Was Taboo's final payoff worth the wait?

The BBC’s eight-part miniseries, starring the awfully talented Tom Hardy, has come to a dramatic conclusion.

But was it worth the wait and, specifically, did its final episode live up to expectations?

If you’ve been a frequent viewer of the prime time drama, then you’ll know since its debut our brooding protagonist James Delaney (Hardy) has been on a collision course with both the British monarch and the East India Company. From the moment a dishevelled Delaney buried a small sack of diamonds, we knew we were in for a ride, but were not prepared for the satanic-themed, sometimes volatile nature to unravel quite so explicitly.

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As a show made for BBC One audiences, some will have likely raised an eyebrow at some of its more extreme content – whether as a result of a gruesome slaying or the blurting of the ‘n-word’. Yet many will be sufficiently desensitised after six seasons of Game of Thrones, which is where we really realise the restraint of the series.

While any comparisons to shows like GoT are invalid, we are given the impression The Beeb are at least trying to push some of its restrictive boundaries as a public broadcaster. In its own right Taboo does a solid job of shaping a grim, dangerous world to a pleasing if uneven degree. As I’ve discussed in prior articles, each episode is slow-burning but generally well-paced enough to entertain and build suspense and intrigue.

With all that’s come before the final episode, there was a foreboding notion that, despite Delaney’s plans that were one step ahead of every else’s, something would go terribly wrong. The issues with transporting such a large quantity of gunpowder, for example, made the possibility of a quite literally explosive climax a genuine prospect.

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The idea that Delaney has a chilling connection with Death and voodoo magic plays out until the end, and while there’s a distinct hint that the man himself is the Devil incarnate or an immortal spawn of Satan himself, there’s an underlying idea that he is as susceptible to pain, injury, and mortality, just like any other human.

After Zilpha (Oona Chaplin) commits suicide – an act Delaney clearly finds distressing and an act he has zero control over – things feel like they’re really ramping up. With the BBC’s non-committal over a second series, we’re to presume this hour will wrap up what’s left of Delaney’s life and ties in London. And as the episode gathers pace, the bodies begin to pile up, so there’s at least that elevated sense of urgency and finality to the elaborate escape plan he and his cohorts have been hatching for some time.

Thankfully the pacing and incidents build, as we get nearer and nearer to their big escape aboard a newly acquired boat, after blackmailing and, it must be said, intimidating Sir Stuart Strange (Jonathan Pryce) not only into freeing him from the Tower of London, but aiding his trip as well.

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Regardless of the black magic Delaney uses frequently over the story, Taboo’s climax isn’t reliant on fantasy or the supernatural as we’re perhaps lead to believe. Instead, we get a good, old-fashioned musket and sword battle; even if it is on a relatively small scale in terms of a TV production. But this is the beauty of Taboo: its ability to encapsulate you into its dankly lit, grimy narrative while keeping things relatively quaint is part of its charm.

Alas, there were, as one might assume, no major shocks or gut-wrenching twists in its final handful of scenes. After seeing off the treacherous Dumbarton (Michael Kelly) bumped off and the literal disposal of Strange’s Company men; Delaney and his crew – having left a distraught Brace (David Hayman) behind – eventually set sail for American. The imagery and tone aren’t too dissimilar from Daenerys setting sail for Westeros in the latest Thrones cliffhanger, even if the scales and budgets are noticeably at opposing ends.

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In short, the season finale of Taboo is in keeping with the entire series. It’s sufficiently entertaining, tense, and violent as its boasted to be but; with the payoff of seeing Delaney getting away with it all as he yet again outsmarts his foes and remains ahead of their schemes – via supernatural help or otherwise.

I felt satisfied with its conclusion, even if it wasn’t the thrill-a-minute shockers some of us are used to from rival shows of exceeding quality. Taboo delivers on its promise, with a daring, disturbing drama that’s proven a gripping distraction, that’s for sure.

All that remains now is to speculate what happens when the ship and its cargo reach America. What then for the unhinged, darkly disturbed soul of James Keziah Delaney?

What did you think of Taboo and its season finale? Leave your thoughts in the comments below…

Mike is a freelance TV, film, music and entertainment writer, with an unhealthy obsession for Game of Thrones. He’s written for BBC Radio 1, BuzzFeed, Shortlist, MTV, GamesRadar+, Total Film, GoThinkBig, Loaded, and regularly scribbles for Yahoo Movies, VODzilla, and Metro.

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