Was anybody surprised that Claws concluded with a happy ending?

After a particularly dark season, Claws Season 4 Episode 10 brought the series to a satisfying conclusion.

Shockingly, no more bodies dropped (although one appeared to have).

Should everything have worked out how it did this episode? No, of course not. A lot of improbable events had to happen for this outcome.

But as Jenn noted, Desna always finds a way. In this case, that meant making things right with Quiet Ann.

Even though Ann was Desna's muscle through the years, she also was the only other brain in the crew.

Polly had her appealing brand of guile, but that was just as likely to get them in trouble as not.

Fortunately for the narrative, Desna and Ann's reconciliation was kept secret until near the end, when all the tricks were revealed, Leverage-style.

Before that happened, Desna's crew had to overcome obstacle after obstacle, as their past sins caught up with them.

Tony's murder was disposed of much more straightforward than expected, as the Palmetto police seemed to accept that hilarious confession by Uncle Daddy forged by Polly.

The local cops were probably just happy to have a long-time thorn in their side taken off the board. And, with their agent's killer identified, the DEA could concentrate on bringing down Desna.

Both law-enforcement agencies failed miserably. Desna continued to be untouchable.

Let's start with Virginia's incredibly short stay in jail.

Thanks to a new traffic camera at the crime scene, the Palmetto cops had Virginia dead to rights for murdering Georgia. Then her guilt from killing her friend caused her to confess.

And yet Ken and Confetta, disguised as ICE agents, were able to take custody of her without even a phone call to verify their story. Really? They weren't that believable.

Well, you can't have a fairy-tale ending without the princess. And frankly, Virginia is among the handful of characters who have evolved the most over the show's run, so she deserves a better future.

Then there was the DEA's botched investigation of Desna, conducted by Lori and that suit who was her boss.

Once the DEA lost its inside man in Tony, those in charge should have written off their investigation without him available to testify. They didn't have the goods, just many lines on a whiteboard.

 Instead, they doubled down on their informant, Ann, who led Lori around by the nose.

It was, "Look, there's Clay's body." "Look, there's a note on the couch." Tony's murder was tied up with a bow for those who didn't want to look too closely.

No one asked what Uncle Daddy, a man who relied on animal cunning and brute force, gained by killing Tony?

And why would Desna agree to go along with a heroin deal with Lori, arranged by Tony, such a short time after his death, especially after it was revealed that he was a DEA agent? That was odd behavior, to say the least.

While Desna (and, it turned out, Ann) were playing cat and mouse with Lori, the other members of the crew (and crew adjacent) were dealing with their problems.

Polly was one broke widow until miraculously she wasn't. Didn't her access to the baron's offshore accounts come at a most opportunistic time, providing the necessary funds for all that followed?

In a moment of crisis, Polly was Desna's clear-thinking lieutenant, which was necessary because Jenn was in no frame of mind to fill that role.

Jenn was determined to stay in Palmetto and face the heat that would follow since she wasn't leaving without her daughters. Even "White Daddy" Bryce was ready to bail on Baylor and Brianna.

Polly and her big bag of money procured the two girls from "Black Daddy" EJ, invalidating Jenn's only objection.

She also used her newly acquired wealth to make things right with Ken, the one she let get away. She bought him a medical practice so that he could continue to turn around his life and go legitimate.

Ken has been heading in that direction all season. He leveraged both Clay and Desna to get the best deal he could to supply their pills. He refused to stand in Selena's way. He kept helping his friends even as he tried to pull away from criminal activity.

Ken must have been in on what Desna was planning because why else was he at Dean's condo at precisely the right time to stop him from going after Desna at the absolute wrong time.

In addition to Virginia and Ken, Dean is the other character who was grown most throughout the series. He started as an odd, autistic punchline but has become an independent man who has found a direction in life and a partner and is about to become a father.

The innovative Claws deserves better than the farewell it received. Thanks to the pandemic, its gripping final season became "Oh, is that still on the air?" as it got burned off by TNT during the post-holiday TV doldrums. 

Desna and her crew will be missed.

To revisit the past four seasons, watch Claws online.

What did you think of the finale?

Did Desna redeem herself?

Who was your favorite character over the series run?

Comment below.

Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.