I saw this episode many weeks ago. I wrote this review many weeks ago. And yet the cold shakes that I felt by episode’s end are still with me. Wow.
How much I wished to never see Mia (Madeline Zima) again. Look, I’ve never been in Hank’s position. But as someone who’s at least created some sort of original content that stems solely from my imagination, the fact that Mia stole Hank’s book is just so vile to me. There’s no excuse that she can give, not a broken home, hard upbringing, whatever, that can excuse stealing someone else’s thoughts. We call it intellectual property, but I think even that assigns some amount of detachment from what it is: a piece of you. I’d have been happier to learn that she’d died while on tour.
But she did return, with her manager/boyfriend, played by James Frain, in tow. What a sleazy guy, looking to capitalize on both Hank and Mia in order to sell some ridiculous tabloid story. And why does Mia deserve that? She’s a thief. Was he really trying to protect her, or his own cash flow?
The issue of Hank having slept with Mia is a tough one to evaluate. No, I don’t fully believe that a man is innocent if he’s lied to by a girl about her age, but at the same time, there’s only so much you can do. And when they did sleep together, Karen may have been engaged to Bill (Damian Young), but Mia was no one as far as Hank was concerned. He’d never met her, so he certainly can’t be guilty of sleeping with his ex-partner’s future husband’s daughter — he slept with some underage chick.
At the same time, I can see how it would affect Karen, and Becca, but I think that Hank made a huge mistake not coming clean about it immediately. He allowed the mother/daughter bond between Karen and Mia to solidify, and the sister bond between Mia and Becca to grow, which only made it worse that he’d slept with Mia the more time that passed. Karen may have exploded, and she may never have gotten back together with Hank, but the situation was exacerbated when you account for everything that’s transpired between when it happened and now.
Look, Hank’s not a good guy — as far as Karen is concerned — and their love is only potentially damaging for her. But let’s put things into perspective here. What did this guy do to have his life reach where it did in the waning moments of this season? And how about where it did reach at the end of the season? From the moment Hank started to tell Karen what had happened — amidst all of their packed boxes, bruised and battered after his fight with Frain, with the only thing audible some soft music — to his being dragged to the police car, Karen holding Becca back, was one powerful interval of television.
Hank won’t be in prison for long, but when he gets out Karen and Becca will be long gone. And I’m not sure where I shake out on what Hank should do. Obviously he’s going looking for them next season, but should he try to win Karen back? And, before that, would he be chasing after them for selfish reasons only? Because, it’s clear that he’s only bad news for Karen, but isn’t he also only bad news for Becca?
Not that she shouldn’t have her father in her life, but maybe distance will help her to find herself. Becca’s familiarity with the way Hank leads his life is why she became who she did this season, why she slept with that guy even though it sounds like it was just something to do. Speaking of, Becca telling Hank was completely back to the last two seasons for their relationship, totally ignoring everything that’s come in the last eleven episodes. That was very unsatisfying.
Finally, I thought Kathleen Turner was finished on Californication, but it looks like her memoir might bring her back next season, just as it resuscitates Charlie’s career. I think representing Sue will make Charlie whole once again, and if Hank can ever get himself together to write another book, Charlie can be on top of the world.
Hey … maybe all of this is leading up to Hank writing a book based on his relationship with Karen. Maybe that’s what the entire series is ultimately going to be about. Could be.
What’d you think about tonight’s finale? How was season three for you overall?
Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Dec 13, 2009 @ 22:30 EST5EDT
I thought it would be tough to top season 1, then the same with season 2, and now I’m surprised again at the end of season 3.
The bottom line is that if you are an older male and are found to have had underage sex with a minor, you are in trouble. She doesn’t have to press charges. Different in an assault, where the victim has the option not to press charges.
The episode was so well done, the last scene with Rocket Man playing in the background. Wow. Tonight was one mind-blowing night of television on Showtime.
Cannot wait for next year!
*POST AUTHOR*
I don’t know that it’s not, but I’m not sure it’s the legal trouble that’s at issue for Hank. It was Karen, and then he was arrested for the assault. I don’t remember statutory rape ever coming up the last three seasons, although I could definitely be wrong.
Cold and alone fits well for the finale. This season overall was pretty good. As cold and alone it feels, Hank brought it upon himself.
I don’t know what CA laws are but most states in this country the legal age is 16. It’s why on that dumb Dateline show the fake girl is always 2-13.
Season 3 rocked, best season by far. Season 1 was very split and season 2 was so bad I only watched about 45 minutes of three different episodes. So I have a question, is this the first time sense season 1 we have seen Mia?
I know Texas is 17 & 1 day old & Arizona is 18.
*POST AUTHOR*
She was in a bunch of season two. Left in the finale for her book tour.
Glad you gave it another shot. :)
The basis is great, just season 1 felt like I was watching two different shows, and season two all I remember was sex sex sex, and not sex, funny, sex. :) I watched most of this season, maybe missed 1-2 episodes and really enjoyed it, all the women he was sleeping with were really fun and interesting. I have nothing against sex, love it like everyone, but I felt season 2 was more pervert and not in a funny way.
*POST AUTHOR*
While that’s partially fair, what you did miss was Callum Keith Rennie as Lew Ashby, who was awesome.
Yeah…the ending of the show was quite a bombshell…but did he drown from alcohol in the end? was that suppost to be a follow-up on him getting out of jail later that day/week?
Yes it is a cliffhanger…and YES it is emotional…
but Oreo, no this isn’t the first time since season 1 that you see mia, she also appeared on a few episodes in this (3rd) series, and also a few on the 2nd series…
I took the pool scenes as inside Hank’s mind, not reality
*POST AUTHOR*
Me too. I don’t think it had a literal meaning.
This was a damn good finale. How long is the wait til the next season?
That sucks that they took Hank away like that. Poor Becca having to witness that.
9 months, all Showtime shows normally come back at the same time the following year.
The Finale seemed very harsh to me at first take. Later it dawned on me how this may be the one experience or low that could cause Hank to write again next season. Really the bottom line is that there wan’t any other scenario Hank could face that would prevent the move to NYC as a happy family. This Mia situation finally came to fruition and that keeps me excited about seeing how Hank responds in Season 4.
I agree. The initial gut reaction I had bloomed into something else and the more I consider the whole episode, the more apt it all seemed.
All of Hank’s BS about changing never amounted to anything. He is a man that hits rock bottom and managed to find it again. Not to mention that his having written the other book will come to public attention now.
*POST AUTHOR*
Which may yet resuscitate his career, if its as good a book as everyone thinks. The only change is he may not be able to market it as a fiction novel anymore….
I think next season will be all about Hank’s fall to rock bottom, I think he will be down in out for the entire season 4, and end up with a glimmer of hope near the end.
I didn’t really think much about this season while it was running. It seemed to be going nowhere except to put Hank in bed with another woman. But the last few episodes you could see where things were headed. No, I didn’t see the Mia thing but you could tell driving blindly was taking it’s toll. Then his biggest mistake, not telling Karen to begin with, came back to kill him. I’m glad I stuck with this season but midway it dragged a bit, seeming to go nowhere and the gags getting a little old. Still, great recovery. Especially after last season.
The whole thing seemed a little far fetched. Karen doesn’t seem to care that Hank sleeps with all of California but suddenly acts as if sleeping with an underage girl who wrongfully seduced him is the end of the world? The show’s story has run it’s course. It was nice while it lasted but this season proved that you can only regurgitate the same story so many times.
*POST AUTHOR*
I agree that the Mia thing shouldn’t kill his and Karen’s relationship, and therefore I never understood why he acted as if it were a state secret, but the reason it’s not just an issue of sleeping with an underage girl is that Mia became like a surrogate daughter to Karen and sister to Becca. That has to be weighed appropriately, which I think they failed to do, but it still needs to be appreciated for what it is, which is way more than if she were some random minor.
hanks dreams at the pool are what got me. once i saw the first one i knew that nothing good was going to come for hank by the end of the episode. we havent seen hank this bothered before. while hank was seeming to finally get his life back in a positive direction, the finale throws him against a wall, then off a cliff. i dont feel the Mia “hot button” fits with the attitude of any of the main characters. The episode opens with a luncheon demonstrating Karens comfort with hanks affairs. then all of a sudden, “Rocketman” takes us through their fight and hanks hasty arrest. at the end of the episode we get “Hank, meet Rock Bottom”
this episode crashed the season like the stock market and left me dissatisfied.
*POST AUTHOR*
I didn’t really like any of the pool scenes. It was a perspective on the show that we’d thankfully never been given before, and I’m not quite sure what the writers were going for there. Hank’s not particularly introspective, so it didn’t really make much sense.
I agree with Jason Far fetched. Hank can bed everyone in the land but THIS is the straw that broke the camel’s back? Come on! Karen just met THREE women that Hank bedded while she was in NY, and one of them was a stripper and his student! Please…
Can I just say that the imagery of the drowning in the pool and the song rocketman “and all the signs i dont understand its just my job five days a week” was the perfect ending to that season. I thought they did an incredible job.
In general I think the show is brilliant and I’ve loved all seasons so far. The season 3 finale also left me feeling cold and empty. I can’t wait to see how the writers handle season 4. One thing I had trouble believing was how Karen interacted with her former professor at that luncheon at Fiona’s. She looked like she wanted to jump his bones right then and there, but was it all to make Hank jealous?
*POST AUTHOR*
I read it as her getting caught up in the nostalgia of the moment. I don’t know if I found it to be un-Karen, but I did find it to be gross. :)
Series 3 wasn’t as good as Series 2 except for the finale which was superb – it had to happen, the show couldn’t have continued with Hank carrying on his merry ways with no consequences. Lew Ashby’s episodes in Series 2 were better – thought the character development and dialogue was much more mature in Series 2. Kathleen Turner’s character was repulsive, think it was just the show tyring to be as extreme as it can get away with – don’t want her back at all, Marcy’s character needs some new development in Series 4 (assuming she comes back) as she seemed a bit thin-on this past year. Less extreme sexual focus – bring back the humour, character and dialogue to develop the stars. Who will forget the Series 2 repeat of a classic movie line with hank and the shotgun ‘what we have here is a failure to communicate’.