Training Day - Elegy, Part 2 - Review - "A Fitting Farewell"

I know that it's probably passed time to post a review of the season/series finale of Training Day, Elegy, Part 2 (1x13). But, I'm posting it anyway, out of respect. Not only have I been reviewing Training Day since its premiere, but I have stood by the show and its most unusual history. I've watched its roller coaster ride in the ratings; the stunning, unexpected death of its star, Bill Paxton, and have seen it grown into a show that had so much potential. A business trip for my day job prevented me from getting this posted in a timelier fashion, however, the time has given me the opportunity to reflect on both the episode and the show and to give it a fitting farewell. And in some regards, I'm a bit like Frank, Training Day was the first series I've reviewed since I started writing for SpoilerTV and I wanted to see it through to the end.

It was bittersweet watching that final episode "Elegy-Part 2", but thanks to some live tweeting with fans by Katrina Law (Rebecca) and the use of a suggested hashtag, #ForBill, we were left with some fond memories of this final episode of Training Day. Thank you, Katrina, for sharing behind-the-scenes tidbits and for making watching the final episode special. The finale was exactly as the hashtag suggested, #ForBill.

The episode featured Frank (Paxton) doing what only Frank could do and go rogue, taking him all the way to Mexico to get to the bottom Billy's (Cassius Willia) murder. From the previous episode, "Elegy-Part One" (1x12) we know Frank now has both keys because he stole them from Kyle (Justin Cornwell) in their tussle at the end of the episode.

This episode opens with Frank's poignant farewell to Holly (Julie Benz). Frank tells Holly their time together was worth it. As always, these scenes between Paxton and Benz give the show some of its best moments. There is such an easy chemistry between the actors and I admit I'm going to miss watching the development of their character's relationship. When he returns to his "office" to prepare for what he believes is the ultimate journey, he's confronted by Kyle who knows Frank has the keys. They fight again, and again Frank gets the upper hand, leaving Kyle handcuffed to a pipe. Frank's doing what he's been doing all along, protecting Billy's son.

Since, as Kyle puts it, the "band broke up" and Tommy and Rebecca aren't responding to his calls, Det. Chavez (Christina Vidal) comes to his rescue. They go see Lockhart (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) who is recovering from the previous episode's gunshot wound and she suggests the keys belong to a safety deposit box likely somewhere in Mexico or offshore. In a twist that I must admit surprised me, Chavez discovers the keys match a safe deposit box to a bank in Mexico, then calls and warns the local cartel enforcer Commandante Ruiz (Carlos Leal) that Frank is on his way to Mexico to rob "his" bank. She even lies to Kyle about being able to find out what bank the keys belong to. What? Chavez an informant for a drug cartel? A traitor and a dirty cop? I'd have never this was something we'd see from Chavez, but then upon re-watching the scene you see her glance at a photo of a young child on her desk and realize they're threatening someone she cares about, her betrayal makes sense.

Meanwhile in Mexico, Frank has assembled a new team to help him rob a bank. Yet, we all know the bank robbery is a smoke screen for Frank to get his hands on the safety deposit box. In a move that I love, the show brought back two of my favorite characters to help Frank- Lina (Tehima Suny), the Iranian Guard trained bodyguard from Tehrangeles (1x02) and Artemis (Selkie Hom), the bow-carrying assassin from Trigger Time (1x03), along with Moreno (Noel Gugliemi). The robbery doesn't go as planned.Frank ends up captured by Ruiz and taken to his compound.

Back in Los Angeles, it didn't matter if Chavez couldn't tell him where Frank might have gone with the keys, Kyle has his own way of finding out information. Using a page from this training officer Frank's playbook, Kyle grabs local drug dealer Menjivar (Joaquim de Almeida) from the pilot episode and forces him to tell him where Frank was headed. After learning Frank's been captured by Ruiz, Kyle realizes he needs help and goes in search of Tommy (Drew Van Acker) and Rebecca (Law). Unfortunately for fans, he interrupts a moment between them that has been teased from the first episode, them acting on their mutual attraction for one another!

They use Menjivar to infiltrate a party to celebrate Frank's capture at Ruiz's compound in Mexico. In the basement of the compound, Ruiz and his new partner, our old friend and CIA spook, Jack Ivers (Max Martini) have drugged Frank to find out what he knows about the files in the box labeled, Project Leviathan. In his drugged state Frank hallucinates that Ivers and Ruiz's men kill both Holly and Tommy.Their interrogation ends with Frank's team coming in with guns blazing. As the team fights their way out with a still groggy Frank, they are confronted outside by Ruiz and a squad of his men. Just as they are about to be killed, they're rescued by Artemis, Lina, and Moreno, arriving on horseback like the cavalry. What then ensues is a good, old-fashioned wild-west shootout, a scene that Bill Paxton loved filming, according to a tweet by Law during the show. In the end, the good guys ride off into the sunset on horseback.

Later, Frank and Kyle are disappointed that most of the Leviathan files in the box were destroyed by Ivers but do find a picture of Ivers and a face they recognize, Officer Tim Wallace (Nick Chinlund). They confront Wallace who finally admits he was the one who killed Billy because he'd found evidence about his role in Leviathan (an alleged CIA plan to assassinate the president of Mexico and replace him with a puppet dictator). Before an enraged Kyle can get his revenge on the man who killed his father, Frank shoots and kills Wallace, telling Kyle his father wouldn't want his son to have shooting an unarmed man on his conscience.

Frank concocts a scenario that makes it appear Wallace had drawn down on Kyle and him. They present it to a recovering Lockhart. When she questions Kyle if Frank's story is true, Kyle backs Frank. The show wraps up the only way it should, unanswered questions and all. Frank tells Lockhart that Kyle is no longer his trainee, he's his partner. And thus, Training Day, the series comes to a close. Thank you, Bill Paxton and team for one heck of a ride! Discuss your thoughts on the final episode of Training Day in the comments below.