Resurrection - Love In Return - Season Finale Review: "End Of Times"

"There was a boy,
a very strange enchanted boy.
They say he wandered very far, very far
over land and sea...........

Resurrection aired it's Season Finale on Sunday night with a little bit of closure and not a whole lot in the way of answers everyone has craved. Whether or not the show will get a Season Three renewal remains to be seen at this point. There was sort of cliffhanger presented at the very end to address and be the catalyst for possible new stories should a third season be granted, but for the most part, the program ended with what seemed to be somewhat of a satisfactory conclusion.

The episode opens showing drops of water slowly dripping onto what turns out to be a dinner plate fashioned to look like four green leaves. This scene is one of many in the series utilizing amazing imagery to hint at what is happening or will happen in Resurrection's world. Liquid imagery has always played an important role since the "genesis" of the show such as the flood Marty and his family succumbed to many years ago, the infamous river which runs through Arcadia, where Jacob and Barbara fell in before they 'returned', not to mention the image of Caleb after his disappearance in a gurgle of bubbles shown through the water cooler tank last season. The scene in this finale with the dripping water was just as important. Each drop signifies a 'returned', coming back to 'life' (the green leaved plate) on Earth.

'Love in Return' was a fast paced hour filled mostly with the battle at the Langston household. Preacher James was determined to get to Rachael and make her 'disappear'. I don't mean 'disappear' in the Goodfellas' sort of way, but in the Margaret Langston sort of way like how she did with Barbara. After her failed attempt to do so, Margaret relented and instructed Preacher James how it's done. After the long battle overcoming Fred, Henry and Marty's vigilant and watchful defenses, the preacher climbed the stairs and found his way to Rachael's bedroom while she was on the cusp of giving birth.

Preacher James has a way with words and convinces Rachael Tom is waiting for her 'on the other side'. He even goes so far as to say he spoke with Tom and he wants her to name their child Nathaniel. Luckily for Rachael, Margaret comes to her senses and unties Marty, who then races up to Rachael's room and stops the Preacher from completing his ultimate goal. The scenes leading up to that moment were very well done. The back and forth between Preacher James and Henry were some of the best of the season.

Spoilers for the final minutes of the season below:

"And even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light." - 2 Corinthians 11:14
Preacher James to Marty

Shortly after Rachael's baby is born, we witnessed on the news what Angela had predicted came true; over a million 'returned' now populate the Earth and are scattered throughout the globe. Fading to black, the story then jumps ahead about a year. There are so many 'returned' at this point the United States create the 'Bureau of the Returned', which Marty is now the head of and oversees the 'returned' getting placed in appropriate homes. We witness another family meal at the Langston home where everyone seems very happy just to be together. The final scene of the season is Rachael singing to her baby 'Nature Boy'. An appropriate song seeing as Resurrection reflects a lot of water and earth imagery into each episode. The final shot is the Cicadas gravitating towards the window of Rachael's baby's room much like the 'returned' were all in a trance as they gathered under Rachael's apartment window in last week's episode 'Steal Away'. Maybe Preacher James was right all along and Rachael's baby will bring about the 'End of Times' after all?

Resurrection has had some excellent episodes in its two season run. The two seasons we were given have been, overall, good television that had me on the edge of my seat at times and waiting in anticipation for the following episode each week. I sincerely hope there is a season three to watch and dissect. It has been a lot of fun recapping and reviewing so far and I believe with the new story lines that could come out of season two it would be well worth a renewal.

Thoughts and Discussion

- Preacher James lies to Rachael and says he spoke with Tom and he wants her to name their child 'Nathaniel'. 'Nathaniel' means 'Gift of God' or a disciple of Jesus Christ (Much like what Preacher James thinks of himself). The complete opposite of what the Preacher thinks of the child.

- It was funny watching the news broadcast of the millions of 'returned' all over the globe. The caption at the bottom read, "Bizarre Reports: Dead returning all around the world" with the word "LIVE" appearing right next to it. I laughed.

- The bible verse the Preacher recites to Henry is from Matthew 24:24. "For false prophets shall arise and produce great works and wonders so as to lead astray and deceive." Something he does very well and we see him do just that with Rachael in a following scene.

- Did you notice...In the scene at Twain's where the Preacher goes to talk to Joey Nolan Elaine is refilling ketchup bottles. I have said before numbers play an important role in Resurrection. There are 6 bottles total with 3 being filled. 'Six' and 'Three' are important numbers in the Bible like I mentioned in my last Review of 'Steal Away' when we heard church bells ringing 6 times and 3 times. Also, the color red plays an important role in the show with each 'returned' wearing some shade of red when we first see them.

- Did you notice...The symbol for The Bureau of the Returned has a tree on it similar to the "Tree of Life" we see in the opening title sequence and on Preacher James back.

- Did you notice...Rachael's baby was wearing Resurrection Red. Whenever we see a 'returned' for the first time they wear the color red somewhere on their body. Rachael's baby had a red helicopter on his shirt.

- If this episode was the SERIES Finale then there were quite a few questions left unanswered:

Where do all the 'returned' come from or go to when they die?

Why do they 'come back' in the location they do? For example, Why did Jacob wake up in China when the series first began?

Why can't any of the living 'hand' anything directly to a 'returned'?

Who is sending the dead back to the land of the living? Who is responsible?

Where did Preacher James come from and why did nothing happen to him when he was struck by lightning? Why did he get a red tattoo on his back as a result? What is the significance of the tattoo?

Why were all the 'returned' in a trance at the beginning of 'Steal Away'? Was it because of Rachael's baby or something else?

Why did Jacob get headaches when Rachael was having contractions?

What was the significance of the Cicadas?

Why were all the Cicadas gravitating towards the window of Rachael's baby's room? Does he really have special powers?


"And then one day, a magic day
He passed my way, and while we spoke
Of many things, fools and kings
This he said to me -
The greatest thing you'll ever learn
Is just to love and be loved in return"
- Nature Boy - Eden Ahbez

Thank you for checking out my Review! Whether or not there is a season three, I want to thank everyone for reading my Reviews for the first two seasons. I had a lot of fun writing them and reading everyone's thoughts in the comment section. Please comment below so we can discuss the episode further. What do you all think of the season? Would you want a season three or are you happy with how the story ended? Have a great week everyone!

About the Author - Geo N

Geo N is from Detroit, MI. His favorite shows include The Blacklist, Hell On Wheels, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, LOST, The Leftovers, The Strain, Sons Of Anarchy, Sleepy Hollow and countless others. When he's not watching tons of TV, he enjoys reading, playing hockey, comic books, weightlifting, and writing. Thanks for checking out my post.

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