Rubicon ended with a whimper, not a bang. And I really thought we’d hear that bang, or something like one. We still have no indication whether or not the series will be renewed for a second season, so there are some open questions that are worth pondering. First: Andy. Tom Rhumor left a posthumous video message for Katherine, telling her to go to a specific apartment, and it turns out to be Andy’s. Was it always Andy’s, or did Tom’s secret get intercepted after he died, in which case did Andy take over the place from someone else (presumably someone who didn’t fare well)? Her behavior at Central Park was odd, but it could have meant one of two things. Despite her protestations, she may have really wanted to get Katherine to the park because that was a good place for the killer to strike. On the other hand, she may have truly not anticipated the murder, but ducked out because she didn’t want to see Will. Remains to be seen (I hope). Second: Why didn’t Will pick up the DVD—or did he even need it by that point? Finally, what of Truxton Spangler? In his final confrontation with Will, I fully expected one of two things: either for him to take a header off the building or vanish back inside the building, long pause, gunshot. The very bang I was anticipating. Of course, he’s a spoiled brat who doesn’t listen to others even when they’ve voted him off the tribe. (Apparently the season finale went through at least three major revisions, each with a different fate for Spangler.) I do hope the series gets picked up. It’s a quirky show, but I like it. I busted a gut when Tanya’s quitting turned out to be a non-sequitur to Grant’s announcement that he’d been promoted. Also, since I was expecting Truxton to take the four-leafed clover solution, I wondered if Grant’s promotion would get squashed.
The Mad Men finale was equally low key. There were monumental changes, but they weren’t earth shattering. Or were they? Megan stepped up to the plate again, playing Marie von Trapp on the California trip and it’s no wonder that Don saw a family in the making when he saw the kids and her together at the diner. And when she didn’t go ballistic when Sally spilled the drink (Betty would have been roaring), he saw a chance for a new life. It was unexpected, unless you subscribe to Chekhov’s “gun in Act 1” thesis, as pertained to the fortuitous inheritance of an engagement ring. Don looked more relaxed on that vacation than I’ve ever seen him Collapsing on the bed, doing the cannonball in the pool, actually playing with the kids.
Not everyone was thrilled. Peggy, for one. And, of course, Faye. Betty tried her best to act like she was supportive (for once), but it’s clear that she’s probably regretting everything she set into motion. She’s destroying all of her relationships. Glen got off the episodes zinger: Just because you’re sad doesn’t mean everyone has to be. (By the way, I found out today that Glen is played by the show’s creator’s son!) The reveal of the episode was that Joan didn’t go through with the abortion (though many people suspected that might be the case). And the momentary detente between her and Peggy was unexpected and welcome.
There was a nice symmetry in this week’s Dexter.
Stiles is scrawny to begin with, but she looked positively feral in her first few scenes. Well played. I wonder if there’s even the remotest of possibilities that at the end of all this she and Dexter will end up together. She might make the perfect partner for him: damaged like Rita but fully aware of Dexter’s, um, quirks.
