Republic of Doyle - The Fall of the Republic, S01E12 - Season Finale

For a show that has mostly relied on humourous ridiculousness, the finale of the first season was both sad and serious. We did get a few laughs to carry us through, but we cannot forget that actions have consequences and not all of them are good.

It began with Malachy (Sean McGinley) being taken to hospital with a heart attack, while Christian (Jonathan Goad) woke up after having blacked out, with blood on his face and hands, and a pool of it on the floor.

Des (Mark O'Brien) and Tinny (Marthe Bernard) are sent to take care of a client, since the Doyle men have much more serious problems. The case provided most of the amusement of the episode, climaxing at the moment when Des and Tinny came upon a man who had stolen a winning lottery ticket from their client. Absurdly, he swallowed the ticket to prevent Des from getting it, and then he promptly chocked to death on it. Yes, Des got a kiss from Tinny to help calm him down, but there was still a dead body.

For Mal, the day went slightly better than that. He discovered that Christian really was no where near the success he had made himself out to be, and though he believed that his son hadn't committed any murder, he still suffered another minor heart attack due to the strain. Knowing he was going to have surgery, he proposed to Rose (Lynda Boyd) with a ring he'd been holding onto for the last 4 months. So, while we (hopefully) have a wedding to look forward to next season, Malachy's involvement in the PI business is going to have to be drastically reduced. Good thing Tinny and Des seem so good at it (or, at least, Tinny does).

Jake (Allan Hawco) had by far the worse day. He tried to help his brother out, but the conspiracy against Christian was so big that even Leslie (Krystin Pellerin) came to regret any of the information she received about it from Jake. He ended up helping his brother skip town, while Leslie was removed from the case. Although she is still drawn to Jake, she knows he isn't good for her career. Too bad she's too smart for those other cops, and will likely have to uncover their conspiracy next season.

For Nikki (Rachel Wilson), things were even worse. Knowing what pain Jake was in because of his concern for his father and his brother, she did her best to be there for him. But when she arrived to discover him with Leslie, an interruption which gave Leslie enough sense to leave, Nikki announced she was leaving town - she couldn't be around Jake any more.

So, next season, we have a major conspiracy to pursue, a restructuring of Doyle & Doyle to be done, and Jake's love triangle with Nikki and Leslie, full of more complications than ever, unless Rachel Wilson doesn't return. I'm glad to see that they can do serious as well as goofy, but I'm looking forward to more up-beat episodes when the show returns.