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RSSFinalewatch: 'Privileged'
Old people, as we all know, move to Florida to stave off impending death. But Privileged was already set in Florida. So that's not going to work. Hence, the presumptive series finale, despite a ridiculous and downright desperate "To be continued" frame at the end of the episode.
So Privileged isn't coming back next year?
Not bloody likely. When your network decides to publicly announce that it's renewing the majority of its current programming on the day of your season finale, but conveniently ignores you, let's call that a bad sign. Of the dramas currently airing on the CW, Privileged's ratings aren't just the worst; they're by far the worst. And things will only look worse next week when Reaper replaces it on the schedule and surely trounces the ratings that Privileged has been getting. If I had to lay the odds, I'd say there's about a 10-15% chance that Privileged may live on into next year. No more than that.
But if you're an optimist, you basically have to pray for a perfect storm: that the network decides to fully program Sundays and Wednesdays and Fridays next year and is thus desperate for content, plus all of the pilots in development have to be completely terrible, plus somehow Reaper's ratings next week are worse than Privileged, plus you'd probably need the ratings for 90210 and several other shows to completely tank the rest of the year in order to make Privileged's numbers not look so horrible. If all of those things happen ... I'd still say the network is far more likely to go with a new unproven commodity rather than a show that has consistently demonstrated that it cannot pull two million viewers.
That's not being cruel. That's being pragmatic. I'll miss Privileged, but I have to accept that the numbers are the numbers. If you watch enough TV, some of your favorites are bound to die before they deserve to. But if you worry about it too much, you'll just drive yourself crazy. And so let's reflect on what we had, and chat about the season finale.
When I mentioned during the last episode that I was hesitant about Marco getting married to Keith, I noted that I just wasn't sure if I trusted Keith all that much, given how little we know about him. But what's implicit in that is that Keith is not the problem; I'd be wary of anybody we knew so little of. The problem is that it's a really unfortunate juxtaposition to see Marco and Keith so happy when the main couple at the center of the show, Megan and Will, is on such shaky ground.
Megan and Will are a perfect example of why it is so ridiculous for us to expect that Marco and Keith are just perfect and will always be perfect. Megan and Will seemed pretty perfect not too long ago, too. Should they have gotten married then? No. That would have been insane. And, yes, Marco and Keith theoretically have their own backstory that predates the series itself, so it's not like they've only known each other a few weeks, but on the show itself, they might as well have only known each other a few weeks. It just seems sloppy that the show expects us to ride the Megan-Will rollercoaster for a full season, but since Marco is only a supporting character he can be shunted off to happiness without there being a concern. It feels lazy, like the writers didn't have any other good storylines for Marco, so they just set him up with a tidy little love story.
Ultimately, it's that theme which may have been the creative downfall of Privileged as a whole. All of the other storylines that promised to carry the show ended up being sacrificed in favor of little romance stories. Megan spends the bulk of the finale not with the girls, not attending to her family despite it being on the verge of crisis, and not on her career goals - in fact, the mention of Megan's book about Laurel seems almost tacked on here, as it doesn't add to the plot in any way other than saying 'see, we didn't forget about it!' Instead, Megan spends the episode worrying about her relationship with Will. Sage, likewise, is spending the whole time worrying about her young love life, and ultimately she breaks up with Luis after a disagreement jumpstarted by Luis's not being willing to attend Marco's marriage ceremony. Rose is the only character getting things right, trying to forge a full life for herself.
One of the troubles with all of TV, not just isolated to Privileged, is how reductive the medium is when it comes to depicting young people. TV writers can't seem to do anything with young people except put them in little romantic stories. If you're old enough to be able to look back on your high school, college, or immediate post-college days, was love and romance a part of them? Sure. Was it the whole thing? Absolutely not. There's so much more to your life story to that, but TV just isn't very good at dealing with those other parts. They're too focused on the one thing that's easiest to write because everybody has written it before. We've seen stories of young love before. What we haven't necessarily seen is characters with the fortitude of Megan Smith or Rose and Sage Baker going out on their own and forging their identities in really unique and uplifting ways. These characters could have been really unique and inspiring. Instead, they became largely interchangeable with those on any other young adult drama.
In the finale, Will and Megan break up after one too many arguments in which Megan looks down on Will for having everything come easy to him and Will can't stand Megan being on her high horse any more. During the wedding ceremony, Megan meets some British guy and hooks up with him, only to be awoken the next morning by a phone call from Will wanting to get back together, as Megan is in bed next to the British chap. It's all very yawn-inducing. Pretty much everybody seems to have ditched the Megan-Will bandwagon by now anyway, so their finally breaking up for good was just inevitable. And throwing a love triangle into the mix - whether it's Megan-Will-Charlie, Megan-Will-Editor David, or Megan-Will-AnonoBrit - doesn't do much to spice things up for a possible season two.
In the event of a possible second season, the show needs to refocus on its core premise. Megan doesn't interact with Rose and Sage after the ten-minute mark of this episode, save for a group dance - if the show had managed to create a season finale that got back to basics there, I'd be much more optimistic and hopeful regarding the future.
To be fair, Rose and Sage are showing that they are growing up in really positive ways, and some of that may indeed be due to Megan. But it would be much better if we could see that, instead of simply Rose and Sage remarking by themselves that Megan has influenced them. Still, the idea of Sage getting a little more serious about school, coupled with Rose exploring as many different possibilities as she can in order to find a unique identity outside her sister's shadow, are two really nice developments. Even if there is no second season of Privileged, at least we can use our imaginations to wish them well as they become the impressive young women they're capable of being.
You, too, use your imagination now. What kind of people do you foresee Megan and Rose and Sage becoming in the future, and what kind of accomplishments do you see in store for them? Which character will you miss the most? What was your favorite moment of the series?
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Zap2it Twitter Talk 
Why would The CW end the episode with 'To Be Continued . . .' if they have no intention of airing another new episode? If this truly was the end, they should have left it with Megan taking Will's phone call and the viewer thinking they will live happily . . .
Gosh, do you even like the show? This recap seem to trash not only the finale, but the show as a whole.
Okay, now I will do my own trashing! :)
I didn't really mind Marco's story not being more developed -- I can accept that his and Keith's relatiohship pre-dated the show, etc.
I never thought Will and Megan seemed like a perfect couple; maybe that is because they fought at every turn (over Will's job as ***istant photographer, over Charlie, over Megan's mom,etc) that I never could get invested in them as a couple.
I loved Rose's trying to branch out and try new things. I liked Sage deciding to use her mind to discuss things and share her point of view. I have to say though, the scene of Sage, Rose, Laurel, and Megan dancing at the wedding may be the first time they have all been in a scene together since the pilot!
Overall, I think it is a cute show and would like it to continue, but I won't be devastated if it gets canceled. Gosh, you just can't help but accidentally trash the show, even when you're trying to say nice things about it!
Wow. If you do not like the show, please find someone else to review the content of the episodes if it is even allowed to return to us next season. This is a very sweet show that does not take itself so seriously. It is refreshing to have the CW offer a show like this after the unfortunate demise of Everwood and then the end of Gilmore Girls. Is the show perfect, no, but at least review shows you hold some interest for instead of making those of us who enjoy the show feel like we shouldn't be allowed to enjoy TV.
Seriously, get a reviewer who actually likes the show to do the reviews, then it won't be so slanted.
I have to say I love this show. I like the way it is written and I like how the characters are slowly evolving.
I liked Marco and Keith's wedding. Marco is more than a periphery character but he is not a main character. And we know he and Keith had been together a long time. So if they want to show small snipits of Marco's life to make us love him more then so be it. And I think they touch on his story just enough.
I would like to see Laurel more in the show. Maybe it's Anne Archer's schedule that precludes her from being on every episode or only 10 minutes of an episode, but I would like to see her more....even if we just see her in her business setting. But I need more Laurel.
I love where the twins are going. I was not a Sage fan at first but I knew there was more to this girl than being a spoiled brat and thank God I was right. Sage has really grown the most this season and i would like to see what happens to her next year. I have always loved Rose and I like how they have her trying to be "on her own" and seeing what she can do without everyone else guiding her or being there to protect her.
And last, my girl Megan. I love this character and JoAnna Garcia is so good. She has that Lauren Graham/Lorelei Gilmore charm that exudes all over the screen. I actually like her and Will because I think they have the chance to open up the other person to new experiences and ways of seeing the world. They challenge each other to get out of their comfort zones and i really like that (kind of what Sage is looking for!!!!) So I hope they can work it out. And I like that the angst they are going through is normal. It's not some contrived soap opera like plot to drive them apart. It is 2 people who grew up very differently and that person trying to fit into that other person's life and make it work.
I really hope Privileged comes back. It is cleaver and well written and very well casted. I have a vested interest in seeing where all their lives are going.
PLEASE BRING PRIVILEGED BACK!!!!!!!
Please, please do not cancel this show I absolutely LOVE it. I think that if you were to cancel the show I may not watch anything else that is on the CW. This is one show that makes you laugh and cry all in the same hour. Please do NOT cancel it. Its delightful, funny, sad and it touches on several different topics. please do no cancel
Hey, I don't mind the reviewer having a point of view about the episode or the show - this is a blog after all. But I do ask that the recap actually chronicle what transpired in the episode in some fashion instead of as throwaway lines like "In the finale, Will and Megan break up after one too many arguments..."
Andy, while I found this recap to be a bit disdainful of the show, I agree with a lot of your ***essment of it and television in general. Privileged became really unfocused, straying too much from the original premise. That being said, I still think the show had/has potential. I found the show to be cute. The bad part is that I wanted it to be more than that and I think it could have been.
If, by some chance, it gets to return, maybe it will right itself. If not, warts and all, I enjoyed spending time with Privileged for a season.
I really hope this show survives even if its a mid-season replacement. I also hope that the show finds some better writers and goes back to focus on the relationship between Megan and the girls. The show does sometimes seem to jump back and forth with things popping in out of no-where and then forgetting about other things.
Varris, I don't mind him having a point of view either. but you are right, he never gave a true recap of the show (and isn't that what the blog was about?) Instead he ***umes the show will be canceled and talks about why it will be canceled and what didn't work. And I know it makes sense to do that since it is up in the air whether the CW will bring this show back, but at least have some flow. Talk about the epi, talk about the series, and then he can talk about TV in general.
How funny was it when Rose fell down after putting on that ridiculously heavy backpack? I think her character is just the most adorable, and I also LOVE her singing voice.
It's almost a toss-up to say who's made the most strides during this season - I feel that all of the women have, with Megan marginally making the least changes. She's oblivious to many things - Charlie being in love with her at the top of my list. But Sage and Rose have definitely grown under Megan's influence and so has Laurel - she has acknowledged the fact that she doesn't have a better relationship with her granddaughters and if the show does go forward, I'd love to see her making an effort to improve the situation before it's too late.
After last night, I'm definitely glad to see that narrow-minded Luis go; Sage deserves better.
Kathy Griffin (glaringly not even mentioned in the recap) was good as the wedding planner - not too over the top. I thought she'd be playing herself but I loved her character on the show giving a little shout-out to her "gays." I have to say she puts on quite a spread - that was a great wedding. I second Megan's thumbs down on the doves just because of the poop factor, and if the fireworks were substituted for the doves, they were a brilliant alternative. And how cute was Marco's deaf grandmother - the first person (or family member?) that he came out to.
I think the whole Will thing was a total yawn last night - Megan should move on, though maybe not with her (possible) one-night-stand...
I hope this show will be back - the CW is repeating it tonight so maybe those who may have been tuned to Obama can catch it.
Sometimes you just have to talk through something painful to prepare yourself for the worst. Our recapper said he would miss the show. That implies that he likes it at least a little.