What I’m Watching: Royal Pains (Summer Finale)

Royal Pains: Season 2, Episode 12 “Open Up Your Yenta Mouth and Say Ah” (B)

It appears that though this is officially billed as the summer finale, it’s also the season finale, since the show won’t be back in November with time slot companion “Burn Notice,” but instead will be held until January for the start of its third season. Perhaps that indicates that we’ll finally get a glimpse of winter life in the Hamptons, though I highly doubt that. In any case, this finale confirms that this show is relatively harmless summer entertainment. This season has been good and hasn’t felt uneven despite the revolving door of guest plots, some of which fizzled completely (Dr. Blair) and others which seemed urgent last week but weren’t even addressed this time (Divya’s exit and Dr. Peck’s potential entrance). Yet perhaps that’s wise because viewers now have a reason to tune in when the show returns in the wintertime. As a finale, this episode worked fine because it presented a couple of decently interesting cases, though it was strange to see Boris failing to trust Hank. I also didn’t buy Rena Sofer as this duplicitous researcher, and the fact that Hank nearly diagnosed her with some random disease also stands out as highly unbelievable. Eddie’s activities were a distraction at best in this episode, and the way that his illicit actions have potentially damaged Hank’s relationship with Boris is troubling. Without the Hamptons, HankMed is nothing, and I have a slight fear that Boris won’t be as receptive to the Lawson family anymore, even if only one of them meant harm. Fortunately, this lackluster finale is the true exception, and the rest of this season has been great. Looking forward to a colder but hopefully just as enjoyable season three!

Season grade: B+
Season MVP: Paulo Costanzo