TV Report: 5/16-5/20

Finales galore! This past week so many of my shows ended, I don't even know how many I have to talk about next week. For the most part though, there were some great finales with a few meh-okay ones in their midst. So without further a due...

HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER - It wasn't one of the show's stronger finales, but it was solid. I think I would've been more impressed if I hadn't predicted Lily was getting sick due to being pregnant. Lots of Barney/Robin in the episode which is probably setting up the big arc for next season especially since Nora is reintroduced and we find out that Barney is the groom. I thought the Arcadia/Zoey stuff ended last episode, but I guess not. Let's us never speak of them. Overall, a good season, mostly due to the father storylines of Marshall and Barney.

CASTLE - Was that a harrowing season finale or what? With people not being who they say they were and then dying, I felt I was watching a Joss Whedon-penned episode. Stana Katic was fantastic shouldering most of the emotions and action in the episode. Her blowup with Castle in her apartment and then breakdown outside the hangar are two of my favorite scenes. With all that said, RIP Captain Roy Montgomery. That was brutal. Oh and I have mixed feelings about shooting Beckett in the end. She's going to be alive obviously, but now what? Will she develop amnesia and forget Castle told her he loves her? Will she be on leave for an extended time? Just felt we really didn't need that ending.

GLEE - I knew a female castmember was going to die and I had predicted it was going to be Sue's sister Jean since a Sue-centric episode was due and with next week's NYC finale, I'm guessing Sue isn't going to be much of a factor there. With that said, how very sad. I definitely teared up at the funeral, both with the words Sue wrote and with the performance the kids gave. Now Sue seems to have (yet again) buried the hatchet with the Glee Club, so I hope this time it sticks especially since her humanizing influence of Jean is now gone. An even more cartoonish Sue for next year is NOT what we need even if she is running for political office. The rest of the episode was American Idol redux or dealing with the love triangle that I never gave a damn about. So there it is.

THE GOOD WIFE - When a show leaves me breathless before the first commercial break, I know it's going to be good and this episode wasn't any different. I tend to love the "fighting the clock" cases since it promotes teamwork and that is exactly what Kalinda and Alicia needed to at least learn how to work with one another because together they are AWESOME. Throughout the episode we get bits and pieces of some of the things we can look forward to next year such as the Cary/Peter alliance, Eli working within Lockart & Gardner, Jackie bonding with Owen, and of course whatever the fallout is to Will and Alicia giving in to "one hour" of good timing. Now I'm not a big Will/Alicia fan, but that whole end sequence with the elevator was beautifully done. I miss this show already.

MODERN FAMILY - Hilarious and heartfelt, which is pretty much the show's motto right? While the whole Botox thing and the Pritchetts laughing at other people's expense were good, it was Phil and Claire who stole the show as Phil tried Claire to breakdown and then in the process breaking both of them down. Seeing them both roll down the hill hurt my sides. Have also been loving the Alex/Haley interactions throughout the season and Haley giving Alex advise on her harsh valedictorian speech was a nice touch. It felt like a season finale, but we still have one more episode to go!

COUGAR TOWN - This episode pretty much had everything I loved about the show. We got lots of Penny Can with special guest star Lou Diamond Phillips hawking the game. We got Ellie and Grayson being their weird self duking it out with some Children of the Corn-esque "chalk children." And of course we got the complicated and totally unhealthy relationship between Jules and Travis. Jules trying tough love gave the expected result of Travis coming out on top. But really I just can't get the image of Grayson giving his best Travis impression and Jules getting so turned on and making out with him our of my head. ACK! WEIRD! FUNNY!

HAPPY ENDINGS - Clearly these episodes are shown out of order as they probably were to be slated as the second and third episodes of the series. With that said, I'm okay with this decision since the episode they showed right after the pilot hooked me and I'm not 100% sure either of these episode would've. I mean they were still funny, but are they funny because I'm now attached to these characters? I wish I knew the answer to that. Still looking forward to seeing how a full season of this show looks like when it comes back next year.

BIG BANG THEORY - Not sure if putting Penny and Raj together is genius, desperate, or both, but I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what this means for the group next season. Apart from that I'm just hoping that Bernadette and Amy are back again, because their addition to the cast has been my favorite thing this season. So I liked this finale, but I could've done without Howard's manxiety at having a more successful girlfriend. It just makes me feel like I'm watching a Chuck Lorre show or something. Oh wait...

PARKS & RECREATION - This is probably the show I'm going to miss most of all during summer hiatus as it has been on fire all season giving us not one single weak episode from the bunch. These last two saw Ben/Leslie trying to keep their relationship a secret from her mom and from everyone else they work with. It all came to a head at Lil Sebastian's memorial service (RIP buddy) when Ron got his facial hair singe by the fire. HILARIOUS. Of course Leslie getting approached for a possible run for mayor is just yet another wrinkle to this ridiculously sweet relationship and I'm going to be dying every day until this show is back in my life. Now to listen to "5,000 Candles in the Wind" by Mouse Rat for the 100th time.

THE OFFICE - The episode was a mixed bag to me. It was nice seeing all of these big stars try and audition for the void left by Steve Carrell, but overall it just felt lacking. I guess that was the point since we're supposed to go into the fall not knowing who will take over, but instead of this rush of anticipation, I'm just left feeling largely ambivalent about the whole thing. With that said, it was awesome seeing Catherine Tate on American TV and I wouldn't mind seeing her again. Hint hint.

SUPERNATURAL - A mostly disappointing season for me comes to a close with a somewhat lackluster two-hour finale. First what was Dean thinking with the whole Ben and Lisa thing? So Dean wipes their memory of him? HOW WILL THAT HELP THEM? Demons and angels can STILL use them as leverage against Dean and they're now in even more trouble since THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT'S COMING FOR THEM. Typical "act first think later" Winchester trait. And even though we actually got some nice Castiel scenes especially with Raphael and Crowley, the whole Sam walkabout parts of the episode felt like a cheap out. I mean how did Sam withstand the memories of hell? He seemed hunky dory by the end of the episode. Really Castiel saved the finale for me. God!Castiel is probably my second favorite to Drunk!Castiel. Now, I've heard the rumors for next season. Don't mess with him, show. I mean it.