User Reviews

This wasn't in itself a poor episode though still tinged with the unlikely aura of the rest of the Volchek story arc. It had plenty action, albeit of a desperate end-of-the-line nature. But it was deeply unsatisfying. Vinnie's eventual future (and Frank's) was left dangling in mid air, not that this came as a surprise given Vinnie was AWOL for much of the arc. I wonder if it was decided by either Cannell or Ken Wahl by then that he was unlikely to return and that gave the finale its downbeat atmosphere. There literally isn't a joyous or lighthearted moment in it. It could be argued that the whole of the first three series was a gradual progression towards this point (though I'm sure it wasn't envisioned as such from the beginning). But looked at in its entirety many years later, you can see a pattern and the pattern is of loss. In season 1, Vinnie loses two people with whom he'd formed a close relationship (Sonny and Roger). In season 2, he loses his brother, and in season 3, he loses his girlfriend, his relationship with his stepfather, his idealistic view of his own father, his mother in that she moves to Arizona, and his belief in his job, given his betrayal by the higher echelons in Washington when some old enemies tried to frame him, in a very unlikely plot. Even Frank ends up at death's door and we don't really know if he survives. So what's left for Vinnie to go on to? No wonder he considered jumping off the bridge. However, given some good writers and the will to do it, I do think season 4 could have been the one where Vinnie was healed of at least some of the effects of this emotional damage and certainly the viewers would have felt better about it because he was a character many had come to care about. Interestingly, this more upbeat future is successfully created in some fan fiction, which proves it could have been done. I don't think the 1996 film served this purpose at all, being deeply unconvincing and superficial. We sadly said the real goodbye to Vinnie at the end of season 3,never having had the chance to see if he could be saved and with the uncomfortable impression of unfinished business. Thanks for that Mr. Cannell (and maybe Ken Wahl too.)