Training Day finale spoilers: Bill Paxton’s final episode

The Training Day finale will be airing next week on CBS, and unfortunately, it is not getting the hype that it deserves. Television is a business, and that adds to the unfortunate reality that a business decision shoved this show off to Saturdays. Viewers deserve the chance to see some of the last work of the great Bill Paxton; hopefully, many out there who enjoyed the show on Thursdays are still finding ways to tune in and enjoy the rest.

Next week’s episode is a direct continuation of what is coming tonight. Given that this is an article being written in advance of it airing, it feels prudent to share both synopses below to offer up a further sense of just what is coming.

“Elegy: Part 1” (tonight) – “Kyle’s trust in Frank is shattered when he learns that Frank has been lying to him about the circumstances surrounding his father’s death.”

“Elegy: Part 2” (next week) – “Kyle, Tommy and Rebecca must rescue Frank when he goes on a rogue mission to Mexico to locate intel linked to the murder of Kyle’s father.”

These final episodes will be emotional for several different reasons, starting with the fact that they offer some closure. By the end of the finale, signs point towards the case of Kyle’s father being near the end or over altogether. These thirteen episodes have been building towards these moments, so just from the standpoint of the story itself, hopefully the writers will deliver on the payoff. (Given the midseason premiere, the sentiment had to be that the first season was only thirteen episodes regardless of the ratings — there was no saving story for a later day.)

As for what the meta portion of the hour, it is obviously seeing Paxton on a TV series one final time. There is no proper way to encapsulate one man’s work in a single hour, but this will be the greatest tribute to the actor to be able to finish up the culmination of his work on this show. You will see what he poured into it, and then in the closing seconds he will become the greatest dust, floating up to join the other greats in this craft.

Feel free to share some of your own thoughts on the Training Day finale, and remarks on Paxton’s performance all season, in the comments. (Photo: CBS.)