Notorious - Taken - Season Finale Review

After an unusual and unnecessary 3-week break Notorious returned last Thursday to air it's trimmed season 1 finale. "Taken" was written by Allie Hagan and directed by James Whitmore, it was a nicely paced episode with a solid built up and a bit predictable resolution. Let's dig into the meaty season 1 finale of Notorious.

The episode picked off right where "Choice" left off with Julia getting kidnapped by El Torro's people. It was a nice twist to see it was a mix-up and that Louis was the initial target of the kidnappers and that only cause of Louis and Julia switching rooms is why Julia found herself in this predicament. The interaction between Julia and El Torro were intriguing, charged with tension and quite interesting to watch. I liked how Julia embraced the situation and fought to get the upper hand instead of waiting for someone to come and rescue her. Piper did an excellent job in combining her powerful attitude and the fear radiating from her eyes, her performance came off quite believable and engaging. Eventually, El Torro agreed to do the interview with Julia, instead of Louis and that was one hilarious moment. El Torro went totally double personality on Julia and played the calm and insightful hero for his nation, Antonio Jaramillo's performance was impeccable and truly entertaining.

Meanwhile, Julia's friends and family started a rescue mission and were willing to do anything to get her back. Jake even traveled to Mexico and teamed up with Louis to get Julia back. Their scenes had a nice flare to it, felt new and refreshing as we didn't saw them interact too much out of LHL. With the help of Ella and Bradley, Jake and Louis found Julia and used El Torro's brother Raul to cut a deal and escaped the clutches of El Torro, after Raul killed him. I have to give major kudos here to Johnny Ortiz, who played Raul's son and El Torro's nephew. The American Crime season 1 alumni delivered and exceptional performance during his talk with Ella and Bradley. I love the small Tremor in his voice which comes up every time he tears up, it was so convincing during his American Crime appearance and was so captivating in Notorious' final season 1 outing.

And while the main action was going on in Mexico the show kept up its pace as Megan and Ryan tried to produce a Julia-centric LHL episode despite the network's CEO wishes. This attempt forced the CEO's hand and she fired Ryan's dad, Darin for disobedience. But with the news out Megan and Ryan were able to continue the show and it turned into an emotional one when Megan spoke up live on air pleading the abductors to let Julia go. It is really a major shame the show just started to exploit Sepideh Moafi cause she really rocks. Another great guest star was introduced through LHL this week, Rebecca Breeds played Avery Whitsell, who played Louis' replacement for the day. Rebecca was radiating on screen and captivated every moment she was in a scene. Her emotional outburst after seeing the pictures of Julia's trashed room was truly convincing, I hope Rebecca gets a new pilot this season. I think she is quite the actress.

The most annoying part of this episode where the final 30 seconds where it was revealed that Maya Harman committed suicide upon her mother's murder confession. It was an unnecessary cliffhanger to an already closed story. Especially considering how low the chances of renewal are. Before sounding of let's do a small season recap:

- Favorite character: Jake, after a shaky performance in the pilot he turned into the true star of the show.
- Favorite episode: Missing, 1x05
- Best fight: The Louis-Julia fight about Dana Harman after Louis burns Dana live on air
- Best Louis Moment: Her inviting Ryan, played by Ryan Guzmann, to join her in a threesome.

What did you think of Notorious' season/possible series finale? Are you happy with the way the show concluded its first season? Did the show live up to the notorious title i owns? Feel free to sound off in comment section, cause it can be you very last opportunity to do so.