Life BBC end | Reaction to the finale of the...

Could I have been the only one who, watching the BBC One’s Life finale, was bitterly disappointed when Henry showed up at church, re-introduced himself to Gail, and won her back for their marriage? No, Gail, don’t do it! He does not deserve you!

I confess: at first I thought it was him actually a ghostand had succumbed to pancreatic cancer earlier than expected and now visited her from beyond the grave in an appropriately spiritual setting just to say goodbye. But no! In the last episode of Mike Bartlett’s drama, the real flesh-and-blood Henry (Peter Davison) finally – and all of a sudden – realized the flaw in his behavior and decided to stop being so mean to his wife Gail (Alison Steadman) to be. .

Maybe I’m a little unfair to Henry’s revelation. But after six episodes of Henry firing his wife, shouting her concerns down, belittling her, and refusing to accept the idea of ​​treating her shabbily – well, it seemed like a very sudden U-turn.

And when he told her, he didn’t even do it to like she no longer just because she had a haircut and bought some pink clothes and discovered the joy of dancing badly in the garden with her grandson – that really broke my heart. Not to mention the affair and his physical and selfish confession about that affair! And his absurd angry voicemails to his wife after she answered for some space!

People can change, of course – but until that last moment there was no indication that Henry was ready to change What everso it didn’t sound quite right. Still. Gail was obviously still holding onto her love for him, just as she was holding onto that locket full of wedding confetti, so you can see why she would be willing to give her terminally ill husband another chance.

While I feel like screenwriter Mike Bartlett did the dirt to Gail by bringing her back with Henry, at least he got it right with Hannah (Melissa Johns).

He made us believe that Hannah would really get married to the boring Liam (Joshua James), carried by the dynamism of the wedding and her desire not to disappoint the people around her.

But then Gail and Belle (Victoria Hamilton) and Maya (Erin Kellyman) helped her break it off. (Gail turned out to be a natural speaker so Henry can eat his words about it too.) Hannah was even able to track down Andy (Calvin Demba) and start a sweet, tentative romance in the back of her wedding dress. It was a fitting finale.

And to top it off, what a lovely ending for Belle after the relentless emotional turmoil of the last five episodes! Her big moment came at the wedding of her ex-husband Neil (Adam James) when she finally looked at him with clear eyes and found that she no longer loved him. Those newly clear eyes also enabled her to see what to do for Maya (tell her that she was proud of her and to be there for her) and to see how she could move forward (stop drinking).

What I loved most about Belle’s end was that it was hard-won; It was the end point of one journey, but it is also the beginning of another journey.

Finally there was the act of David and Saira – the most ridiculous of the four acts, and frankly the one I have invested the least in. For some reason, David (Adrian Lester) and Saira (Saira Choudhry) got together again to share their love for his wife Kelly (Rachael Stirling). Whatever works for them. You do you, David.

After starting this drama, I gave it four stars on my life story. After finishing it I think that was spot on. This was a sometimes silly drama with a heart that really got me to care about (most of) the characters – Gail in particular.

With such a final finale, I can’t see the show return for a second season … but even if I never see it again, I’ll be worried about the beautiful Gail for a while.

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