The GTO.
From the first moment Jake fishtailed his way around a corner in an illegal high speed chase, I don't think I'm off the mark in saying we all fell, if only a little bit, in love. The GTO saw us through, helped us, and our fearless and prone to being punched hero to seek out truth and justice and a good lay, not to mention the occasional pint or dram.
The GTO was there through divorce proceedings, when Jake thought he might be a father, through jealousy and injury and the rescue of a renegade chip truck. The GTO stood bravely by the curb while Jake wooed and loved Leslie and was what literally carried us and Jake through our grief when she ripped his heart out - although he did deserve that quite a lot for getting her demoted and forcing her to wear those awful traffic cop pants.
It was a cruel blow - a very cruel blow, I venture - to see Jake's beloved car blown up by a desperate, panicked, ex-bomb squad villain bitch. Even if it did bring us the wonder of Jake getting in touch with his inner Stanely Kowalski with his cries of My Car! MY CAR!! As the GTO burned in the early winter Newfoundland night.
Now, to business.
It's nice to see Christian is still an idiot, albeit and idiot whose heart is in the right place. That gold bar he just handed over to George without so much as wondering how might be a bad if Jake and Mal didn't have every brick. He did know about all the details of their troubles at that point, so he has no excuse. Geez, Christian. You may do yoga now, but maybe you should do some brain yoga and keep your family from digging themselves deeper holes than they dig themselves.
It was nice to see Kathleen exhibiting some not 'me-centric' behaviour toward Tinny in this final episode of the season. It was actually quite a touching little scene between them, especially when Kathleen warned her daughter she might not like the answer to the question: Who is my father?
Which brings me to the answer. Tinny's Dad is Paul Gross in the form of Jake's old partner, which I really, really didn't see coming. Partially because he showed up for the first and seemingly last time in that season finale last year which I have decided to pretend didn't happen. (All the tied up ends were untied and negated at the beginning of this season, plus it was just kinda clunky with all the out of character choices being made; but you've heard all my complaints about it before, so moving forward). But now, I want to re-watch it to see if there was any indication that he was Kathleen's baby daddy and, even though he kidnapped Des and Tinny because he wanted money or information or keys or whatever it was, if that was part of the why he took her.
I've got to say, this season finale, written by our own beloved Allan Hawco, was WAY better than the last one. It was more or less cohesive and he didn't drop any serious balls - though he did sort of glaze over the gold issue and why it was no longer one. I'm still not sure what happened with that. Because it was a training exercise for the feds, was it not real gold? Just to be clear, I don't rag on Allan Hawco's writing because I think he's a bad writer. I'm not saying I could do better; I don't think I could. I'm just saying he seems a little young on that side of craft. I mean, what do I know? I'm just an upstart crow and I'm probably seriously wide of the mark. After all, which one of us has his own show? Since I don't have the parts to get the pronoun 'his,' I hope you guessed Allan Hawco. I'm just saying he could grow into being a writer, maybe work a little slower, plan a little more, give his screenwriter self a chance to get facial hair. Oh, CBC, please let him grow up!
Absolutest favourite moments:
Des taking advantage of the fact Jake's car got rammed into a telephone pole by one of their kidnapped and escaped federal agents with: Oh, man, and they even took the bumper off!
Des checking his phone while Leslie is confronting all of them about the whereabouts of Jake and Mal, seeing it's a text from Jake that says EMERGENCY! and absenting himself from the room with: I have to go. This is too much for me. My dad's in jail.
Jake slipping the whatever he slipped between the seat the detonater on the bomb in Sophie's car and Mal telling him he's done his part and to get out of there because the rest is up to him. Then Jake says: Yeah, I guess you're right. See ya! Then faking a leave before settling back in, putting his arms on his father and saying If you think I'm going to let you do this alone, you're crazier than I already know you are. We do this together.
And now, let us turn out thoughts to Des. Dear, sweet, quirky, neurotic Des Courtney. Beloved of Tinny, even if she won't believe it. Adopted son of Mal and Rose. Little brother, mentee, and pet punching bag of Jake. He is loved, in spite of all of him, and he will continue to be loved, regardless of the outcome of recent events.
Even from that first episode, where Jake threw him off a roof, where he got all lusty for Tinny, where he graffitted Jake's car with Dick 4 Hire as Jake was in Nikki's house for some illicit nookie, we could see his kindness and his heart and how he was built to give so much to those around him.
When I got home the night this finale aired, my rant to my father went something like this: They killed Des! He got shot! Jakewastryingtogetagunawayfromsomeonewhichhediddobutthenashot wentoffandDesgothitinthestomachandtherewassomuchbloodandtheydohave15minutestofixastomachwoundbutJakesaid'EventhoughyouannoymeIwouldneverletyoudiealone'andDeswaslyingthereandJakewasholdinghimandtherewerecopsallaroundsoDeswasn'talonesohe'sgoingtodie!
But, although I made good points above - and I'm beginning to think Tinny's comment you are so dead to Des after the GTO got stolen might have been foreshadowing - there is reason to take heart. TV characters have survived worse. Benton Fraser got shot pretty much in the spine. Kestler from The Border took a bullet almost in his heart AND survived that, even while a hostage in Afghanistan. Buffy died twice and still went on to save the world again and again. Des' eyes were still open. Not the vacant, dead open eyes you see, but the desperately blinking open eyes of a fighter. The eyes of someone struggling to go on breathing. So I choose to take heart and hope to see Des in recovery next January.
But, if that's not how this turns out.... Well, just as Jake said as they lay under a table together disarming a bomb with the help of an online tutorial on Des' signature laptop, I would never let you die alone, Des. We will not let you die alone. If the cruel powers that be - also known as screenwriters/producers - have deigned it necessary that you should die, know that you will not die alone. A nation is with you.
So, let us raise a glass of whiskey or beer or even Screech (if you don't mind your innards being polished like a Leslie's uniform boots) to our dear friends who may or may not be gone forever: Des Courtney and the GTO!
