7 Things: Finales #3 – The Good Wife/Grimm
Odd bedfellows, one might think. After all, these shows have absolutely nothing in common. Except that they do. Sort of.
For those who may not know, Grimm is this past season’s fairy tale procedural drama that people continuously compared to Once Upon a Time, despite the fact that the two shows had very little to compare. Apparently, fairy tale origins are enough to make two works the same even when they’re not. Shhh… don’t tell the 83 Snow White movies released this year or the 179 Alice in Wonderland movies just over the horizon.
The Good Wife, I trust needs no introduction. Other than to say, it’s all about Diane Lockhart and Eli Gold. And, occasionally, Louis Canning. And, once in a blessed moon, Kurt McVeigh.
So, what could a fantasy cop show and a legal-political procedural possibly have in common? Their finales, that’s what.
I know I’ve mentioned in the past (in regard to novels) that I like a messy ending, a little uncertainty, a bit of space for wonder and invention. And I do. When it comes to TV shows, though, I also like a true season-ender. I want the season to reach its fullest arc and then to play out fully.
I also, however, like a cliffhanger. I like enough suspense to carry all the way through the hiatus and keep me pumped for the show’s return. What I don’t like is a cliffhanger just for the sake of a cliffhanger. I want a cliffhanger based upon dropped hints or a new revelation that had no place in the previous season. I want foreshadowing. I don’t want plot points left dangling just to create the illusion of suspense.
That’s where The Good Wife and Grimm both faltered for me this season (though Grimm, for me, was pretty uneven all season long – but I liked it enough to keep watching and will consider it the growing pains of a new show). In some ways, both show’s finales were pretty sweet. Many storylines did get closure (more so on The Good Wife than on Grimm), but each show left at least one plot point flapping in the breeze.
A person’s eyes darting open or a person’s shadow under the door definitely leaves things on the edge of the cliff, but I’m not sure it’s in a good way.