What I’m Watching: Lights Out (Series Finale)

Lights Out: Season 1, Episode 13 “War” (B+)

Technically speaking, this is only a season finale, but we because we know that the show is ending for good and presumably the writers used their heads-up from a few weeks back as well, it makes sense to consider it for what it actually is. Most relevantly, it’s a conclusion to the main arc that has been going all season: whether Lights can pull together and defeat Death Row, proving his superiority once and for all. This show chose to go out on a very bleak note, showing him rally and win, only to fall apart mentally and not remember that he was the one that won the fight. That penultimate scene with him wandering the halls looking for everyone, following up on a shot of Johnny, Robert, Barry, and Hal all standing in the hall waiting for him, was extraordinarily well-done, and it’s easy to see the pain and confusion in Theresa’s face as she finds him and is greeted by his very surprising question. Watching him approach the microphones as a crowd cheers him on was a nice way for the show to go out, even if we know that he has a tough battle ahead of him. This episode also introduced an entirely new dimension, that of Hal trying to poach Barry’s clients and change the way the boxing world works. I liked Lights’ contribution of a fighter’s health fund, and while we’ll never know exactly where that plotline would have gone, it’s interesting to note that Lights might be the first one to benefit from it. This show, for its brief life, has been consistently above average in its handling of tried and true subject matter. FX has always produced quality television, and this one-season series was no exception.

Season grade: B+
Season MVP: Eamonn Walker as Ed Romeo