#tptb like to wrap things up in a nice bow most of the time so this is not a thread i expect them to pull

[alchemistc]

Thinking thoughts about the things season one Buck didn't think he was ready for in a relationship and now I'm giving myself some pain bc what if Tommy's trauma isn't helicopter crash. What if Tommy's dad is all alone in a hell of his own making and he gets diagnosed with something terminal and Tommy is the only one around to take care of him. What if Tommy hasn't talked to his dad in a decade but when he needs help there's just. No one else available. What if Tommy has to take on this burden that he doesn't want and his father hates it as much as he does but it's the only option for either of them.

And what if Buck is just there to support Tommy. What if he knows the burden, knows how much time it takes up, knows things will go awry. What if he understands that Tommy doesn't want to reconcile with the man but he's there for all the difficult moments where Tommy is so fucking angry and trying to reel it in.

What if Tommy's dad has a moment of clarity with Buck and it doesn't matter, it's too late, Tommy can't find it in him to forgive his dad. What if Buck gets that.

What if Tommy's dad passes without the closure you'd expect from 911 and that's just part of the story. It's part of Tommy's story, and Buck's now too, and all this talk of living dads and dead dads and bad examples of what it means to be a man and good examples of what it means to be a man are just there, and we have to deal with that.

What if Buck is sitting with Tommy in the aftermath, and Tommy is just so sorry Buck had to deal with all of his bullshit while he had so much of his own shit going on, and Buck is just like Hey, I'm not in this for pretty arm candy. This is a real thing, and real life throws you in the blender sometimes and shakes you out different.

And maybe resolution comes in the Gerrard arc somehow, or a Bobby arc, or a Phillip arc, or maybe it just doesn't come at all. Maybe life is just messy sometimes and we have to push our way through it.

[meetmeatthecoda]

Wouldn't it be the most beautiful and satisfying finale (and I mean series finale, not season finale) if the last name on the list turned out to be Red's (it would tie up nicely with the "and he knows in his heart that he must pay" from the farmer's speech that, I think, we all feel was as much about Red as it could be about the Stewmaker) and he went out in style and in the most fitting way one could imagine for him – protecting Liz and/or Agnes – and the girls would inherit his fortune while his empire would be separated into smaller autonomous parts...

But!

That's, of course, not the end of it, because I'm, like Red, not a monster.

So, in the post-credits scene Liz would be in the park with Agnes and Dembe playing in the distance and she, perhaps, would be crying and then Red, alive and whole, would appear in the ending-of-the-Thomas-Crown-Affair style (because the way I see it the only way for him to be able to have a more or less normal life at this point is if the world would believe that Raymond 'Red' Reddington is dead) and there will be anger (on Liz's part, of course, because how dare he let her believe he was dead?!) and happiness (because he isn't, thank god) and declarations of love (which would be nice to finally have in a normal setting) and more tears (on both parts) and the series itself would end with a shot of Red, Agnes and Liz walking away holding hands with Dembe trailing a few feet behind them.

And that's the end.

THANKS ANON, I'LL TAKE TWELVE 😭😭😭 Honestly, this would be the most befitting, satisfying, beautiful series finale!! Why can't we have nice, happy things?!?! I mean, I know TBL isn't a rom-com or anything & crime procedurals aren't exactly known for their happy-go-lucky atmosphere, but let's think for a second... How many actually happy moments can we count in all the seasons of this godforsaken show?? Like, the example that comes to mind is Castle - also a crime procedural & yet THAT show is chock full of good vibes, morals about family & love, & - yes! - happy endings!! Why do TPTB fucking insist on keeping everything so doom & gloom??? There hasn't been a fucking happy feeling to end an episode in what, a few seasons?? Cause that's what it feels like!! There's always some NeW dRaMa or a BiG sCaRy cLiFfHaNgEr or SoMe OtHeR bUlLsHiT like ??? I know it's not a comedy, but most shows endeavor to wrap up the big plot points with some semblance of positivity - something about bringing the audience back with the expectation of eventual serotonin - and it's USUALLY REPRESENTED IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE MAIN CHARACTERS. so WHAT THE FUCK???

On a slight side note, ^this^ is kind of what I've been leaning on coming up to 8.22. Like, they've never faced an ending like this before & one of their 2 leads is leaving - presumably not to come back - so I was almost counting on some sense of stability & closure with Red & Liz for this ep, not their usual bullshit, BC IT'S THEIR LAST CHANCE TO WRAP THINGS UP WITH A NEAT LITTLE BOW. (& don't even try to tell me they expected this when they started the show!! The pilot episode firmly establishes: The Blacklist = Liz's [and Red's] story. I'm sure they never expected having to write out Liz before the natural end of the series, so I was hoping to count on that to assure a nice ending to her "arc".) But, with their track record?? I feel like we can't even be sure of that. For a long time now, their biggest concern has seemed to be Shock Value & raking in the Biggest Audience Possible to continue airing, even at the expense of the continuity, the characterization of their female lead, & the central relationship to show.

*heavy breathing* Omg, I'm sorry, anon, but your beautiful vision for the series finale - filled with parallels & full circle moments - triggered some visceral reaction in me bc THAT'S HOW IT SHOULD BE. THAT'S THE FINALE WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO COUNT ON, OR AT LEAST SOME VARIATION OF IT. BUT WE 👏 CAN'T 👏 TRUST 👏 THEM 👏 And I hate that 😐 Anywayyyyy, sorry to go off, anon, but please take it as the compliment it is, bc your version of the finale is flawless & I will be forever bitter that we won't get that on screen with James & Megan 🥲 Thank you for the ask, I'm sorry again for the rage rant, & much love to you!! ❤️