"All's Well That Ends" is the title of tonight's In Plain Sight's series finale…and to say it ended "well" doesn't do justice to this gratifying and truthful conclusion to the heartwarming crime drama.
Is WITSEC closing the doors on its Albuquerque branch? How will Mary (Mary McCormack) reconcile her father's death? And most important: Are Mary and Marshall (Fred Weller) riding off into the Southwest sunset with baby Nora?
If you're a Marshall and Mary shipper, your heart must have fluttered (ours did anyway) at his tearful rooftop declaration to his sourpuss sidekick:
"You're my partner. You're my best friend. And I love you."
Swoon.
Hold up—he wasn't finished. "I love Abigail deeply and because I do, I need you to release me," he continued. "I need to be free enough to have a life with Abigail and I need you to be OK enough for that to happen. Because if you call, I'll come every time."
Was Mary's atypically sincere, supportive response—championing his marriage to Abigail and setting her partner free—almost drowned out by your sobbing, too?
Deep breaths. Here's how the U.S. Marshals and their special circle said goodbye…
Whassup, WITSEC: The good news? The Albuquerque branch will remain open, thanks to the federal witness protection program's new deputy director: Stan (Paul-Ben Victor)! Anyone who's successfully supervised Mary Shannon deserves to dance off to D.C. with Tia Carrere by his side, no? The best news? Mary's new boss is…Marshall!
True Romance: Mary gave Marshall and Abigail (Rachel Boston) her blessing, so…sigh, we will too. If Marshall's happy, we're happy. And look at Mary smiling with handsome single dad Kenny (Josh Hopkins)—in public no less! We have to agree that the festive occasion is a much better time than a step-skipping fake wake to welcome him into the fold.
Family Ties: Jinx (Lesley Ann Warren) and Brandi (Nichole Hiltz) are home and sober, and baby Nora will soon have a cousin to play with. (And maybe a stepsibling too with Kenny as stepdad?) Although they seemed to have forgotten about half-brother Scott (RIP again Aaron Ashmore), the Shannon women mourned James' (Stephen Lang) death in their own ways. Jinx and Brandi held the fake wake, while Mary scattered his remains at the race track he called home—and where he won the money for Nora's legacy. (The only losers here were the horses and jockeys, who looked like they all got a giant whiff of dearly departed dad.)
So Long, Farewell: As the gang gathered to toast Stan's promotion and wish him bon voyage on his new adventures, we felt like we were right there with them. Just as they will remain with us, as we fondly contemplate the new future each is forging. Because IPS gave us the best kind of finale—offering closure while keeping the characters alive in our hearts.
Bon voyage and a fine farewell indeed.
(E! and USA are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)
What did you think of In Plain Sight's sendoff? Do you still wish Mary and Marshall had hooked up, or are you happy they're still BFFs?