See Season 3 Review: Jason Momoa Elevates the Explosive Final Chapter

It is a shame that the first season of See, an attempt by Apple TV+ to answer Game of Thrones, was a bit of a slog to get through, as everything since has been a vast improvement. Taking the premise of a world where almost everyone was blind and using it to explore how that would reshape life as we know it could have been disastrous if not done delicately. Thankfully, the show has steadily begun to chart a path that takes this concept and new state of being seriously even as the rest of the story can get a bit silly. The second season still felt like it was searching for what it wanted to be, but the journey it took us on was much more thrilling than what preceded it. Season 3, which also serves as the conclusion of the show, continues this positive trajectory, arriving at an ending that offers plenty of well-staged action that also delves deeper into the characters nearing the end of their story. It gets a bit sidetracked and loses steam in the middle, though it picks back up for a fitting finale that hits hard where it counts.

Integral to this all working is the performance of Jason Momoa as the brutal warrior Baba Voss. While the show has always been about the ensemble cast of characters all navigating the harsh world they are living in, he has remained a fascinating center to it all. Momoa, even as some other works have not known what to do with him, is a screen presence like no other who is firing on all cylinders here. Much of this is due to his physical performance where he is able to pull off the delicate dance of more quiet battle scenes right alongside the moments where he lets loose and gets loud. However, in the lulls between these arresting action sequences, Momoa also instills the character with an overwhelming sense of melancholy. The patriarch has done everything to protect the family he loves, but this hasn’t always been enough. At the end of the last season, he had to kill his enemy and brother Edo Voss (Dave Bautista) against his wishes for them to go their separate ways in peace. After all these years of death, the external and internal wounds have begun to take their toll on Baba Voss. The exploration of the character, now living almost entirely alone out in the woods and grappling with guilt from all the harm he has caused, serves as the heart of the remaining story.

It all picks up 256 days after the brutal battle of Greenhill Gap. A tentative treaty has been reached between the Trivantians and the Payans. The successful coup to unseat Sibeth Kane (Sylvia Hoeks) has left her sister Maghra (Hera Hilmar) with a crown she doesn’t want and limited options on how to deal with the looming crises that threaten to drag the world back into conflict. Alongside her is Tamacti Jun (Christian Camargo) who is caught between the violent life he used to live that nearly got him killed and the new one he has been reborn into. In the middle of all this are the sighted children of Baba Voss and Maghra who are increasingly uncertain about what place they will have in this society as adults. Haniwa (Nesta Cooper) is drawn to the knowledge of the old world and desires to lead a life of her own as she sees fit. Kofun (Archie Madekwe) is far less certain than his sister and is dealing with the fact that he is now a father after bearing a child with his aunt Sibeth. After all, would it really be a fantasy show without a bit of incest thrown in? This is a basic summary of where everything stands and doesn’t cover everything in this weird world. However, suffice to say, everything the characters have come to know and love is about to be blown up.

Early in this season, we get introduced to the fact that some of the Trivantians have been developing a secret weapon that they intend to use to take over the world. Through science, they have begun to craft bombs that will allow them to decimate the Payans and anyone else who stands in their own way. Baba Voss is one of the first people to learn of this when an attempt is made on his life using these very explosives that he narrowly survives. This will be enough to draw him out of isolation to try to warn his family and avert the coming calamity. It is an intriguing development that the season would have benefited from delving into a bit more. The way world-building has taken place has always been about expanding outward, discovering more places and people at every turn. This new technology is just one more way Season 3 does this, serving as the equivalent to the dragons of Game of Thrones in the vast implications they will have on the world. What drags it down a bit is how to See gets caught up in political machinations that all pale in comparison to this existential threat. Some of this may be by design as a way of creating tension when we see that the characters aren’t responding with the proper urgency and expediency. Still, there could have been some better tightening up of the pacing and storylines to keep the overall experience more focused.

When we do see the explosives in action, everything else gets pushed to the side, as the show continues to build towards an inevitable conflict that is certain to end in blood. Even with the diversions and distractions of the political maneuvering, this is the narrative asteroid that is hurtling toward all the characters. It has the strength to wipe them all out, leaving nothing but ash in the place they used to be. Without giving anything away about the circumstances of the conclusion, seeing the full might and power of this weapon is genuinely terrifying. There aren’t any sequences like the big battle at the end of the last season, as the story centers on the desperate attempts by Baba Voss to avoid death and destruction, unlike anything he has ever seen before. The way it takes some time to convince other characters is appropriately dire as every moment wasted could spell potential doom for them all. There are betrayals galore, making things even grimmer. While there are some genuinely great moments of humor sprinkled throughout, the tone remains one centered around terror. Even when the details of how this plays out about don’t always cleanly connect, with one late alliance really straining credulity, the cast remains appropriately dedicated to bringing the story to a close.

While some elements of the buildup occasionally dull the conclusion, the last few scenes See will ever get are all fittingly epic in scale and emotion. It really feels like the show pulls out all the stops, weaving all the characters together in a final fight for survival. As the blood flows and explosions repeatedly rock the ground, the story becomes as violent as it has ever been, never skimping on the gruesome gore that, while present throughout the series, reaches a painful peak here. It is all well-directed, with many extended shots letting the action play out and the stunt coordinators really putting on a show.

This brings us back, of course, to Momoa. It is nigh impossible to think of an actor that could carry the final fight scenes as confidently and completely as he does. Just seeing the intensity in his expression is enough to be completely mesmerized. It is like getting to watch a master craftsman create art. When he then leaps and slides against swarms of enemies without missing a step, it surpasses anything that has come before it. While this full demonstration of his talents is brief, the ferocity and speed with which he moves spring off the screen. It is part of a fitting end to See that, flaws and all is worth witnessing wrap up in a rather triumphant fashion.

Rating: B

You can watch the first episode of See Season 3 starting August 26 on Apple TV+, with the remaining seven episodes released weekly.