The Hour: the end of series 2...

[fajrdrako]

Watched to the end of The Hour's series 2 this evening.

Wow. What great television. I can't think when I last saw a show where I cared so much about the characters. Homeland is as well written, I think, and as tense, but I care more about the characters in The Hour, and admire them more.

I loved it with a passion. There has to be a series 3... right? If there's any justice in the world?

And yet... The reason I loved series 2 is that pretty much everything went the way it should. That made it extremely satisfying, in the most dramatic of ways. I can't think of any detail I'd have done differently - okay, maybe a last conversation between Madden and Stern; I can't think of anything else I'd want to change or add.

And that's it, maybe. If there is no series 3, it's there in my head, anyway. Freddie recovers, and goes on being Freddie, only he and Bel are lovers and all the more powerful as a news-producing team. Madden becomes the loving parent of the child he could never father, and his marriage with Marnie is stronger for it a they become a team, too. Randall and Lix work together smoothly with the shared bond of their tragedy, the past forgiven.

If there is a third series, they can change all that, and create edge-of-seat chaos once again. Fine by me.

Things I most loved:

1. That Freddie was so brave. Really. Gotta be the bravest hero in television.
   
   
2. That he kissed Bel before going off to save Kiki.
   
   
3. That he really did save Kiki.
   
   
4. That he woke up murmurring "Moneypenny".
   
   
5. That Madden did the right thing in the end.
   
   
6. That Randall lost control in his grief.
   
   
7. That journalism was presented as a profession with integrity.