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BIG
5
American television's biggest season finales
It's that time of the year when the spate of American TV shows
end their season runs. And while hit shows have been dogged by
low TV ratings in the US, the finales have helped redeem them.
Instep presents the top five finale episodes that have made this
a season to remember!
Caution: spoilers ahead
By Maheen Sabeeh
and Saba Imtiaz
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Gossip
Girl
It may only be a year old, but Gossip Girl has caught on like wildfire
in Pakistan, with phrases like 'Spotted!' and 'You know you love
me…XOXO' becoming commonplace with its fans here. The show
just finished its second season and until the finale episode it
was a complete disappointment. The plotlines seemed to all have
been rehashed from the first season. And with the re-appearance
of old characters, a potential spin-off that got cancelled, and
all of the characters on the show linking up with each other again,
one wondered if the teenage-text message drama had lost the plot
so soon. Watching the show had become quite a drag - some great
episodes like the Bart Bass funeral and Chuck Bass' subsequent spiral
of grief, drugs and denial notwithstanding - but the finale was
definitely the show's redeeming point. It not only attempted to
discover who Gossip Girl actually is, but also brought forth a couple
of new mysteries (Lily and Rufus' lost child and the whereabouts
of Serena's father) as well as finally saw a conclusion to the never-ending
Chuck-Blair drama. The finale episode also saw the much-hated characters
of Carter Baizen and Georgina Sparks coming back into the show,
and slated to remain for the next few episodes of the fourth season
in a big way, considering they still have their own personal vendettas
to avenge.
And while even
the finale episode had its shortcomings, it was a very gripping
and well-scripted episode on the whole. The best line had to be
from a conversation between Lily Bass and Rufus Humphrey, about
Lily being in a mood to do something young and reckless.
Lily: "I found this in Chuck's room" (Holding up a brown
paper bag)
Rufus: "Oh, then I bet its good!"
The finale episode also marks the last we'll see of Gossip Girl
bunch at Constance Billard since Serena, Blair, Chuck, Nate, Dane
and Vanessa are all heading off to college in the fall and the show
will now centre on their lives and scandals at college - where Gossip
Girl has vowed to follow them as well. Considering the characters
are going to different schools, one will have to wait till September
to find out how they manage to keep the camaraderie alive with the
characters based in different cities. Till then, XOXO! |
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Grey's
Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy has generally been a stellar show. In the US, hospital
dramas have always been a hit, whether it was ER (which was George
Clooney's claim to fame) or House MD and Scrubs. But alike Gossip
Girl, the fifth season had become fairly painful to watch, particularly
because of the re-appearance of the very dead Denny Dukette, a character
who had been killed off the show in a heart rending episode a season
before. But Denny's re-appearance was explained via the fact that
Izzie was actually hallucinating, a symptom of the cancer she was
unaware was ravaging her body. It is only when the cancer story broke
that the show became gripping, with each episode invoking buckets
of tears as Izzie leaves her job as a resident and is admitted to
Seattle Grace as a terminally sick patient. And there was plenty of
drama on the Derek aka McDreamy-Grey front, as Derek suffers a complete
breakdown.
The finale episode was perhaps one of the best episodes of any television
show made yet. The episode contained so many parallel dramas that
it was enough to keep one gripped, but it was the episode's final
ten minutes that truly took the cake, and could see two of the show's
most loved characters being killed off. The show's writers deserve
a standing ovation for leaving one so shocked at what had just happened
as well as showcasing the emotional development that every character
of Grey's Anatomy had gone through in an episode that clocked in at
a little over an hour. This was television at its best and it was
worth enduring episode after episode of Denny without being able to
understand why the show had seemingly spiralled down into the supernatural.
If Izzie (played by Katherine Heigl) doesn't win an Emmy for her performance
in this season, it will be a downright shame. |
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Brothers
and Sisters
The Walkers head to Mexico City and when the Walkers are together,
can anything go right? Family secrets are spilled and the mystery
behind Tommy Walker's disappearance finally comes to a draw. Meanwhile
Senator Robert and Kitty have their share of marital conflict. Their
relationship is in fact fascinating as Kitty draws a line between
her, Robert and her park "friend" Alex. Rebecca and Justin
take the next step forward and more good news for Justin comes with
acceptance to college. Mom Norah Walker learns to let Tommy go. And
the way this season has ended, it seems the character of Tommy Walker
isn't coming back at all. But here was a happy season finale amidst
the deaths in Grey's Anatomy, Heroes and House. Ryan's secret gets
out and this time, the unlikely team of Holly and Sarah - who is now
back at the good old family company - take him down albeit gently.
He is still family.
There are still some questions. But from the way the show ended, it
seems Senator Robert is here to stay and Kitty will not make her father's
mistake. A happy ending… for the time being.
Heroes
Is this the beginning of a new volume or an invisible thread to the
old chapter? It might be. In a characteristic twisted manner, Heroes
went off with a big bang! The Petrelli family finally came together
after a nightmare of good versus evil battles throughout the third
season.
The biggest loss is Zachary Quinto who takes on the form of Nathan
after slashing Nathan to death. This was the big battle. The flying
Senator versus the all-powerful and now it seems invincible Sylar.
Yes, by the end of the season Sylar becomes invincible and Nathan,
who has been in near-death experiences through the last three seasons,
finally bleeds away into oblivion. This means two things: (a) the
writers will stick to their promise of a final death, in which case
there will be little face time for Zachary's obsessive, psychotic
Sylar. Matt Parkman, through his ability of mind control makes Sylar
believe he is Nathan. Sylar is alive but as Nathan... or (b) But than
again, Sylar remains one of the show's biggest draws and we might
see creator Tim Kring take another swing at the age-old and relevant
human issue known as identity crisis and they might even bring him
back. For now, Nathan is dead and technically so is Sylar. At least,
his former self is.
Meanwhile 'The Company' is back and this time, Peter and Claire seem
onboard alongside good ol' company man Noah Bennet. Another cliff-hanger
is Hiro Nakamura's inability to take control of the space-time continuum.
He can freeze time but there is now a consequence: his life. Does
Hiro have a destiny left without his powers?
If you were hoping for a face-off between Sylar and Peter, it doesn't
happen. And rightly so. We've seen it in the previous volumes. The
season ends with many questions. The evolution of mankind, the experiments
and the coming together of the new generation behind the company...
will it change the heroes and villains once and for all?
House
Kal Penn left the show and creator David Shore finally caught a break.
After a spectacular finale for season four, one wondered what stunt
David would pull next. If House's season four finale was massive physiologically,
this finale is emotionally draining. This is American television on
its finest.
Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) is a miserable Vicodin addict who can
neither keep people close nor build relationships. Everything and
everyone is a mystery, a puzzle that needs to be solved. But with
a staff member, Kutner (Kal Penn) committing suicide unexpectedly,
House couldn't decipher the mystery. His only hope for salvation:
his brilliant mind. His ability to rationalise and observe. But the
king of games is now in a crunch. His own brain is playing tricks
on him. House is hallucinating and all causes are checked off the
list except severe mental illness (read: schizophrenia). This is the
finale where the controlling, brilliant and the puzzle solver gets
entangled with ghosts of the past as he hallucinated his best friend's
dead girlfriend. It shatters him and as the show comes to a close,
we see House do the one thing he vowed not to do: get professional
help by entering a psychiatric hospital.
The falling apart of House is heartbreaking and textured. Reality
and delusions are one and the same for him and House can't rationalise.
Drugs don't help him. Nothing helps him. Will House survive this? |
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