What do you look for in a series finale? Resolution? Closure? Drama? Suspense? A twist? The return of a lost character? Death? Birth? Pro-polygamy legislation? If you answered "yes" to any, or all, of those scenarios you would have been mildly amused by the
'Big Love' series finale.
I say that because, while the episode did hit all those major finale highlights, it didn't really hit any of them with much force, leaving the show's legacy somewhat up for grabs. I'm not going to let a great series be sullied with a mediocre finale; I will continue to pretend that it all ended with a three-way wifely mud-wrestling contest -- which is what we were all expecting, I'm sure.
Bill emerged from prison with the fire in his belly and the stench in his hair that only two nights in county lock-up can adequately provide. With his wives on his arms he set the tone for the finale. He was coming for all those who stood against him, even possibly his own wives.
Margene, so inspired if not brainwashed by Gogi's Michael Saint, started talking with Bill about her aspirations, which included philanthropic cruises to foreign lands for months at a time, to which Bill was not necessarily opposed. It was always precarious how Bill handled each wife differently, but in the case of Barb and Margene in this situation it was straight-up hypocritical.
Things with Barb were contentious as a result of that and countless other things, and she chose Easter church service as a perfect occasion to be baptized into the Reform church that would allow her to hold the priesthood, and to stick it to Bill in the process.
With the responsibility -- or the threat, depending on how you interpret Nicki -- of being first, and only, wife becoming ever more real for Nicki, she started to crack as fast as you can say, "be careful what you wish for." Her manipulative nature may have been as much of a contributing factor to Barb and Margene's flightiness, as well.
The Alby situation was what really made everything fizzle. Bill's only rivals in the finale were his wives (barely) and his mother's Alzheimer's. It wasn't like he and Alby -- the principal conflict throughout the last few seasons, and one of the creepiest villains in TV history -- had a fight to the death in the penultimate episode either. They didn't even get gay married. Alby was in prison and sent Adaleen as his proxy for the episode. For someone as ruthless and watchable as Alby to not appear in the finale is borderline criminal, but at the same time, it helped make it all about Bill and the wives.
I thought the episode was more about Barb's triumph than anything else. Until now, her strength had always been relative to the family, never herself. Just when it seemed like the sister wives were pushing her away harder than even Bill, Barb really sought that inner strength and spirituality and used it to embrace the changes she had been resisting exclusively for appearances' sake, causing Nicki to comment, "it's good to keep an open mind, but no so open that your brains fall out."
It was interesting to watch the different characters come to grips with the implications of Bill's future, and everyone but Barb seemed to go against character. Margene was at peace with whatever happened since she'd found an inner peace and embraced her regrets rather than fighting them. Nicki did a double-take, thriving in an area of weakness (motherhood), finally connecting with Cara Lynn, and choking in an area of strength (first wife).
The Lois storyline, while saccharine sweet, was a bit much, and another thing to add to a show that was already loaded with angles not getting enough attention. After watching her fade before his eyes, he had a vision of a young Lois that kind of set up her eerily emotional assisted suicide with Frank. A lot of people looked at their relationship as the back end of Mormonism, an intimate connection cauterized by a mutual respect for surviving the fire.
All the goings-on only made Bill act with more of a sense of urgency. He defiantly continued to push his legislative pursuits in the face of adversity and resistance from his superiors, and when his voice was finally heard, he went rogue and with the kind of brazen disregard that only a man with nothing to lose can muster. On top of his campaign against the compound, he forced a bill to re-open the discussion on the legalization of plural marriage.
Bill was simply planting seeds. Seeds that would hopefully mature while he was away. More often than not, the glory goes to the man who solves the problem, not the man who started the discussion that made the solution possible.
Things with Barb and her priesthood needs became so bad that Bill went to stay at Nicki's for an indeterminate amount of time. It felt like Bill wanted to let Barb go, but fought it because of how it would look to the public in the time of crisis they were facing.
It was no surprise that once everyone stopped hiding behind fear, and self-interest, and deception, and began to speak freely about their feelings and ideas, everything started to work itself out. It may not have produced the by-products that made everyone happy, but it put everyone on the same page. It all gave way to Barb buying a new mid-life crisis mobile, and a scene right out of 'Thelma and Louise ... and Nicki,' with the three wives tearing down the freeway.
The news about the car coincided with the news that Home Plus was shutting down, and Bill couldn't have used the situation as a metaphor for his relationship with Barb any quicker or more obviously. Like a hungry rat backed into a corner by an even hungrier rat, Bill was ready to fight for the things he believed in. Spite can be a terrific motivator.
Nicki's biggest challenge as the show drew to a close was trying not to revert to the compound ethics that she fought so hard against. Her relationship with Cara Lynn and her sister wives illustrated that, fending for herself when the people she loved needed her most. She began to back away from those ideals, however, owning up to Cara Lynn and hugging it out with Barb.
With the Henricksons now fully out in the open, and Bill's Capitol Hill diatribe reigniting the debate over plural marriage for legitimacy, the compound-ites came out for Easter service at Bill's humble little church, much to his surprise. The wicked witch was dead and Bill was the Mormon Dorothy clicking his heels three times to take them all back to a simpler time.
The service ran concurrent with Barb's baptism, and I started to figure out where it was headed. An overwhelmed Bill began a humbled address to his now rapidly multiplying congregation. As Barb stepped into the baptism pool, she backed out at the last minute, arriving just in time for Bill to nod to her at the doorway to the future of Mormonism.
What seemed like a defining moment, however, quickly vanished as Barb's decision didn't really change her ideas about where she stood within the family. It wasn't going to be that simple. You can't just flip a switch and not want spiritual equality anymore.
It was then that the show kind of went off the rails. Carl, the disgruntled neighbor and minor grudge holder approached Bill outside, playing a great hand of cards: Pity, jealousy, "you think you're better than me?" and gun. The camera cut away to the wives and the shots went off. Bill was shot and lying in the street.
