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HBO 'Big Love' Book of Mormon closes, some thoughts

By April MacIntyre Mar 21, 2011, 6:02 GMT

08/29/2010 - Bill Paxton - 2010 Primetime Emmy Awards - HBO\'s Post Award Reception - Arrivals - The Plaza at the Pacific Design Center - Los Angeles, CA, USA © Keadrick D. Washington / PR Photos

Spoiler alert

You knew "Big Love" wasn't going to end on a happy bluebirds and sunny skies note, as the hubris of eternally optimisitic and often times sanctimonious polygamist Bill Hendrickson (Bill Paxton) was snuffed out by a neighbor, mentally cracked over the economy and his inability to serve as an effective LDS solid citizen provider.

The ending was emotional, as the sister wives, Barb (Jeanne Tripplehorn), Nicki (Chloe Sevigny) and Margene (Ginnifer Goodwin), wind up as sister widows.

Over the years, the dramatized lives of their respective households and relatives were both comical and appalling, as Bill managed to grow his hardware store into a local empire, run for state senator and win the office, then undo his success by both inflaming Nicki's brother Alby (Matt Ross) and the closeted polygamists, and the regular folk horrified by his revealed marital situation. 

There was no winning for Bill Henrickson.

Big Love defied genre rules and played to humor as much as it did dramatic turn, and shines featuring some of the best over-50 actors out there: Mary Kay Place, Grace Zabriskie, Bruce Dern and Harry Dean Stanton.  

Creators Will Scheffer and Mark V. Olsen told a room full of TV critics a few years back that a road trip was where the two talked out the idea of this series, and together they took a volatile - and to some - odious subject, and dressed it with a capable cast, crew and delivered some very good television.

Good to see the last moments bring back Sarah (Amanda Seyfried) and Scott (Aaron Paul) who are happy and with a baby. Ben (Douglas Smith) and Heather (Tina Marjorino) are together too. Barb, Nicki and Margene have made their blended families even stronger after Bill's death, and the last moments are a touching end to what could have been mangled in the wrong creative hands. Bravo.