The Second Season Finale Production #177-422 Tape Date: February 20, 2004 Original Airdate: May 7, 2004 Starring Amanda Bynes (Holly Tyler) Jennie Garth (Valerie Tyler) Wesley Jonathan (Gary Thorpe) Leslie Grossman (Lauren) Michael McMillian (Henry) Nick Zano (Vince) Allison Munn (Tina) Guest Starring Ed Kerr (Rick) Leah Harrison (Flight Attendant) Written by Caryn Lucas and Wil Calhoun Directed by Shelley Jensen EPISODE SYNOPSIS/REVIEW A refrain which was repeated throughout tonight's episode of "What I Like About You", "The Second Season Finale", was Holly telling all her friends "I'm gonna miss you so much." We feel much the same way regarding the separation anxiety, because we may never get the chance to see Holly again. If the series is renewed, we will see her in September. Tonight, we say goodbye for the summer, and Amanda Bynes seals it with four kisses. Last year when we bade bye-bye to Holly Anne the Tyler ladies were thinking about sex, but this year it's relationships and people more than the dirty deed that are causing joy for Valerie, and more indecision and possible heartbreak for Holly. And how deja vu can it get where the much-loved heroine hops a plane for Paris, only to find someone who's been crazy for her for awhile on the plane with her? Sadly, the head count for this episode as opposed to last night's romp will fall short by about 48,000,000 heads. If you read the recit for this episode on thewb.com, there's not much more to add about what happened in the episode. But we had some problems with the three story arcs and the way they were described by thewb.com. The least integral and the biggest misconception was that, in the words of thewb.com, "it could be a summer of love for Gary and Tina when they have their second kiss." Were we asleep during an episode that we missed the first one? And the kiss between them was a comic punctuation after they see Henry and Holly kiss passionately outside the diner. As the episode neared its end, they discussed that kiss and they pledged that that wouldn't be happening anytime soon, unless it happens. Then there's the matter of Rick showing up. The fact that Ed Kerr was billed as showing up in the episode ruined what could have been one of the biggest surprises of the whole episode. Rick shows up at the door as Val is at the loft recuperating from the cold she caught from Lauren, and says he couldn't get married because he couldn't stop thinking about Val. But we go no further in that story for this season. Brings us to Holly. Ah, sweet, virginal Holly, who spent all season with two guys, both of whom she loved, both of whom loved her, and now they react differently upon learning Holly has won her Paris internship and will be leaving in three days. Henry is so happy for her he kisses her, and tells Holly he's broken up with Kate. Later he expresses a desire to visit Holly for a week in Paris. But then Vince shows up, and when he learns the news, he kisses Holly too, and declares himself ready for a relationship with her. Holly is dumbfounded. Even though the kiss was great, suddenly declaring himself ready for Holly just as he learns she's leaving for Paris in three days, Holly thinks nothing of it -- until she finds Vince on the plane to Paris along with her, ready for takeoff. And unlike last night's very similar series finale of "Friends", we are left to wonder just what happened after that. Did he drag her off the plane? Did she beat him up? Did they have a wonderful summer together in Paris? Or did the WB cancel the series? The other problem we had with that story arc was the usage of promos declaring that tonight was the night Holly finally had to choose between Henry and Vince, in the WB's words "she knows the time has come to decide between them." We admit we were a little guilty of that type of promotion with the episode, but without actually getting preview tapes we have no idea how else to promote the show. It struck us as a little illogical that Holly would have to choose between the two just before she leaves them both for three months. Can't she make up her mind when she gets back? Basically after the two kisses we only saw Holly relate the two kisses for Val and Lauren, and not be able to make up her mind. All told, "The Second Season Finale" didn't really tell us anything we already didn't know was going to happen, save for Vince being on the plane. Perhaps the WB tips its hand too much in its promos. We do get spoilers from time to time for upcoming episodes, but we take care to give our readers the option to read them or not to read them. The network's promotion blunted this show's emotional impact to an incredible degree, and "TSSF" ultimately winds up being like any other episode, except this one just happens to come at the end of the season. "Regarding Henry", with its chronicle of Henry's breaking up with Holly, was a more accomplished episode and much more solidly put together. Like we like to say, Amanda Bynes can usually work wonders with weak material, but nights like this cry out for a little more oomph from Amanda, and she fell somewhat short tonight. Jennie Garth fared better in her storyline which saw the return of Rick, which will be intriguing if we do reach Season Three. This episode is a swan song, but how much of one it is we won't know for ten more days. We do know that this is the final WILAY go-round for series co-creator and executive producer Wil Calhoun. His unmistakable brand on this show was truly in evidence back in Season One, when the slapstick and mayhem subsided and it became a show about people's feelings, emotions, wants and needs. Sort of like the show that went off the air last night over at NBC, which he worked on for a number of years. And all his hallmarks are there in the script for tonight's show, which he co-wrote with probable Season Three showrunner Caryn Lucas (all told, they wrote six installments of the series this season). They were the architects of all the key moments of the season: the introduction of Vince which set up the love triangle, Val's accidental revelation to Henry that Holly had feelings for Vince, the first kiss between Holly and Vince, Holly's subsequent discovery that a relationship with Vince isn't possible, and tonight's events. SHOW NOTES Before this episode aired, it was announced that Wil Calhoun would be taking a consultancy and production role at NBC Studios, having signed a seven-figure two year contract. This was Wil Calhoun's final "What I Like About You" as an executive producer/writer. The series' next hurdle will be the renewal for the third season, which may or may not occur on May 18, 2004, in New York City. We will be updating this page at that point based on those results. From "What I Like About You" Fan Site at ABNOW! (http://www.amandabynesnow.com/wb/)