Big Love goes out with a bang and an embrace

To the end, he fancied himself a new age pioneer, an almost messianic shepherd leading polygamists into the light of the 21st century and away from the sinister, darkened corners of polygamist compounds where women were treated like chattel and “reassigned” to other men if their husbands, stepped out of line.

And, as with many controversial leaders who espouse notions that offend the majority of the folks who live in his state, Bill Henrickson wound up becoming a martyr to his cause. On Easter Sunday of all days.

Big Love killed Bill Henrickson. And as he lay dying — felled by three bullets fired by Carl, a distraught, too proud neighbor who had decided to make Bill pay the price for his unemployed, marital and financial woes — Bill actually gave Barb one last gift, the opportunity to give him a blessing, therefore sealing her as the spiritual leader of the Henrickson family after the light faded from Bill’s eyes.

I’ll admit that the scene of Barb, Nicki and Margene crouching over their dying husband, along with the one of them embracing as a family in the final shot, brought tears to my eyes because to me, the wives’ experiences have always been the most interesting, intriguing aspect of Big Love. They’re the ones who were asked to sacrifice, to loyally go along with their husband’s blockheaded ideas even when they thought he’d gone off the rails, to share the love of their life with another woman, and to rise above their jealousies and insecurities.

But it seemed like part of Big Love just wanted to spend a majority of its time on Bill, showcasing him as the fearless leader of a growing Henrickson clan. In his last days, Bill continued to act like the polygamist pioneer he believed himself to be. For example, he hijacked his state senate hearing on the decertification of Juniper Creek by filing an amendment to the decertification measure to legalize polygamy, stunning all in attendance. Undaunted by the senate leader’s threats and taunts by a colleague, Bill charged around in the senate well and spoke of rights and persecution and made his wives proud.

Bill’s attempt to legalize polygamy, which he knew would never muster sufficient support to become a reality, so impressed polygamists from around the state that they were drawn to him and his church on Easter Sunday, packing the Church of Bill to listen to the man who was carrying the burden of their cause on his shoulders. While speaking to the assembly, Bill fantasized, imagined … that he saw polygamist activists from previous ages nodding approvingly at him, indicating that he was doing the right thing.

Bill’s vision came to him after Barb chickened out on getting baptized at her church (no real surprise) and impulsively decided to submit to being a congregant at the sexist Church of Bill which, after his death, I’d like to think became the Church of Barb. (It wasn’t clear whether Barb, who christened Sarah’s son nearly a year after Bill died, was a minister from the reform LDS church or the new one Bill started.)

While I admired some of the themes explored in this series finale, I couldn’t help but feel as though the writers missed many opportunities during this last season to go deeper into fewer, more provocative issues — like Barb’s faith, what divorce means, Bill’s interaction with legislators as he tried to legitimize polygamy, Margene’s quest for meaning — because they were so distracted by salacious or violent sidestories, like Rhonda the stripper and Verlan licking Alby’s face. There were solid stories that oftentimes got lost, overshadowed by the sideshow or just pushed aside after having consumed a huge chunk of storytelling, like the casino which was illogically dispatched with a scene or two after having been said to be chief paramount to the Henrickson family’s financial solvency for two seasons.

All in all, I was moved by a handful of scenes in this finale but, as the credits rolled I wondered what the point of the statutory rape storyline was given that the writers knew that Bill would never be tried for it and the whole business about Barb being an accessory to the crime was just dropped after its initial mention? What was the point of Ben and Rhonda? What was the point of Alby trying to kill Bill and Adaleen going along with her crackpot son, thereby alienating herself from her daughter once again? What was the reason for having Cara Lynn take up with her thirtysomething teacher?

Ending with Bill’s death, Barb becoming a minister/priesthood holder, Sarah’s baby getting christened in Bill’s name and Margene traveling the world to help others was positive, except for the dead Bill part, and it was touching. Made me wonder why the season couldn’t have been this touching throughout.

Clacked by Meredith O'Brien
on Mar 21, 2011 @ 12:30 EST5EDT