I have no problem with investing time in my entertainment. That's not my issue with the miniseries. My issue, and I'll use the same word as before, is that this is plodding. There are some legitimate reasons for this (there are a LOT of people involved) and some less legitimate.
They spend a lot of time introducing characters who are either Hatfields or McCoys are tangentially related to one clan or the other. They give the absolute briefest of time to what could be interesting drama with interesting characters (McCoy's return from the war stands out here, with the interesting dynamic between the man who lived only to come home and the wife who had given up on him before he got there that they try to make emotional even though they've really not provided the appropriate background). Then they opt to focus on the Romeo and Juliet sub plot which involves 2 of the least interesting characters that they've provided.
The thing is, they have a lot of room for dramatic license. Nobody knows what started the feud historically. There are theories but that's all they are. It's a sad statement when the pig theft would have been a more appealing starting point to the feud instead of the romance they're pushing on us. I guess I just feel like they're rushing through some pieces and some characters that the viewer is interested in to get to the dull romance subplot. After 2 hours I should feel like this thing has momentum though, and I can't help but feel like everything is just scattershot at that point.
Given my druthers, I'd have preferred they spend more time with the war establishing the relationship between Hatfield & McCoy prior to Hatfield running off. Shift from that to McCoy's capture with footage of his family mourning him as a lost man which you counterpoint with Hatfield beginning to become a successful businessman.
This leads to McCoy's eventual return at the end of the war as well as Hatfield forcing the lumber rights from McCoy's cousin. All of this actually played pretty well if they'd taken enough time to set up the background a bit more. I liked the lawyer cousin getting caught in his scam, and I liked the church scene. I liked McCoy and Hatfield talking in the bar, McCoy letting him know that he feels like Hatfields are underhanded with no need for God.
Honestly, if they moved into the pig theft from there and never had the romance I'd have been satisfied. The pig theft leads to court, the court case leads to an eventual murder of a Hatfield, this murder leads to 2 McCoys in jail who are eventually released. Why was this not enough dramatically speaking? Are we so dumb as a viewing audience that we need to know this gigantic feud obviously came about from romance rather than a stolen pig and stupid machismo?
