated the commitment to practical gore effects; Bacon is also looking very snacky for someone in his late sixties. The lore behind the demons is another intriguing element, with almost every episode introducing a new foe for Bacon’s Hub, but the demons themselves were always, well, lame.
The Bondsman Season 1 Ending Explained: What Happens To Maryanne & How It Sets Up Season 2
The Bondsman season 1 ends with a massive cliffhanger that not only concludes it on a dark note but also perfectly paves the way for an epic season 2.
The Bondsman’s fight scenes are a Hell of a disappoiment
Image via Prime Video
Most ofThe Bondsmanfollows a simple formula; a new demon is introduced in the prologue, then most of the episode sees Hub dealing with some personal crisis before he fights the demon in the finale. While the prologues are often the best moments of horror on the show (such as the atmospheric opening involving a water demon) and the episode hypes up the threat each entity poses,the fights are often lackluster and anticlimactic.
Sure, there’s fun gore thrown in, but the demons rarely registered as genuine threats. It doesn’t help that they’re mostly represented as ethereal CGI mists or as actors overlaid with a generic-looking demon face. To go back to theEvil Deadcomparisons, while those films are often funny, they also made the Deadites scary and monstrous. InThe Bondsman,the demons feel like an afterthought, and Hub rarely has that hard of a job dispatching themeither.
I Hope The Bondsman Season 2 Fixes its Demon Problem
Season 1 ends on a major cliffhanger
I will say the final two episodes ofThe Bondsmanfeature a couple of solid demon battles, with episode 7 really honing in on theEvil Deadhomages when Hub wields a chainsaw. Maybe it’s a case that each episode’s slim runtime made it tricky to make the monsters a major part of them, or the showrunners needed to keep a tight rein on the VFX’s budget. Whatever the case,the result is a demon hunting show where demon hunting is often the least interesting element.
Another series of The Bondsman where Hub fights the same personality-free monsters doesn’t sound that appealing…
The Bondsmancloses on a big cliffhanger that practically begs for another season. I’d tune in if the show returned, but I hope the crew behindThe Bondsmantakes the time to fix the demon problem. Another series of Hub fighting the same personality-free monsters doesn’t sound that appealing. Season 1 didn’t live up to its full potential, butThe Bondsmanseason 2 could fix those faults and make for a hellishly good time.
