Returns, Updates, Being Broke and TV Series Finales

Sorry for the long post but, as any of my actual readers know, I started this blog to work on my writing. Primarily to keep the cobwebs from accumulating and make sure when I get the time to work on my stories that I won't be rusty. Well that promise to myself and any viewers I have, has been broken (Obviously). I haven't written anything for this blog well over eight months now. For this I apologize now to myself and to those reading.

For updates on what's been going on. Well, I am a student, so that takes up a lot of time being in my last full year at the University.

With that I can actually say there may be a few changes to my page (perhaps a title change?). Still working on all of that but it should all be for the best. Otherwise what I can share is that there will be some reviews actually coming every week by the end of Friday night. I promise this because I feel that it would benefit me a lot to keep that creativity up and hey it should be fun and entertaining for all of us.

After all that info dumping let me get back to an actual review (so two this week in store!). I call this primarily 'Being Broke and TV Series Finales' because that's exactly what it's been like for the last eight months for me. With a wedding, engagement and all the media I purchase on a weekly basis it only makes sense to be so broke. A full time student is no joking matter when at a University.

I mention this because it's important. Most people I know are in college now and are familiar to the struggle. We prioritize what we spend that little excess cash, if it's there, on. Some make it going out and enjoying the bar scene, some spend it on substance or fine dining. Me, well, I spend it on media. Gaming, film, television, and reading material. This is the culture I belong to, it is mixed but Geek and Nerd are good terms for it. And as of recent that has been costly with new generation gaming and a lot of series that have ended.

It gets timely and costly for me, for example. I do not own any sort of cable or satellite service to provide immediate access to the content I adore. That and I am too proud of my growing collection to watch on my tiny monitor at my desk.I got a decent TV and I will use it. So with that in mind, waiting for the release of series on Blu Ray or DVD make it a test of patience and late comings unless Netflix can provide earlier (doesn't happen often for me).

So today as I write this, no more than an hour ago I was able to finally sit and watch the finale to the series Fringe created by J.J. Abrams. I'll try to keep spoilers to a minimal.

Promo Pic of Fringe

This finale struck me and sticks with me, it might for the entire week or on. It's strange to focus on such a thing, an ending. We sit there and see the events unfold, judging every second and I ask why? Why do we sit through the motions and judge every second of what the show has brought us? Well, it comes down to what grips us about an ending. Does it fit the story and world we are brought into? Does it answer all the questions or create new ones? Will we love it or hate it? Does it do the characters and writers of the series justice?

These are all questions we are always asking. For me it comes down to the characters and their relations. If the show betrays this, then the show has failed. When we are introduced to  a character(s), it's like a first date. Awkward for one or both parties as you try to size up one another and see what works out. With an abundant amount of experience in awkwardness and not to mention first date awkwardness, I can say it's a big deal.

Like I said earlier there have been a lot of finales in my life the last eight months. From older show to more modern ones. In terms of character I have gotten to know Dexter from the series of the same name, Walter and Jesse from Breaking Bad, and now Walter, Olivia, and Peter from Fringe.

My fiancee, then girlfriend, finally got a copy of the final season of Dexter and were met with great disappointment. We found ourselves witness to an entire season of poor writing and drastic character shifts that made no sense. A character as interesting and layered as Dexter was reduced to a whiny and faltering shadow of his former self. From the calculated killer and late evolving, emotional being that he was. It left me broken that a show and character I loved would bend me over in such a way and make me cry bad tears, bad touch. I won't get into the supposed spin off with Dexter himself as I may pop a blood vessel.

Lumberjack Dex from Dexter Finale (Left)
and Walter from Breaking Bad Finale (Right)

I did have a good experience to finally have seen the finale to the Breaking Bad series and see Walter finish his journey. The story never broke, the characters grew and changed rather than shifting in the course of an episode. We saw what was a decent man become a villain, a monster in some eyes. And he did it over five seasons. Not only he but the supporting cast as well. Many died and many saw a grim outcome. Jesse's future is not certain at the end and I'm okay with that. A lot of people don't like open questions or new ones added to the mix. It leaves us wanting more and that, in truth, can happen if every single one is answered. Some questions leave us still loving the characters and thinking on them years later. I still haven't gotten my closure of X-Files and it's been years.

This brings me back to my focus, that being the finale to Fringe. I first got into the show back in 2010 and it had been going on for almost 2 seasons then. The premise struck me as a second coming of the bizarre world that X-Files aimed to share. I got to meet Walter, Olivia, and Peter for the first time and I fell in love. (Granted I had an already admiration of actor Joshua Jackson from the Mighty Duck movies I watched as a kid.) Walter was the crazed scientist that seemed haunted by who he had been and what he had done in the past. Olivia was the calculated FBI agent who thought she had a grip on her reality and knew what the world offered. Peter was the man escaping the history of his father's life and grew up street smart, which worked alongside his book smarts from said father.

With this series it surpassed great odds against it being a FOX series. It's ratings were bad and the fan base shrunk as season four came to a finish. A lot of people fell out of love with it. For a while I needed a break from this date. I stopped after season three in fear that season four would hurt more. And it did. it was weaker, ignored a lot of story arcs and character building that the show had. It had an episode or two that weighed in heavily and kept the show going for not only me but the rest of the world, promising that season five would be the pivotal Fringe season. A great ending to those who stuck with it. And they delivered, oh god they did.

 Being a short season of 13 episodes it had a lot to finish and do in a short span. Much of this season brings back the characters that we knew and love from the entire series. The characters and their relations was the main focus. The bonds they created were tested and bent but they carried out. I'm not afraid to say that I teared up a lot this season, with the last two episodes leaving me in full blown tears and heartache. All this because of great writing and characters. By the end of it all a lot of arcs were finished, questions answered and new ones arose. I don't hold anything against it for this. Questions are good and they leave us wondering of the characters.

Observers: They watch you while you pee

This season brought viewers into a world where the Observers, the strange beings from throughout the series, running the joint. Corrupt, cruel, and cold. They enslave humanity and the Fringe team returns to take back the world and their lives. Great 'apocalypse' concept that gave the season a big threat to overcome.

A lot of character died, major and minor by the end of the 13th episode. The deaths of Nina and September were quick but impacted me. The character added for this season, Henrietta, was actually a great add. She brought a driving force to the season that did not let up. Peter made some bad decisions that almost took him away from us. Olivia returned to her powerful ways. And the alternate universe came back into play with a future that was much brighter. Although I wanted more Walternate in this season, it was still a nice treat.

A greater impact was the Ultimatum of the finale. It gave viewers a no going back sensation. Walter and Michael (the returning, young Observer) both would be take out of the picture to save the timeline and revert it back before the invasion. This gave everyone the lives they lost, including the one that Peter and Olivia were take away from with Henrietta growing up and only seeing her grown and then taken away permanently from them. Like I said, a lot of death.

Touching moment between Walter and Peter in final episode
"Enemy of Fate"
(Feel all the Feels)

One scene in particular that gripped me was in the last episode, "An Enemy of Fate". This scene has Walter and Peter together in their Harvard Lab. Here they discuss a matter that have them both in a way say their goodbyes and it is long, intimate and I was balling. Okay, not that bad. This showed in only a few minutes the weight of the show. The five years story arc that changed them, brought them in and tore them apart on many occasions. Their relationship, as well as the others in the series, are what made the show great and they conveyed all of that in five tissue filled minutes.

That is how most ending should be. Focused on what made the show great, not trying to make a big bang or buck for the producers or share holders (Dexter!). Well, I'll leave it at that, leave some comments on what finales of shows that you hated and loved. Talk Fringe too, wouldn't mind some Walter fan-girling out. Thanks for reading and glad to be back.