Drop Dead Diva: The Final Farewell

After a final season that felt rushed, convoluted, and, at times, over the top, the series finale of Drop Dead Diva left a lot to be desired.

 

I can still hear viewers’ disapproval and disappointment over the left-field storyline of Stacy (Jane’s best friend and roommate) and Owen (Jane’s former fiancé) procreating and eventually getting engaged. The relationship felt forced, unrealistic (considering the serious circumnstances), and a stab in the back to fans who saw Stacy treat Fred like crap but still get a happy ending. Kim’s happy ending romance felt awkwardly shoved down our throats in about a 15 minute span of time. This season also saw too little of Teri, and her series finale return centered around a botched Star Search audition storyline. The explanation was like pulling teeth to get out and didn’t utilize the pizzazz and wittiness of Teri at all.

 

For a shining moment within the season, fans got to see Grayson and Jane embark on what looked to be their destined, happily ever after. However, a cheap shot to the gut from writers would send Grayson to his deathbed, and his soul into a new actor fans had to quickly adjust to; many never made it that far. Some fans were downright irate. I don’t know about you, but after five and a half seasons of heart flutters between Jane and Grayson, to expect instant chemistry between Jane and Ian to close out the final few episodes was asking a lot. Owen was especially upset over Jane's rebound to Ian and voiced his concerns several times. It felt more like a scorned lover fuming rather than a friend looking out for a friend, considering Jane and Owen hadn't really been friends since their tense break-up and his choice to impregnate Stacy. He spent the majority of the series finale acting like a huge d-bag taking out his angry feelings on Jane's client. It was despicable. At that point, the writers had to expect that  no one would really possess any positive emotions when he became a father. Further, there were no details about the twins; just a more than usual loopy Stacy.

During the rush of the finale and the final season in general, I was left with a lot of questions that were never answered:

1. Why wasn’t the series finale two hours? Not all shows need it, but I believe it would have helped alleviate some of rushed feeling.

 

2. What happened to Britney (the real Jane Bingum)? I loved her character and the last we saw, her heart was broken and she angrily called Jane out for failing to tell her about her mother's death before rushing off.

3. Let's be honest. I'm pretty sure fans' top favorite characters were Jane and Fred. So what became of Fred helping send Grayson back to earth in another body? Was he punished? Forced to start guardian angel training all over again? I would have appreciated Fred having a happy ending (and a cameo in the series finale).

4. Why didn’t Ian (the new Grayson) have his own personal guardian angel? That part just felt off as though the guardian angel unemployment rate was too high. Britney had a guardian angel, but viewers had to deal with Paul doing double duty for Jane and Grayson when he's barely been a good guardian angel to Jane. While I realize she was quite self sufficient, the transition from Fred to Luke to Paul was a continuous downward spiral.

5. Why did this show avoid following through with wedding ceremonies like the plague? Viewers never got a wedding but we saw plenty of wedding dresses.

Now that Drop Dead Diva has come to an end, I hope to see more of Brooke Elliott. Her personality, voice and smile are amazing and she shines on the screen. Since she left the firm I wouldn't mind seeing a spin-off show still starring her, but focusing on her own firm and fabulous adventures.  

What did you think of the Drop Dead Diva series finale? What would you have like to see happen differently?