Everybody who has read my stuff in the magazine or here in my blog knows that I’ve loved me some GL this year. The show bounced back from its slump in a beautiful, organic way and, sadly, that spike in awesomeness came too late to save it from cancellation. I can talk till I’m blue in the face about how much I love this show and what a travesty I think it going off air is. 

However… (yes, I have to say “however”), as we enter the home stretch, I can’t help but feel like the show wasted some time. Did we really need all the Mallet and Marina angst over whether or not she whacked some guy with Henry’s stroller? And Mallet nobly leaving so Shayne could be Henry’s father? 

Then there’s Jeffrey’s “death” and subsequent canonization. Did I miss the part where looking like Prince Richard somehow makes him Prince Richard? I love how people forget that he had an illicit fling with Marah and date-raped Olivia when they were teenagers. Aside from the fact that he married Reva and that gained him magical access to the Springfield inner circle, I just don’t see the need to be All About Jeffrey as the show comes to an end. Heck, I couldn’t even enjoy part of the Jonathan return arc because it was about him finding Jeffrey. 

And Cyrus…was there really a need to annex him to the Cooper family when so many real Coopers we’ve loved over the years can’t come home? We never met a SORAS-ed Rocky, so I’m supposed to believe Buzz feels a magical connection to Jenna’s oldest and heretofore unknown son? Coop already HAS two brothers, Buzz. I call shenanigans. Personally, I’d rather see Harley or Lucy or Eleni come back than have a jewel thief who slept with Harley and Marina become the prodigal son. 

There are existing, veteran characters who could’ve had this airtime. Holly popped on for a blink last week. I would much rather have watched her all week than Cyrus discovering his identity, and Mallet sacrificing himself on the altar of Bosnian Baby Wangst. I’m not saying that they don’t have fans and don’t deserve to be in the last month of GL’s story arc. Of course they do! But not at the expense of people who’ve been there longer, people we’ve welcomed into our homes for 20-30 years now and will never see again in this context after Sept. 18. 

What about finding love interests for Rick and Matt or spending more than five minutes on Frank and Blake’s Internet romance? Or taking some time to mention the Bauers and the Reardons and shout-out to storylines of the past? Jenna’s great and all, but I wish Buzz would mention Nadine. Anything and everything is probably going to wind up crammed into the last week, when it could have been stretched out over two months instead of Strollergate and Reva talking to Jeffrey’s pictures like he’s the portrait of a Hogwarts headmaster. 

With the Light about to go out forever, why hide the good stuff under a bushel?

originally posted on soapoperaweekly.com