Well done but wears thin quickly

It's a great cast, it's well shot (although they could use a few more lights for some of the scenes), and if you're INCREDIBLY PATIENT they are very very very slowly stringing out what might someday be an interesting little mystery. But WOW does this premise wear thin after a few episodes, as they just keep pushing the ridiculousness further and further.

Is Ron Perlman's character insane? Is he actually receiving visions from God? Well, here's the thing: if he's insane, then this complex little plot they're weaving is just a shared delusion between he and Garret Dillahunt, because all the evidence we've seen in the first half of the season is provided by those two (possible) nutjobs. There is no other way to explain the leaps of discovery they make. So either he's really having visions, or there is no conspiracy. You can't have it both ways.

So if he's insane, there is no mystery/conspiracy and we're just watching crazy people be crazy. Did you enjoy the "twist ending" of Lost where, "Surprise, none of these threads we've been weaving together all these seasons actually mean anything at all! It was all just nonsense all along!" Well that's the only possible place this is headed if Ron Perlman's character is NOT receiving messages from God.

The alternative, that we're clearly supposed to be tagging along for, is that his character IS receiving messages from God. But that would mean that Ron Perlman's character isn't crazy. And if he's not crazy, then how do you explain his behavior vis a vis religion? Even Hollywood can't believe that anyone outside of a loony bin actually believes religion works the way Ron Perlman's character is trying to make it work.

I'm not talking about the supernatural elements. I'm talking about the actual religion part. I get that he's a very bad, corrupt person who doesn't actually know much about religion and has just sort of stumbled into it. But he's also an extremely powerful and important mover and shaker, a big-time schemer, and a JUDGE. Despite coming from the right family, he didn't get all that without being highly intelligent. And even a complete moron could figure out that religion doesn't work the way he's trying to make it work. You can't just bribe a priest/minister to make excuses for your bad behavior and think that makes it okay. Your average six year old is smarter than that, so how are we to believe Ron Perlman's character isn't?

The first several times he butts up against these sorts of things you as the audience try to make excuses. He's flawed, he's weak, he's just telling himself that to excuse his weakness. But the further the story goes, the more you see that no, he actually believes that's how it works. And as I said, it's a hard pill to swallow. Because we're supposed to think he's not crazy, but there's no other excuse for a man like this believing things a six year old could see through.

So yeah, maybe he IS insane, the whole plot is in his head, and we're just wasting our time watching a crazy guy be crazy. Welcome back to Lost. But I'd say the more likely explanation is bad writing, and that wears thin pretty quickly.