I was heartbroken when I heard that TNT had canceled Major Crimes.
And I was doubly disappointed and sad when Sharon Raydor was killed off.
I know that head writer James Duff felt Sharon’s death was the only satisfying way to end her story and to lead into the final case, which revolved around eliminating Philip Stroh and his threats for once and for all.
I disagree, and as much as I loved the way Major Crimes wrapped up, I think there were lots of other ways to get to that final scene in the squad room.
Watch Major Crimes online and then drop YOUR theories on how it should have ended in the comments below. GO!
Was the Stroh manhunt even necessary?
I know that Philip Stroh was a frequent thorn in Major Crimes’ side, to say the least. But when yet another storyline related to him threatening Rusty started, I groaned.
The manhunt for Stroh was exciting, but Stroh’s seeming invincibility and limitless power were unrealistic and silly, and I felt like there could have been some other final case leading to the wrap up of the series.
Sharon and Andy Should Have Had Their Happily Ever After
I don’t know which is worse: Sharon’s unexpected and unnecessary demise or Flynn’s deep grief when he got their wedding pictures after her death.
Supposedly Sharon had to die in order to lead into the Stroh manhunt being handled Provenza’s way and not hers, but I don’t see that as a selling point.
It would have been far more satisfying for Sharon to be forced to retire due to her heart condition. As the final scenes showed, Major Crimes was not the same without Sharon, and her being sidelined during the manhunt because of her condition would have made for some fantastic drama. After all was said and done, Provenza could have made the same speech as he prepared to permanently take over the reins due to Sharon’s retirement.
Alternatively, Sharon and Andy’s wedding could have been saved for the final episode so that their love story wasn’t tarred by the sadness of Sharon’s very premature death.
Rios’ Death Was Unnecessary and Cartoonish
I was never a fan of Emma Rios. She was obnoxious and snobby, and I was glad when she no longer hovered on our screens every week. But even she deserved a better ending than she got!
I found it more than a little hard to believe that Stroh sat at the bottom of her pool in a scuba suit for who knows how long in order to drown her. That was just ridiculous and turned Stroh into a cartoon villain who could get in and out of anyplace undetected and get away with extremely outlandish schemes.
It would have been much better for Rios to go into Witness Protection following her informing MCU about what she knew about Stroh. That would have redeemed the character somewhat and been a fitting ending.
If she had to die, it should have been a more standard murder, one that might actually be believable.
More Build-up to Sanchez’s Exit
I loved Sanchez leaving Major Crimes at the end of the series to take a promotion. It was the perfect ending for one of the MCU’s hardest working cops.
I feel like there could have been more build-up to it, though. While in the past, Sanchez has had powerful storylines, on Season 6 he was barely on-screen.
I’d have loved to have seen him struggle with this decision throughout the season. Provenza had mentioned several times that Sanchez was often late because of having to take care of Mark. It would have been easy to turn this into a full-fleshed storyline instead of a running joke and/or just an explanation for his absence.
And of course, I wish we’d seen that last conversation between him and Sharon, or at least a video message to him along with the videos for everyone else.
Provenza Changes His Mind About Retirement After Sharon Steps Down
Provenza’s ending was perfect, with him deciding he loves Major Crimes too much to retire after handling the Stroh investigation.
The one thing that was wrong, of course, was Sharon’s death being the catalyst for this. I’d rather he have been forced into that role after Sharon had to step down because of her health issues.
Rusty’s Decision to Become a DA Could Have Had More Buildup Too
With Stroh’s latest threats taking over most of Rusty’s life for the final season, it was hard for there to be much buildup towards his decision to become a DA.
Rusty killed Stroh and was traumatized, then apparently decided to make meaning out of it within the last ten minutes of the series.
I’m glad Rusty had a happy ending but I felt like his reaction to Stroh’s death and his own part in it was rushed because of lack of time.
In any case, I would have liked to have seen more indications throughout the season that he might want to join the DA’s office, or even have Hobbs encourage him to do so and have him initially turn her down
Rusty and Gus’ Reconciliation Should Not Have Happened
It’s no secret that I was not a fan of Rusty’s relationship with Gus.
The reconciliation between the two was doubly disappointing because it was so rushed.
After Gus tried to use them being forced to share an apartment for their own protection to get Rusty to sleep with him, Rusty turned him down and was annoyed by it. But the next time we saw them, it seemed like they were close again.
Then, when all was said and done Rusty asked Gus to stay one more night to comfort him after the shooting.
Gus was not seen again but the implication was they had completely reconciled. It felt like this happened awfully quickly and that having Gus absent from the last scene was just a compromise to appease non-Gus fans.
Hobbs Didn’t Have Much Story
Hobbs’ main role seemed to be to tell the team why they didn’t have enough evidence to prosecute, which was fine, but since this was a final season it would have been nice to see her have a bigger role than she did. Some sort of wrap-up for her as well would have been great, since she was as much a part of Major Crimes as all the cops were.
Not Enough Dr. Joe
Dr. Joe made a cameo appearance to evaluate Gwendolyn Bechtel and Sanchez encouraged Rusty to keep seeing him after the shooting.
I love Dr. Joe and I’d loved to have seen more of him.
It would especially have been meaningful to see him counsel Rusty or anyone else just after Sharon’s death. One last real scene with Dr. Joe would have enhanced the end of the series for me.
Flynn and Provenza Having One Last Go Around For Old Times’ Sake
Don’t get me wrong – I loved seeing Flynn stand up to Provenza and say he was going after Stroh in honor of Sharon’s memory.
But I couldn’t help thinking that I’d love to have seen one last banter-filled partnership between Provenza and Flynn. I know it hasn’t been seen since Season 4 or so, but it would have been a nice tribute to them.
Provenza teasing Buzz about his kicking in the door badge just wasn’t the same.
Buzz Was Another Victim of The Rushed Wrap-Up
I’m glad that Buzz got to go back to school and become a full detective with the Major Crimes Unit.
Like Sanchez, though, his job change felt kind of rushed. Buzz has been talking about wanting to be a detective for the past few seasons, so it wasn’t as bad, but I’m a fan of build-up for these sort of things.
If there had been a few lines of dialogue in each episode indicating that Buzz was having a conflict over whether he’d be able to do this, it would have made his ending even sweeter.
Whatever Happened to SIS Agent Cooper?
It was great to see Fritz Howard again, even if the agents he assigned to security detail work were all completely incompetent.
But whatever happened to Agent Cooper, the SIS agent who Sharon often called to help protect Rusty?
Maybe I’m not remembering something from years gone by, but his absence seemed odd. I thought at the very least he should have been at Sharon’s funeral.
Sharon’s Presence at the Final Goodbye
If only Sharon had retired rather than died, she could have had that last speech about not wanting to leave her office in the finale.
Since she did die, the roses on her empty desk were a nice touch, but I’d have loved to have seen her physical form incorporated into the scene.
Maybe a ghostly appearance would have been hokey, but I would have been overjoyed.
