TV Finales Ratings/Thoughts
*note: all stars are out of five*
Cold Case, May 2 (4 1/2)
I was originally going to give it 4 stars due to the lack of Tracie Thoms (loved her in Rent, loved her in Cold Case) but I gave it an extra half-star for being a season finale that could also double as a series finale. The show was almost axed after the ’08-’09 season which would have been upsetting to me because it was a cliffhanger. But I feel like the extra year let the show round out some storylines that otherwise may not have seen the light of day (Danny orchestrating the murder of his mom’s mugger/rapist, Lily reconnecting with her estranged sister, the jack-ass Deputy Commissioner getting his comeuppance). I’m still mad at Fox for cancelling Dark Angel on a cliffhanger in 2002 and actually vowed never to watch a Fox show until I discovered Bones. So any time a show can wrap up loose ends, I’m happy. I will miss Cold Case, but I’m quite glad it went out on a high note. Plus, we got 7 great seasons out of it, and I’m actually glad it ended now before it got stale (see: Heroes). I’d like to see where Kathryn Morris’s career goes. She brought a great blend of humanity plus bad-ass detective to her role. Plus, she looks like Meg Ryan. Sleepless in Seattle update, anyone?
Castle, May 17 (4 1/2)
I’m a big fan of watching every subtle facial expression and body language, and my favorite was when Beckett smiles at Castle, then as she sees current squeeze Demming her smile slowly turns upside down. I saw that and I was like “Ooh, ooh, ooh!” which is what I do when URST has the potential to turn into RST. In this case, just as Beckett was about to spill the beans to Castle that she kinda sorta enjoys having him around (well, that’s my speculation of the convo anyway), and she starts opening her mind and heart to the possibility that maybe she has deeper feelings than tolerance for him, he turns up with his ex-wife with whom he’s going to spend the summer with. Burn! OMG I totally almost started crying. Here’s Beckett, who’s sort of turned herself off emotionally, opening up after realizing (with some help from Esposito and the captain) that Castle sees her as more than just research, and then Castle shows up having moved on. It’s sort of a “Gift of the Magi” thing. Beckett’s realizing her feelings for Castle (or, at the very least, deciding that she could give him a shot) just as Castle’s moving on from his feelings for her. Fifty bucks says she closes herself up again and when the show comes back in September, she’ll be the same steely detective we saw at the beginning of the first season.
Bones, May 20 (4 1/2)
The case, which I didn’t really pay attention to, was about a hoarder to starved to death after being trapped under some of his crap. There was a lawn gnome worth 50 grand (I really want to insert a Travelocity joke but I can’t think of any), and some other stuff I can’t remember. Anyways, Daisy and Sweets broke up because Daisy was accepted to some sort of research thing in the Philippines thanks to Brennan’s glowing recommendation, to which Brennan was jealous, because she wanted to go, dangit! For a few weeks now, Brennan’s been feeling like she needs to get away, that her increased contact with humans is negatively affecting her work. I think it’s making her more human and, frankly, more of a relatable character. When she said she’s worried about what their (hers and Booth’s) partnership means? That she needs a break from her old life? Meanwhile, Booth was approached by the army (not the first time, apparently) to go back to Afghanistan for a year to train soldiers how to track terrorists. He kept insisting that he didn’t want to, but you could tell that he totally did. (And I’m glad he did…he looks hot in an Army uni!) So, in the end, Booth had to sneak off the base to say goodbye to Brennan at the airport (say it with me: aaaawwwwww!!!!!!) and they agreed to meet by the coffee cart by the Reflecting Pool in the National Mall in exactly one year. So…what changes are in store? I’m torn between Brennan falling for a guy and Brennan realizing she can’t live without Booth (she’s totally in love with him and I think she’s just starting to realize it, and she’s completely petrified). I also am leaning towards something drastic happening to Booth, like losing a limb or something, but that would be cruel. So I’m going to go with serious PTSD or something. I don’t know. I’m just glad that a year in Bones is only 4 months in real-time! PS: loved the Hodgins side-story that involved Angela’s dad, bonding with Sweets, and Sweets meowing while perched on top of a fence to save Hodgins from dogs.
Fringe, May 20 (4 1/2)
I’ll admit that I was a tiny bit disappointed with the ending. Not because it wasn’t cool, because it was awesome, but because I called it with 10 minutes left. It was a great cliffhanger though. But I’ll go over the highlights: I officially have a girl crush on Anna Torv, because Altivia was just so bad-ass and awesome. And she looks much better with dark hair and bangs. I thought Peter’s description of Olivia to Altivia was spot-on, about how she has this look in her eyes like she’s always trying to make up for something. The scenes with William Bell and Walter were awesome. It was great to see these two interact, especially because of their history. I still haven’t decided if I like Peter and Olivia’s kiss. Does the show really need romance? Eh…not sure. The jury’s still out. I mean, they’re cute together, but I always saw them as having more of a brother-sister relationship. The highlight for me though was the Olivia v. Altivia fight, probably because I’d been looking forward to it ever since we found out Olivia could travel to the other universe. I’ll wrap with this: please, please, please, give some Emmy love to John Noble. Even just a nomination would work. The guy is incredible.
Greys Anatomy, May 20 (5)
Ho. Ly. Crap. This episode (actually 2 episodes aired back-to-back) completely blew me away. I knew it was going to be intense, and I knew people were going to die, I just didn’t know that it was going to be on as grand a scale. I alternated between being on the edge of my couch to my jaw being glued to the floor to me collapsing at the end of the second episode, completely exhausted. Props to Shonda Rimes, the writers, and the actors for making it such a gripping episode, especially considering I watch about 3 episodes a year. And when the gunman (the husband of a patient that died earlier in the season who was also suing the hospital) shot the intern that annoyed me in the head and Karev in the abdomen within the first 10 minutes of the episode, well, I knew I was in for a wild ride. I won’t go over the details, just the highlights: Mandy Moore is a much better actress than I think anyone gives her credit for, Chandra Wilson and Sandra Oh need Emmys yesterday, and we should have bought stock in Kleenex before the episode because I sobbed through almost the entire second half.