‘Royal Pains’ series finale review: The end and a beginning
The end is here for “Royal Pains,” or at least the chapter of the show that we saw for eight seasons. Based on what happened tonight, the future is still very much bright for Hank and the rest of our main characters.
As a whole, we do feel like every character got to a certain extent what they wanted. Maybe it’s a little hard to figure that out for someone like Boris, but in the final hour he did give Evan one of the greatest gifts he has ever received: Stability in the form of Shadow Pond. Evan has come full-circle from where he was at the start of the show; he’s not a free-wheeling man on his own anymore, and he has a full family including three kids who he and Paige decided to foster. Remember them from earlier this season? It was a major curveball, but at the same time it did make some sense.
Another curveball was seeing Hank finally do what so many wanted him to do for years, and that was track Jill down and really fight to be there with her. He realized more than anything else that he had to think outside of himself and the familiar if he wanted to make it work, and he couldn’t keep being stuck in the same cycle. Now it seems like he has the life of adventure a part of him was looking for, and he has it with someone he’s always cared about. Even if it was brief, it was nice to get Jill Flint back to help give the show that proper farewell. Also, it’s nice to see that they’re still interested in spending summer in the Hamptons.
Could you quibble about a very small dose of Divya and Jeremiah in this episode? sure, but at the same time they did have a presence, and their journeys have a natural end. Divya will have a chance to pursue being a doctor, and Jeremiah has a romantic and professional future quite like he never had before. There was probably a part of us two years ago that would have been bummed that these two characters didn’t end up together, but this was in retrospect actually the realistic route. After all, Jeremiah moved on, and in life sometimes feelings aren’t always reciprocated like you want.
Even though we wouldn’t say that the finale truly shocked us in terms of its themes, at least there were some surprises with Evan’s story. Above all else, we’re happy it was satisfying. We’ve never quite envisioned “Royal Pains” as a show out to devastate you in its closing act; it was summer fun for eight seasons, and a chance to really kick back and enjoy seeing some familiar faces. We’re going to miss the show, and we do think there’s at least enough of an open door if they ever want to come back. Finale Grade: A-.