Season Finale of 'Royal Pains' Almost a Washout

I could feel myself getting disappointed as I watched the season finale of Royal Pains on USA last night.

If you haven't seen this show, let me give you the rundown of the premise. Dr. Hank Lawson (Mark Feuerstein) was fired from his job as an ER doctor after a patient died under his watch. Not just any patient, but a rich man on the hospital board. His brother, Evan (Paulo Costanzo), took him to the Hampton's to cheer him up and the two stumbled into a new career of a doctor concierge service.

And if you haven't seen Royal Pains, I highly recommend it. The characters are brilliant, comical, and dramatic. The storylines are fresh and inventive; the show is kind of a cross between ER and McGyver. Add a splash of the wealthy life and you have a very good show.

But the season finale last night almost made me feel like the writers weren't trying to entice the audience into watching a second season... until the last few minutes of the show. Everything seemed to be wrapping up quite quaintly throughout the episode but then the story turned in a classic fake-out.

First, it appeared that Jill (Jill Flint) would give her estranged hubby another chance, leaving Hank and their on/off relationship switched into the down position for good. At the last minute though, she tell the hubby to leave... but Hank already assumes the opposite. Okay, so this part is more like a soap opera but it is interesting, nonetheless, (if not frustrating) and points are given to the show for the relationship conflict.

And it appears that Divya (Reshma Shetty) is going to be brave and tell her family that she will not marry Raj and move to London. At the last minute, though, she chickens out and accepts the engagement. Will she move to London and leave Hank Med without a physician's assistant? Nice touch. Too many people can relate to Divya's character and all secretly hope for her to break free from her parents.

Then you have Evan, who lost all of Hank Med's money in a scam. Only Hank finds out at the end that it was their dad (who abandoned them as kids) that the money was lost to. A lot of parental bashing going on.

I do hope season 2 returns next summer. I'm curious to find out how all the stories will unfold. Also curious about what illness Boris has.

All in all, while I'm generally not too fond of the fake-out method, for this episode, it worked quite well. Kudos to the Royal Pains cast and crew.