Well, folks, we’ve made it to the season one finale of Good Sam. And I say season rather than series because I really hope that tonight’s episode isn’t the last we’ll see of Sam, Griff, and the rest of the doctors at Lakeshore.
It’s a weird feeling watching a finale before a renewal decision has been made but I guess it’s better to be optimistic going into the finale instead of knowing that it is the end. Either way, the finale sure did deliver us a wild conclusion to this season full of twists and turns.
As a quick refresher, we start this episode with Sam and Griff back at odds with one another about who gets to become chief. Lex and Sam have also reconciled their relationship after the fallout of Griff and Vivian’s affair, but the same can’t be said for Griff and Vivian’s relationships. On top of that, Caleb is potentially switching jobs, Isan is M.I.A., Joey and Tim are trying to work things out, and Malcolm finally knows exactly where he wants to be (and maybe that’s with Sam).
So as you can imagine, there was a lot that still needed to be resolved in the finale. Was everything fixed? Or are we still waiting on answers? Let’s discuss what exactly went down in the season one finale.
Sore Losers
It doesn’t take too long for us to find that Sam has won the race to be the new permanent chief. I do think Griff is right in that her completing that crazy new surgery was the main reason she won the votes. It being so fresh in the board’s mind and generating so much press, it’s no wonder they went with the younger Griffith.
Griff wasn’t the only one who lost his role. Ronda has now become the hospital’s new Chief Medical Officer, beating out Vivian. Turns out the board wants a practicing surgeon to be the CMO.
While Vivian takes the news as best as she can, Griff doesn’t. In fact, he’s being more of an asshole than usual. Yes, he does lose out on the job he loves but he neglects the fact that it’s his daughter who beat him. He should be beyond proud but instead, he’s so hung up on himself that he can’t be her father. It’s actually so frustrating to watch because I thought we’d actually made progress on mending their relationship over the past few episodes.
He’s even going so far as to try to take the credit for Sam’s recent surgery. I mean, how egotistical can this man be? I will say, Griff going behind his own ex-wife’s back to nab the CMO position was pretty damn smart. It might actually be the best solution in all this because Griff won’t stop until he gets power and if Vivian is willing to take one for her daughter, this could ease the tension between the family.
It still blows my mind that this hospital is run by two families, god forbid anyone else like Ronda tries to move up in the food chain. If your last name isn’t Griffith or Kingsley, you have no chance it seems.
True Winners
Oh, Joey, why do you keep making just very poor decisions?
Isan was about to forgive him for his past action of stealing his surgery after Joey offers to give him the next cool surgery. But what does Joey do instead? Takes the surgery for himself because the guy can’t help himself. But karma is a bitch because Isan found out about whatever dark secret Joey has from Vermont.
Looks like Isan has been pushed around too many times because at the beginning of the season I never would have expected him to blackmail another doctor. It really goes to show how far we’ve come throughout these thirteen episodes.
Elsewhere, Caleb is leaving Lakeshore after thinking he lost Sam’s heart. Either way, instead of wallowing in self-pity, Caleb decides to move on and put himself first. So, he accepted the job offer from Bostom and is all ready to go.
It turns out, however, that the letter of recommendation Caleb asked Sam to write might be the one thing that gets him to stay. While we don’t know the exact contents, Lex makes it pretty clear that it is actually more like a love letter because despite her busy schedule and her budding relationship with Malcolm, Sam still cares and maybe even loves Caleb. And Lex, like the good friend she is, shares the letter with Caleb because she knows it could change everything. I will admit, I thought Sam’s feelings were 100% with Malcolm just based on how they’ve been interacting lately.
But with Sam thinking Caleb is off to the east coast, she takes a step forward as well and asks Malcolm out. As we end the episode we find both Malcolm and Caleb at Sam’s doorstep although we’re left wondering who it is Sam really wants to be with.
That’s not the only thing we’re left wondering at the end of this finale.
Vega and Lex may have something brewing. All their bickering is maybe just flirting after all. And while they got super close to sealing the deal, Lex made the smart decision and cooled things down. After all, she did just get out of a messy relationship with her boss so why would she want to risk that again? I don’t think, however, that this is the end of this pairing. If we get a season two, I really hope this is explored further.
Season One Thoughts
As we reach the end of this season, I just want to reflect on everything.
There were definitely hits and misses throughout the season but I do think they found their rhythm as it went along. The back and forth with all these relationships whether it be Sam and Griff, Sam and Lex, Lex and Griff, etc. became very exhausting. But I’m glad where it all ended up at the end of this episode and I think it’s at its best place yet.
If there is a season two, I think it will be even stronger. Honestly, the first season of any television series can be difficult to put together no matter the show. A lot of it is just testing to see what works and I think it took the writers of Good Sam a little bit longer than I would’ve liked to find their footing.
I really hope CBS makes their decision soon on whether we get a season two because I’ve really enjoyed having Sophia Bush back on my screen these past couple of months.
