Swamp Thing kneels over the corpse of Alec Holland. Photo courtesy of KSiteTV.
Please Keep In Mind That This Article Contains Potential Spoilers For “Loose Ends” and Events That Occurred Prior
The Swamp is now closed. We all know the situation surrounding the show’s untimely cancelation—and I know that given the circumstances, the show wasn’t going to get a fitting ending. As if to fulfill that destiny, the finale was aptly named “Loose Ends”. The episode had a lot going on, and you could tell that they were trying to squeeze their original final stretch into this one episode. It was all very rushed, and the logic behind a lot of things happening wasn’t quite sound. But in the end, it’s best to let it all slide—they tried their best given the circumstances.
As I figured would happen, we never did get any answers to this impending darkness that was set-up throughout the course of the season. Had the season lived on like intended, I still doubt we would have gotten much of note. At the very least, we were left with Abbey and Swamp Thing staying together to face the impending threat together. It was a good note to leave the two characters with. Additionally, the fallout of last episode’s revelation was dealt with gracefully. In fact it was one of the few aspects of this episode that surprisingly didn’t feel rushed. It’s not that it was fully resolved (it wasn’t), but more so the characters came to a meaningful understanding about what it could mean for the both of them. On a different but similar note, I was happy that we were given one last sequence of Swamp Thing in action as he tore The Conclave a new one.
Dr. Woodrue finally has everything he has been looking for. Photo courtesy of KSiteTV.
Another relatively strong aspect of the episode was Woodrue’s extremely terrifying situation with this wife. All of the sequences with Woodrue and his wife in that house were absolutely horrific, and really nailed that vibe. Knowing that he was legitimately doing this out of love, and seeing that motivation pitted against what you can only imagine was a terrified and paralyzed Caroline, provided a frightening contrast. Abbey and the cops coming in to break it all up seemed to be a late addition, one that again made things rushed. I imagine that everything here in particular would have breathed a little more had they been given the time. I enjoyed that the show gave us a proper tease of what they really wanted Woodrue to become. Floronic Man got his brief, but bright, spotlight just before the credits hit. He looked great, and particularly scary. Having him running around would have really made for some chilling stuff. Alas, all we get is a glimpse. Also, poor Matt man. Guess that’s how his character goes out.
Speaking of Matt, his car accident brought two raging storms together: Avery and Lucillia. I still feel disconnected from the storyline of Avery being Matt’s father, as it never carried the proper weight (especially when it was introduced). But their disagreement was more than Matt’s parentage. Avery was there to give Lucillia one last out. Surprise surprise, she didn’t take it. The bigger surprise? Avery actually went and straight up murdered her. With a sword—through a car seat! Talk about a way to go out. What made this all the more brutal though, was that we got to see Lucillia scrambling for help and a way out just before she drowned, lying in her own blood, in the trunk of her own car. Talk about dark. I’d like to think that with more episodes, Lucillia would have found a way out. But we got what we got, and that’s one hell of a brutal demise, one that cements the evil person that is Avery Sunderland.
Swamp Thing realizing that he is but an imprint of who Alec Holland used to be. Photo courtesy of KSiteTV.
What about everyone else? Well Liz didn’t really get much to do, or closure. To be fair, she didn’t need much. Thanks to Madame Xanadu, Maria has found peace in a very fitting, sad, and unsettling manner. As for Xanadu herself, she will forever be annoyingly mysterious—and nothing past that. Then there was Daniel, who had one of the most forgettable and questionable plot threads of the episode. He simply said screw it, and up and left Marais—and somehow succeeded? Who knows why. But he did, and no further exploration of the Blue Devil persona was seen.
“Loose Ends” certainly wasn’t the finale that the creators of the show wanted, but sadly it’s all we were able to get. It was a mix of good, mediocre, and forgettable. The most important thing to take away from it all, however, is how great it is that the show existed in the first place. Getting to see these characters come to life in such unique ways was a pleasure. Even if it wasn’t perfect for its ten episode run, it had plenty that it will be remembered for. Until next time Marais.
You can catch new episodes of Swamp Thing when they air on DC Universe streaming network every Friday.
