re: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

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It was a cohesive theme: death. Went from light-hearted to pretty dark over the course of the episodes.

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Yes, exactly!

And not just death, but also the meaning of life in view of our mortality.

The western setting for the various vignettes, as is typical of the genre, allows the film maker and audience explore the meaning of life, and morality in general, within a harsh life or death struggle.

It’s actually extremely rewatchable, since it takes several viewings just to get the major theme much less all the intricate details.

Think again about the vignette with the limbless minstrel. He’s reciting some of the greatest prose and poetry ever written, and people are paying a small price to attend. But after a time, they get bored with the profound art and the sideshow master decides to switch to a mindless chicken gag, which is more popular.

And then we remember the poem being read by the minstrel - Ozymandias! Makes you wonder if the Coen’s considered using the opening of Ecclesiastes, “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity”, or would that have been too obvious!

If you watched it and didn’t like it, I suggest you watch it again. It’s possible the most profound movie that has been produced in this generation.