OK, this is without a doubt my favorite television series of all-time, and the grand finale was devastatingly bittersweet...the cast was always stellar, and I loved the additions to Season 4 especially Colleen Flynn, Finn Carter and Christine Elise. To me, this last season was Karen's story (Christine Elise deserved an Emmy!): her search for K.C. ended with the two of them finally meeting up again after several years, taking a short walk and making amends??? One of K.C.'s final lines was "I'm not really good at writing letters!", then she slipped away in her limo! OK, when I was a kid and watched it live, I had hope for the two of them, thinking that K.C.'s hidden meaning in her anti-pen pal stance was that Karen could visit or live with her (I think she was back in the Far East) BUT upon watching it again on DVD, I was totally destroyed by their ending, K.C. leaving Karen on the curb like that for McMurphy to take care of when she returned from The Wall with her young daughter. Marg Helgenberger, who along with Dana Delany were two extraordinary actresses leading a superb cast...IDK why I see her playing it both ways: that last scene, she closed the limo door when it should have been left open for Karen to maybe leave with her, or they could have waited for McM to return (I'm sure she would have a few choice words to say to K.C. if she was indeed abandoning Karen again! That truly sad last look on Karen's face said it all! I know K.C. was a cold, ruthless, selfish woman at times and I loved her despite those flaws. I guess I expected more of a resolution either way! Are they going to now be a part of one another's lives (maybe not in that moment but in the future?) or was this short little reunion all there was left for both of them? Did anyone else feel hopeful and then hopeless about the two Karens??? I want to believe there was hope! I can't watch it again for a while!
Review of China Beach
