Godless Is a Dark & Violent Hidden Gem Western on Netflix

In recent years, Netflix has begun to re-embrace the Western genre. Despite still being considered a ‘dead’ genre by many, the Western appears to be making a surprising comeback. The last few years have seen Netflix release The Harder They Fall, News of the World, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, and The Power of the Dog, all to immense critical acclaim and a few Academy Award nominations.

But before Netflix dove head-first into revitalizing the Western genre, they tested the waters with an original limited series. Back in the days when Netflix originals weren’t over-saturated, Netflix released Godless, one of its first forays into the Western genre. Godless is dark, beautiful, violent, moving, and a true hidden gem in Netflix’s catalog.

Godless Is One of the Best Westerns on Netflix

Godless is a 10-episode limited series Western that debuted on Netflix in 2017. The series features a surprisingly star-studded cast, which includes Jack O’Connell, Michelle Dockery, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, and Jeff Daniels. After a mining accident kills all the men in the small New Mexico town of La Belle, the surviving population is forced to pick up the pieces and keep the town together. But when La Belle unknowingly harbors a former gang member, Roy Goode (Jack O’Connell), the vicious Frank Griffin Gang descends on La Belle. Godless drops audiences right into the aftermath of the mining accident in La Belle, as we see the town picking up the pieces and trying to move forward (which is easier for some characters than others).

The highlight of Godless is its unique, female-led narrative. Following the mining accident, the remaining population of La Belle is 95% female. There is sadly a large percentage of the internet that will hear ‘female-led Western’ and immediately write off Godless as political pandering. But Godless is far from a commercially political series. The female characters in Godless have true agency and depth and are far from the caricatures that some will assume them to be. We see them at their lowest moments, grieving their husbands, fathers, and sons who died in the mine. But we also see them learn to live a new life without them and develop genuine independence and individual strength.

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While the entire cast is fantastic, Jeff Daniels steals every scene as Frank Griffin. Especially for audiences who primarily know Daniels from Dumb & Dumber, to see him portray a ruthless criminal is a big shock. Westerns tend to exaggerate their violent characters but refuse to actually show any of said violence on screen, not Godless. Godless, thanks to its TV-MA rating, strives to show as much of its violence and disturbing scenes on screen to accentuate the realism.

Frank Griffin murders men, women, and children, and Godless does feature some scenes depicting rape. But what’s unique about Godless is that it gives an unfiltered view of Frank Griffin. At no point does the show try to persuade audiences to sympathize with him, but he’s far from the mustache-twirling, dog-kicking villain you’d expect from someone who commits such heinous actions. Godless develops Frank Griffin with intricate depth and humanizes him while letting his reprehensible behavior speak for itself.

Godless De-Romanticizes the Old West

It’s safe to say the depiction of the Wild West in Godless is far from the version seen in classic John Wayne movies. Gone is the optimistic spirit of settling in a new land as the reality of survival kicks in. Godless embraces this harsh truth. The threat of impending death, heightened by the sudden and unexpected mining accident in La Belle, looms over the entire series. Jeff Daniels said, “It must have been a lawless, ugly place to be,” to A.V. Club about modern romanticizations of the Old West.

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While it doesn’t shy away from the violence and brutality that was likely present during the Old West, Godless is also a stunning series. Written and directed by Scott Frank, with cinematography by Steven Meizler, Godless juxtaposes the bloodlust of American settlers with the scenic beauty of the American landscape, accentuating the highs and lows of the story of people settling in the West.

The fact that Godless is missing from countless lists showcasing the best Westerns and isn’t discussed alongside modern classics of the genre is as criminal as Jeff Daniels’ character. Godless even won three Emmys in 2018, from a total of 12 nominations. Sadly, Godless has been lost among the endless stream of content Netflix has produced over the last couple of years. Fans have been desperate for a second season of Godless since the first debuted in 2017. However, it appears that the best Western series on Netflix will remain a limited series. Godless is streaming now on Netflix.