(S02E13) Last week I said I expected this finale to be "one helluva storm." Well I was almost right. It was a storm. Just a calm one that played out very methodically with a few things that you almost half expected anyway.
We pick up right where it left off: Russell tweaking out on his couch and Huff sitting on the floor next to Pepper's lifeless body. The cops arrive and it comes as no surprise that Russell is cuffed and brought in. The guy was high as a kite and suspicions are aroused when traces of coke are seen in Pepper's nostrils.
The following scene was incredibly well laid out as it jumped back and forth to Russell being booked and sent to his cell while Craig checked into a hotel. It's a wonder these two have maintained a relationship over the years because they are complete opposites.
Russell makes bail and actually gets to work on time only to find out that his fellow partners have bought him out and they're booting him from the firm. Can you blame them? There were about ten other instances this season where this particular scene would have made sense. I felt bad for Maggie though. She seemed slightly guilty about setting Russell and Lea up. As if it somehow led to Pepper's death. What she doesn't realize is that even if she had done nothing, Russell would have probably gone home and done all that coke with Pepper anyway.
After Russell screams "F-You" at his former co-workers about five hundred times, he grabs some flowers from his desk and storms out when Maggie informs him that Kelly is having the baby. Now. Later that evening, Russell helps deliver his own baby boy. Already though, all I can think about is what happens when he's tied to Pepper's death? That has to be coming right? Knippers might not have a father for her baby for very long if Russell gets busted for possession or whatever else he could be charged with.
Meanwhile, Huff finally comes home. He and Byrd fight for a while and Byrd breaks down. He tells Huff about everything that's bugging him and you could tell he felt better about getting it all off his chest. However, Beth doesn't want Huff back home yet. She hasn't made up her mind about what she wants and she feels much more justified after speaking with her mother (nice to see Swoosie Kurtz back). Their conversation is cut short when Izzy calls. She took a call from the hospital while Byrd and Huff were upstairs and now she's there with Teddy.
What happened with Teddy you ask? The unthinkable. Well not really... because I've been wondering if it would happen ever since he met Alyssa. Teddy's voices and hallucinations finally took over and he attacked her. Strangled her. Beat her head into the pavement. He would have killed her if Max hadn't been there to tackle Teddy off her body. Then you saw Alyssa crying. Her body was limp, but she was crying and Teddy saw it. She really loved him.
So now Teddy is under the care of Dr. Markova (dumb luck that the paramedics brought him to her hospital I guess). The following scenes were some of the best of the season. First between Izzy and Lena and then when Izzy went in to see Teddy. That thirty seconds right there should be worth Emmy's for Blythe Danner and Andy Comeau. It was great stuff.
Huff finally shows up but he gives his mother and brother some space. After all, this is what he's wanted for so long anyway. Lena takes him to the roof and they chat for a minute.
Lena: "So how are you doing?"
Huff: "I have no idea..."
Neither will we now that the show has reached it's end. Regardless, a very satisfying conclusion to a spectacular drama. Gives us plenty of room to wonder what if.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-26-2006 @ 12:38AM
Carlos said...
Series finale? Right...
Every time I like a Showtime show, it gets cancelled. Started watching HUFF six episodes ago, started watching Dead Like Me about two weeks before the season finale, ack.
Good episode, though :-
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6-26-2006 @ 8:12AM
Lauch said...
I'm so sick of these networks cancelling shows mid-breath. They want to get more viewers, but then they cancel shows before we get a chance to really enjoy them. I have a question: How many viewers would it have taken for Showtime to allow Huff to finish out its storyline? They obviously think a few million viewers isn't worth it. So, they single out those million viewers to NEVER be able to know where the producers and writers of the show were going...we're left to guess. This happened with Carnivale, Threshold, and so many other shows.
As a viewer, why would I want to start watching a show, when they will just end up cancelling it mid-season or mid-storyline and leave ME HIGH AND DRY????
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6-26-2006 @ 10:21AM
Thomas said...
This is irritating. I started watching this show because I was smitten with Paget Brewster from watching her in Andy Richter. It then turned out to be an excellent show in its own right. I'm still marginally more disappointed about not being able to watch her though.
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6-26-2006 @ 10:28AM
MacGuffin said...
Great episode. I thought there were a lot of interesting parallels--Huff and Russell, Byrd and Teddy, Izzy and Madeleine (Swoosie)--that was the undertone.
I also wonder if they reshot the last scene with Huff and Dr. Lena since it seemed like a good (or at least interesting way) to end the series.
I am very disappointed that Showtime cancelled this series. I think with the right promotion it would have been more successful.
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6-26-2006 @ 5:36PM
debbie goodwin said...
Huff was the best show on television. What a shame to lose a show that's really well-written with terrific characters you really care about.
You couldn't ask for a better, more perfectly cast set of actors who really made us care about these people.
Having become a Huff "addict" I will truly miss this show. I wish someone else would pick it up.
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6-27-2006 @ 12:39AM
Brinn said...
What are these network a**holes thinking? HUFF was wonderful! Here is a splendid show with fabulous actors, incredibly well developed characters, compelling storylines and exciting plot twists, and just when they have peaked the viewer’s passion for the show they have created, they up and pull the rug out from under it. For what possible reason? To replace it with some crass, cheap, mindless pap to satisfy TV dullards and corporate bureaucrats? I DON’T GET IT! Why even be a network at all, if they would so carelessly dump what it took so many talents to create? It’s like serving someone a delicious meal, letting them smell the aromas and taste the food, but then forcing them to spit it all out before they can swallow it. You want to scream: “What the F**K!??” I’ve had it with Showtime!
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6-28-2006 @ 10:35PM
theresa hoffman said...
I can't believe it...Huff was the best show on Dish. Crazy, maybe, but everyone could relate to something. Goes to show you...the masses are the asses... so mainstream America doesn't watch the show, and it gets the axe. Showtime, please reconsider this decision!!! Huff has many fans...one more season, please!
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9-14-2006 @ 10:32PM
GreenS said...
It's SO SAD that the best show on tv and one of the BEST actors around (Mr. Azaria, of course) and ensamble, are gone just because some ppl decided they were not making enough money out of it. THIS SUCKS!
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7-05-2006 @ 8:36AM
Annie T said...
Simply stated, Huff was awesome. Showtime is not. I have canceled my subscription. Dead Like Me was a favorite, then not knowing if Weeds would ever come back, and now Huff. Showtime is truly and chronically fucked up. HBO should pick up Huff. Huff was an incredibly riveting show, with personalities galore, many twists and turns. WHY WHY WHY ???
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7-07-2006 @ 6:48PM
Ed D. said...
I've written to Showtime telling them that I really hesitate to watch any more of their often excellent series for fear of their cancelling them ala Huff. I urge all Huff fans to do the same. This excellent show will be sorely missed.
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7-10-2006 @ 5:34PM
Rebecca Valentine said...
I am so disappointed. Huff was my favorite show.
My husband and I were considering cancelling our premium channels but did not just because of Huff.
We will certainly go ahead now with no hesitation.
How can you cancel a show that got 3 Emmy nominations?
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7-19-2006 @ 7:58PM
Neal said...
I was really shocked because, even as a fan of the show that has watched every episode, some twice, I had no idea that the last show was the finale, season, or series! I'm as shocked as I was when Carnivale wasn't renewed. There should be network that simply takes all the great shows like this and continues them, low overhead so they can afford it if they don't get the profits other networks want. I would definately pay for that!
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7-31-2006 @ 9:28PM
Brianna said...
I don't have Showtime, but I bought the first season of Huff and loved it and wish that I had some outlet to watch the second season...or sadly...the last season. Maybe someone could ease my mind and tell me if Showtime is going to release the second season on DVD?? Does anyone know?
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10-18-2006 @ 2:28PM
susan brown said...
Huff was the only reason I kept paying each month for Showtime. I wouldn't even go out on Sun. night in order to watch it. Well, I've cancelled Showtime and I hope others did also.
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