"Dexter" season finale - "Don't be sorry your darkness is gone"

"Dexter" ended its run Sunday night with "The Big One," an episode that wrapped up all the storylines very neatly. A little too neatly, I thought, but it was still a good season ender. Not having a cliffhanger is a return to the norm for this show, as some people are forgetting since Rita's death was really the only big shocking cliffhanger we've ever had on "Dexter."
Basically, Jordan captured Lumen, Dexter came after him, got caught briefly until he turned the tables and he and Lumen finally killed Jordan. Liddy's body was found in the van and Quinn was immediately put under suspicion because of Liddy's phone. Things with him worked out in the end as well as Dexter covered up the blood match on Quinn's shoe and Debra came back to him. Deb caught the vigilantes (sort of) at the scene and let them go. Lumen completed her mission and realized that her place was not with Dexter. No surprise there. The biggest pitfall you get with bigger name guest stars is you're painfully aware that they are guest stars, nothing more. Batista and LaGuerta decided to give it one more try. Astor and Cody are going to spend the summer with Dexter.

If I have one complaint, it's that this finale went a little too smoothly. Especially the Jordan confrontation, in my opinion. All this time, all this build-up, and they finally get the son of a bitch. And that's it. I didn't need some big tragedy or major twist, but it felt too easy. I would have liked maybe one more surprise to how that showdown went down. I was secretly thrilled that Jordan took Lumen to the old camp. I figured that one out last week, way before Dexter. (Okay, I'm sure lots of other people figured it out too.) But the horror fan in me was excited that the big rescue would take place at an abandoned campsite. The car crash seemed a bit excessive and perhaps it was there to create that extra tension I wanted? Really, it just made a plot hole of a giant piece of evidence with Dexter's blood in it. Not to mention it just felt like a retread of the time Dexter crashed his car a few seasons ago. Another thing that appealed to the geek in me was the fruit stand guy noticing the shifty Jordan with an obvious body in his trunk. ("Dammit, why is there always a fruit stand?!")

Debra was really the fascinating part of this episode, in my opinion. First of all, I have no idea how she made it this long as a cop living in Miami not knowing Spanish. Second, I enjoyed the moral dilemma she faced when she caught Dexter and Lumen at the camp. I went from thinking she would let them go to realizing she wouldn't to realizing she actually would. I really loved that scene and the frustration written on her face. "Maybe it's true some people deserve to die. But I'm a cop and I don't make that fucking decision. So I'm gonna call this in. In an hour this place is gonna be swarming with police. If I were you I'd be gone by then." I thought after all the time she spent watching the rape videos she would be mostly okay with her decision. But she really is a cop 100% and couldn't help but be bothered by her actions. As she said, decisions of life and death aren't hers to make. But how could she bring herself to arrest two people who were taking out such monsters that the cops wanted stopped anyway? Perhaps if she looked at things as simply as "killing is always wrong. No matter what." But as she thought later, "you think someone's a good cop, and then they...do something. I don't know, all I'm saying is nothing is as simple as it seems." She's certainly growing as a character. She wants so desperately to see things as black-and-white, right and wrong, but life just does not work that way at all. At least she gets to know that Jordan got his. Knowing that Trinity is out there on the run (as far as she knows) is bad enough already, no need to add to the list of "the ones who got away."

Dexter and Lumen had their requisite wrap-up, which was touching but inevitable. I was so nervous on that boat that she would jump off or get shot randomly or something bad would happen because it was such a beautiful moment. I was terrified she would commit suicide, leaving a note saying that the peace she felt after killing her tormentors didn't last. But no, the writers weren't unbelievably cruel. She and Dexter just acknowledged that her Dark Passenger was satisfied, but Dexter's never would be. They weren't the same, after all. I am happy that Dexter will have his kids over the summer though. I'm glad to see Astor and Cody back in his life and happy after all the turmoil. It would be too mean to leave Dexter alone again after all of this. I liked the touch that Astor's question to Dexter - if helping Lumen made him feel better about what happened to Rita - was left unanswered. Rita wasn't acknowledged as much as I think she should have been this season, but Lumen was the response to her death. Lumen was Dexter's grieving process. (On a random note, is it possible for two blond parents to have two brunette children? That stuck out to me all of a sudden at the end.)

We didn't get a big Quinn-Dexter confrontation either. I'm glad, but it seems strange that Quinn would just drop it, even if he knows Dexter helped him. Maybe they'll pick it up again next season or something.

I'll close out this entry with this finale's summing-up-the-season speech:
"You can’t do one thing to make up for another. That’s what Jordan Chase says. But he’s wrong, because we do that all the time. That is the way the world works. We try to make things right. Even me. Lumen said I gave her her life back, a reversal of my usual role. Well the fact is she gave me mine back too. And I’m left not with what she took from me but with what she brought. Eyes that saw me, finally, for who I really am. And this certainty that nothing - nothing - is set in stone. Not even darkness. While she was here she made me think for the briefest moment that I might even have a chance to be human. But wishes, of course, are for children."

"Fringe" Finale - Over There

I've had a difficult relationship with "Fringe." For two years I've been trying desperately to love it, but so far have only been able to like it. I keep waiting for it to grab me and, occasionally, it does. It grabs me in the moments where they address the alternate universe or the Pattern but for a good portion of the second season, it was a lot of monster-of-the-week episodes. The procedural aspect of it is sort of justified by being part of the mysterious Pattern or having to do with the alternate universe, but more often than not, I feel a "Lost"-like sense that none of it is really as connected as they want us to believe. Sometimes I feel like the show is a little too convoluted when it's trying to tie in lots of fringe science, but the last few episodes focused on the characters over the epic plot which helped the show immensely. My favorite episodes are the ones about Peter, Olivia, Walter, etc. The focus on their experiences elevates this show above merely being a procedural with a SciFi twist.

The two-part "Fringe" finale was the show at its bizarre best. Peter crossed over into the alternate universe with Walternate after he discovered a few episodes back that Walter plucked him out of his native universe after Walter's son died. Walter finds a way to go after him with the help of the other Cortexiphan kids and they go off on a quest to find Peter. We get plenty of fun alternate versions of our characters, including a still-living Charlie. I always was kind of ticked they killed him off; shows with lots of SciFi or technobabble need an everyman, and I thought he filled that void nicely. Walter reunites with William Bell and gets to ask some questions he's had, Peter gets to meet his original mother, everyone finds out that Walternate is quite sinister, Fauxlivia (also known as AltLivia or NoLivia or, my least favorite, Bolivia) also seems quite villainous, and Peter ends up back on our side in the end. Olivia is left behind, though, in a switcheroo that is going to have some very interesting ramifications in the fall.

I was disappointed with the fact that they killed off the other Cortexiphan kids, but I understand why they needed to get them out of the way for the plot to continue. It was just hard to see these people who had been through so much and come so far only to die miserably after a universe jump. This brings me to the alternate universe. I sort of liked their vision at first of a bleak world that is aware of fractures in the fabric of their universe. But the futuristic look of it threw me off because I had to keep reminding myself that this was supposed to be our universe, only slightly different. It's hard for me to imagine all these people and events as only slightly different when other things are radically different. I suppose I'm a believer in the "step on a butterfly, alter history" theory of things. Especially when the alternate universe had such advanced technology compared to ours. That was probably the most difficult leap for me.

I did like what this episode did for our characters. Peter had to confront the awkwardness that was his situation and figure out how to handle being with his real family. On one hand, this is his real family. But on the other hand, he was raised in a different world that became his home. He's right to be angry, but he was also completely right when he commented that Walter had crossed universes twice to save his life and that that had to count for something. I enjoyed the touch that Peter's abduction story is famous. I also enjoyed the revelation that William Bell cut into Walter's brain because Walter, fearing for what he was becoming, asked him to.

I was uncertain about the Fauxlivia and I wish they had made her less...cartoony. I don't mean she was completely one-dimensional, but I felt like they were trying too hard to make her Olivia's complete opposite that they turned her into a simplistic villain for next season. That leads me to another thing, regarding the alternate characters. I wish they all didn't seem so sinister. I know they have respected Walternate telling them how dangerous the people from the other side are, and I guess they don't question the Secretary of Defense's intel on the threat, but it seemed too simple to say "the people from the other side want our destruction, so let's destroy them first." I'm holding out hope that Fauxlivia has some doubts in the fall when she encounters her alternate sister and niece and finds out more about what our side is up to. This would make for an interesting conflict between loyalty to her side and what she sees with her own eyes and I'm really hoping they explore this.

Oh, yeah, Peter and Olivia kiss finally. I know this is supposed to be some huge development, but I'm perfectly happy with their relationship being completely platonic. I'd feel differently if they had some wild onscreen chemistry, but I just don't think it's there and I don't quite buy their romance. It feels forced in by some mandate that all TV shows involving two lead characters of opposite gender have to have sexual tension.

Season 2 of "Fringe" has been a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs for me, but when they focus on the characters amidst the backdrop of the mythology, this show works perfectly. I'm glad it's coming back in the fall and I'm very hopeful that this show could finally hit its stride.

Talk about drama - ABC needs to reimburse me for tissues!

I've been remiss of late in posting new blog entries, but I'm going to chalk that up to finale fever. Although, there's a new health issue that I imagine is sweeping the nation called Post-ABC Finale Stress Disorder. If you fear that any moment your favorite character could be killed off in epic fashion, if you suddenly feel like you're watching something ripped off from "E.R.," if you suddenly need to buy a lifetime supply of tissues "just in case," if you're worrying that all the hot characters are being killed off, if you're feeling a mixture of happiness and sadness that the Mercy Westers are mostly gone, you are suffering from Post-ABC Finale Stress Disorder, not to be confused with Post-Lost Finale Psychosis. Any avid ABC viewer, such as myself, is susceptible to either or both of these ailments. The recent heartbreakers include "Private Practice," "Brothers & Sisters," and "Grey's Anatomy." "Desperate Housewives" could be included in this group if you're extremely sensitive (which I am not) or extremely obsessed with John Barrowman (which I definitely am). However, for the sake of my blog, I am only going to give my thoughts on the first three shows. Especially since my only thoughts on the "Housewives" finale are basically "sad to see John Barrowman go; he needs a better gig on American TV" and "actually liked the serial strangler storyline in the end." That's one show cleared up! Now onto the ones that actually left a mark on the finale landscape this season.

"Private Practice"
Once again, I hate this term, but this show is my guilty pleasure. To tell the truth, I don't feel bad about watching this show; it's everyone else who wants me to feel bad about it. But much like "Desperate Housewives," it's entertaining because it's such a primetime soap opera. "Practice" more so due to the fact that I think everyone has hooked up with each other at least once on this show. But the finale was almost completely serious, following the aftermath of a car crash that landed Dell and Naomi and Sam's pregnant teen daughter Maya in the hospital. Unlike the previous season that left us with a cliffhanger regarding Violet's fate, this finale didn't leave anyone's fate hanging. Maya appeared to be the one in jeopardy, what with being pregnant as a teenager and being at risk for losing her ability to walk, but of course Dell couldn't get away unscathed. For those of us who frequent entertainment sites, we already knew that Chris Lowell was leaving the show. I had hoped that he would leave on a good note by going to UCLA medical school, but no. He has to die suddenly and tragically, after losing his wife in a traumatic meth explosion, only to leave his daughter Betsy an orphan. Meanwhile, Sam has to operate on and save the drunk driver who crashed into Dell and Maya. One the small happy side, Charlotte and Cooper finally get back together and get engaged, Addison gives up Pete so he can be with Violet, Violet and Pete plan out their custody agreement with Lucas, and Maya and her baby survive.

Biggest tearjerker moment: Dell, who basically knows he's going to die, tells Betsy that all the bad stuff in her life is happening early, meaning the rest of her life will be easy here on out in an effort to comfort her before he's gone.

"Brothers & Sisters"
Once again, TV addicts such as myself knew that Rob Lowe was leaving before he died at the end of the episode. But once again, that didn't make it any less heartbreaking. The promos were all focused on the big car crash, but like I suspected, it wasn't until the last five minute that it came into focus. The rest of the episode was normal Walker mayhem. Okay, a little less than usual, but there were still the usual clashes between family members. Saul dealt with Kevin and Scotty, gays of a new generation, and found out he was HIV positive. Like other people have said, it was a little sudden and after-school specialy, but at least Saul is getting something to do. I'd like for him to have something good happen to him after all his misery with Ojai and coming out at his age, but I guess he's just the show's punching bag. Nora and Sarah, who was mourning the loss of her Ojai job, joined Kitty on her campaign bus, which went as well as can be expected. We finally, finally, finally, find out what the deal is with Narrow Lake - it's the location of an apparently huge aquifer. The Walkers are in the water business now. I'm just glad they aren't going to drag out this Ojai thing anymore. Justin acted immature (what's new?). First he wants to be a doctor, then he wants to go back in the military, then he wants to go to Haiti and he wants Rebecca to drop everything and go with him. Rebecca understandably told him she had her own plans in life - get a job, get a house, etc. They decide to split and do their own things and meet back up later. All right then. The show has finally stopped showing Kevin as an immature, petty irritant, mainly because he hasn't had that much to do lately, but I'm hoping Justin will grow up soon and stop having these teenage temper tantrums. I hope Kevin gets a worthy storyline after he became unemployed. Scotty certainly seems to be doing well, opening his own restaurant with Saul. Because if it's one thing these people can do, it's run a family business (not entirely meant to be sarcastic. If two people in this family can be professional and put petty arguments aside, it's Scotty and Saul.)

I was glad they didn't have some giant cliffhanger where they left multiple people's fates up in the air over the summer break. Basically everyone was alright except for Holly, who was in bad condition but still alive, and Robert, who was in bad condition and died. Much like "Grey's Anatomy," the next season would be all about the grieving process. Well, unless they actually do this flashforward they've been talking about a la "Desperate Housewives." I'm not completely averse to the idea, as it would skip Kitty's grieving period, it would give them time to set up the new restaurant and new water business, Luc and Sarah will be in wedded bliss, and allow Justin some much-needed time to grow up in Haiti.

Biggest tearjerker moment: Robert tells Kitty than he was scared that after the heart attack he wouldn't be able to keep up with Evan. But after seeing Kitty with Evan, he knew they would all be okay. Kitty gets her one last moment to be strong for Robert.

"Grey's Anatomy"

How do I even begin to comment on that episode? How could I narrow down one heartbreaking moment? The entire episode, every single moment was heartbreaking. I think it's the first time in my life where I cried for two straight hours. My tiny recap/review here won't do the episode justice, but I know I'll ramble if I try to write an outline of the entire episode. One thing I can say I am thrilled about is that they didn't leave things on a cliffhanger. Last year, Izzie and George's lives were in the balance, but over the summer we heard which actor was or wasn't coming back so it wasn't that riveting to have that left open on the show. This year, we got an absolutely enthralling, engrossing story with deaths, but also many people who survived. Oh, let's face it, they mainly needed Gary Clark to kill off the Mercy Westers we didn't like. But man, did they get a send-off. Reed went first, with a simple shot to the head after snipping at Clark. It's sudden brutality was shocking. More shocking? The subsequent arrival of Alex, who was second to get shot that day. (Okay, third if you count the guy who we can assume hit Gary Clark's car earlier.) I was so terrified he would die. He's gotten screwed over so bad with Izzie, who left him for sort of, maybe, kind of, perhaps being a small factor in her losing her job. Yes, I understand Katherine Heigl wanted out, but I'm just going by the narrative on-screen here.

As for the other Mercy Westers, I was disappointed the irritating psycho-in-training April wasn't killed off. Percy got the most emotional send-off, though, when he bled out in the hallway when the elevators were turned off. It was odd having Mandy Moore there, but Chandra Wilson is one hell of an actress and she made that storyline truly horrifying. Avery, luckily, did not die, as he is the only Mercy Wester who really deserved to be added to the cast. He's charismatic, smart, handsome, and a quick thinker. He was brilliant, removing the monitors from Derek to simulate death to get Gary Clark to leave. I'm still scratching my head, trying to figure out how he got into the OR though.

Arizona and Callie, after much bickering, realized the severity of the situation and found their way around their baby issues. I hated having to make Arizona "realize she really wanted children" since women who don't want children are often seen as defective, but I want Callie and Arizona together and am glad that she changed for a damn good reason. Facing death certainly puts things in perspective. Many people were ticked that Meredith had a miscarriage, but as sad as it was, it was at least completely believable. When you're dealing with the kind of physical stress she had that day, it would be almost amazing if she didn't miscarry. I wasn't even in the scene and that Gary-Derek stand-off had me tense as could be. I was terrified they would kill off Derek and make Meredith all dark and twisty again, but I am so glad they didn't. Meredith has grown a lot as a character these past few seasons and I really applaud "Grey's Anatomy" for allowing a character to change and evolve. On a random note, I'm surprised more people didn't complain about the very political moment between Richard and Gary about how easy it was to buy a gun and ammo. I expected the gun rights people to be up in arms over that (bad pun, I know. Trying to lighten the mood!) And while I do understand people's complaints about the SWAT team being ineffectual, Seattle Grace is a big freaking hospital! And with all those people, and all their protocol, I can actually believe that it would take that long for them to clear the hospital. Also, I imagine all of this was taking place in a small amount of time but seemed a lot longer because of the danger and drama of it all.

Biggest tearjerker moment: Yeah, right, like I could choose. Okay, I'll choose. The worst moment for me was Percy's death in the hallway. Bailey and Mandy Moore worked so hard to keep him alive until they could get help, only to find that the elevators were turned off and they would have to watch/let him die. Then he asks Bailey to find Reed and tell her that he was crazy about her, when little do they know that she died already much earlier. I never liked you, Percy, but I mourned your tragic death.

Looks like we're going to spend a lot of time grieving this fall...