(Literally, it inspired me to createthis galleryof greatest opening scenes.)
Their world was passionate, it was violent, and, more than anything, it was unexpectedly poignant.
In the end, there is no doubt thatKingdomis one of the strong.
Credit: Erik Heinila/DirecTv
The hour starts with a beat-up Alvey at a bar after his fight.
“I know he did.
When it comes to big, dramatic moments, often we get over-the-top, tear-filled speeches.
In doing so, he creates moments that are far more powerful than any epic speech.
But when Jay asks what Alvey said, he crumbles.
“I don’t know what I said,” Alvey sobs.
“I don’t know…he was sitting right there.”
This scene could so easily become so syrupy.
Jay is fragile; Ryan needs to comfort him.
Jay quite literally cracks a joke while wiping a tear from his eye.
He’s still Jay; he’s just grieving.
(Only Jay could say “mellifluous” in a time like this.)
Jay’s got Mac looking out for him.
He’s not ready to face Alvey.
And this brings us to the scene that destroys me maybe more than most.
He looked like our child, he looked like a baby.”
And it’s utterly heartbreaking.
“He’s the only one who gave a s. I wouldn’t be talking to you without him.
I wouldn’t even be alive.
I fing used him to stay alive.
I just needed a fing minute.”
But you know what?
I’m no fing better.
And neither is mom.
So we can just live with that together."
Jay is a Kulina in every way; he suffers from many of the demons of his parents.
He somehow made it out, for the most part, unscathed.
Unfortunately, his one real “Kulina” trait his anger was the very thing that got him killed.
I became one, but my brother did not."
“My brother was also gay, which I think a lot of you knew,” he says.
Step into this fing light.
And then sit the f down because he still would whoop your ass."
But just before Alvey enters his final round, he looks to Jay in the audience.
He looks to his family, the one thing he cares more about than fighting in this instant.
In this moment, Jay is the one providing comfort to Alvey.
He’s the one keeping Alvey from crumbling.
And that’s where it ends.
If the show had to go out, I’m so proud that it went out with this hour.
This finale was a perfect example of everything this show does well, which is a lot.
everything comes together in this last episode.
