‘Rizzoli & Isles’ season 7: Do Jane, Maura need romantic happy endings by series’ end?

As we are in the final season of the TNT drama now, it’s only fair that we start to raise some of these questions, since this is the time when a show must formulate its legacy. It’s been pretty clear over the last few years that the love lives for its title characters at at least a part of the equation, even if it is not the primary focus at any one time.

As a matter of fact, we wonder if it is even the right move to make the final episodes of the show about a romantic endgame, given that we think it’d distract from what is in our mind the main focus of the show: The friendship of Jane and Maura, their highs and lows, and how they want to live moving forward. If there is a romance, it has to be in some way as an extension of their story. They’ve been the common denominators over the course of the series more so than any other relationship; they’ve worked together, solved crimes together, and been there for each other through tough times.

When you think about it, it is really the friendship component of this show that really sets it apart. While there are many other “buddy cop” shows out there, how many of them stay true to their original premise throughout? It’s always so easy to give into temptation and switch around the format of your show, but we like how to date “Rizzoli & Isles” is really a tale of these two women. A good model for the show to follow could be the 100th episode of “Royal Pains” that aired earlier this week; while this is also a show with romantic subplots, this show chose for this milestone to remind us that it is really a story of two brothers trying to make their relationship better while running a business. That reminder is a powerful thing, and romance can come secondary to that.