The Finale, The Interim, The Reunion

I will be the first to admit that when I watched the finale for the first time I was...perplexed and a little disturbed. The show was never one that was coated with soap box dreams and silver-lined rainbows, and there were several episodes that ended on a somewhat somber note. Still, it seemed like the ending had little to no purpose. I agree with other posters in that I noticed that the finale did not give Bridgette nor Marie the closing they deserved (only appearing in the post-episode, out of character farewell). I can understand that it would be difficult to do seeing as neither the actress that played Bridgette nor the actresses that played Marie would be old enough to make them appear older through the use of make up and cosmetics. At the time I felt as though the episode had ended the way it did to make certain that this show could no longer be revived. Two of the title characters are deceased, so unless someone wanted to do a revival focusing on the children and grand-children and their empathic abilities then the show was gone for good and as the eleventh doctor said when questioned why he tore out the last page of a book "...that way it doesn't have to end. I hate endings." In that respect I agree with that in that I would like to have hope that somewhere unseen the family lived on in one respect or another, blissful that the invisible cameras were no longer watching them.

I, like many others on this board, refused to watch the show for a time. It felt as though the ending had wounded me and I needed sufficient time to heal before allowing myself to love and appreciate the characters again. Having some free time this year I decided to convert some television shows to Blu-Ray discs and for a while Medium sat on my computer and I found myself watching a few episodes before heading off to bed.

I understand that my opinion on why I am no longer troubled over the ending is foolish but I wanted to throw it out there. For those who still do remember the episodes there was one in season three titled "The Boy Next Door". A short summation of the episode is that instead of the normal format, the present is a dream of the teenage Allison as she makes her way through high school. In the present Allison is re-acquainted with an old friend/neighbor who has moved to Phoenix. Simultaneously the teenage version of Allison is trying desperately to disprove that she can dream the future by pointing out that the neighbor in question does not exist...only to find him moving in that day. I will not go through the entire episode but suffice it to say that the former 'boy next door' grows up to be a serial rapist/murderer. In the present he confides to Allison that she saved him one day by knocking on the door just as he was about to commit suicide. In the past the teenage counterpart realizes when the moment has come to knock on the door and chooses not to only to hear the gunshot. He has killed himself and thus the sub sequential rapes and murder that he would go on to commit never happen and in the present Allison is introduced to Ariel's classmate; a girl who had been murdered by the boy next door...only it never happened. Because Allison changed the shape of events the lives of everyone (Allison included) have been changed with no recollection of the previous time-stream. In science fiction that would be known as a parallel universe. Normally the character(s) that are at the event horizon of the branch off between universes can remember both timelines but Allison unfortunately does not. That is why the series finale no longer bothers me. What happens to Joe, her, her children, grandchildren, etc. are all living in a similar yet different universe in which the boy next door committed suicide and as a result perhaps the fate of Joe, Allison et. al are not sealed; they are just living in another universe. The original universe. In that respect the characters that were introduced in the first season are still allowed to live on in ignorant bliss and what we have been privvy to watch is all just a 'what could have been'. Another dream within a dream. Think about it, let it settle, and then see if it is an adequate reason to no longer boycott the entire show because of the finale.

P.S.: Love it or hate it I will say that the episode was bold. I am not judging or critiquing its value but for a prime time television show it was surprisingly bleak and did leave an impact on a significant number of viewers. Love it or hate it most posts (including my own) are in reference to the finale. It left its mark in its own way and at least it didn't cut to black like 'The