Life – One plus one equals one fine ending (for the season)

Okay, I just finished watching the season finale of Life and I need to wrap my head around what happened. So, give me a few minutes. Go to the bathroom, grab a snack, work on your plan for Universal Health Care. Heck, do all at the same time if you need to.

All right, I’m done. I thought about it, did some calculations, and came up with the phrase that pretty much sums up the episode: Most excellent, dude! Well, maybe ‘Righteous’ would have been a stronger way to describe it. Either way, the episode gave us a great mystery, a little more information on the Conspiracy, some closure for our friend Charlie, and some stuff to chew on for next season (and there damn well better be a next season).

First off, I was sooo glad that Mickey Rayborn wasn’t sent to prison. Now that we know most of the story behind the Conspiracy we’ve come to realize that Mickey wasn’t just part of it, he was the Conspiracy. Putting him behind bars would have ended that part of the story for Charlie, which would have left him with nothing else to do but, um, solving crimes. While that’s fine to watch, Charlie really needs some extracurricular activities to keep his mind sharp.

This is especially true since Roman is no longer a menace to Charlie or his acquaintances. That is, unless he comes back as a ghost, which would be a true example of hopping over the cartilaginous skeletal fish. Personally, I hated Roman and his ability to so easily avoid the law. And, while maybe a bit too corny, I was really happy that Charlie crushed his windpipe with one shot.

Also providing joy this week was the help Crews got to get Roman and save Dani. Captain Tidwell (helping for obvious reasons), Stark,  and new partner Detective Seaver all lent a hand to help find Rayborn and Dani. It sent a chill up my spine the way they all worked together. Unfortunately, it led to a promotion for Seaver. Unfortunate because it was Rayborn who recommended her for the promotion, which means that she owes him one. With Mickey being the Puppetmaster that’s not a good place to be.

Needless to say, the finale gave us a few things to chew over during the long summer hiatus. Here are but a few:

• What will happen to Charlie? When you have the Chief of Police looking for you that is not a good sign. Will Charlie return to the station a hero for rescuing Dani and killing Roman or will there be consequences?
• The very ending featured Charlie’s pre-recorded Zen master mentioning one plus one equals one or, mentioned another way, equals love. We heard that while the scene switched between shots of Charlie and Dani. What does this all mean? Is Charlie in love with Dani, or vice-versa? Or, is it just a brotherly-sisterly love? It’s most likely the latter. However…
• What will happen with Dani? She’s strong enough now not to go back to the bottle. The main question is if she will stay with Tidwell or focus her romantic interests on her professional partner? Probably not, but stranger relationships have happened.
• Is Jack Reese really dead? Roman seemed very proud of the fact that Jack cried before he killed him. But, that could have been boasting in order to solicit a reaction from Dani. I can see a subplot hatching next season where both Charlie and Dani try to determine if her father is really dead.
• With Mickey a free man, how will he affect Charlie’s life? Will he remain the Puppetmaster, or will he go into hiding? Charlie’s connection with Mickey is now too strong for it to fade away. I can see Charlie’s Conspiracy investigation continuing.
• Finally, what happens to Ted? As we saw, Mr. Early was headed to Spain to search for Olivia. He’s due some happiness and I hope he finds it next season.

Folks, that’s it for season two of Life. Thanks for taking the time to hang out with us this season and, hopefully, we’ll be back for season three in a few months.

Clacked by Richard Keller
on Apr 09, 2009 @ 15:00 EST5EDT